THE IRISH
ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD
Journal,
CONDUCTED BY A SOCIETY OF CLERGYMEN,
UNDER EPISCOPAL SANCTION.
VOL. VII.
•' Ut Christian! ita et Roman i sitis."
" As you are children of Christ, so be you children of Rome."
Ex Diftis S. Patricii, Book oj Armagh, fol. 9.
9 DUBLIN:
WILLIAM B. KELLY, 8, GRAF TON -STREET.
LONDON: BURNS & GATES, 17, PORTMAN-STREET, W.
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES : P. M. HAVERTY, i, BARCLAY-
., W.
Y-ST.
PAULUS CARDINALIS CULLEN,
JJnbUtunsis.
Die i°- Oclobris, 1871.
ALPHABETICAL INDEX.
PAGE
Address of the Clergy of St. Louis to their Archbishop ... ... 236
Aidan, St., Bishop and Patron of Ferns ... ... 312, 361, 393
Alphonsus, St., Doctor of Holy Church ... ... ... 378
Ancient Statue of the Madonna ... ... ... ... 474
Apostolic Constitutions of the Vatican Council ... ... ... i, 44
Aran-More of St. Enda ... ... ... .. ... 19,105
BALMEZ, LETTERS OF : —
XI. On Self-Love .. ... ... ... ... 123
XII. The Moral Code of the Gospel ... .. ... 159
XIII. Humility ... .. . .. ... ... ... 216
XIV. The Vicious and the Lukewarm : Arguments against Religion 258
XV. The Fate of Children who die without Baptism ... ... 304
XVI. The Fate of those who live outside the Pale of the Church 308
XVII. The Beatific Vision ... ... ... ... ... 357
XVIII. On Purgatory ... ... .. ... ... 407
XIX. The Good and the Bad : a Difficulty ... ... ... 450
XX. Homage due to the Saints ... ... .. ... 504
XXI. Invocation of Saints — A New Difficulty ... ... 561
Castleknock ... ... ... ... ... ... 245
Claims of the Irish College, Paris ... ... ... ... 44,78, 145
Cloyne: Foundation of the See ... ... ... ... 436
College of St. Anthony of Padua, Louvaiti ... ... ... 31
Constitutions of the Vatican Council .. ... ... ... i, 44
Cork : Foundation of the See ... .. ... ... 184
DOCUMENTS : —
Letter of Cardinal Antonelli, on the publication of the Apost.
Constitutions of the Vat. Council ... ... ... 44
Apostolic Letters of His Holiness, proroguing the General Council 91
Encyclical Letter of His Holiness, on the Invasion of the Papal
Territory ... ... ... ... ... ... 170
Decree placing the whole Church under the Patronage of St.
Joseph .. ... ... ... 178
Decree of the Sacred Congreg. of Rites, on Saints honoured from
time immemorial ... ... ... ... 181
Brief of our Most Holy Father, on the Outrages against the
Jesuits in Rome ... ... "... ... ... 326
Decree declaring St. Alphonsus a Doctor of Holy Church ... 378
Prayer to which an Indulgence has been attached by His Holiness 379
Decree on the Traditionalism Controversy in Louvain ... 380
Decree on the Conditions requisite for gaining Indulgences ... 380
Letter of His Holiness on the New Teachers in Rome ... 428
Encyclical of His Holiness to the Bishops of the Catholic World 475
Letter of the Bishops of Belgium, on the Traditionalist Contro-
versy ... ... ... ... ... ... 481
Letter of His Holiness to the Cardinal Vicar of Rome ... 527
Circular of the Cardinal Vicar to the Parochial Clergy of Rome 529
Brief of His Holiness according new honours to St. Joseph ... 582
Donaldus, Archbishop of Dublin ... ... ... ... 328
Enda, St., Visit to the Island of ... ... ... ... 19, 105
Endowed Schools of Ireland ... ... . ... 97
iv . Alphabetical Index.
PAGE
Fate of Children who die before Baptism ... ... ... 304
Fate of those who die outside the Pale of the Church ... .. 308
Fermoy, Ancient Tract on ... ... ... ... ... 240
Fleming, F. Patrick, O.S.F. ... ... ... 193
" Four Masters" ... ... ... ... ... ... 268
Franciscans of Louvain ... ... ... ... 31, 56, 193, 268
Historical Studies in an Irish Catholic University ... ... 411
Homage due to the Saints ... ... ... ... ... 504
" Hortus Animae" ... ... ... ... ... ... 93
Humility ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 216
Indulgences of the Rosary ... .. ... ... 370,421,467
Ireland, Endowed Schools of ... ... ... ... 97
Irish Catholic University, the Place of Historical Studies in .. 411
Irish College, Paris, Claims ... ... ... ... ... 44,78, 145
Irish Historical Studies in the I7th Century ... ... 31, 56, 193, 268
Irish Martyr at Tien- Tsin ... ... ... ... ... 130,430
Jesuits and Literature ... ... ... .. ... 511
Jubilee Feast of Pius IX. ... ... ... ... 430,441,518,564
"Leabhar na-Huidhri" ... ... .. ... .. 224
Letter of the Archbishops and Bishops of Ireland to their Flocks ... 49
Letters of Balmez. See Balmez.
Letter of Archbishops and Bishops of Ireland to His Holiness ... 166
Letter of His Holiness in reply to same ... ... ... 169
Letter of His Holiness to Sister M. F. Clare ... . ... 182
Lyon, Bishop of Cork, Letters of, in 1596 ... ... ... 489
Macchiavelli ... ... ... ... ... 293, 345, 457
Monasticon Hibernicum 45, 94, 140, 184, 240, 290, 341, 389, 436, 485, 535
Moral Code of the Gospel ... ... ... ... . * 159
Old Castleknock ... ... ... ... ... ... 245
Pius IX., Jubilee Feast of ... ... ... ... 430,441,518,564
Patronage of St. Joseph ... ... ... ... .. 178
Prorogation of the Vatican Council ... ... ... .. 91
Purgatory ... .. ...*. ... ... ... ... 407
Roman Chronicle .. ... ... ... 330,382,431,482,531,575
Rosary, Indulgences of the ... .. ... 370,421,467
Round Towers, &c. , Remarks on ... ... ... ... .554
Scale of Perfection ... ... ... ... ... ... 93
Schools (Endowed) of Ireland ... . . ... ... 97
Self-love ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 123
Socrates, a Sketch, by Professor Stewart ... ... ... 537
Some remarks on "The Druids, Churches, and Towers of Ancient
Ireland" ' ... ... ... ... ... ... 554
St. Louis, Address of Clergy of, and Reply of the Archbishop ... 236
Tien-Tsin, an Irish Martyr at ... ... ... ... 130
Traditionalism, &c. ... ... ... ... ... 379, 481
Two Letters of Dr. Lyon, Protestant Bishop of Cork; in 1596 ... 489
Vatican Council ... ... ••• ... ... ... 1, 44, 91
Ward, F. Hugh, O.S.F ... ... 56
[NEW SERIES.}
THE IRISH
ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD.
OCTOBER, 1870.
DOGMATIC CONSTITUTION ON THE CATHOLIC
FAITH, PROMULGATED IN THE THIRD
SESSION OF THE HOLY CECUMENICAL VATI-
CAN COUNCIL.
PIUS, BISHOP,
SERVANT OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD, WITH THE APPROVAL OF
THE SACRED COUNCIL, FOR PERPETUAL REMEMBRANCE.
Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and the Redeemer
of mankind, before returning to his heavenly Father,
promised that he would be with his Church militant on earth
all days, even to the consummation of the world. Where-
fore he has never ceased to assist his beloved Spouse, to
be with her when teaching, to bless her when at work, to aid
her when in danger. But this, His salutary providence,
constantly manifested by other innumerable benefits, has
been most evidently made known by the fruits which Christen-
dom has derived in such abundance from CEcumenical
Councils, and particularly from that of Trent, although held in
evil times ; for the result has been that the most holy dogmas
of religion have been defined more precisely, and set forth
more fully ; errors have been condemned and restrained,
eccesiastical discipline has been restored and more firmly
secured, the love of learning and of piety has been promoted
VOL. VII. I
2 Dogmatic Constitution
among the clergy, colleges have been established to educate
youth for the sacred ministry, and the morals of the
Christian people have been renovated both by the more
careful instruction of the faithful, and by the more frequent
use of the sacraments. Hence also a closer communion of
the members with the visible Head, and an increase of vigor
in the whole mystical body of Christ : hence the multipli-
cation of religious congregations, and of other institutions of
Christian piety : hence, too, that zeal, untiring and persever-
ing even to the shedding of blood, in widely extending the
kingdom of Christ throughout the world.
But while recalling with grateful heart these and other sig-
nal benefits which the divine clemency has bestowed on the
Church, especially through the last (Ecumenical Council, we
cannot restrain our bitter sorrow, caused by the serious evils
which have mainly had their origin either in contempt on the
part of many for the authority of that sacred synod, or in
neglect of its wise decrees.
For, as to the heresies proscribed by the Council of Trent,
everybody knows that having rejected the divine authority
of the Church, and abandoned religious matters to the judg-
ment of each individual, they gradually split into many sects,
disagreeing and striving with one another, until at length
not a few lost all faith in Christ. Wherefore the Holy Bible
itself, hitherto held up as the sole source and judge of Christian
doctrine, was now no longer considered as divine, but was
even ranked among myths or fictions.
Then, too, arose, widely overspreading the world, that doc-
trine of rationalism or naturalism which, opposing in every
way, the Christian religion as being a supernatural institu-
tion, spares no effort to banish Christ, our sole Lord and
Saviour, from the minds of men, and from the life and cus-
toms of nations, that thus the reign of what they call mere
reason or nature may be established. And having forsaken
and rejected the Christian religion, and denied God and his
Christ, the minds of many sunk into the abyss of pantheism,
materialism, and atheism, so that, denying rational nature
itself, and every rule of justice and rectitude, they endeavour
to destroy the very first foundations of human society.
Moreover, it has unhappily come to pass that, in this gene-
ral prevalence of impiety, many even of the children of the
Catholic Church have strayed from the path of true piety,
and that, owing to the gradual decay of truth after truth in their
minds, the Catholic spirit has become weakened in them. For, we
find that, led away by various and strange doctrines, wrongly
mixing up nature and grace, human science and divine faith,
On the Catholic Fflith. 3
they corrupt the genuine sense of the dogmas as it is held
and taught by Holy Mother Church, and endanger the in-
tegrity and the purity of the faith.
At the sight of all this, how could the Church fail to be
moved to her inmost soul ? For, as God wills all men to be
saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth ; as Christ
came to save what had perished, and to gather into one the
children of God who had been dispersed ; so the Church,
constituted by God the mother and teacher of nations, recog-
nizes herself as debtor to all, and is always ready and solicitous
to raise the fallen, to support the tottering, to embrace those
who return, to confirm the good, and lead them on to better
things. Wherefore she can never cease from testifying and
proclaiming the all-healing truth of God, not unmindful that
to her it has been said, "My Spirit that is in thee, and my
words that I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of
thy mouth, from henceforth and for ever."1
We, therefore, following the footsteps of our predecessors,
in virtue of our supreme Apostolic office, have never ceased
from teaching and defending Catholic truth, and reprobating
perverse doctrines. And now, the bishops of the whole
world being assembled in the Holy Spirit by our authority,
in this GEcumenical Council, and sitting and judging with us,
we, relying on the Word of God written and handed down as
we have received it from the Catholic Church, religiously
preserved and expounded in its true sense, have resolved to
profess and declare, in sight of all, the salutary doctrine of
Christ from this Chair of Peter, proscribing and'condemning,
by the power given to us by God, the errors contrary thereto.
CHAPTER I.
OF GOD, THE CREATOR OF ALL THINGS,
The Holy Catholic Apostolic Roman Church believes and
confesses that there is one true and living God, Creator and
Lord of Heaven and earth, almighty, eternal, immense,
incomprehensible, infinite in intelligence, and in will, and in
every perfection, who, being one single, absolutely simple, and
unchangeable spiritual substance, must be acknowledged to be
really and essentially distinct from the world, perfectly happy
in Himself and of Himself, and ineffably exalted above all
things which, besides Himself, exist and can be conceived.
This only true God, of His bounty and almighty power,
1 Isaiah, lix, 21.
4 Dogmatic Constitution
not to increase His own happiness, nor to acquire, but rather
to manifest His perfection by the good gifts whichHe bestows
on creatures, and of His perfectly free will, made out of nothing,
at once, from the first beginning of time, both the spiritual and
the corporal creature, to wit, the angelical and the mundane,
and then the human creature, having something in common
with both, being constituted of soul and body.1
Besides, God protects and rules by His Providence all things
which He has made, "reaching from end to end mightily,
and ordering all things sweetly."2 For all things are naked
and open to His eyes,3 even those which are yet to come by
the free action of creatures.
CHAPTER II.
OF REVELATION,
The same Holy Mother, the Church, holds and teaches that
God, the beginning and end of all things, can with certainty
be known by the natural light of human reason, from created
things ; for the invisible things of Him from the creation of
the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things
that are made ;4 and, yet, that it was pleasing to His, wisdom
and goodness to reveal Himself, and the eternal decrees of His
will, to mankind in another and a supernatural way, as the
Apostle says: "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners,
spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, last of all,
in these days, hath spoken to us by His Son."5
It is to be attributed, indeed, to this divine revelation that
those among divine things which of themselves are not im-
pervious to human reason can, even in the present condition of
mankind, be known by all easily, with firm certainty, and
without any admixture of error. It is not, however, for this
reason that revelation is to be held absolutely necessary ; but
because God of His infinite goodness ordained man to a super-
natural end, viz., to be a sharer of divine good gifts which
utterly exceed the intelligence of the human mind : for eye
hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the
heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that
love Him.6
Further, this supernatural revelation, according to the belief
of the universal Church, set forth by the Sacred Synod of
Trent, is contained in the written books and unwritten tradi-
tions which have reached us, having been received by the
1 Cone. Lat. iv. * Wisdom, viii. I. s Heb. iv. 13.
4 Romans, i. 20. B Hebrews, i. I, 2. "I. Cor. ii. 9.
On the Catholic Faith, 5
Apostles from the mouth of Christ himself, or delivered, as if
from hand to hand, by the Apostles, under the dictation of
the Holy Spirit1 Which books of the Old and New Testament
are to be received as sacred and canonical, in their integrity,
with all their parts, as they are enumerated in the decree of the
said Council, and are contained in the old Latin Vulgate edition.
And the Church holds them sacred and canonical, not because,
having been composed by mere human industry alone, they
were afterwards approved by her authority, nor merely
because they contain revelation without error, but because,
having been written under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost,
they have God for their author, and have been delivered as
such to the Church herself.
But as the things which the Holy Synod of Trent whole-
somely— in order to curb froward spirits — decreed concerning
the interpretation of Divine Scripture, are perversely ex-
plaired by some, we, renewing the said decree, declare
this to be its sense, that, in matters of faith and morals
appertaining to the edification of Christian doctrine, that is to
be received as the true sense of Holy Scripture which has been
held and is held by Holy Mother Church, to whom it belongs
to judge of the true sense and interpretation of the Holy
Scriptures ; and therefore that no one is permitted to inter-
pret the same Sacred Scripture contrary to this sense, or
contrary to the unanimous consent of the Fathers.
CHAPTER III.
OF FAITH.
Since man depends altogether upon God, as upon his Creator
and Lord, and since created reason is absolutelv subject to
uncreated truth, we are bound to yield by faith the obedience
of our intelligence and will to God when he reveals. And
the Catholic Church professes that this faith, which is the
beginning of man's salvation, is a supernatural virtue, whereby,
the grace of God inspiring and assisting, we believe the
things which He has revealed to be true, not on account of
their own intrinsic truth as seen by the natural light of
reason, but on account of the authority of God himself who
reveals, and who can neither be deceived nor deceive. Fo'r
faith, as the apostle testifies, is the substance of things to be
hoped for, the evidence of things that appear not.2
Nevertheless, in order that the obedience of our faith might
1 Council of Trent, session iv.. Deer, cle Can. Script.
1 Heb. xi. i.
6 Dogmatic Constitution
be in harmony with reason, God willed that the interior helps
of the Holy Spirit should be accompanied by exterior proofs
of his revelation, viz., by divine facts, and principally by
miracles and prophecies, which, while clearly displaying the
omnipotence and infinite knowledge of God, are most certain
proofs of His divine revelation, and suited to the intelligence
of all. Wherefore, both Moses and the Prophets, and, most of
all, Christ our Lord Himself, were the authors of many and
most manifest miracles and prophecies ; and we read of the
Apostles : " But they going forth preached everywhere,the Lord
working withal, and confirming the word with signs that fol-
lowed."1 And again, it is written : " We have the more firm
prophetical word, whereunto you do well to attend, as to a
light that shineth in a dark place."2
But although the assent of faith is by no means a blind mo-
tion of the mind, still no man can assent to Gospel teaching,
in the way necessary to obtain salvation, without the en-
lightenment and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, who gives
sweetness to all in accepting and believing the truth.3 Where-
fore, faith, even when it does not work by charity, is in itself
a gift of God, and the act of faith is a work appertaining to
salvation, by which man yields a free obedience to God, by
consenting to, and co-operating with, His grace, which he
might resist.
Further, all those things are to be believed with divine
and Catholic faith which are contained in the Word of God,
written or handed down, and which the Church, either by a
solemn judgment, or by her ordinary and universal magisterial
teaching purposes for belief as having been divinely revealed.
And since, without faith, it is impossible to please God,
and to attain fellowship with his children, therefore without
it no one was ever justified, nor shall any one obtain eternal
life unless he shall persevere in it unto the end. And, that
we may be able to satisfy the obligation of embracing the
true faith and of constantly persevering in it, God has insti-
tuted the Church through His only begotten Son, and has
furnished her with manifest marks that he has instituted her,
so that she may be recognized by all as the guardian and the
teacher of the revealed Word ; for to the Catholic Church
alone belong all those things, so many and so marvellous,
which have been divinely arranged to render evident the
credibility of the Christian Faith. Nay more, the Church,
pf herself, by reason of her admirable propagation, her
1 Mark, xvi. 20. * II. Peter, i. 19.
* Council -.>f Orange II. can. 7,
On the Catholic Faith. 7
eminent holiness, and her inexhaustible fecundity in every-
thing good, by reason of her Catholic unity and her invincible
stability, is a great and perpetual motive of credibility, and
an irrefragable witness of her own divine mission.
Whence it happens that, like a sign set up to the nations,1
she both invites to her those who have not yet believed, and
assures her children that the faith which they profess rests on the
strongest foundation ; which testimony is efficaciously sup-
ported by the strength from above. For our most benign
Lord, by His grace, stirs up and helps the straying that they
may arrive at a knowledge of the truth, and those whom He
has brought out of darknesss into His own admirable light
He strengthens by His grace to persevere in that light,
deserting none unless he be deserted. Therefore there is no
parity between the condition of those who have adhered to
the Catholic truth by the heavenly gift of faith, and of those
who, led by human opinions, follow a false religion ; for those
who have received the faith under the teaching of the Church
can never have any just cause for changing or doubting that
faith. This being so, whilst we return thanks to God the
Father who has made us worthy to share in the portion of
the saints in light, let us not neglect so great a salvation, but
with our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and finisher of our
faith, let us keep unalterably the confession of our hope.
CHAPTER IV.
OF FAITH AND REASON.
The Catholic Church perpetually and unanimously has also
held and holds that there is a two-fold order of knowledge,
distinct not only in principle but also in object ; in principle,
because in the one, knowledge comes by natural reason, and
in the other by divine faith ; in object, because, besides those
things which natural reason can reach, there are proposed to
us for our belief mysteries hidden in God, which, unless di-
vinely revealed, cannot be known. Wherefore the Apostle,
who testifies that God is known by the nations through
created things, still, when treating of the grace and truth
which came by Jesus Christ2 says : We speak the wisdom
of God in a mystery, a wisdom which is hidden, which God
ordained before the world unto our glory, which none of the
princes of this world knew but to us God hath
revealed them by his spirit. For the spirit searcheth all
things, yea the deep things of God.8 And the only begotten
1 Isaiah xi. 12. * John, i. 17. 'I Cor. ii. 7-9.
8 Dogmatic Constitution
Son himself confesses to the Father, because he has hid
these things from the wise and prudent, and has revealed
them to little ones.1
And reason, indeed, enlightened by faith, when it seeks
carefully, piously, and soberly, attains by God's gift some,
and that a very fruitful, understanding of mysteries, as
well from the analogy of those things which it naturally knows,
as from the close relations which the mysteries bear to one
another and to the last end of man ; but reason never be-
comes capable of apprehending mysteries as it does those
truths which constitute its proper object. For the divine
mysteries by their own nature so far transcend the created intel-
lect, that, even when manifested by revelation and received
by faith, they remain covered with the veil of faith itself,
and enveloped, as it were in a certain mist, so long as we are
pilgrims in this mortal life apart from God j for we walk by
faith and not by sight.2
But although faith is above reason, there can still never
be any true opposition between faith and reason, since the
same God who reveals mysteries and infuses faith has be-
stowed* the light of reason on the human mind, and God
cannot deny himself, nor can truth ever contradict truth. The
empty semblance of this contradiction is mainly due to the
fact, that either the dogmas of faith have not been understood
and expounded according to the mind of the Church, or that
rash conceits have been taken for the judgments of reason.
We define, therefore, that every assertion contrary to the
truth of enlightened faith is utterly false.8 Further, the
Church, which, together with the Apostolic office of teaching
has received the charge of guarding the deposit of faith,
derives from God the right and the duty of proscribing
science falsely so named, lest any should be deceived by
philosophy and vain deceit.4 Therefore all faithful Christians
are not only forbidden to defend, as legimitate conclusions
of science, such" opinions as are known to be contrary to the
teaching of faith, especially if such have been reprobated
by the Church, but rather are absolutely bound to hold them
to be errors clothed in a delusive semblance of truth.
And not only can faith and reason never be at variance with
one another, but they afford each other mutual assistance ;
for right reason demonstrates the foundations of faith, and,
illumined by its light, cultivates the science of things divine ;
while faith frees and guards reason from errors, and furnishes
it with manifold knowledge. So far, therefore, is the Church
1 Matt. xi. 25. ' II. Cor. v. 7.
1 V. Council of Lateran, Bull Apostoliti regiminis. * Colos*. il. 8.
On the Catholic Faith, 9
from opposing the cultivation of human arts and sciences, that
she in many ways helps and promotes it ; for she is neither igno-
rant of nor despises the benefits to human life which result from
them, but confesses that, as they came from God, the Lord
of sciences, so, if they be rightly treated, they lead to God by the
help of His grace. Nor does the Church forbid that each of
these sciences within its own sphere should make use of its
own principles and its own method, but, while recognizing
this just liberty she is sedulously on her guard, lest by
opposing the divine teaching, they assume the patronage of
errors, or lest going beyond their own boundary, they invade
and trouble the domain of faith.
For the doctrine of faith which God has revealed has not
been proposed as a philosophical invention, to be perfected by
human talent, but has been delivered as a divine deposit
to the Spouse of Christ, to be faithfully kept and infallibly ex-
pounded. Hence, also, that meaning of the sacred dogmas is
perpetually to be retained which Holy Mother Church has once
set forth, nor is that meaning ever to be departed from under the
appearance and pretence of more profound intelligence. Let
then the intelligence, science, and wisdom of each and all, of
individuals and of the whole Church, in all ages and at all times,
increase and flourish abundantly and vigorously, but only in
its own proper sphere, that is to say, in the same dogma, the
same sense1 and the same opinion.1
CANONS.
T.— OF GOD THE CREATOR OF ALL THINGS.
1. If anyone shall deny one true God, Creator and Lord of
things visible and invisible ; let him be anathema.
2. If anyone shall shamelessly affirm that besides matter
nothing exists ; let him be anathema.
3. If anyone shall say that the substance or essence of God
and of all things is one and the same ; let him be anathema.
4. If anyone shall say that finite things, both corporeal
and spiritual, or at least spiritual, have emanated from the
divine substance ;
or that the divine essence by the manifestation or develop-
ment of itself, becomes all things ;
or, in fine, that God is a universal or indefinite being, which
by determining itself constitutes the universality of things,
distributed according to genera, species, and individuals ; let
him be anathema.
1 Vincent of Lerins, Common, n. 28.
io Dogmatic Constitution
5. If anyone confess not that the world, and all things
contained in it, both spiritual and material, have been in their
whole substance produced by God out of nothing ;
or shall say that God created not of His will free from all
neceessity, but as necessarily as He necessarily loves Him-
self;
or shall deny that the world was made for the glory of God ;
let him be anathema.
II. — OF REVELATION.
1. If anyone shall say that the one and true God, our
Creator and Lord, cannot be known with certainty by the
natural light of human reason through created things ; let him
be anathema.
2. If anyone shall say that it is impossible or inexpedient
that man by divine revelation should be instructed regarding
God and the worship to be paid to him ; let him be anathema.
3. If anyone shall say that man cannot be raised by divine
power to a knowledge and perfection higher than that which is
natural, but that he of himself can and ought, by a conti-
nuous improvement, at length arrive at the possession of all
that is true and good ; let him be anathema.
4. If anyone shall not receive as sacred and canonical the
books of Holy Writ, entire with all their parts, as the holy
Synod of Trent enumerated them, or shall deny that they
have been divinely inspired ; let him be anathema.
III.— OF FAITH.
1. If anyone shall say that human reason is so indepen-
dent that faith cannot be required of it by God ; let him be
'anathema.
2. If anyone shall say that divine faith is not distinguished
from the natural knowledge of God and of moral things, and
that therefore it is not essential to divine faith that revealed
truth be believed because of the authority of God, who reveals ;
let him be anathema.
3. If anyone shall say that divine revelation cannot be made
credible by outward signs, and therefore that men must be
moved to faith by each one's sole internal experience, or by
private inspiration ; let him be anathema.
4. If anyone shall say that no miracles can be performed,
and therefore that all narratives of them, even those con-
tained in Holy Writ, are to be classed among fables or myths ;
or that miracles can never be known with certainty, and that
the divine origin of Christianity cannot be proved by them ;
let him be anathema.
On tin Catliolic Faith. 1 1
5. If anyone shall say that the assent of Christian faith is
not free, but that it is necessarily produced by the arguments
of human reason ; or that the grace of God is necessary only
for the living faith which worketh by charity ; let him be
anathema.
6. If anyone shall say that the condition of the faithful and
of those who have not yet arrived at the only true faith is equal,
so that Catholics suspending their assent may have just cause
for doubting the faith already received under the teaching of
the Church, until they shall have completed a scientific de-
monstration of the credibility and truth of their faith ; let him
be anathema.
IV.— -OF FAITH AND REASON.
1. If anyone shall say that in divine revelation no true
mysteries properly so called are contained, but that all the
dogmas of faith can be understood and demonstrated from
natural principles by reason properly cultivated ; let him be
anathema.
2. If anyone shall say that human sciences are to be
handled with such freedom that their conclusions, although
they may be opposed to revealed doctrine, are to be retained
as true, and cannot be proscribed by the Church ; let him be
anathema.
3. If anyone shall say that sometimes it may happen that
according to the progress of science, a sense different from
that which the Church has- understood and understands is to
be given to dogmas taught by the Church ; let him be
anathema.
Therefore, fulfilling the duty of our supreme pastoral office,
we entreat, by the bowels of Jesus Christ, and by the authority
of the same God our Saviour we command all the faithful of
Christ, and chiefly those who preside or exercise the ministry
of teaching, zealously and devotedly to labour in warding off
and banishing from holy Church these errors, and in spreading
the true light of pure faith.
And since it is not sufficient to shun heretical pravity, unless
those errors also be diligently avoided which approach it more
or less closely, we admonish all of the duty of also observing
the constitutions and decrees by which all such evil opinions
not here distinctly enumerated have been proscribed and pro-
hibited by the Holy See.
12 First Dogmatic Constitution
FIRST DOGMATIC CONSTITUTION ON THE
CHURCH OF CHRIST PROMULGATED IN
THE FOURTH SESSION OF THE HOLY CECU-
MENICAL VATICAN COUNCIL.
PIUS BISHOP,
SERVANT OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD, WITH THE APPROVAL OF
THE SACRED COUNCIL, FOR PERPETUAL REMEMBRANCE.
The eternal Pastor and Bishop of our souls, in order to
render perpetual the life-giving work of His redemption,
determined to build the Holy Church, wherein, as in the
House of the living God, all the faithful might be united in
the bond of one faith and charity. Wherefore, before en-
tering into His glory, He prayed unto the Father, not for
the apostles only, but for those also who through their
preaching should come to believe in Him, that all might be
one, even as the Son and the Father are one. As then the
apostles whom he had chosen to Himself from the world were
sent by Him, not otherwise than He Himself had been
sent by the Father ; so did He will that there should
ever be pastors and teachers in His Church to the end of
the world. But in order that the Episcopate might be
one and undivided, and that by means of a closely united
priesthood the whole multitude of the faithful might be pre-
served in the unity of faith and communion, placing Blessed
Peter over the rest of the Apostles, He established in him the
abiding principle of this twofold unity, and its visible founda-
tion, that upon its strength the everlasting temple should be
built, and the sublime structure of the Church destined to
reach the heavens, should rest on the firmness of this faith.1
And since the gates of hell, with daily increasing hatred,
endeavour on all sides to overthrow, if possible, the Church,
by upheaving the foundation thus set by God ; We, for the
preservation, safe-keeping, and increase of the Catholic flock,
with the approval of the sacred Council, do judge it to be
necessary to propose to the belief and acceptance of all the
faithful, in accordance with the ancient and constant faith of
the universal Church, the doctrine regarding the institution,
perpetuity, and nature of the sacred Apostolic Primacy in
1 S. Leo M, serm. iv. (al. iii.)~cap. 2. in diem Natalis sui.
On tJtc Church of Christ. 1 3
which consists the strength and solidity of the entire Church,
and to proscribe and condemn the contrary errors, so baneful
to the flock of Christ.
CHAPTER I.
OF THE INSTITUTION OF THE APOSTOLIC PRIMACY IN
BLESSED PETER.
We, therefore, teach and declare that, according to the
testimony of the Gospel, the primacy of jurisdiction over the
Universal Church of God, was promised to and conferred on
Blessed Peter the Apostle, immediately and directly by
Christ the Lord. For it was to Simon alone (to whom he
had said before : thou shalt be called Cephas1), that after-
wards, on occasion of the confession made by him : thou art
the Christ, the Son of the living God — the Lord addressed the
words : Blessed art thou Simon Bar- Jona,. because flesh and
blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my father who is in
heaven. And I say to thee that thou art Peter ; and upon this
rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not
prevail against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the
Kingdom of Heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon
earth, it shall be bound also in heaven ; and whatsoever thou
shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.2 And
it was upon Simon alone that Jesus, after His resurrection,
bestowed the jurisdiction of Chief Pastor and Ruler over all His
fold in the words : Feed my lambs : feed my sheep.3 At open
variance with this clear doctrine of Holy Scripture, as it has
been ever understood by the Catholic Church, are the perverse
opinions of those, who, distorting the form of government
established by Christ the Lord in His Church, deny that
Peter in his single person, in preference to all the other
Apostles, whether taken separately or together, was endowed
by Christ with a true and proper primacy of jurisdiction ;
or of those who assert that the same primacy was not bestowed
immediately and directly upon Blessed Peter himself, but
upon the Church, and through the Church on Peter as her
minister.
If anyone, therefore, shall say that Blessed Peter the Apostle
was not appointed by Christ our Lord the Prince of all the
Apostles, and the visible Head of the whole Church militant; or
that the same directly or immediately received from the same
Lord Jesus Christ a Primacy of honor only, and not of true
and proper jurisdiction ; let him be anathema.
'Joan. i. 42. *Matt. xvi. 16-19. •Joan. xxi. 15-17.
14 First Dogmatic Constitution
CHAPTER II.
OF THE PERPETUITY OF THE PRIMACY OF PETER IN
THE ROMAN PONTIFFS.
What the prjnce of shepherds and great shepherd of the
sheep, Jesus Christ our Lord, established in the person of the
blessed apostle Peter, to secure the perpetual welfare and
lasting good of the Church, the same must, by the power of
its founder, necessarily remain for evermore in the Church ;
which, being founded upon the Rock, is to stand firm to
the end of ages. For none can doubt, and indeed it is
known to all ages, that the holy and blessed Peter, the
prince and chief of the apostles, the pillar of the faith and
foundation of the Catholic Church, received the keys of the
kingdom from our Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour and
Redeemer of the human race, and that in his successors, the
Bishops of the Holy See of Rome, founded by him, and
consecrated by his blood, he lives and presides, and judges
up to the present time and always.' Whence, whosoever
succeeds Peter in this See, by the institution of Christ himself,
obtains the Primacy of Peter over the whole Church. The
disposition made by truth therefore remains, and Blessed
Peter, abiding in the strength of the rock that he received,
has not abandoned the helm of the Church,2 of which he
took charge. On this account it has at all times been neces-
sary that every Church — that is to say, the faithful throughout
the world — should agree with the Roman Church, on account
of its more powerful princedom, that all being associated in
that See whence the rights of communion spread to all, as
members united under the head, might combine to form one
connected body.3
If, then anyone, shall say that it is not by the institution
of Christ the Lord, or by divine right, that Blessed Peter
has a perpetual line of successors in the Primacy over the
Universal Church ; or that the Roman Pontiff is not the
successor of Blessed Peter in this Primacy ; let him be
anathema.
CHAPTER III.
OF THE POWER AND CHARACTER OF THE PRIMACY OF THE
ROMAN PONTIFF.
Wherefore, resting on plain testimonies of the Sacred
writings, and in accordance both with the clear and express
JCf. Ephestni Concilii Act. iii. et S. Petri Chrysol. ep. ad Eutch. presbyt.
1 S. Leo M. Serm. iii. (al ii.) cap. 3.
»S. Iren. adv. hter. 1. iii. c. 3. et Epist. Cone, Aquilei. a. 381. ad Gratian:
Imper.
On the Church of Christ. 1 5
decrees of our predecessors, the Roman Pontiffs, and of
General Councils, we renew the definition of the (Ecumenical
Council of Florence, in virtue of which all the faithful of
Christ must believe that the holy Apostolic See and the
Roman Pontiff holds the primacy over the whole world,
and that the Roman Pontiff is the successor of Blessed Peter,
Prince of the Apostles, and true Vicar of Christ, Head of the
whole Church, and father and teacher of [all Christians ;
and that to him in Blessed Peter was given by Jesus Christ
our Lord full power to feed, rule, and govern the universal
Church : as is also contained in the acts of the general Councils
and in the sacred canons.
Further, we teach and declare that, by the appointment of
our Lord, the Roman Church possesses the supreme authority
of ordinary jurisdiction over all other Churches, and that this
power of jurisdiction of the Roman Pontiff, which is truly
episcopal, is immediate ; to which all, both pastors and faithful,
of whatsoever rite and dignity, both individually and collec-
tively, are bound to submit, by the duty of hierarchical sub-
ordination and true obedience, not only in matters belonging
to faith and morals, but also in those that appertain to the
discipline and government of the Church throughout the world,
so that through the preservation of unity both of communion
and of the profession of the same faith with the Roman Pontiff,
the Church of Christ may be one flock under one supreme
pastor. This is the teaching of the Catholic truth, from which
no one can deviate without detriment to faith and salvation.
But so far is this power of the Supreme Pontiff from being
prejudicial to that ordinary and immediate power of episcopal
jurisdiction, by which the Bishops, who, having been set by the
Holy Spirit, have succeeded to the place of the Apostles,
feed and govern, as true Pastors, each the flock assigned to
him, that this episcopal authority is really sustained, strength-
ened, and vindicated by the supreme and universal Pastor;
in accordance with the words of St. Gregory the Great :
My honour is the honour of the whole Church. My honour
is the firm strength of my brethren. When due honour is
not denied to each of them, then am I truly honoured.!
Moreover, from this supreme power possessed by the Roman
Pontiff of governing the Universal Church, it follows that he
has the right of freely communicating in the exercise of this
his office with the Pastors of the whole Church, and with their
flocks, that these may be taught and governed by him in the
way of salvation. Wherefore we condemn and reject the
opinions of those who hold that the communication between
1 S. Cregor. M . ad Eulog. Alexandria. 1. viii. ep. xxx.
1 6 First Dogmatic Constitution
the supreme Head and the Pastors and their flocks can lawfully
be impeded ; or who represent this communication as subject to
the will of the secular power, so as to assert that whatever is
done for the government of the Church by the Apostolic See,
or by its authority, cannot have force or value, unless it be
confirmed by the assent of the secular power.
And since by divine right of the Apostolic primacy, the
Roman Pontiff presides over the Universal Church, we further
teach and declare that he is the supreme judge of the faith-
ful,1 and that in all causes appertaining to ecclesiastical
jurisdiction, recourse may be had to his judgment ;2 and that
none may re-open the judgment of the Apostolic See, than
whose there is no greater authority, and that it is not lawful
for any one to sit in judgment on its judgments.3 Wherefore
they depart from the straight path of truth who assert that it
is lawful to appeal from the decisions of the Roman Pontiffs
to an (Ecumenical Council, as to an authority superior to the
Roman Pontiff.
If, then, anyone shall say that the Roman Pontiff has the
office only of inspection or direction, but not full and supreme
power of jurisdiction over the Universal Church, not alone in
things which belong to faith and morals, but in those which
relate to the discipline and government of the Church spread
throughout the world ; or who assert that he possesses merely
the principal part, and not all the fulness of this supreme
power ; or that this power which he enjoys is not ordinary
and immediate, whether over each and all the Churches, or
over each and all the Pastors and the faithful ; let him be
anathema.
CHAPTER IV.
OF THE INFALLIBLE AUTHORITY OF THE ROMAN PONTIFF IN
TEACHING.
Moreover, that the supreme power of teaching is also in-
cluded in the Apostolic primacy, which the Roman Pontiff, as
the successor of Peter, Prince of the Apostles, enjoys over the
whole Church, this Holy See has always held, the perpetual
practice of the Church attests, and (Ecumenical Councils
themselves have declared, especially those in which the East
with the West met in the union of faith and charity. For the
Fathers of the fourth Council of Constantinople, following in
1 Pii PP. VI. Breve Super soliditatc, d. 28. Nov. 1786.
* ConciL Oecum. Lugdun. ii.
• Ep. Nicolai I. ad Michaelera Imperatorem. '
On tlie Church of Christ. 17
the footsteps of their predecessors, issued this solemn pro-
fession : The first condition of salvation is to keep the rule
of the true faith. And because the sentence of our Lord
Jesus Christ cannot be passed by, who said : Thou art Peter,
and upon this Rock I will build my Church, these words,
which have been said, are proved true by events, because in
the Apostolic See the Catholic religion has always been kept
immaculate, and the holy doctrine publicly maintained. There-
fore, nowise desiring to be separated from the faith and
doctrine of that See, we hope to be worthy to be in the one
communion proclaimed by the Apostolic See in which is the
entire and true solidity of the Christian religion.1
And with the approval of the second Council of Lyons, the
Greeks professed: that the Holy Roman Church enjoyssupreme
and full primacy and pre-eminence over the whole Catholic
Church, which primacy it truthfully and humbly acknowledges
to have received with the plenitude of power from our Lord
Himself in the person of Blessed Peter, Prince or head of
the Apostles, of whom the Roman Pontiff is successor ; and
as the Apostolic See is bound before all others to defend the
truth of faith, so also if any questions regarding faith shall
arise, they must be defined by its judgment.
Finally, the Council of Florence defined : That the Roman
Pontiff is the true Vicar of Christ, and the head of the whole
Church, and the father and teacher of all Christians ; and
that to him in Blessed Peter was delivered by our Lord Jesus
Christ, the full power of feeding, ruling, and governing the
whole Church.
To satisfy this pastoral duty our predecessors ever made
unwearied efforts that the salutary doctrines of Christ might be
propagated among all the nations of the earth, and with equal
care watched that it might be preserved sincere and pure where
it had been received. Wherefore the Bishops of the whole
world, sometimes individually, sometimes assembled in synod,
following the long-established custom of the churches, and
the form of the ancient rule,2 reported to this Apostolic See
those dangers especially which arose in matters of faith, that
there chiefly the losses of faith might be repaired where
the faith cannot fail. And the Roman Pontiffs, accord-
ing to the exigencies of times and circumstances, sometimes
assembling CEcumenical Councils, or inquiring into the mind
of the Church scattered throughout the world, sometimes
by particular Synods, sometimes using the other helps supplied
M formula S. Hormivloe Papte, prout ab Hadriano II. Fatribus Concilii
Oeaimenici VIII., Constantinopolitani IV., proposita et ab iisdem subscripta est.
1 Cf. S. Bern. Epi^t. 190.
VOL. VII.
1 8 First Dogmatic Constitution on the Church of Christ.
by Divine Providence, defined that those doctrines were to be
held, which, with the help of God, they had found to be confor-
mable to the sacred Scriptures and apostolic Traditions. For
the Holy Spirit was not promised to the successors of Peter that
by His revelation they might proclaim any new doctrine, but
that with His assistance they might scrupulously keep and faith-
fully expound the revelation delivered through the Apostles,
that is, the deposit of the Faith. And indeed all the venerable
Fathers have embraced and the holy orthodox Doctors have
reverently followed their apostolic doctrine ; knowing most
fully that this see of holy Peter remains ever free from all
blemish of error according to the divine promise of the Lord
our Saviour made to the Prince of His disciples: I have prayed
for thee that thy faith fail not, and thou, at length converted,
confirm thy brethren.
This gift, then, of truth and never-failing faith was con-
ferred by Heaven upon Peter and his successors in this Chair,
that they might perform their high office for the salvation of
all ; that the whole flock of Christ, turned away by them from
the poisonous food of error, might be nourished with the
food of heavenly doctrine ; that the occasion of schism being
removed the whole Church might be kept one, and, resting on
its foundation, might stand firm against the gates of hell.
But since in this very age, in which the salutary efficacy of
the Apostolic office is more than ever required, not a few are
found who carp at its authority, we judge it altogether
necessary solemnly to assert the prerogative which the only-
begotten Son of God has vouchsafed to join with the supreme
pastoral office.
Therefore, faithfully adhering to the tradition received
from the beginning of the Christian faith, for the glory of God
our Saviour, the exaltation of the Catholic religion, and the
salvation of Christian people, with the approbation of the
Sacred Council,.we teach and define it to be a dogma divinely
revealed : that when the Roman Pontiff speaks ex cathedra,
that is, when in discharge of the office of Pastor and Teacher
of all Christians, by virtue of his supreme Apostolic authority,
he defines that a doctrine regarding faith or morals is to be
held by the Universal Church, he enjoys, by the divine assist-
ance promised to him in Blessed Peter, that infallibility with
which the divine Redeemer willed His Church to be endowed
in defining a doctrine regarding faith or morals ; and that
therefore such definitions of the Roman Pontiff are irreform-
able of themselves, and not from the consent of the Church.
But if anyone — which may God avert — presume to contra-
dict this our definition ; let him be anathema. .
A VISIT TO THE ARAN-MORE OF ST. ENDA.
PART I.
{.sN a summer's day, some fourteen hundred years ago, St.
Enda of Aran, as his ancient life tells us, knelt by the shore
of the harbour where Lough Corrib joins the sea, to ask a
blessing on the fishermen who then plied their craft in Galway
Bay.1 On a summer's day in the present year, from the very
spot where our saint had prayed, we set sail to visit, in love
and reverence, the remote Aran, which his virtues had changed
from a Pagan isle into Aran of the Saints. And as the faint
breeze bore us slowly over the waters that lay almost motion-
less in the summer calm, we gazed with admiration upon a
scene which, at least in its larger outlines, was but little
changed since St. Enda and his pilgrim band had first looked
upon it. Before us there lay stretched out the same expanse
of sea, fringed on one side by the dark plains of lar-Connaught,
along which the eye travelled from the white cliffs of Barna to
where the Connemara mountains, in soft blue masses, stood out
in fantastic clusters against the sky. On the other side ran the
Clare coastline, now retreating before the deep sea-inlets, and
now breasting the Atlantic with bold promontories like that of
gloomy Black-Head, or with gigantic cliffs like those of Mohir.
And as the day closed, and we watched the evening breeze
steal out from land, crisping the water into wavelets that
presently rippled against the vessel's side ; and as we saw
the golden glory of the sunset flush with indescribable love-
liness, earth, and sea, and sky, we thought how often in bygone
days, the view of Aran rising, as we then saw it, out of the
sunlit waves, had brought joy to the pilgrim who was journey-
ing to find rest upon its rocky shore :
And as I view the line of light that plays
Along the smooth waves, towards the burning west,
I long to tread that golden path of rays,
And think 'twill lead to some bright isle of rest.
It was some such thoughts as these that stirred St. Enda's
heart when he cried out that Aran was to be the place of his
resurrection, where, in his flesh, he was to look upon the face
of his God ; it was through some such feeling that St. Columba,
after lavishing upon the Aran of his soul every term of endear-
ment, crowned at length his praise by calling it the " Rome of
the pilgrim."2
1 Colgan, Acta SS., page 709, n. 25.
> See infra, St. Columba's " Farewell to Aran."
20 A Visit to the A ran-More of St. Enda.
The Aran isles arc three in number, named respectively,
Inishmore (the large island), Inishmain (the middle island),
and Inisheen (the eastern island). The eastern island is
the smallest of the three, and is about two-and-a-half miles
long ; the middle island is three miles long ; the largest
is about nine miles in length, and twenty-four in circum-
ference. The entire group contains about 11,288 acres, of
which only 742 are productive. Geologically considered, the
islands belong to the upper division of carboniferous limestone.
Mention is made of Aran at a very early period of Irish
history. The most authoritative of our ancient Irish MSS.
relate that after the great battle of Moytura, on the shores
of Loughs Corrib and Mask, in which the Firbolgs or Bel-
gae, after four days' fighting, were defeated by the Tuatha
de Dannan, a portion of the Belgae crossed over to Aran,
where as in an impregnable stronghold, they established
themselves, about the beginning of the Christian era. One
of their leaders was Engus MacUathmore, after whom
the great fort or dun on Inishmore was named. About
the year of our Lord 480, the island was inhabited by in-
fidels from Corcomroe, the adjacent part of Clare. About
that date, St. Enda received the island by the donation of
Engus, King of Munster, whose wife, Darenia, was St. Enda's
own sister. The Pagans were converted to Christianity, or
quitted the island, which, under St Enda, soon became one
of the great Christian sanctuaries of the west of Europe. The
Annals of the Four Masters tell of a great conflagration at
Aran in the year 1020, and of the devastation wrought there
by the Normans or Danes in the year 1081. At a later
period it was held by the O'Briens, the head of whom,
commonly called MacTeige O'Brien, kept his residence at
Aircin or Arkin, on the great island. The O'Briens were ex-
pelled in their turn by the O'Flahertys, who, again, were
dispossessed by Queen Elizabeth, under whom the castle of
Arkin was erected in 1587, on the site of the residence of the
O'Briens. Elizabeth gave the island to John Ransom, from
whose hands it passed into the possession of Sir Robert
Lynch, of Galway. In Cromwell's time this castle was pulled
down, and a strong fort erected in its place, of which fort we
shall have occasion to speak further on. In December, 1650,
700 of the Irish landed here in boats, flying from defeat on the
mainland, and were speedily followed by 1,300 of the English
foot, with a battery. The Irish surrendered, and Sir R. Lynch
having been declared a traitor, Erasmus Smith became owner
of Aran. This crafty undertaker disposed of his interest to
the Butlers, one of whom, in 1662, was created Earl of Aran ;
A Visit to the Ar an- More of St. Enda. 21
from the Butlers the islands passed through the Fitzpatricks
to the Digbys,1 who are the present owners.
The present inhabitants, about 3,400 in number, mainly
belong to the race that inhabits the south-western parts of
Ireland. In their character, they exhibit the beautiful results
of the action of the Catholic religion upon a stock gifted with
fine intellect and great sensibility, under circumstances which
allow that religion to exercise, without hindrance, its blessed
influence. Their simple Catholic faith, so pure, so tender, and
so fervent, is crowned in them with the crown of good works.
They are a courteous, handsome, and amiable people, with a
refinement of manner and a delicacy of sentiment, which
surprised and delighted us. Their high intelligence, their
good-natured readiness to oblige ; the total absence of the
greed of gain, no less than their erect and graceful carriage,
marked them out as something, of which we had not before
seen the like. We bear cheerful witness to the accuracy of
the following account of their social state, given by Dr.
Petrie :— 2
" I had heard so much of the virtues of the Aran islanders, of
their primitive simplicity, their ingenuous manners, and their
singular hospitality, that I could not help doubting the truth of
a picture so pleasing and romantic, and felt anxious to ascertain,
by personal observation, how far it might be real. . . . Col-
lectively, the inhabitants of the Aran islands may be said
to exhibit the virtues of the Irish character with, perhaps,
as little intermixture of its vices as the lot of humanity will
permit.
" They are a brave and hardy race, industrious and enter-
prising ; as is sufficiently evinced, not only by the daily in-
creasing number of their fishing vessels, the barren rocks which
they are covering with soil and making productive, but still
more by the frequency of their emigration from their beloved
country and friends to a distant wilderness, led solely by
the hope that their indefatigable labour may be employed
there to the greater ultimate benefit of their families.
"They are simple and innocent, but also thoughtful and in-
telligent, credulous, and in matters of faith, what persons of
a different creed would call superstitious. . . . Lying and
drinking — the vices which Arthur Young considers as apper-
taining to the Irish character — form, at least, no part of it in
Aran, for happily their common poverty holds out less temp-
tation to the one or opportunity for the other.
'See Ordnance Survey MSS., R.I. A. Lib., Galway, vol. 3, to which we arc
much indebted, especially for details of measurement.
8 Stokes's Lif« of Tetrie, page 49. 50.
22 A Visit to the Aran-More of St. Enda.
"I do not mean to say that they are rigidly temperate, or that
instances of excess, followed by the usual Irish consequences
of broken heads, do not occasionally occur ; such could not be
expected when their convivial temperament,and dangerous and
laborious occupations are remembered. They never swear,
and they have a high sense of decency and propriety, honour
and justice. In appearance they are healthy, comely, and
prepossessing ; in their dress (with few exceptions), clean and
comfortable ; in manner, serious, yet cheerful, and easily ex-
cited to gaiety ; frank and familiar in conversation, and to
strangers polite and respectful ; but, at the same time, wholly
free from servile adulation. They are communicative, but
not too loquacious ; inquisitive after information, but delicate
in seeking it, and grateful for its communication.
" If the inhabitants of the Aran islands could be considered
as a fair specimen of the ancient and present wild Irish — the
veriest savages in the globe, as the learned Pinkerton calls
them— those whom chance has led to their hospitable shores,
to admire their simple virtues, would be likely to regret that
the blessings of civilization had ever been extended to any
portion of this very wretched country."
Though poor, the Araners are not exposed to crushing want.
The perennial harvest of the sea supplies these hardy
fishermen with abundance of food ; their untiring industry
covers the barren rock with a scanty crop ; their cattle are
eagerly sought after in the markets of the mainland, and we
believe that still, as in O'Flaherty's time, the young men
are accustomed to go down, with ropes tied about them, into
the caves of the cliffs to kill the wild birds that love to
make their home therein.1 Nor is the samphire-gatherer's
perilous trade unknown to them. In addition, they export
great quantities of kelp, to be used in the manufacture of
iodine.
We landed on Inishmore, at the little village of Kilronan,
about thirty miles distant from Galway, and, after some rest,
set out towards the south-west coast to visit the wonderful fort of
Engus. Having gained the low hill that commands the village,
we halted to contemplate the weird and dun landscape that
surrounded us. It was a landscape peculiar to Aran. The
island falls from the south-west, facing east and north ; and
from the vantage ground on which we stood, the eye traversed
fields upon fields of bare, dark-grey rocks, which now rose into
hills, now sank into valleys, according to the action of the force
that had originally upheaved the island itself.
1 O'Flaherty's Ltr Connaught, page 69.
A Visit to the Aran-More of St. Enda. 23
But here, above, around, below,
On mountain or in glen,
No tree, nor shrub, nor plant, nor flower,
Nor aught of vegetative power,
The weary eye may ken ;
For all is rocks at random thrown,
Bleak waves, bare crags, and banks of stone.
The ground was covered with rocks, not scattered and
disjointed as they occur elsewhere, but spreading into im-
mense sheets and tables of stone, sometimes sixty feet broad,
as smooth as polished marble, and giving out beneath the
tread a sonorous metallic ring. In some places these slabs
rise tier upon tier, stone overlapping stone with a precise
regularity of mass and form, which reminded you of masonry
cunningly piled by giant hands. Winding in and out, in a
thousand mazes, a thread of fresh green herbage could, on
closer inspection, be traced along the hill side, up-springing
where the natural cleavage of the rocks had left deep fissures,
now and then widening into a patch of verdure, in which
wild flowers of every hue bloomed in luxuriance against the
grey crag. Frequent enclosures of loose stones crossed each
other in and out in almost countless ridges, until it seemed
as if both rocks and verdure were covered with an iron network
of most irregular pattern.
The fertile portion of the island lies in the valley to the
left of the road leading from Kilronan, and in it the principal
religious establishments were erected. We passed a group of
Araners engaged in gathering the harvest, by the simple pro-
cess of tearing up the corn by the root. On either side of the
road we remarked, at irregular intervals, monuments raised
to the memory of the dead. They stood sometimes singly,
sometimes in groups, almost in each case surmounted by the
cross, and consisting of a square pile of masonry, about seven
feet in height. A rude cornice, about half way from the top,
divided them into two portions, the upper of which bore a
tablet, having inscribed upon it a prayer for the soul of the
departed one, to whose memory the pile had been raised. How
touching is the solicitude thus displayed by those good Catho-
lics to procure prayers for the souls of their beloved dead !
The bodies of the deceased were interred in the far-off ceme-
teries, where the saints repose — ad sanctos — as the sepulchral
slabs in the Roman catacombs express it ; but as these out-
lying places were remote from the centres of the'population
and seldom visited by men, the loving Catholic instincts of the
people suggested the erection of these monuments of prayer
24 A Visit to the Ar an- More of St. Enda.
by the wayside, that all who passed by might bestow on the
faithful departed the suffrages of their charity.
Leaving the road at a point where a sudden fault in the
dark rocks allows the waves to wash a narrow strip of beach
covered with sand of pearly whiteness, we crossed the fields
towards the hill upon which Dun Engus stands. On reaching
the south-west coast, we descended through an opening in the
tall cliffs, down to the water-line, where the Atlantic was surg-
ging heavily against the solid rock. What a scene lay before
us ! On the one hand the cliffs rose sheer from the water
with surfaces seamed, and scarred, and torn by the tremendous
violence of the billows driven in upon them, by centuries
of winter tempests. At our feet the waves were breaking
on the lowest shelf of rock, leaving uncovered (it was low
tide), a hard ledge honey-combed by the water into countless
cavities, some deep, where lived the richly-coloured sea-ane-
mones and other wonders of the shore, others shallow, from
which we gathered handfuls of salt, extracted from the brine
by the fierce heat of the sun. On the right, a sudden turn
brought us to where the rocks rose into a noble arch (which
recalled forcibly to our mind one of the arches in the Temple
of Peace in the Roman Forum), spanning a polished pave-
ment, in the middle of which a pool of water azure blue,
carried from the sea through subterranean conduits, rose
and fell within a basin, hewn, as if by hands, in the living
rock. On climbing the almost vertical escarpment at the
opening of this grotto, we found a second ledge of rock
some thirty feet in breadth, over which, at high water, the
waves rush to dash themselves against a still higher range of
precipitous cliffs. On the summit of this range the soft grass
grows to the very brink. This height commands a sea pros-
pect which is said to be one of the noblest in the world. The
vast Atlantic stretching inimitably towards the south and
west, the extensive coasts of Kerry and Clare, with head-
lands and lofty mountains, and islands far off in sight, must
be seen in the calm bright sunshine as we saw them, in order
to form any idea of the sublimity and beauty of the view.
Crowning the cliff, where it rises precipitously from the sea
some three hundred and two feet, stands the fort of Dun
Engus, the finest specimen of a barbaric fortress now existing
in Europe, or perhaps in the world. We approached it, not
from the land side, but by a route skirting the edge of the
cliff, and we shall endeavour to describe each portion of it in
the order in which it actually fell under our notice. First, we
came upon a dry stone wall, an irregular ellipse in form, which,
in its entire circuit from cliff to cliff, encloses a spaqe of about
A Visit to t/te At an- More of St. Enda. 25
eleven acres. This wall is very much injured, and is the
outermost of the three walls which protected the fort. It was
built in two divisions, after a fashion which we shall describe
in treating of the two inner walls. At a considerable dis-
tance from this outermost wall, we came upon an army of
white sharp-pointed stones, set slopewise in the earth, reaching
all round breast high, save where a narrow avenue was left.
This belt runs all round the second wall from cliff to cliff, and
is in some places thirty feet broad. It fully answers the pur-
pose of an abbatis or the chcvanx de frise of modern fortifica-
tions, and must have proved a most formidable defence. No
assailing party could possibly approach the second rampart,
except through the avenue, without having its ranks broken
and disordered by its thick and intricate piles of rock. Be-
tween the chevanx de frise and the second rampart there is a
fragment of another wall, about seven feet in height, and
covering only about one-tenth part of the second interior line
of defence. This second interior defence consists of a cyclo-
pean wall surrounding the fort itself at irregular distances,
being about thirty-two feet distant from it at the western side,
near the cliff, and about forty-two on the north-western side.
It is about six feet thick and twelve high, and like the outer-
most wall is built in two concentric divisions. Within this
second rampart the space to the central fortification is clear.
The central fortification consists of an immense oval wall,
composed of three distinct walls built up against each other,
like the several coats of an onion, which arrangement occurs
also in the two outermost enclosures, and in the other for-
tresses of the same kind in Aran and elsewhere. At first it
is difficult to understand why the walls were constructed
thus in layers and not in solid masses. But this peculiarity
is explained by the principle on which these fortresses are
constructed, which is thus described by Mr. Ferguson, as ex-
emplified in the Staigue fort in Kerry : — " Within the (enclo-
sure), at about six feet from the surface, the thickness of the
wall is diminished by one-third, so as to leave a circular ledge,
or tcrrc-plcine, of five or six feet in width, projecting all round.
This ledge is reached by flights of stairs on the inner face of
the wall. At a height of five or six feet higher another con-
traction of the thickness of the rampart takes place, leaving a
like ridge, or shelf of masonry, approached in like manner
by steps from the former, and serving as a kind of banquette*
to the parapet formed by the remaining height of the parapet.
1 Banquettf, in modern fortification, is a little rai ed way or footbank, running
along the inside of a parapet, on which the musketeers stand to fire upon the
, in the moat or covered v>ay.—Encyc.
26 A Visit to the Aran-More of St. Etida.
An arrangement in the building, exhibiting a good deal of
military contrivance, is made subservient to the formation of
these internal stages. Instead of building the rampart in bulk,
and starting with a fresh face of masonry above each ledge,
the Fir-Volg builders have, in every case, built their rampart
from the foundation in as many concentric independent walls
as they designed to have banquettes; so that if an enemy
should succeed in breaching the external envelope, he would
find immediately behind it a new face of masonry, instead of
the easily-disturbed loose interior of a dry stone wall."1
The greatest height of this triple wall at present is about
eighteen feet ; the inner division of the wall is about three
feet thick ; the second or central, about five ; and the external
about four ; giving in all a total thickness of about twelve
feet. The height of the inner division at present is not more
than seven feet. The entire central fort from the north side
of the ring to the cliff, measures one hundred and fifty feet,
and along the cliff, from wall to wall, west to east, one hun-
dred and forty feet. On the north-west side of the ring,
there is a passage leading from the inside into the thickness
of the wall, about five feet in width, and four feet high from
the bottom to the roof, where it is covered by large stones,
placed horizontally. This was probably an apartment for the
use of some of the garrison. A sloping roof, round the inner
wall, would easily supply shelter for a large number of men.
The door to the keep is in the north-eastern side, and is
nearly perfect, resembling in its form that of the earlier
churches. It is so much blocked up by the loose stones which
have fallen from the walls, that we were compelled to enter
on our hands and knees. The traces of stairs are still to
be distinguished amid the ruin that has been wrought upon
the walls by the winter blasts, and by the hand of man. The
course of the banquette, especially along a portion of the
eastern side, may be quite plainly discerned.
The stones of which the walls are built are large and small,
the large being employed in the outside, the small within.
In no instance did we observe huge blocks like those employed
in the so-called Cyclopean walls throughout Italy, such as
we have admired in the walls of the ancient Tusculum. In-
deed, in some of the Christian temples on the island, we
found blocks much larger than any we could perceive in the
ramparts of the Pagan Dun.
Standing on the square blocks of stone which occupy
portion of the area of the central fort, we looked in vain for
some proof that the fort had originally been a complete oval.
1 " Dublin University Magazine," January, 1853, pp. 92,^3.
A Visit to t/u' A ran- More of St. Enda. 27
Nor have we been convinced by any reasoning that has
since come in our way that it ever was oval. It is true that the
Aran islands and other places in Ireland exhibit frequent
instances of round or oval fortresses of the class to which
Dun Engus belongs, a near example being that of Dun Connor,
on the middle island,which measures from north to south no less
than two hundred and twenty seven feet. But it was difficult for
one standing on the brow of the cliff, and scanning the small
extent of the change made on the coast line abound him
within the historical period, to believe that some hundred
and fifty feet of the living solid rock had been eaten away by
the action of the waves. Nor do we attach much weight to
the argument that unless we admit the fortress to have been
oval, it would have been left defenceless for a space of above
a hundred feet. Surely, a sheer cliff rising from the sea to
the height of three hundred and two feet, was a defence
enough against any force that could be brought up against it
in those days. Ledwich, who in his Antiquities describes Dun
Engus as a monkish mandra, furnishes a print in which not
only is the oval completed, but the modern houses of the
monks are seen rising over the rampart, which in turn is
shaded by tall and leafy trees, while in the foreground a
group of religious are walking down a rocky pathway, orna-
mented with large wooden crosses ! These wonders are, we
need hardly say, entirely the product of his imagination.
Wooden houses in Aran are as rare as leafy trees among its
barren rocks ; and how rare these are there is little need to
tell. And yet, for years Ledwich has thus impudently im-
posed upon the credulity of his readers by a mendacious
print, which he absolutely invented to sustain a foolish story
advanced by him concerning St. Enda. It is consoling how-
ever to reflect that the ancient glories of our Catholic island
no longer form the exclusive domain of writers like this
charlatan, whose ignorance was equalled only by his insolent
attacks upon all that is dear to the heart of a Christian Irish-
man.
And now quitting these proud fortresses, where the pagan
monarch paraded his fierce strength, let us visit the
lowly places wherein Christian humility taught St. Enda,
himself a king's son, to lead a life hidden with Christ in God.
St. Enda, whose name is written in Irish, Einne and Ende,
and in Latin, Endeus and Enna, was born in Louth about the
middle of the fifth century, and was the only son of Conall,
King of Oriel, whose territories included the modern counties
of Louth, Monaghan, Armagh, and Fermanagh. Three of
his sisters, Fanchea, Lochinia, and Carccha, were nuns, and
28 A Visit to the Aran-More of St. Enda.
Darenia, the fourth sister, was wife of Engus, King of Cashel,
whose death is placed by the Four Masters in the year 489.
On the death of his father, the youthful Enda was chosen
to succeed him as head of the men of Oriel. The warlike
spirit of the times took strong hold of the young prince's
heart, and we find him at an early period of his life capti-
vated by the love of glory, and eager to show by his military
prowess that he was worthy of the royal race from which he
had sprung, and of the throne which he filled. His holy
sister Fanchea, was incessant in her exertions to win for
God her brother's heart, which, with all its defects, she knew
to be chivalrous and pure. For a time her words of warning
and entreaty remained without result ; but the season of
grace came soon. Enda had asked from his sister in mar-
riage one of the royal maidens who were receiving their
education in the convent which she ruled. Fanchea commu-
nicated his request to the maiden : " Make thou thy choice,
whether wilt thou love Him whom I love, or this earthly
bridegroom ?" " Whom thou Icvest," was the girl's sweet reply,
" Him also will I love." She died soon after, and gave her
soul to God, the spouse whom she had chosen.
" The holy virgin," says the ancient life, " covered the face
of the dead girl with a veil, and going again to Enda said to
him : " Young man, come and see the maiden whom thou
lovest." Then Enda with the virgin entered the chamber where
was the dead girl, and the holy virgin uncovering the face
of the lifeless maiden, said to him : " Now look upon the face
of her whom thou didst love." And Enda cried out : " Alas !
she is fair no longer, but ghastly white." " So also shalt
thy face be," replied the holy virgin. And then St. Fanchea
discoursed to him of the pains of hell and of the joys of
heaven, until the young man's tears began to flow. O ! the
wondrous mercy of God in the conversion of this man to the
true faith ! for even as He changed the haughty Saul into the
humble Paul, so out of this worldly prince did he make a
spiritualand a holy teacher and pastor of His people. For having
heard the words of the holy virgin, despising the vanities of
the world, he took the monk's habit and tonsure, and what
the tonsure signified, he fulfilled by his actions."1
After having founded a monastery in his native place, St\
Enda is said to have proceeded to Rosnat or Abba, in Britain,
where he remained for some time under the spiritual direc-
tion of St. Mansenus or Manchan. Thence, according to
the above-mentioned life, he went to Rome, where " attentively
studying the examples of the saints, and preparing himself
'(VitaS. Endroi, auctore Augustino Magradin, apud Colgan, Acta€S., p. 7°5-)
A Visit to the Aran-More of St. Enda. 29
in everything for the order of priesthood, having at length
been ordained priest, he was pleasing to the most high God."
He built a monastery called Lactinutn, or t/te Place of Joy ;
and rightly so called, adds the life, "because therein the com-
mand of loving God and our neighbour was most faithfully
carried out."
Returning to Ireland, he landed at Drogheda, and built
several churches on either side of the river Boyne. lie
then proceeded southwards to visit his brother-in-law, Engus,
King of Munstcr, from whom he asked the island of Aran,
that he might dwell thereon. The King was first unwilling
to comply with his request : not because he was ungenerous,
but because he had learned from St, Patrick " not to offer
to the Lord his God, any lands save such as were good
and fertile, and easy of access."1 But St. Enda declared
that Aran was to the place of his resurrection ; and at length
the King made an offering of the island "to God and to
St. Enda," asking in return the blessing of the Saint.
Having thus obtained possession of what he rightly deemed
a place of singular retirement, and well suited for the rigours
of a penitential life, St. Enda returned to his brethren and
conducted them in safety to the island, which was then in-
habited by Pagans from the adjacent coast of Clare. He
divided the island into ten parts, and built thereon ten
monasteries, each under the rule of its proper superior. He
chose a place for his own residence on the eastern coast,
and there erected a monastery, the same and site of which
is preserved to this day in the little village of Kil-eany
(Kill-Enda), about a mile from Kilronan. One half of the
island was assigned to this monastery.
Then began the blessed days, when the sweet odour of
penance ascended to heaven from the angelic band of monks,
who, under the severe rule of St. Enda, made Aran a burning
light of sanctity for centuries in western Europe. " The vir-
ginal Saint from Aran Island," as Marianus O'Gorman
styles St. Enda, was to them a model of all the virtues of
the religious life, but above all he excelled in the exercise of
penitential mortifications. St. Cuimin of Connor tells us that —
Enda loved glorious mortification
In Aran — triumphant virtue !
A narrow dungeon of flinty stone,
To bring the people to heaven.
" Aran," says Froude,2 is no better than a wild rock. It
1 Acta SS. , loco. cit. » Short Studies, vol. 2, page 216.
3O A Visit to the Ar an- More of St. Enda.
is strewed over with the ruins which may still be seen of
the old hermitages ; and at their best they could have been
but such places as sheep would huddle under in a storm,
and shiver in the cold and wet which would pierce through
the chinks of the walls. . . . Yes ; there on that wet
soil, with that dripping roof above them, was the chosen
home of these poor men. Through winter frost, through
rain and storm, through summer sunshine, generation after
generation of them, there they lived and prayed, and at last
lay down and died."
These miracles of penance were the first and immediate
results of St. Enda's work in Aran.
It was in his life that these holy men had daily before them,
the personal realization of all they were striving after : he
taught them to cherish the flinty dungeon and the drip-
ping cave for love of the hard manger, and the harder cross ;
he bade them dwell amid the discomforts and dreariness of
their island home, because in the tabernacles of sinners the
blessed majesty of God was daily outraged by the crimes
of men. Through him they came to know the gift of God,
and who He was who spoke with them in their solitude;
Whose converse made eloquent for them the silence of
the night, and Whose angels peopled their lonely island
with visions of heavenly beauty. "Trust to one who has
had experience," his life said to them, as St. Bernard
said to the monks of Citeaux, "you will find something
far greater in the woods than you will find in books. Stones
and trees will teach you that which you will never learn
from masters. Think you not you can suck honey from the
rock, and oil from the flinty rock ? Do not the mountains
drop sweetness ? the hills run with milk and honey, and the
valleys stand thick with corn ?"' We cannot indeed, de-
scribe the details of his daily life, for they have been hidden
from human view, as it is becoming that such secrets of the
Heavenly King should be hidden. But there yet survives
the voice of one of those who lived with him in Aran, and in
the ideal of an abbot which St. Carthage sets before us, we
undoubtedly find re-produced the traits which distinguished
the abbot of Aranmore, from whom St. Carthage first learned
to serve God in the religious life. St. Enda was his first
model of the " patience, humility, prayer, fast and cheerful
abstinence ; of the steadiness, modesty, calmness that are due
from a leader of religious men, whose office it is to teach in
all truth, unity, forgiveness, purity, rectitude in all that is
moral ; whose chief works are the constant preaching of the
i St. Bernard, Ep. 106.
Irish Historical Stitdies in tJte Seventeenth Century. 3 1
gospel for the instruction of all persons, and the sacrifice of the
y of the great Lord upon the holy altar."1 It was on
Aranmore, and in St. Enda, that he first beheld at the altar
of God that pattern priest after whose example he thus warns
all priests : —
" When you come into the Mass —
It is a noble office —
Let there be penitence of heart, shedding of tears,
And throwing up of hands.
There shall be no permanent love in thy heart,
But the love of God alone.
For pure is the body thou receivest
Purely must thou go to receive it."2
This angelical life did St Enda live upon Aran in the midst
of his children until he reached a venerable old age. We
reserve for our next paper, a further account of his work, and
of the traces of it yet remaining on the island.
IRISH HISTORICAL STUDIES IN THE SEVEN-
TEENTH CENTURY.
I. — THE FRANCISCAN COLLEGE OF ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA,
LOUVAIN.
Introduction. Foundation of tJie Franciscan College of St.
Anthony's, in Louvain, in 1606 : — Mainly due to Dr. Florence
Conry, O. S. F. Sketch of his life:—F. Donagh Mooncy, O. S.F.,
first guardian of St. A nthonys. His labours and writings: —
F. Bonav. Hussey, O.S.F.: — The Irish printing-press at St.
Anthonf s: — Later history of St. Ant/iony's.
1 RELAND owes no small debt of gratitude to those self-
sacrificing men, who, during the first half of the seventeenth
century, devoted their lives to illustrate her annals, and
gather together the scattered fragments of her early history.
Throughout Elizabeth's reign, ruin and desolation had fallen
upon this kingdom ; its monasteries were destroyed, its
schools proscribed, its clergy persecuted, its most fertile dis-
tricts reduced to a desert waste, and nothing was left undone
1 " Rule of St. Carthage," Irish Ecclesiastical Record, vol. i., p. 117.
2 Loc. cit.,p. 118.
32 Irish Historical Studies
to seize upon or destroy every monument of its ancient glory.
Some of the agents of this reckless vandalism were impelled
by irreligious fury, for thus they imagined they might turn
away our devoted people from the long-cherished faith of
their fathers ; others were led on by the delusive hope that
the national spirit of Ireland would cease to exist when
the monuments of her early fame were obliterated and for-
gotten. "It seemed to you" (thus writes Michael O'Clery,
the chief of the Four Masters, when dedicating his work to
the O'Gara, of Coolavin, in 1636) — " It seemed to you a
cause of pity and regret, grief and sorrow for the glory of
God and the honor of Ireland, how much the race of Gaedhal
have gone under a cloud and darkness, without a knowledge
of the death of saint or virgin, archbishop, bishop, abbot, or
other noble dignitary of the Church ; of king or prince, lord
or chieftain, and of the synchronism or connection of the one
with the other. I explained to you that I thought I could
get the assistance of the chroniclers for whom I had most
esteem, for writing a Book of Annals, in which the aforesaid
matters might be put on record ; and that, should the writing
of them be neglected at present, they would not again be
found to be put on record or commemorated to the end and
termination of the world."1 Dr. Petrie, the great restorer of
Celtic archaeological studies in our own time, having cited
these words in an address before the Royal Irish Academy,
adds : — " How prophetic were the just apprehensions of that
chief compiler, that if the work were then neglected or con-
signed to a future time, a risk might be run that the materials
for it should never again be brought together. Such, indeed,
would have been the sad result In that unhappy
period, nearly all the original materials of this compilation
probably perished, for one or two of them only have survived
to our times Had this compilation been neglected,
or had it, as was supposed, shared the fate of its predecessors,
what a large portion of our history would have been lost to
the world for ever."
There was also another reason why it was particularly im-
portant in the beginning of the seventeenth century to guard
the few surviving monuments of our country. The traditions
of the past were then rapidly fading away from the memory
of our people. The nc\vly-imported settlers from England
and Scotland had no interest in cherishing such traditions.
Novel names of districts and towns were everywhere springing
up and gradually supplanting the old Irish designations ; the
system of clans and tribes, each with its respective chronicler
1 " Annals of the Four Masters," translated by O'Donovan, vol. j.t p. 56. (
/;/ the Seventeenth Century. 33
or bard, handing down from father to son the knowledge of
the early dialects, was also broken up for ever, and thus there
imminent peril lest even the few monuments that had
survived the storm of past vandalism might be unintelligible
records, and a sealed book for posterity. Hence, I hesitate
not to say, that were it not for the Irish Franciscans in the
beginning of the seventeenth century, and for others, who,
both at home and abroad, emulated their devotedness, and
rivalled them in zeal for preserving the literature of our
country, the history of Ireland at the present day would be
little more than a mere blank. The name of Island of Saints
indeed might not be forgotten, but visionaries and aliens to
our country might, without fear of rebuke, usurp its glory,
or set forth, as based on reality, the most foolish dreams of
their imagination, and pervert alike the truths of our his-
tory and the tenets of our faith. Thanks, however, to those
devoted sons of Ireland in the seventeenth century, many
precious monuments of our early Church and history have
been preserved to us, sheltered by the mantle of St. Francis,
in the recesses of our island, or in the monasteries on the
Continent ; the traditions of our people were duly chronicled,
the records of the past were illustrated, the knowldege of the
ancient Celtic language was preserved, and those materials
were handed down which have enabled the writers of our
own day to place beyond cavil the just claims of our island
to a glorious and hallowed page in the history of the
Christian world.
In the ranks of those devoted men, the Irish Franciscans
of the Convent of St. Anthony in Louvain, merit the place
of honor — not indeed that they were the first to enter this
field of labour — but because they were foremost in reducing
to system the study of our antiquities, and more than any
others laboured untiringly and perseveringly to preserve and
illustrate the records of our history.
This Conventof St. Anthony of Padua, at Louvain, dates from
the year 1606. " The Rev. Father Florent Conrie, an Irishman
born, a Fransciscan Friar, and then Provincial of the Order
in Ireland (it is thus an official account of the foundation
of the College runs) petitioned King Philip the Third, in
1606, 'That his Catholick Majestic would be pleased to
grant the Irish Franciscans a place for a College and means
whereby to live in the towne and universitie of Loven, and
diocese of Mechlin, to the service and glorie of God, to the
preservation of the Catholick religion, and their holy Order
in the kingdomeof Ireland."1
1 Archiv. S. Isid. Rome. — There has been much controversy about the date of
vrr. 7
34 Irish Historical Studies
On the 6th of January, 1602, three days after the fatal
battle of Kinsale, which sealed the fate of Ireland as an in-
dependent nation, Father Florence Conry set sail with the heroic
O'Donnell, to solicit aid from the Spanish Monarch. Eight
months later he watched by the death-bed of that brave
chieftain at Simancas, and accompanied his remains to their
regal tomb in the cathedral of Valladolid.1 Father Conry knew
too well the fate that awaited him if he set his foot again on
the Irish shore. He remained at one of the Fransciscan
convents of Spain, but still continued to devote all his
energies to promote the welfare of religion in his suffering
country. At the General Chapter of the Order, held at
Toledo, in 1606, he was appointed Provincial for Ireland ;
for so bitter was the persecution (ob saevitiam persecutionis)?
that then raged throughout the kingdom, that the Pro-
vincial Chapter could nowhere be held in Ireland.3 His
first care was to petition the Spanish Monarch, for the
erection and endowment of/a Convent of the Order in the
city and university of Louvain. This request was readily
granted, and Philip the Third, by letters dated the 2ist of
September, 1606, signified his pleasure to the Arch-Duke,
Albert, Governor of the Low Countries, as also to the Mar-
quis Spinola, Commander of the forces there, that the petition
of Father Conry should be granted without delay ; and that
1000 Spanish Ducats per annum, should be allotted for the
support of the New College. Some difficulties however arose
in Louvain about the erection of this national Fransciscan
Convent, and early in the following year, we find FatherConry
addressing a petition to the reigning Pontiff, Paul V., soliciting
" Apostolicke authoritie for building the intended Colledge,"
and asking at the same time a confirmation of the Royal pen-
the foundation of the Convent of St. Anthony : some placing it in the year 1 606
others in 1609, others at a later period. See Renehan, "Collections on Irish
Church History," page 190. The dates in our text are taken from the official
document above referred to, and from copies of the original letters of Philip the
Third and the Archbishop of Mechlin, preserved in the archives of St. Isidore's
in Rome.
1 See " History of Ireland," by T. Darcy M'Gee. Vol. 2., page 63.
'The above particulars are taken from a MS., entitled " Brevis Synopsis Pro~
vinciae Hiberniae fratrum Minorum" written between the years 1630 and 1633,
preserved in the archives of St. Isidore's. A History of the various Franciscan
Convents in Ireland was published from this MS. in the Catholic Magazine (Dublin,
February, 1847). A little later we will have occasion to make some remarks as
to the compiler of this MS.
1 Loc. cit. ad. an. 1606.— The MS. adds that he governed the Irish Province
during his three years of office per substitutum vicarium. The next Chapter iu 1 609.
owing to the severity of the persecution, was held in a wood, near the Convent of
Roscrea, in sylva prope eoimcntum Roscreensem, when Father Maurice Ultan was
chosen Provincial. In 1612 the Provincial Chapter was again held in a wood
near the Convent of Kilmaleighin in sylva prope tonvtntum de KUmaltighin^ and
Father Francis O'Melaghlain was elected Provincial.
In the Seventeenth Century. 35
sion accorded by Philip the Third. A Brief of His Holiness,
granting all the requests of the Fransciscan Provincial was
published on the 3rd of April, 1607 ; and the letters of the
Archduke, Albert, and Isabella, commanding that this Brief
should be put into immediate execution, are dated the I7th
of August, 1607. The erection of the building was at once
proceeded with, and precisely two years from the date of the
Papal Brief (*>., the 3rd of April, 1609), an official, deputed
by the Archbishop of Mechlin, visited the new College, and in
canonical form, declared it duly '* erected and instituted for
the Fransciscans of the Irish nation."
To the influence of Dr. Florence Conry at the Spanish Court,
and to the favour of the Holy See, Ireland was mainly indebted
for the tranquil retreat thus secured for the zealous children
of St Francis. The fruits which the College soon produced
proved how just were the expectations which had been formed
by its patrons. Its chronicler assures us that from the time
of its foundation to the year 1630, there were chosen from its
inmates no fewer than three archbishops and two bishops for
Irish sees,1 besides eighteen professors of theology, twenty-
five professors of philosophy, and sixty-three missionaries for
labouring in the vineyard of the Irish Church, " some of whom
laid down their lives, and others suffered imprisonment or
exile for the faith of Christ."2
Although Dr. Conry receives no place among the writers on
Irish history and antiquities in the seventeenth century, there
can be but little doubt that he exercised considerable influence
in forming that great historical school, which, in after time,
shed such lustre on St. Anthony's of Louvain. He was the son
of Fithil O'Moelchonry, of Cluantuibh, in Connaught, who
was an antiquary by profession, and whose family had been
for centuries the depositaries of the traditions and glories of
the Western districts of our island. In baptism he received
the name of Flathri, though in after years he was better known
by the Latin name, Florentius. When rather advanced in age
he embraced the religious life of the Franciscans of strict
observance, and, as Lynch informs us, discharged the duties
of Provincial of his Order in Ireland even before the close of the
sixteenth century. In the month of May, 1609, he was pro-
moted to the See of Tuam, and though he was unable to con-
1 These were Hugh MacCaghwell. appointed Archbishop of Armagh on 2nd
April, 1 626 ; Thomas Fleming, appointed Archbishop of Dublin, 23rd October,
1623 ; Florence Conry, appointed Archbishop of Tuam in 1609; Boctius MacEgan,
appointed Bishop of Elphin in 1625 ; and Hugh (Bonaventure) Magennis, ap-
pointed Bishop of Down and Connor on 9th April, 1630. The last named Pre-
late entered the Convent of St. Anthony's, Louvain, on 2nd June, 1614.
' Quorum aliqui morte, alii captivitate et carcere pro fide affecti." MS. Brevis
Synoft. &c., p. 60.
36 Irish Historical Studies
sole his flock in person, he never ceased, by the appointment
of zealous vicars and by frequent pastoral letters, to watch over
their interests and provide for their spiritual wants. During
his leisure hours he devoted himself with special ardour to the
study of the writings of St. Augustine ; and it is recorded that
he read each of that great Father's works seven times. Wad-
ding, in his History of the writers of the Franciscan Order,
gives a list of the Theological writings of Dr. Conry, some of
which were not published till after the death of this prelate.
They were held in great esteem by some of his cotempo-
raries, and were frequently appealed to in the angry contro-
versies on the subject of divine grace, which agitated the
schools at this period. An important public letter of Dr.
Conry, dated at Valladolid, the 1st of March, 1615, on the
conduct of the Catholic members of the Irish Parliament in
permitting the confiscation of the estates of the Ulster chief-
tains, O'Neil and O'Donnel, is preserved to us in the " Historia
Catholica" of O'Sullivan Beare.1 In it he passes a high eulogy
on the individual character of those members, most of whom
were of English descent, but he censures their parliamentary
conduct in sacrificing the interests of their Irish brethren, and
thus effecting the ruin of religion in Ulster. " They showed
but little constancy," he says, " in admitting Sir John Davis
as Speaker of the House, and in allowing the unconstitution-
ally elected members to sit with them in Parliament :" " my
fears," he adds, " were increased by what you told me of the
confiscation, and you appear yourself as if undecided about its
illegality when you say that otherwise the king and his party
would be offended. What ! Will they not be offended if you
refuse the oath of supremacy, or if you oppose the confiscation
of your own property to-morrow or next day ? . . . Do
you doubt that it is sinful to rob men, not convicted of any
crime, of their property ? Were not these noblemen pardoned
by the king, and if they, either to avoid calumnious suspicion,
or to practise their religion more freely, retired from the
country, is that a crime either proved or notorious ? Moreover,
most of the Catholics on all that territory must soon, at least in
few generations, be perverted to error, and their example and
numbers will spread heresy through the other provinces. And
are these souls to be sacrificed to etiquette, or to the labour
and pain of a three days' struggle and opposition ? What !
do you not daily give up your properties ; do you not sacrifice
the fines and penalties of not attending the Anglican worship,
rather than violate a law of the Church ? And yet here is a
matter prohibited, not by a law of the Church, but by the law
1 Hist. Catholica. edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, page 255.
/// tlie Sfi'futfinth Century. 37
of nature and of God. God, in his mercy grant that you com-
mit not such a crime, nor tarnish your former glory, nor pro-
voke the wrath of the Almighty."
One of the most valuable of Dr. Conry's works was a small
Catechism which was printed in Irish at Louvain, in 1626,
with the title, " The Mirror of a Christian Life."
After many years of painful exile, this illustrious founder of
St. Anthony's died in a convent of his Order at Madrid, on
the i8th November, 1629, in the 69th year of his age, and the
2 1st of his episcopacy. His remains were translated to Lou-
vain in 1654, and a becoming monument was erected at the
right of the high altar in the Church of the Irish Franciscans,
with the following sweet lines dictated by Nicholas Aylmer,
the Rector of the Pastoral College in Louvain : —
"Hie jacet et floret Praesul Florentius aevis,
Dum pietas, virtus, docta Minerva viget.
Ordinis altus honor, fidei patriaeque patronus,
Pontificum, merito, laude, perenne jubar.
Funde preces animae, lector, pia vota merenti,
Gratia nam Magnis debita magna viris.
Vivus, opus fabricae fratres devinxit amore,
Pignus amicitiae, mortuus ossa dedit."
Another inscription was added, as follows : —
" Illmus et Revmus Florentius Conrius
Ord. Min. Regularis Observantiae
Archiepus Tuamensis
Provinciae Hiberniae Quondam Minister
Pietate, Prudentia, Doctrina
Maximus
vEternae Memoriae
Dignissimus
Quo Sollicitante
Pro restauranda in Hibernia fide*orthodoxa
Hoc S. Antonii a Padua Collegium
Munificentia Philippi III. Hispaniarum Regis
Fundatum est
Anno Christi 1606.
Laboribus variis Fidei et Patriae ergo
Fractus
Pie obiit in Conventu S. Francfsci Matriti
1629
XIV. Kal. Decembris. • ^ttatis 69. Archiep. 21.
Hujus Collegii PP. Anno 1654
Quo ejus ossa ex Hispania translata
Et hie immortalitatis praemium exspectant
Grati Posuere.
38 Irish Historical Studits
If the new Irish foundation at Louvain was fortunate in having
such a founder, it was perhaps still more fortunate in having
Father Donatus Mooney for its first guardian. He was a man
earnestly devoted to the study of the antiquities of Ireland,
and to him we are specially indebted for that Irish historical
school which soon became characteristic of St. Anthony's, and
enabled it in after times to render such services, and shed such
light on the early monuments of our history.
Whilst as yet a Fransciscan novice, Father Mooney
suffered imprisonment for the Faith. He was living with the
Provincial of the Order, Father John Gray, in the Monastery
of Multifernan, and the aged Bishop of Kilmore, Dr. Richard
Brady,1 had chosen the same sanctuary as a safe retreat.
They were, however, all seized in 1601, and dragged to prison,
where our young novice lingered for some months. Whilst
as yet in prison, he completed his noviciate and was admitted
to the holy vows of his Order by his fellow-captive, the
Father Provincial.
Soon after, he was liberated, but on the condition that he
should seek a home in exile on the Continent8
The chronicler of the Order adds, that he was " a man of
great ability and learning. After teaching philosophy and
theology in France, he was appointed the first guardian of the
convent of St. Anthony, in Louvain, and subsequently he held
a similar office in Drogheda. He was a distinguished preacher,
and strenuously laboured for the conversion of the heretics,
and the salvation of the faithful. Being elected Provincial
of the Order, in the Chapter held in Waterford in 1615, he
for three years faithfully discharged the duties of that ar-
duous post."
Father Mooney seems to have had a special talent for the
reconstruction of the walls of the sanctuary in Ireland. In
1610 he was sent as superior to Drogheda, to restore the
house of the Order, which, from the middle of the thirteenth
century, had flourished till the year 1546, when it was reduced
to ruin by Moses Hill, one of the unprincipled agents of the
lawless monarch, Henry VIII. From an account of this
Franciscan mission in Drogheda, which was forwarded to Rome
in 1623, we learn some interesting details regarding our
Church at that period of its desolation. Father Balthasar de
1 Dr. Richard Brady was a religious of the Order of St. Francis, and had been
Provincial from 1570 to 1573. He was appointed Bishop of Ardagh on 27th
January, 1576, and was subsequently translated to Kilmore on 9th of March, 1580.
He lived to an advanced age and died from the hardships of his imprisonment in
1607. Ward, in his narrative, merely states that " aliquoties ab haereticis captus
et incarceratus est." Many details regarding this Bishop may b« seen in " History
of the Franciscan Monasteries," p. 49.
*Brev. Syn., loc. cit.
In the Seventeenth Century, 39
la Hoyd, a native of the diocese,1 was at this time Vicar-
General of the absent Primate, Peter Lombard,2 and resided in
Drogheda. In 1623 his health was seriously impaired by illness,
and his nephew, Christopher de la Hoyd, was his appointed
delegate, with the same powers of Vicar-General, and at the
same time received the charge of the parishes of St. Peter's
and St. Mary's in that town. At this time there was only
one public oratory in the town ; in it the Vicar-General per-
formed the ceremonies of the Church with as much pomp
as the circumstances of the times would allow, and he was
assisted by two Jesuits, Fathers Robert Bath and James
Everard, who established there the Confraternity of the
Blessed Virgin, and laboured with zeal in administering the
Bread of Life to the faithful.
Some ruins of the old Franciscan convent still remained,8
and as close to them as his safety would permit, the new
Superior rented a private house where a small oratory was
erected, and the faithful very soon flocked in crowds, to
approach the Holy Sacraments. It happened that the
Protestant Primate, Christopher Hampton,4 had chosen
Drogheda for his residence, and was now busily engaged
building an episcopal palace for himself and his successors.6
The new impulse given to Catholic piety was little less than
treason in the eyes of the Protestant dignitary ; hence, he
more than once assailed the humble lodgings of the Fran-
ciscans, destroyed the altar and carried off the religious to
prison.6 They persevered, nevertheless, and the chronicler of
the Order, writing in 1630, was able to attest that, from
the re-establishment of the convent in 1610, "the friars never
ceased to labour for the salvation of the faithful and the
conversion of heretics, although they have been several times
persecuted, and some of them arrested and put in prison."7
It was also through the exertions of Father Mooney that
the Franciscan Order was re-established in Dublin in 1615.
Here, too, the ancient convent had been suppressed by order
of Henry VIII., and was sold for secular purposes in 1543.
In Cook-street, which was now chosen for their new and
1 He is styled in the MS. " Principalis substitutes quondam Vicarii Diocesani
et nunc in capite institutes Vicarius Generalis Diocesanus ab aliquot annis."
1 For many particulars connected with this illustrious Archbishop of Armagh,
see the Introduction to his work entitled " De Hibernia Insula Commentarius, in
the edition, Dublin, Duffy, 1868.
* " Etiamnum ruinae apparent." MS. Relatio.
4 Appointed in 1613, died in 1624. Harris's Ware, Bishops; p. 97.
6 Ibid.
9 " Licet variis object! periculis et pseudo-Primatis persecutionibus, qui captis ali-
quoties quibu^dam fratribus altare soepius destruxit in quo divina res fiebat. ' JUS
Kelat. ot 1623.
7 Brev. Synop. MS. in Archiv. S. Isid.
4O Irish Historical Studies
more humble abode, the religious set to work with true de-
votedness ; schools were opened especially for the instruction
of their own students in philosophy and theology, and the
chronicler adds that " the faith received extraordinary increase
in the city and neighbouring country by the preaching of
the friars."1 The persecuting spirit of the so-called Refor-
mation was soon, however, to blight all the fair promise of
this good work. The destruction of the Franciscan schools
and convent has been described by many anti-Catholic as
well as Catholic writers. It is unnecessary to repeat what
they have written, but I will add to their testimony the fol-
lowing unpublished narrative, written in 1633 : —
" Through the enmity of Satan, our schools and convents
were soon destroyed, when on the 26th of December, the
feast of St. Stephen, in the y£ar 1629, the heretical mayor
of the City of Dublin, named Christopher Foster, accom-
panied by the Protestant pseudo-bishop and a body of troops,
assailed the chapel of the Friars Minors of that city, over-
threw the images and altars, and carried off its other orna-
ments : but when leaving the place, the mayor, with his
followers, was assailed with sticks and stones by an excited
tumultuous crowd of women and boys, on account of which
offence, very many of the Catholics, men and women, boys
and girls, were arrested and thrown into prison ; some youths,
moreover, were punished with the lash ; and in the following
year, 1630, the 24th February, by a new edict of King
Charles of England, the aforesaid chapel and convent of
the Friars Minors in Dublin were sacked and levelled to the
ground."2
Father Mooney, as we have seen, was chosen Provincial
of the Order in Ireland in 1615. The following year he pro-
ceeded to St. Anthony's, in Louvain, to watch over the growth
of that institution, and during the leisure months that he
enjoyed there, composed "The History of his Order in Ire-
land," a work of vast research and full of invaluable details,
not only regarding the early foundations of the various Fran-
ciscan convents, but still more illustrative of the desolation
1 Brev. Synop. MS. in Archiv. S. Isid.
2 Ibid., page 45. " Per invidiam diaboli cito dissipata fuerunt cum anno Domini
1629, die 26 Decembris in festo S. Stephani hora 10 mattutina Christophorus
Foster Haereticus praetor civitatis Dublinen, comitatus pseudo Episcopo haeretico
et militum cohorte sacellum fratrum minorum ejusdem urbis ingressus fractis im-
aginibus et altaribus et sublatis aliis omamentis domum rediret, concitato mulierum
et puerorum clamore et tumultu, dictus praetor cum sequacibus exceptus fuit
lapidibus et fustibus propter quod plurimi ex Catholicis viri et matronae, pueri et
puellae capti et in vincula conjecti sunt, nonnulli adolescentes flagellis caesi,
annoque sequent! 1630, die 24, Feb. novo edicto Caroli Regis Angliae, praefatum
sacellum et clomus fratram memoratorum Dublini destructa fuit et sdlo aequata."
/// the Sei't'nlenntk Centuty. 41
and ruin that fell upon our Church during the sad era of the
Reformation, under Henry VIII., Elizabeth, and James I.1 It
has been embodied and popularized in the interesting*' History
of the Rise and Fall of the Irish Franciscan Monasteries," by
Rev. C. P. Meehan, a work full of interest to all students of
Irish literature.
There is another Franciscan Father who merits to be
mentioned among the first promoters of Celtic studies at St.
Anthony's. This was Giolla-Brigid, or Bonaventure Hussey,
a native of Ulster, who, in the Chronicles of the Order, is de-
scribed as a " man held in great esteem for his singular skill
in the language and history of Ireland." In a MS. list of the
first religious who received the habit in the Convent of St.
Anthony's,2 I find the name " Bonaventura Hosacus, antca
Brigidus, dioecesis Cloghorensis, admissus die I Novembris,
1607." O'Reilly, in his " Irish Writers," states that in 1608
Father Hussey published his prose Irish Catechism in Lou-
vain, the first book printed on the Continent in Irish, and that
it was reprinted at Antwerp in 1611. I suspect, however,
that the date of its first publication in Louvain should be
1618, in which year an edition of it, under the title of "The
Christian Doctrine," is mentioned by Anderson.3 At all events,
it was only in 1611 that the Irish typographical press was
established at St. Anthony's, as we learn from the following
passage of the History of the Order, written in 1630 : — "The
Irish Convent of Louvain, for the salvation of souls in the
Kingdom of Ireland, established in the year 1611 a printing
press with the proper type for the Irish letters, which, on ac-
count of the prevailing heretical rule, was heretofore imprac-
ticable to the Catholics of that Kingdom ; and printed some
books in the Irish language to the great advantage of the
faithful."4 Father Hussey also composed a metrical Catechism
in two hundred and forty verses, which a century later was
published by Donlevy as an appendix to his own famous
Catechism in the Irish language. O'Reilly mentions several
other unpublished poems composed by the same writer, some
of which are preserved in the Royal Irish Academy.
1 A copy of this work in quarto, transcribed from the original text, was sold in
November, 1869, among the MSS. of the late Dr. Todd. The original is preserved
in the Royal Library at Brussels (MSS. No. 3195). with the following heading : —
" Tractatum sequfttlem de Prmnncia Hiberniae concin tun >it Reverendus admodum P.
Donatus Monaeus, dum essct provincialis, et hue ex Hibernia ad res hujus collegii S.
Antonii ordinandas adrenisset."
* Archiv. S. Isid. Rome.
* The Native Irish. By C. Anderson, page 59.
4 MS. Brtv. Synopsis Prow. Hib." pro communi Regni Hiberniae animarum salute,
Hibernici idiomatis proprios characteres et impressionem anteanumquam ob prae-
dominantem haereticam potestatem Catholicis ejus Regni permissum anno 1611
erexit ct aliquot cjusdcm idiomatis libros fidelium utilitati impressit."
42 Irish Historical Studies
The extract from the History of the -Order just cited,
mentions some books, aliquot libros, printed in the Irish lan-
guage, at St. Anthony's. It is not easy now to determine
what these books were ; one of them, no doubt, was
the Irish Catechism of Dr. Conry, already referred to ;
another was the "Mirror of Penance," published in 1618, by
Hugh MacCaghwell, O.S.F,, who was subsequently appointed
to the primatial see of Armagh. In a MS. catalogue of
the books of the Irish Convent of Louvain, made about the
year 1675, I find mention of another work with the title
Acta Sanctarum Virginum Hibernice, which some time before
had been lent to the Convent of Donegal. Perhaps this
too may have been one of the books referred to in the
above extract. At all events the Irish type of St Anthony's
continued for many years to render good service to our
literature. The illustrious annalist, Michael O'Clery, availed
himself of it when publishing his Glossary in 1643 ; F.
Anthony Gernon, another Irish Fransciscan, made use of
it in 1645, f°r his "Paradise of the Soul;" a Jesuit, F.
Richard MacGiollacuddy (better known by his anglicized
name of Archdekin) printed with it a Treatise on Miracles,
in 1677 ; and Colgan, and his brother hagiologists made
frequent use of it in the Irish extracts inserted in their
invaluable Latin works. The type was still preserved at St.
Anthony's in 1675, but there was then but little encouragement
for Irish publications. In the MS. list of the books belong-
ing to that Convent of which I have already spoken, the
following passage is added, as precious as it is concise, and
giving the only reference to this Irish type which I have
been able to discover in contemporary records : —
"In a plain chest is preserved the type of the printing press.
The key is over the chest. In the pulpit there is one silver
chalice belonging to the Convent of Donegal, a small case of
the relics of various saints, and the silver seal belonging to
O'Donell. In the first of the upper, rooms, in a small chest,
is the Irish type, with its own forms ; also several copies of
Colgan's works, Ward's St Romnald, the Fochloir (i.e. O'Clery's
Glossary), and some skins for the covers of books."1
With the arrival of F. Hugh Ward, in 1623, began the
golden era of historical studies in St. Anthony's. For fifty
1 " In pinna cesta habentur litterae typographiae : clavis pendet supra cestam.
In pulpito est unus calix argenteus spectans ad conventum Dungallensem : parva
Bursa Reliquiarum aliquorum sanctorum ; sigillum argenteura spectans ad O'Do-
nellum. In cameris superioribus ; in prima manent litterae typographiae
Hibernicae in parva cesta cum suis formis ; plura exemplaria Actt. SS. Hiber-
niae et Tr. Thaum ; disquisito de S. Komualdo, &c. , Fochloir, cum coriis aliquot
pro libris cooperiendit." loc tit.
/// the Seventeenth Century. 43
years the religious of that convent pursued these studies with
unrivalled activity, although more than once their material
resources were quite exhausted, and they merited for their
convent the eulogy bestowed by no partial writer in our own
days: " No Franciscan college has maintained with more zeal
than this, the character of the order, as expressed in their
motto: Doctrina et sanctitate." (Proceedings of R. I. A.
vol. III., page 485). The learned Bollandist, F. De Buck having
cited these words, adds : " It would be easy to show the just-
ness of this eulogy presenting in detail the names of the pro-
fessors who have taught at St. Anthony's."1
The historian of Louvain, writing in 1667, laments the
poverty which the inmates of St. Anthony's had so often to
endure; for frequently the promised aid of the Government
was withheld, and the Irish exiles, now that all their property
was confiscated in Ireland, could contribute but little to the
support of their religious countrymen, either at home or
abroad. A century later another writer of Louvain dwells
on the same theme, but adds, " Notwithstanding their
poverty, we have often seen, amongst these religious, and we
still see amongst them, a number of men of distinction, and
of the highest nobility, who prepared themselves there by
study and piety to sustain the Catholic religion in England
and Ireland ; there were even many amongst them who
suffered persecution, imprisonment, and cruel torments for
the Faith."2 In the wars and tumults of which Belgium was
the theatre during the closing quarter of the last century,
the Convent of St. Anthony's was more than once exposed to
the fury of the contending parties, and yet this was not the
worst violence to which it was subjected. An edict of the
Emperor Joseph II., in 1782, appointed a visitator, and
enacted some vexatious laws- regarding the Religious,
though it did not entirely suppress the Convent. Two years
later the overflowing of the Dyle swept away all their
cattle, wood, and property of every kind. At length, in
1796, when Louvain was invaded by the French, their
convent was wholly dismantled^ its church was desecrated,
its property sold, and this hallowed abode of Irish piety and
learning was thenceforth closed against the children of St.
Francis.
1 UArcheologie Irlandaise au Commit de Saint Antoint de Padout a Louvain,
par le R. P. De Buck, S.J., Paris, 1869, page 3.
1 Ibid, page 2.
44
DOCUMENT.
LETTER OF HIS EMINENCE CARDINAL ANTO-
NELLI ON THE PUBLICATION OF THE
APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS OF THE
VATICAN COUNCIL.
ILLMO. E RMO. SIGNORE,
Si e dato a conoscere alia S. Sede che qualcuno tra i fedeli
e forse anche tra i Vescovi ritiene non essere obbligatoria la
Costituzione Apostolica emanata nella Sessione del Concilio
Ecumenico Vaticano il 18 del percorso mese di Luglio, finche
con ulteriore atto della S. Sede non venga solennemente pub-
blicata. Quanto sia strana siffatta supposizione pu6 da ognuno
facilmente ravvisarsi. La Costituzione, di cui e parola, ebbe
la piu solenne possibile pubblicazione nel giorno stesso in cui
nella Basilica Vaticana venne solennemente confermata e pro-
mulgata dal Sommo Pontefice in presenza di oltre cinquecento
Vescovi : essendo stato quindi affissa colle ordinarie formalita
nei consueti luoghi di Roma, sebbene ci6 con fosse necessario
nel caso. In conseguenza di che, secondo la nota regola, si
rese obbligatorio per 1'intiero mondo cattolico, senza bisogno
di altra qualsiasi pubblicazione.
Ho creduto dover comunicare a V. S. Illma. questa breve
osservazione affinche possa esserle di norma nel caso di dubbi
che Le si muovano da qualche parte.
Con sensi di distinta stima mi confermo.
Di V. S. Illma.
Roma, u Agosto, 1870.
Affezmo. per servirla,
G. CARD. ANTONELLI.
Monsignor Nunzio Apostolico,
Bruxelles
CORRESPONDENCE.
THE CLAIMS OF THE IRISH COLLEGE, PARIS.
REVEREND SIR,
I have read with pleasure your well-reasoned paper on the
claims of the Irish College, &c., in the IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL
RECORD. Permit an observation. On page 673, last volume,
you quote the Code Napoleon in refutation of Argon, as the
existing law at the time of the award. .
A ncitnt Monasteries of Ireland. 45
If it were argued, in reply, that the status of the
property were to depend upon the condition of things at the
time of its creation, it appears to me that it would only
strengthen your case, as those foundations were made at the
time when the English crown still maintained its title to the
kingdom of France, when, therefore, a subject of Britain, or
of Ireland, was justified in placing his property in France, as
it was, still constitutionally so, legally under the protection of
the Crown of England, Ireland, and France.
First — It was therefore placed there in accordance with
the claims of the Crown of the King of Ireland.
Second — You say the nature of the property was not con-
trary to Irish law.
Third — Though the British or Irish king had relinquished
his title to France in the mean time, I do not think there is
any instance of the property of his subjects becoming forfeited
in consequence of that. It seems then that you have the
double claim on the original foundation, and the application
of the Code Napoleon to the altered relation of the parties.
Dublin, loth September, 1870.
LEGAL LAYMAN.
MONASTICON HI BERN I CUM;
OR,
A SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE ANCIENT
MONASTERIES OF IRELAND.
[N. B. — The text of the ' ' Monasticon " is taken verbatim from A rchdall : the notes
marked with numbers are added by the Editors.]
COUNTY OF CORK.
953. Died the abbot Dunlang, son of O'Dunagan.d
960. The island was again despoiled.dd
Catigiliky ; In the parish of Miros in West Carbery. Here
are the foundations of some extensive ruins, with a large
cemetery ; this probably was the site of the abbey of Maure
or of the Clear Spring, which was founded A.D. 1 172, by
Dermot M'Cormac M'Carthy, King of Desmond, who sup-
*Ann. Four Matters. u Tr. Th. p. 633.
46 Ancient Monasteries of Ireland.
plied it with Cistercian Monks from the abbey of Baltinglass ;•
some writers place this foundation three years earlier.1
A.D. 1252. Patrick was abbot.8
1291. The abbot sued Dovenald O'Maythan for a messuage
and four carucates of land in Ardocherysh
1519. The abbot John Imurily was made bishop of Ross in
this year.1
5th December, 3Oth Queen Elizabeth, this abbey with its
appurtenances in the towns of Maure, Leshinau, Curraghenin,
Lehenaugh, le Graunge, le Garnans, le Curragh, Ardgehan,
Lyffevarrey, Cregan; Aneghepheyne, Lahernemannagh, Man-
ister, Nestrohuirie, and the rectories of Maure and Lyslie, or
elsewhere, in this county and belonging to the monastery of
Carigiliky, was granted for ever to Nicholas Walshe, at the
annual rent of £28 6s. 6*/.u
Castle Cor; In the barony of Duhallow and two miles north
of Loghort. It appears from a plea roll 3Oth King Edward I.
that there was an abbey at Castle Corith ;k but we have no
other account of it.
Castle Lyons * 10 A well-built market town, twelve miles from
Cork, in the barony of Barrymore.
Gray Friars ; John de Barry founded this monastery in the
year 1 307,™ but good authority has given this house to the Black
Dominican Friars, and says that it was dedicated to the
Virgin Mary.n A considerable part of this building still re-
mains, particularly the choir, nave, and steeple of the church.
The possessions belonging to this monastery come into the
hands of the first Earl of Cork, who bequeathed the rents
and profits arising therefrom to his daughter, the Countess
of Barrymore, to buy her gloves and pins.0
White Friars ; de Barry founded a monastery here
for Carmelites or Whitefriars.P
Cloggagh;" An inquisition of the i;th of King James I.
• War. man. Pembridge. f Canobia Cistert. *King,p.y&. b Id. *Id.*Aud.
Gen. * King, p. 133. ' 'Called anciently Castle Lehan. m War. man. n Burke,
/. 291, 292. ° Smith, vol. l, p. 164. p Burke ut supr.
10 Castle Lyons, or Castle Lehan, Gray Friars, is beautifully situated in a rich
fruitful soil, a short way from the river Bride. In this place John De Barry
founded a monastery of Conventual Franciscans, anno 1307. Upon the dissolu-
tion, it was granted to the Earl of Cork, who assigned it to his son-in-law David,
the first Earl of Barrymore, or rather, to his daughter ; for, in his will, he says : —
• ' he bequeathes the rents and profits of his house to his daughter Barrymore to
buy her gloves and pins.1' A considerable part of this abbey still remains, par-
ticularly the choir, nave, and steeple of the church, which are still standing con-
nected with the parish church.
11 Cloggach.— Inquisition I2th January, XXXIII. Elizabeth, finds that this re-
ligious house, situated near Timoleague on the east, was possessed of half a carucate
ofland, annual value 6s. &/., Irish money, (q )
Inquisition 5th January, XVII. James, finds that all the titles of the »aid half
Coimty of Cork. 47
finds the possessions of the little abbey of Cloggagh in this
county.*1 We have no other knowledge of this abbey.
Clonntfite ; Lies on the south side of the Blackwater, in
the barony of Duhallow.
A Monastery for friars following the rule of St. Augustin,
was founded here by O'Callaghan.1"
Cloync? In the barony of Iniokilly, a poor village, yet is a
bishop's see; with a good cathedral.
A.D. 707. An abbey was founded here.*
978. It was plundered by the people of Ossory.u
1089. Dermot, the son of Toirdhealbhach O'Brien, plun-
dered this place.*
1159. O'Dubery, abbot of Cluanavama, died this year ; in
the annals of Inisfall he is called bishop Dubrein.*
Charles Smith, in his history of the county of Cork, says
that St. Ite founded a nunnery here, a little west of the
present See house ; but he cei tainly mistakes, for that abbey
was at Cluainchreduil, which is in the county of Limerick.
Cluain; Between the mountains Crot and Marige. St.
Sedna, a disciple of St. Senan of Iniscathy, governed a church
erected in this place ; but he was buried at Kinsale.y
This place and the following are now unknown.
Cluainfinglass ; An abbey was founded here by St. Abban,
A.D. 650.*
Cork /* Is the second city in Ireland, and increasing every
day in commerce and wealth ; it is a bishop's see and a cor-
porate town, sending two burgesses to parliament.
St. Barr, Barroc, or Finbar, but his parents named Lochan,
was of the race of the Ibriunratha ; he flourished about the
year 600, and built an abbey, which, after him, was called
the abbey of St. Barr, or Finbar ;b this foundation is by some
placed A.D. 6o6.c This abbey was founded near Lougheirc,
which is generally supposed to be that particular hollow in
which a great part of the city of Cork stands. St. Barr died
at Cloyne, but was interred in his own Church, where his
bones were afterwards deposited in a silver shrine ;d his festival
is held on the 25th September.8
* King, p. 137. T Smith, vol. 2, p. 302. • Called by the Irish writers Cluainumha.
*Conry'sMS. * Annal. Inisfal. w Id. * Id. * Act. SS. p. 573. * Id. p. 615.
• Was called by the ancient Irish Corcach, or Corcachbascoin, that is, a ma~shy place;
the harbour they called" l.iealaghconliach. Act. SS. p. 494. b Usher. Act. SS.p. 750.
War. man, c Conrfs MS. d War. Bish.p. 556. • Calendar. I'et.
carucate of land did belong to the abbey ; that the fishery of the pool of Cloggach.
lying between Cloggach and Kilmoaloada. and adjoining the said lands, did
belong to the abbey ; that the said abbey, tithes, &c., were concealed by Dermot
MacCarthy, formerly Vicar of Kilmoaloada, and that on his death. John, his son,
claimed the same as his lawful inheritance, and sold the same to Dermot O'Drea,
parson of Kilmoaloada." — ''Ordnance Survey Papers," R.I. A., vol. iv., p. 31.
48 Ancient Monasteries of Ireland.
St Nessan, a disciple of St. Barr, and a presbyter of Cork,
died March I7th.f
A.D. 685. The abbot Russin died April 7th, he was the
son of Lappaius.*
733. Died Selbac, the comorb of St. Barr.h
300. Historians relate, that about this time there were
in this abbey 700 monks and 17 bishops, who devoted them-
selves wholly to a contemplative life.'
822. The Danes plundered and burnt this city.k
823. They renewed their depredations.1
838. The town was again spoiled.10
839. The Danes repeated the like devastation.™
874. Died Domnald the scribe.0
891. Died Soerbrethach, another scribe.p
908. Ailliol M'Eogan, the abbot of Cork, lost his life in
the same battle in which Cormac M'Cuillenan, Archbishop
and King of Munster, met his melancholy fate.q
910. The Danes did again plunder and burn this town.1"
913. They renewed their devastations.8
915. The same violences were continued.*
960. As they were in this year.u
961. Died Cathmogan, the comorb of St. Barr.w
970. This abbey was destroyed by the Danes.*
976. Magthamhain M'Cinneide going to the house of
Donobhan M'Cathail, King of Cairbre Aodhbha/ under the
protection of Columb M'Ciaragain, the comorb of St. Barr,
to conclude a peace with Maolmuaidh and Donobhan, he was
treacherously seized by Donobhan, notwithstanding the co-
morb's protection, and delivered to Maolmuaidh M'Broin,
Tadg M'Broin, and Brian M'Broin, who put him to death ;
for which base and inhuman action, the comorb and church
excommunicated both the betrayer and murderers.2
973. Cork was plundered twice in this year.*
990. Died Columb M'Ciaragain, the comorb.b
1006. Died Cellach, the son of Cenngorann, provost of
this abbey.0
1013. A great fleet of the Danes came before Cork, and
destroyed the town by fire.d
1025. Dungal ua Donchadha, King of Cashel, who had
1 Act. SS. p. 630. ' Id. p. 1 50. h War. Bish. p. 5 56. ' Walsh's Prospect, p. 145.
k Anna/. Inisfal. ' Id. m T>: T/i. p. 632. n Annal. Inisfal. ° Tr. Th. p. 632.
*MGeogh * Annal. Inisfal. r M'Gtogh. • Tr, Th. p. 633. * Annal. Inisfal.
• Tr. Th supr. " War. Bish. p. 556. *M'Curfin, p. 207. ' A territory in the
eounty of Limerick, now called barony of Kenry. * Annal. Inisfal. • Annal. Inisfal.
k War. Bish. supr. 'Act. SS. p. 334. d Annal. Inisfal.
( To be continued. )
[NEW SERIES.]
THE IRISH
ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD.
NOVEMBER, 1870.
LETTER OF THE ARCHBISHOPS AND BISHOPS
OF IRELAND TO THEIR FLOCKS.
[HE words we address to you to-day, beloved brethren,
come from hearts filled with sorrow and indignation. And
how can it be otherwise, since we have to announce to you
that our Holy Father, Pius IX., is a prisoner in the hands of
his enemies. He has been robbed even of that personal
liberty, which, as a sovereign, he had made secure for the very
lowest of his subjects ; he has been torn by brute force from
his children, whose voices cannot reach his ear, and whom his
words of guidance can no longer direct. And why has all
this occurred ? What excuse can be put forward by the men
who have thus assailed God's anointed? What fault has
Pius IX. committed, whether as king or as pontiff, that this
outrage should be inflicted upon him ?
For nearly five-and-twenty years he has filled a throne,
inherited by him in virtue of a title the most ancient, the
most legitimate, the most sacred ; and during that long
period his rule has been distinguished for all the qualities that
consecrate supreme power, and render it, as Go'd intended it
should be, a source of blessing to the people. What prince is
there, whose sovereign rights have been more clearly defined
or better guaranteed by the faith of treaties, and by the
sanction of international law ? Who has ever used power
more gently ? who more wisely than he? Under his benign
sway, his capital was the home of genius, the shrine of the arts,
the seat of learning, the centre of true Christian civilization. He
VOL. VII. 4
5 o L etter of tlie A rchbishops
judged the poor in judgment, and his people in justice, ever
seeking to lighten their burthen and to promote their prosperity.
He gave them peace when all around them was convulsed,
and plenty when others were harassed with want ; and on the
eve of the usurpation, his subjects employed the very latest
hour of liberty they were permitted to enjoy, before being
crushed by foreign force, in accjaiming him as the best of
sovereigns, who should rule for ever in their hearts. What
pretext did such a ruler give for invasion ? What was there
in such a monarch that he should be driven by strangers
from his throne ?
But great as have been the glories of his reign, they pale
before the sacred splendours of his marvellous pontificate.
The annals of the Church hold up for our admiration very
many among the Roman Pontiffs whose names shall live for
ever in history, on account of the striking and noble qualities
that distinguished them even among the greatest on earth.
A far-seeing wisdom, which enabled them in troubled times to
understand where lay the true interests of the Church and of
society ; surpassing ability in choosing and directing the
measures to promote those interests ; and a loftiness of per-
sonal character which made their exertions successful, while it
commanded the respect even of their enemies ; these are the
gifts that seem hereditary in the great line of Popes who have
rilled the Apostolic See. But it may be questioned if on that
long and brilliant roll of Pontiffs there be found even one to
surpass Pius IX., either in the fulness with which these great
gifts were possessed, or in the measure of benefits conferred
on the Church by the exercise of them. How often has it
been our pleasing duty to describe to you the great things he
has accomplished for the Church, and which mark with in-
creasing glory each succeeding year of his pontificate. He
has extended the tabernacles of the Church, by erecting so
many new episcopal Sees in the remotest regions ; he has
restored to Churches wasted by heresy the freshness and
vigour of a second youth ; he has preserved the young from
the ravages of infidelity, by condemning evil systems of edu-
cation ; he has preached, to an age that worships only brute
force, in season and out of season, the eternal principles of
truth and justice ; he has protected society against the licence
that saps morality, and the false philosophy which would per-
vert the rights of reason, and thereby degrade man from his
high dignity as an intelligent being. Never can Catholic hearts
forget how, by defining the doctrine of the Immaculate Con-
ception, Pius IX. gave joy to the whole world, and new glory
to the Mother of God ; how by canonising so many saints he
A nd Bishops of Ireland to their Flocks. 5 1
multiplied for us intercessors in heaven, and models of holy
living on earth ; how by celebrating the centenary of SS. Peter
and Paul he taught the world that persecution does but end
in the triumph of the Church. And have not we ourselves
lately seen him, in the full majesty of his sacerdotal holiness
and power, presiding over the General Council of the Vatican,
which he convoked that the voice of God speaking through
his infallible Church might be heard above the turmoil and
discord of the earth, teaching the truth, and summoning to
the bosom of Catholic unity the souls whom error had led
astray. And it was at this solemn moment, when the Catholic
episcopate was gathered together to treat of the most im-
portant subjects that can occupy men upon earth, that a blow
was struck at the visible head of the Church, and through
him at the entire mystic body of Christ.
Passing in review, then, the whole glorious Pontificate of
Pius IX., are we not fully warranted in asserting, beloved
brethren, that it is not for any fault or shortcoming of his that
wicked men have risen against the Vicar of Christ ? No, it
is the absence of any fault in him that has stirred their indig-
nation against him. Like the wicked men spoken of in the
book of Wisdom, they have conspired, saying : " Let us lie
in wait for the just man, because he is not for our turn, and
he is contrary to our doings, and upbraided us with transgres-
sions of the law, and divulgeth against us the sins of our life.
He is become a censurer of our thoughts. He is grievous unto
us even to behold, for his life is not like other men's, and his
ways are very different. We are esteemed by him as trifiers,
and he abstaineth from our ways as from filthiness, and he fre-
ferreth the latter end of the just, and glorieth that he hath God
for his fattier. Let us then examine him by outrages and
tortures."1
And truly, beloved brethren, they have accomplished their
wicked deed, adding to it every circumstance of indignity and
outrage that can well be conceived. Without declaration of
war, after having bound themselves by a solemn convention
to respect the temporal independence of the Holy See, with
hypocritical professions of veneration on their lips, the Flo-
rentine Government despatched their troops to invade and
occupy the remnant of papal territory hitherto spared by
them. Neither the justice of the Pope's cause, nor the
absence of provocation, nor his solemn* protest, nor their own
pledges, nor the thought that they were outraging the feelings
of more than 200,000,000 of Catholics, nor the fear of the
crime of sacrilege, or of its punishment, could restrain these
1 Wisdom, ii. 12—19.
5 2 Letter of the A rchbishops
perverse men from assaulting the capital of the Christian
world, and violating the holy soil of the Eternal City. They
constituted brute force alone as the law of justice, for that
which is feeble is found to be nothing worth.1 In vain have
they since sought to colour their outrages by a mock appeal
to the voice of the people into whose city they had
opened for themselves a way by a destructive cannonade.
History shall record that this monstrous usurpation is nothing
else than a triumph of brute force over justice ; of hypo-
crisy over honesty ; of revolution over social order ; of infide-
lity over the interests of the Christian religion.
Therefore, we feel it due to ourselves and to you, and to
our fellow Catholics throughout the world, to publish our
solemn protest against this act of unparelleled injustice, and to
this protest here published we call the attention of all.
1. Believing that the Pope is the Vicar of Christ, the infal-
lible teacher of Christian truth, to whom, in blessed Peter,
has been given the supreme power of feeding, ruling, and
governing the whole Church, we protest against the sacrile-
gious insults recently offered by the usurping power to the
reigning Pontiff, Pius IX., and in his person to Christ himself,
whose representative he is on earth.
2. Convinced that the full, perfect, and complete discharge
of his Apostolic office requires as its necessary condition the
freedom of the Roman Pontiff from the control of other
temporal princes, we protest, in the name of 200,000,000 of
Catholics, against the usurpation which has deprived their
spiritual chief of his temporal dominions, necessary for the
exercise of his liberty, and thereby subjected him to the
caprice of hostile powers.
3. Persuaded that, in the ways of Providence, the temporal
sovereignty of the Holy See has been ordained for the com-
mon good of all Christendom, and that Rome and the Papal
territory belong to the Catholic world, we protest against the
sacrilegious invasion of both, as a violation of the sacred
rights of the whole Catholic world.
4. Regarding as subversive of social order the appeal made
to revolutionary passions by the usurping power, against the
oldest, and most legitimate sovereignty in the world ; and
indignant at the hypocrisy which sought to mask a brutal
attack under the profession of Catholic loyalty and kingly
honour, we protest against the means, so scandalous and
immoral, employed to accomplish this most unjust usurpa-
tion.
5. Recognising with gratitude the benefits conferred upon
1 Wisdom, ii. II.
A tid Bis ftops of Ireland to tJteir Flocks. 5 3
the world by the noble use the Roman Pontiffs have made of
their temporal dominion, and the splendid example they have
set to the sovereigns of Christendom by the mildness of their
rule, their patronage of arts and letters, their tender care of
the weak and poor, and their love of justice, we protest against
the attempt to extinguish, and by means so unholy, an insti-
tution that has deserved so well of civilized society all over
the world.
6. We protest also against the threatened devastation of
the venerable sanctuaries of Rome, against the plundering of
its shrines, the suppression of its religious communities devoted
to prayer and good works, and the closing of its numerous
schools and colleges, where so many students of our own and
other countries are trained in piety and learning.
7. And, since the invasion of Rome has been undertaken
and accomplished at a time when a General Council was being
held therein, under the presidency of the Supreme Pontiff, we
protest against the violence that has interrupted its delibera-
tions, and we hold the Florentine Government responsible for
the outrage offered to the assembled bishops of the universe,
and for the injury done to the faithful by depriving them,
for an indefinite time, of the blessings the Council was cal-
culated to confer.
It now remains for you, beloved brethren, by taking prac-
tical steps to relieve the Holy Father, to give effect to this
protest. First of all, it is your duty to have recourse to the
powerful arm of prayer. When St. Peter was thrown into
prison by Herod, the entire Church prayed without ceasing
for his safety (Acts, xiii. 5). The united prayers of the Chris-
tian people, offered to God in the spirit of humility and with
contrite hearts, through the hands of the Immaculate Mother
of our Lord, will produce the most wonderful results.
And since, in the terrible events that are now passing in
Europe the enlightened eye of faith recognises the hand of an
angry God, punishing the world for its overflowing iniquities,
we should endeavour to banish from among us that monster
of sin that maketh nations miserable)
We therefore implore of you all, that, by worthily approach-
ing the Holy Sacraments of Penance and of the Eucharist,
you may prepare yourselves to ask, with more confidence,
grace and mercy from the Lord. And let your prayers,
proceeding from pure hearts, ever be the fruitful source of
good works. Fasting, acts of mortification, alms-deeds, spiri-
tual and corporal works of charity to the poor, these should
1 Pro*, xiv. 34.
54 L cttcr of the A rchbishops
accompany your prayers to render them more powerful with
God.
Secondly. — In addition to these spiritual weapons, it is
desirable that Catholics should unite to protest against the
insults which have been heaped on the Vicar of Christ, and
against the violation of justice and right, on the part of those
who have seized on Rome, the common property of the
Catholic world. These protests, to have weight, should be
made in writing, and, when recommended by your pastors, at
meetings, to be placed in the hands of those who represent
us in parliament, so that they may be laid before the
public authorities of this country. We have a full right
to ask from those who rule Catholic nations that they
should secure from a control which cannot be other than
than capricious or tyrannical, the Pontiff whose authority
guides the conscience of millions of their subjects. The
enemies of the Holy Father are most industrious in misre-
presenting the feelings of Catholics, and in describing their
own evil deeds as the necessary result of public opinion and
of national aspirations, in the hope that they may pervert
men's judgments, and thereby hinder them from taking effec-
tual means for the relief of the Holy Father. Let it be our
business to prove that their lies have not deceived anyone,
and that Catholic Ireland will joyfully take her place among
the nations who will emulate one another in assisting by their
prayers and alms, the Vicar of Christ in this his hour of sore
distress.
For the rest, beloved brethren, be not disturbed by the
violence, nor scandalized by the momentary success that has
attended the designs of the wicked. " Tiiese things they
thought" says the Holy Ghost of those who conspired against
the just man ; " these things ttiey thought, and were deceived ;
for tJieir own malice blinded them. A nd tJicy knew not the secrets
of God, nor hoped for tJie wages of justice, nor esteemed the
honour of holy souls-."1 But the multiplied brood of the wicked
shall not thrive —and if ttiey flourish in branches for a time,
yet standing not fast, they shall be sliaken with tJie wind, and
tJiroiigh the force of 'winds they shall be rooted out"z "A mighty
wind shall stand up against tlum, and as a whirlwind shall
divide them ;" and although, by permission of an outraged
Providence, it may come to pass that "tJieir iniquity sliall
bring all the earth into a desert, and their wickedness overthrow
the thrones of tJie mighty," yet in God's good time truth and
virtue shall have their triumph, and being rescued from the
1 Wisdom, ii. 21, 22. ' Ibid. iv. 3, 4.
A nd Bishops of Ireland to their Flocks. 5 5
hands of their enemies, " the just shall sing to thy holy name,
O Lord? and s/tall praise with on* accord thy victorious
tiandr
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Dublin, igth October, 1870.
• PAUL CARDINAL CULLEN, Archbishop of Dublin.
• DANIEL M'GETTIGAN, Archbishop of Armagh.
» JOHN McHALE, Archbishop of Tuam.
• PATRICK LEAHY, Archbishop of Cashel.
• THOMAS FEENY, Bishop of Killala.
• E. WALSHE, Bishop of Ossory.
• WILLIAM DELANY, Bishop of Cork.
• FRANCIS KELLY, Bishop of Deny.
• WILLIAM KEANE, Bishop of Cloyne.
• P. DURCAN, Bishop of Achonry.
• DAVID MORIARTY, Bishop of Kerry.
• JOHN P. LEAHY, Bishop of Dromore.
• D. O'BRIEN, Bishop of Waterford and Lismore.
• JAMES WALSHE, Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin.
• LAURENCE GILLOOLY, Bishop of Elphin.
• THOMAS FURLONG, Bishop of Ferns.
• JOHN McEviLLY, Bishop of Galway, &c., &c.
• M. O'HEA, Bishop of Ross.
• P. DORRIAN, Bishop of Down and Connor.
• GEORGE BUTLER, Bishop of Limerick.
• NICHOLAS CONATY, Bishop of Kilmore.
• THOMAS NULTY, Bishop of Meath.
• JAMES DONNELLY, Bishop of Clogher.
• NICHOLAS POWER, Coadjutor Bishop of Killaloe.
• J AMES LYNCH,CoadjutorBishopofKildareand Leighlin
• W. J. WHELAN, Bishop of Aureliopolis.
• DAN IEL MURPHY, Bishop of Hobartown, in Australia.
9 THOMAS GRIMLEY, Vic. Ap. of Capetown, South Africa,
• TIMOTHY O'MAHONY, Bishop of Armidale, Australia.
PETER DAWSON, Vic-Cap. Ardagh.
1 Wisdom, z. 10.
IRISH HISTORICAL STUDIES IN THE SEVEN-
TEENTH CENTURY.
II.— HUGH WARD.
Early fame of Hugh Ward : — Dempster's piracy of Irish
Saints : — Traditional minstrelsy in Ward's family : —
Letters of F. Patrick Fleming: — He visits Clairvaux : —
Memorials of St. Ma tacky in France: — Ward guardian of
St. Anthony's: — Researches of Fr. Michael O'Clery: — Letters
of David Rot he, Lcssing, Bollandus, &c. : — Colgaris MS.
notes on the life of St. Dyinpna : — The life of St. Rumold, &c.
IT was in 1623 that Father Hugh Ward, O.S.F., arrived at
the Convent of St. Anthony de Padua, in Louvain. He had
many years before embraced the Franciscan rule at Sala-
manca, where he pursued his studies of philosophy and
theology, and acquired considerable fame for acuteness of
mind and depth of research. Father Pontius, a distinguished
professor of the Order in Rome, publicly eulogized him in
after times as surpassing the most famous Franciscan pro-
fessors of that age1 in scolastic subtlety. Father O'Sheerin
gives him no less praise : " deformed in body, he was en-
dowed with every accomplishment of mind ; he was affable
in his words, which sparkled with wit and humour ; being of
holy conversation, and spotless life, he was, at the same time,
endowed with brilliant genius, and was profoundly versed in
philosophical and theological science."2
From Salamanca he proceeded to Paris, as companion to
Father Francis de Arraba, confessor of the Queen of France,
and there he enjoyed abundant leisure to peruse his favorite
studies, and explore the rich literary treasures of that great
capital. It was at this time that the Scottish historian,
Dempster, published his famous work on the Saints of Scot-
land,3 in which he appropriated to his native calendar, most
of the holy men who adorned our country by their sanctity in
the first ages of our faith. It has been said of him that " he
was as well inclined to believe a lie as any man in his time, and
as well qualified to put it into a pretty dress of poetry."4 He
1 " Scholastica subtilitate anteivisse doctissimos quosque quos norat, et sane hi
multi fuerunt et celebres, sui Institute et regni professores. Vita S. Kumoldi,
praefat. Sirini.
* " Vultus invenustus, venustissimi mores, &c." Ibid.
*" Menologium Scotticum (Bologna, 1619); which work being put on the in-
dex of prohibited books in Rome, was somewhat altered and republished in
Bologna, in 1627, under the name " Historia Ecclesiastica gentis Scottorum."
4 Irish Hist. Library, by Nicholson, page 73. Usher has been equally severe in
his Britt. Etcl. Antiq. " Tarn suspectae fidei hominem ilium fuisse comperimus,
et toties tesseram fregisse, ut oculatos nos esse oporteat, et nisi quod videmus,
uihil ab eo acceptum credere." Cap. xvi.
Irish Historical Studies. 57
was, however, a man of extensive reading, and he must be
pardoned, if, writing in the beginning of the nineteenth century,
he assumed, as a matter of course, that in the olden records
the names Scotus and Scotia, referred to modern Scotland.
His piracy of Irish Saints awakened the energy and zeal of
our exiled countrymen, and we will have occasion hereafter
to refer to the tracts which were published soon after by
David Rothe, Messingham, Fitzsimon, and others, refuting
Dempster's groundless but attractive statements. Ward en-
listed with ardour in this controversy, and thenceforward each
hour at his disposal was devoted to explore the records of
the past, and search out new monuments illustrative of the
history of the Saints of Ireland.
Indeed this study of the antiquities of our country was
nothing new in the family of Hugh Ward. He belonged to
that branch of the family that gave name to Ballymac- Ward,
in Donegal. His ancestors had been for centuries the heredi-
tary bards of the O'Donnells, princes of Tirconnell,and in poetry
and minstrelsy had often borne away the palm from the chief
poets of Ireland. In the Annals of the Four Masters, in 1541,
we find recorded that " MacWard, ollamh to O'Donnell in
poetry, a superintendent of schools, and a man not excelled
in poetry and other arts, who had founded and maintained
a house of general hospitality, died on the 2Oth of December,
after unction and penance." In 1550 it is again recorded:
" MacWard of Tirconnell, a learned poet, a superintendent of
schools, and a man of great name and renown throughout
Ireland in his time, who kept a house of general hospitality,
died." Also in 1576, we meet the entry : " William Oge Mac
Ward, ollamh to O'Donnell in poetry, a president of schools,
illustrious for his learning and knowledge, a patron and sup-
porter of the learned and the teachers, died at Druimmor (in
Donegal), on the 22nd of February." Owen MacWard,
brother of our Franciscan Hugh, was the last of these here-
ditary bards, and died in 1609 : " Owen MacWard, ollamh to
O'Donnell in poetry, an intelligent ingenious man, who kept
an open house of general hospitality, died at an advanced
age, after the victory of penance."1 He was one of those
who shared the perils of the flight and exile of the Earls in
1607. On the death of O'Donnell, in Rome, the following
year, he composed a beautiful Irish Elegiac Poem, addressed
to Nuala, the sister of the deceased Earl, and in it she
is introduced as weeping alone on St. Peter's hill, over the
tomb of the illustrious dead : —
1 CP Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters."
58 Irish Historical Studies
" O, woman of the piercing wail
Who mournest o'er yon mound of clay,
With sigh and groan ;
Would God thou wert among the Gael !
Thou wouldst not then from day to day
Weep thus alone.
'Twere long before, around a grave
In green Tirconnell, one could find
This loneliness ;
Near where Beann-Boirche's banners wave,
Such grief as thine could ne'er have pined
Companionless.
Red would have been our warriors' eyes,
Had Roderick found on Sligo's field
A gory grave;
No northern chief would soon arise,
So sage to guide, so strong to shield,
So swift to save.
Long would Leith-Cuinn have wept, if Hugh
Had met the death he oft' had dealt
Among the foe ;
But had our Roderick fallen too,
All Erin must, alas ! have felt
The deadly blow.
What do I say ? Ah ! woe is me !
Already we bewail in vain
Their fatal fall !
And Erin, once the great and free,
Now vainly mourns her breakless chain
And iron thrall !
Thn, daughter of O'Donnell ! dry
Thine overflowing eyes, and turn
Thy heart aside ;
For Adam's race is born to die,
And sternly the sepulchral urn
Mocks human pride.
And Thou, O, mighty Lord, whose ways
Are far above our feeble minds
To understand,
Sustain us in these doleful days,
And render light the chain that binds
Our fallen land !
//; the Swentccnth Century. 59
Look down upon our dreary state,
And through the ages that may still
Roll sadly on,
Watch Thou o'er hapless Erin's fate,
And shield, at least, from darker ill
The blood of Conn I"1
I may here be allowed to remark that, like the subject of
this chapter, most of the religious of St. Anthony's of Lou-
vain, who rendered such services to the history of Ireland
were linked by some personal ties with the princely families
of Tirconnell and Tyrone. Thus it was with Father Mooney,
who, whilst Guardian of St. Anthony's, discharged the duties
of Tutor to the youthful earls. Thus, too, MacCaghwell,
whose name will be mentioned more than once in the follow-
ing pages ; he had fought under the banner of the earls in
the wars against Elizabeth, and was subsequently their
faithful companion in exile ; also O'Sheerin was closely allied
by blood with the same princely families of Ulster.
It was in Paris, in 1623, that Father Hugh Ward contracted
a close friendship with another member of his order, Father
Patrick Fleming. The same ideas that quickened the ener-
gies of Ward, had already found an echo in the heart of
Fleming, and when the former made known his project of
laying the foundations of Irish hagiology by collecting
together all the original acts of the Irish saints, and the
other monuments connected with the history of his native
land, Father Fleming at once promised to lend his earnest
co-operation in thus promoting the hallowed glory of
Ireland.
Father Fleming was at this time journeying on to Rome,
companion of Father MacCaghwell, who was visitator of
the order. They travelled, for the most part, on foot, and
chose for their resting place, at each stage of their journey,
some house of their own order, or, when none such could be
found, some friendly monastery, where by their prayers and
learned conversation, they repaid the charitable hospitality
which was shown them. The monastery of Clairvaux, re-
nowned for its memories of St. Bernard, our own St. Malachy,
and so many other illustrious ornaments of the Church, was
one of the asylums thus visited by ourtravellers. Before continu-
ing his journey, Father Fleming thus wrote to Hugh Ward : —
1 Eight other Irish poems written by Owen Mac ua Bhaird, all of an historical
character, are mentioned by O'Reilly in Irish Writers, p. clxi. Several other
writers of the Ward family, and their poems, are commemorated in the same work,
p. cxlvii., cxllx. , clix., &c.
60 Irish Historical Studies
" MY VENERATED FATHER,'
" I arrived at last at this sanctuary of my desire,
this holy Clairvaux, where, would to God, I could remain
at least five days, that thus I might be able to glean some-
thing from the many manuscripts which enrich it. But we
have barely stopped two days here, and hence you can expect
but little from me. I did all that I could, however, in the
short time that was allowed me, and I wrote what I now
'"VENERANDE PATER,
" Veni tandem mei ad locum desiderii ad Clara vallem sanctam in qua
utinam vel quinque saltern diebus mihi liceret remorari, ut vel sicaliquid colligerem
ex tot manuscriptis quae hie sunt. Sed vix duobus mansinuis diebus ac proinde
pauciora a me nunc expectabis. Feci tamen pro brevitate temporis quae potui et
haec quae vides scripsi. reliquorum mittendorum si quae sunt cura fideh amico
relicla. Archivium monasterii nondum vidi nee videbo, nempe hora 5 eras dis-
cessurus in quo tamen sperabam me reperturum epistolas S. Malachiae et Cogani
Abbatis. Plura de S. Malachia scire non potui vestro operi convenientia. Agedum
pater chare habebis quae Claravallis habet tuo usui opportuna. Nam hie post me re-
linquo alterum meipsum nempe Dnum. Joannem Cantwell Monachum Hybernum
Sacerdotem magnae apud Abbatem fidei et authoritatis quern Abbas nuper con-
stituere volebat Priorem in quodam Monasterio prope Parisios, sed forte, Domini
dispensatione, non est missus nee demittet curam quam hie habet Vir est ejusdem
nobiscum zeli et desiderii qui pariter disponendis libris monasterii praeest, sunt
enim omnes ita confusi et dispersi ut nihil invenire potuerim cum tamen diu
multos volvissem. Ipse autem reperit dum eos disponeret ante aliquot dies librum
aliquem cui titulus ' Monachus quidam Hybernus in Regulam S. Benedicti,' ubi
multa hinc inde de Hybernia miscet : non vidi librum quia aliquis fratrum ad
cellam ipsum secum tulit. Vidi autem ipse aliquani historiam Brittanicam nun-
quam editam ubi aliqua sunt de Hybernia, sed tuo usui non serviunt : sunt etiam
vaticinia quantum coljigo Merlin! : pervolvi grandia volumina quae habentur de
vitis sanctorum in quibus inter caetera reperi vitam S. Deicoli Abb. prolixissime,
historiam certe pulcherrimam quam tibi descriptam transmittet praefatus Joannes
infra paucos dies. Ipse autem Deicola in ilia historia se Scotigenam vocat ex
quo patet Anglum eum non esse ac proinde Scoto-Hibernum cum nulli ipsum
Scotobritannum adstruant. Miracula item Columbani quae non alia credens esse
ab iis quae D. Messingham habet nolui curare ut scriberentur. Vita S. Mansueti
Episcopi Tullensis conscripta jam a quodam Priore Anglo praelum subiit: ipsam
vidit et legit dictus D. Joannes, cujus potissimum impulsu Anglus id opens arri-
puit: probat autem prolixe eum Hybernum esse, et aliquoties digreditur expatians
in laudibus Hyberniae. Episcopus Tullensis jam imaginem S. Mansueti erexit sub-
scriptam ' S. Afansiietus Hyberntis,' etc. ; ni obstitisset Anglus, posuisset Status.
D. Joannes Cantwell, vitam brevi habebit ab Anglo tibique quam primum mittet,
promisitque mihi se imposterum in hoc nostro negotio diligentissimum fore rnisu-
rumque se tibi omnia quae feperiet quod bene potest nam habebit hie qui pro ipso
integros tractatus exscriberent si ita vellet; praetereaest.hic novitius Hybernus qui
nihil recusabit, sed nee audebit quidem quia et Magister novitiorum secundarius
Hybernus est qui ipsum compelletsi ipsumrecusare laborem contingeret. Rogavitme
praedictus D. Joannes cum ipse sit (ut ipse loquebatur) materia et tu forma, ego
inter vos absentes essem unit), qua vos per epistolas vestras invicem vinculo charitatis
jungemini, quapropter rogo vos obnixe ut ipsum frequentibus litteris conveniatis
certi interim ipsum diligentissimum fore in rebus nostris colligendis, quae hie si ullibi
abundant : cupit autem quam maxime opera habere Scoti a P. Cavello impressa,
quae magni hie fierent cum ab Hyberno sunt edita. Tanto in Hybernos monachi
hujus alinae domus feruntur affcctu ut ipse Dominus Abbas catalogum SS. Hy-
berniae coram se in loco orationis suae nunc habeat. Rogo ergo quantum possum
humiliter ut ipsi praefato Domino opera Scoti mittatis tarn ad decorem Biblio-
thecae quam ipsius privatum usum, quo facto ipsum multum obligasti.
" Litteras tuas mittas cum procuratore Claravallensi qui ibi habitat in collegio
In tht Seventeenth Century. 61
send, leaving the charge to a faithful friend to forward the
remaining monuments to you should any such be found
there. I have not seen the archives of the monastery,
nor can I see them, for we leave this to-morrow at
five o'clock in the morning. I was in hopes to find
here the letters of St Malachy as well as those of
Abbot Cogan. I could not learn anything new about
St. Malachy that would be important for your work. But
have courage, my dear Father, you will get everything that
Clairvaux has useful for your purpose. For I leave here
after me another myself in the person of the monk John
Cantwell, an Irish priest of great credit and authority, with
the Abbot. It was the desire of the Abbot that he should
be prior in another monastery near Paris, but, by chance,
through the mercy of God, he was not sent thither, and he
will not resign his present post. He is a man having the
same zeal and desire as ourselves ; he has the charge to
arrange the books of the library, which are now all in con-
fusion and scattered about, so that I could find nothing
although I turned over several of them. He, however,
found, a few days ago, when putting the books in order,
one work with the title ' Commentary of a certain Irish
Monk on the Rule of St. Benedict/ in which many things
are introduced here and there about Ireland. I did not see
the book because one of the religious had brought it to his
cell. I saw, however, an unpublished history of Britain, in
which there are some things about Ireland, but which are of
no importance for your work. There are also some prophecies,
I suppose those of Merlin. I glanced over large volumes of
the ' Lives of the Saints,' among which I found a very full
life of the Abbot St. Dichuil ; it is indeed a most beautiful life,
and the above-mentioned John will have it copied for you
Bemardinorum, nihil ipsi interim de tuis revelans quia dicitur minus in nostros
affectus qnam alii: cum scribis sequent! vice promitte ipsi Scotum et librum Patris
Cavelli de statutis ordinis existente ibi generali editum: cum his scribet tibi qua via
poteris commode hue ad ipsum litteras dirigere. Plura nunc prae festinatione
nequeo, vix haec ipsa scribere potui. Animose pater charissime alacriter perge,
quia, ut spero non est qui de manu tua possit cruere quominus omnia tibi necessaria
mittantur. Caeterum, mihi si quid in isto negotio imprudenter gessi parce, et dis-
cedentem ex hoc Paradise terresti, oratione prosequere. Vellem ad haec invenire
ante me Lugduni responsum quod rogo mittas cum proximo eo prefecture, non
quod de Domino Joanne quidquam dubitem quern totaliter, ut puto, ad hoc negotium
traxi, ut tu ex epistolis ems ad te brevi perspicies. Vale in Domino et pro me ora.
" In festo S. Marci, 1623, " Tuus ut nosti,
"Fr. PATRITIUS FLEMINGUS.
" P.S. — DIcit mihi nihil essi periculi quod mittas Scotum quamprimum cum pro-
curatorc Claravallensi qui ibi est apud Beraardinos.
" Venerando Patri fr. Hugoni Vardeo,
" Socio Confcssarii Reginae Christianissimae Parisiis." — Ex. Arckrv. S.
Isidori, Romae.
62 Irish Historical Studies
within a few days. St. Dichuil, in this life, styles himself a
Scot, from which it is certain that he was not an Englishman,
and hence, as the British-Scots do not claim him, he must,
of course, be an Irish-Scot
" I saw also the Miracles of St. Columbanus, but believing it
to be the same work that Messingham has, I did not give
any instructions to have it copied. The Life of St. Man-
suetus, Bishop of Tulle, from the pen of some English prior,
has been published. It was read and examined by Father
Cantwell, at whose request that work was undertaken ; it
proves at great length that St Mansuetus was an Irishman,
and it often expatiates at great length on the praises of
Ireland. The Bishop of Tulle has already erected a statue
of St. Mansuetus, with the inscription Sanctus Mansuetus
Hibernus (St. Mansuetus, native of Ireland) : were it not for the
English Prior he would have styled him a Scot. Father
Cantwell will soon have a copy of this work from his English
friend, and will send it to you, and he has promised me that
henceforward he will be most diligent in our business, and
that he will send to you everything that he finds. This he
can easily effect, for he has persons here who if he so wishes
will copy whole treatises for him. Moreover there is an Irish
novice here who will not refuse such work ; indeed he dare
not refuse it, for the assistant master of novices is also an
Irishman, who will oblige him to do this work if he shows
any difficulty about it.
" Father Cantwell has asked me, since, as he says, he is the
matter and you the form, that I should be the bond of union,
requesting you to open_a mutual and frequent correspon-
dence. I am sure he will be most diligent in collecting the
desired materials, which, if anywhere, are here most abun-
dant. He is most anxious to have the works of Scotus, edited
by Father MacCaghwell, which will be highly prized here on
account of being edited by an Irishman. The Religious of
this parent monastery are so devotedly attached to the Irish
that the Lord Abbot himself now keeps a catalogue of the
saints of Ireland in his own private oratory. I therefore
earnestly and humbly request you to send the wished-for
works of Scotus, as well for the ornament of the library as
for the private use of Father Cantwell, and thus he will feel
greatly indebted to you.
"You may send your letters through the Procurator of
Claifvaux, who lives in Paris, in the College of the Bernar-
dines, but do not disclose any of your projects to him, as he
is supposed not to be so favorable to us as others. When you
write to Father Cantwell promise to send the Scotus and also
/* tJu Seventeenth Century. 63
the work of Father Caghwell on the rules of the order, pub-
lished under the present General. He himself will send
instructions with this letter how you may most readily com-
municate with him.
" My courageous and dearest Father, proceed in your work
with earnestness, for, as I hope, there is no one who can keep
from your hands all the materials that are necessary for you.
For the rest, pardon me if I have acted with any imprudence
in this business, and whilst I depart from this terrestrial Pa-
radise, accompany me with your prayers. I would wish to
find before me in Lyons your reply to this letter. Farewell
in the Lord, and pray for me.
"The feast of St. Mark, 1623.
"Fr. PATRICK FLEMING."
On his arrival in Lyons he again wrote to Father Ward,
adding interesting details regarding the various Memorials of
St. Malachy, preserved in some of the great French Cister-
cian Monasteries : —
1 " I wrote to you from Clairvaux, in the hope of getting an
answer from you. As this has not come to hand I fear my letter
may not have reached you, and thus it will be necessary for
you to write to that effect to Father John Cantwell, an Irish
monk in Clairvaux Ask him about the Lives of SS. Di-
chuil and Mansuetus, and the Letters of St. Malachy, though
these have not been found as yet. Ask him also about the
Mitre of St. Malachy, which, according to tradition, was
placed upon the head of that holy Bishop by Pope Innocent,
and about the Chalice of St. Malachy, which I myself used
1 "REVDE. PATER,
"Scripsi tibi ex Claravalle de nostro negotio quae scribcnda videbantur
cum spe ad ea responsum recipiendi quod cum factum non sit timeo meos ad te
non pervenisse ac proinde opus crit iterum Dominum Joannem Cantwell mona-
chum Claravallensem Hibernum (cui ejns negotii comisi curam) monere per epis-
tolam. quod ipse facere poteris mittens litteras per Procuratorem Claravallensem
qui habitat in Collegio S. Bemardi 1'aiisiis. Interroga ipsum de vita S. Deicoli,
Mansueti et epistolis S. Malachiae (licet nondum inventis) de quibus tibi scripsi
ex Claravalle. Item de mitra S. Malachiae ipsius, ut tradunt, capiti ab Innocentio
suinmo Pontiftce imposita, de calice S. Malachiae quocum ipse celebravi. Kpitaphia
ip>ius tibi cum litteris misi. Aliucl aclinic S. Malachiae monumentum vidimus in
monasterio de Obrier decem vel circiter leucis a Claravalle distante, nempe cvphum
quo usus fuerat ipse quemquc secum ex llibernia tulerat, ex quo bili.mus. Kst
autem ligneus, et co<>|x;rculum seu bursa cjus ipso praetiosior est, ex corio multis
nodis et pressuris varie incisa more Ilybcrnico, in vaginis oblongorum cultrorum
curiose decorandis servari solito ; quod tibi scripsi quia notatu dignum judicavit
Pr. Cavellus. Ex eo autem omnes religiosi bibunt in fcsto S. Malachiae tantum.
Utere tua dlscretione in hoc ad cjus vitam apponenendo.
" Caeterum nihil adhuc reperi quia nee quaerere tempus fuit ; nam per monas-
tcriuin Cisterciense vehimus, et crastina ejus diei quo appulimus recessimus et ita
64 Irish Historical Studies
when offering the Holy Sacrifice. The inscriptions on his
monument were sent to you enclosed in my former letter.
We met another Memorial of St. Malachy in the Monastery of
Obrier, which is about ten leagues distant from Clairvaux,
that is, the cup which he brought with him from Ireland, and
from which we had the privilege of drinking. It is made of
wood, and its cover or case is more precious than itself, being
of leather, wonderfully embossed and adorned with intertwin-
ings, according to the Irish style (more Hibernico) of singular
ornamentation, generally used on the sheaths of oblong instru-
ments. I write this to you, as Father Caghwell thinks it may
be interesting to you to know it. All the Religious drink
from this cup only on the feast day of St. Malachy. Use
your own discretion as to adding this when writing the Saint's
life.
" As yet I have not found any MSS., because there was
no time for searching for them. We stopped at the Cistercian
Monastery, but on the day after our arrival we again started
on our journey, so that I was not able to see the celebrated
Library of that house, much more valuable, as I hear, than
that of Clairvaux ; and this I readily believe, as it is con-
sidered the first and Mother House of the Cistercian
Order, and its Abbot should be, by right, the general Superior
of the whole order. As for the remainder of the journey I
despair of being able to transmit anything to you, unless it
may please God to arrange matters otherwise than at present.
nem mihi licuit videre celebrem illam Bibliothecam ejus domus multo ut audivi
Claravallensi praestantiorem, quod facile credo, cum ordinis Cisterciensis prima
domus et mater habeatur, ibique semper Abbas totius ordinis jure generalis esse
debeat gubernator. Quod reliquum viae spectat despero pene me tibi quidquam
posse transmittere nisi Dominus aliter disponere dignetur quam hactenus. Ego
certe nihil de meo fervore remitto, nihilominus tamen timeo me parum hoc itinere
praestiturum quod te parum movere debet quia spero Romae me reperturum quae
in via non potui quaerere.
" Lege supplementum chronicorum Philippi Bergomensis ubi de Hibernia agit
et te in nomenclatura forte juvabit, si tamen ibi de nostra Hibemia loquitur. Di-
rige tuas litteras quamprimum Romam ad P. Lucam quia spero nos ibi futurum
antequam ipsa venerint. Quaeso scribe plenius de processu hue usque operis ;
et Dominum Messingham, quern obnixe saluto. roga ut alacriter pergat ad gloriam
sanctorum et honorem patriae sanctae suae. Me precibus fratrum commendatum
habe, de tuis nolo dubitare. Plura non habeo pro nunc. Haec ipsa non rei urgentis
sed ofiicii debiti ratio scribere compelliL Det Deus ut bene legas quae calamus
tarn stupidus exaravit. Vale in Christo pater chare et tui memoris esto memor.
"Lugduni, 8 Maii, 1623. Tuus ut nosti,
" Fr. PATRITIUS FLEMINGUS.
" Reverendo in Christo Patri, Fr. Hugoni Vardeo,
" Socio Confessarii Reginae Christianissimae,
" In Conventu Cordigerorum, Parisiis." — (Ex. Archrv. S. hid.)
/;/ the Seventeenth Century. 65
For my part I have lost nothing of my fervour ; nevertheless
I fear this my journey will add but little to your store, but
this should not disturb you, for I hope to find in Rome what
I am unable to search for on the road thither.
" Read the Supplement to the Chronicle of Philip of Ber-
gamo, where he treats about Ireland, and you will find some-
thing useful, perhaps, on the question of the nomenclature, if,
however, it is our Ireland that he speaks of. Direct your
letters to Rome, to the care of Father Luke Wadding, for I
hope we will arrive there before your letters can reach. I pray
you to send all details about the progress of your work ; and
I lovingly salute Messingham, who, I trust, earnestly continues
to labour for the glory of our Saints and the honour of our
country.
" I commend myself to the prayers of the fathers ; as for
yours, I feel quite assured of them. I shall write no more ;
and even all this I have written, not as a matter of any
urgency, but merely to discharge my duty towards you. God
grant that you may be able to read what my stupid pen has
written. Farewell in Christ, my dear Father, and be not for-
getful of one who is ever mindful of you.
" Lyons, 8th May, 1623.
"Fr. PATRICK FLEMING."
Before the month of September, 1623, Father Hugh Ward
proceeded to Louvain to teach Theology in the College of St.
Anthony. A little later he was chosen guardian of that Con-
vent, and thus a wider field was opened to him for promoting
his cherished object of the glory of the Saints of Ireland.
During his sojourn in France he had visited the libraries of
Paris, of Rouen, of Harfleur, and of Nantes. In Belgium
he also gathered in a rich literary store, but it was in Ireland
principally that researches should be made for the surviving
monuments of her early history. Here Providence came to
his aid. " Whilst he was guardian of Louvain," writes Father
de Buck, "there came to the gates of St. Anthony's a man
advanced in years, who knew no Latin, but asked to be ad-
mitted to the habit of the lay-brothers of the Franciscan
Order. This was Michael O'Clery, whose name will be for
ever dear to the Archaeologists and historians of Ireland. Born
about the year 1580, in the County of Donegal; he was an
Antiquarian by profession, and ranked among his colleagues
as one of the most skilled in Celtic Archaeology. Father
Ward asked permission to have O'Clery appointed his own
assistant, and the permission was readily accorded. He soon
saw that Ireland would be a better field of labour for one so
VII.
66 Irish Historical Studies
skilled in Irish literature than Belgium. The Superiors of the
Order came to a like decision, and soon the Antiquarian Bro-
ther was sent back to his country, commissioned to search
out and transcribe the lives of the Irish Saints, and all other
documents connected with the history of the kingdom. As
many of these records of our early ages were written in the
ancient Gaelic, no one was better suited for such a task than
brother Michael."1
We will have occasion hereafter to speak at greater length
of the labours of O'Clery ; for the present it will suffice to cite
a few passages of a letter of Dr. Rothe, Bishop of Ossory, giving
some details connected with that learned explorer of our
early monuments. It is addressed to Father Hugh Ward as
follows : —
"WORTHIE FRIEND,
" I need not make any relation of the trivial occurrents
now current in this poor realm, nor particularize anything
touching myself, but remit you to the bearer, who will punctu-
ally inform you of all. As I was teaching at Cashel, upon
your patron's festival day, there I met your brother Clery, who
made a collection of more than three or four hundred lives. I
gave him the few lives I had collected, and sent him to
Ormond, part of my diocese, to write there for a time, from
whence he promised to come to Chewmond, (i.e. Thomond,)
where I undertook to get many things for him, but he came
not since ; soon I do expect his coming, he shall be welcome
truly to me. I have some little alms to be sent to your house,
but can find no way this year to convey the same to you, or
send any supply to my brother, because the ways are stopped.
I understood by one of your letters, written long ago, that
some false informations were given of me, for my partiality
against religious orders, which was most calumnious, as ex-
perience taught, and will ever teach, during my life ; .but I
cannot sufficiently give you thanks for your advice and care
of me and mine, assuring you your will was and will always
be done in that behalf, as you will see in time.
"I commend the bearer to you, who is my special friend,
and one of yours, worthy, for his parentage and behaviour, of
any furtherance. Remember my love and humble service to
the two noble gentlemen of Barnewall and M'Frihill. I am
informed a priest who died there called John O'Duohy, of my
diocese, spoke somewhat sinisterly of me, whose ground was
because I refused to give him licence celebrandi in meo dis-
trictu.
1 LArcheologit Irlandaise, <&Y. par le R. P. V. de Buck, S J., Paris, l869,page 5.
/// the Seventeenth Century. 67
" I hear many arc suitors for my place, and I pray God to
rid me of the pains thereof if it will tend to his own glory,
and the common good, otherwise, benedicta ejus in omnibus
fiat voluntas I long to hear from yourself, and when
you intend to come for Ireland. I know you heard long ago
from Mr. Francis Brian how Mr. William Kelly died of late,
to my grief. " I rest without end,
" Yours to be commanded,
" The 30th of Jan., 1628. " DAVID ROTHE.1
" To the worthy and much respected friend,
Mr. HEAGH WARDE, Louvain."
However the libraries of France, Italy, and Ireland did not
satisfy this indefatigable man. He wished also to be enriched
with the spoils of Germany, as we learn from the following
letter of the celebrated Benedictine, Lessing, who thus writes
to Ward from the monastery of St. Hubert, on the 23rd
of August, 1629 : —
" The peace of Xt
" MY REVEREND FATHER IN XT.,
" When two of your religious lately made a pilgrimage
to our monastery of St. Hubert, one of them requested me to
have some lives of saints copied. by one of our brothers from
a MS. of the monastery. This copy, faithfully and accurately
made from the said MS. (which is entitled Vitae Sanctorum ,)
I now send to you. I trust your reverence may accept my
good will, and cause the holy sacrifice to be offered up by your
religious for the good of our order, and may God grant his
protection and blessing to you.
" Your servant in Xt.,
"FR. BENEDICT LESSING.2
" The Monastery of St. Hubert,
"The i oth of the Calends of September, 1629."
1 Ex. Archh. S. Itidori Romat.
t " Tax Xti.
'• REVDE. IN XTO. PATER,
" Cum duo ex vestris nuper ad nostrum monasterium S. Huberti, pere-
grinationem instituissent unus eorum me rogaverat quatenus ab aliquo e nostris
vitas quorumdam SS. ex codice MS. transcribi curarem. Copiam ergo ex eodem
MS. intitulato Vitat Sanctorum fideliter ct ad verbum exscriptam ab uno ex prae-
fatis transmitto. Aequi bonique cpnsulat V.R. et Deum si placet per se et per
suos pro bono religionis nostrae deprecetur qui paterniUUem suam servet et salvet.
"V. R.
•' Servus in Xto.,
"FR.BENEDICTUS LESSINE.
" In Monast. Andiano,
" 10 Calendarum, Scptembris, 1639." — Ex. Arthrv. S. Itid . Romat.
68 Irish Historical Studies
A marginal note adds, that the lives of Saints Fursey,
Brigid, and Cad roe, with a fragment of a life of St. Patrick,
accompanied this letter. All these lives were subsequently
made use of by Colgan, in his Acta Sanctorum, and this
greatest of our hagiologists regarded as singularly important
and venerable for its antiquity, the valuable manuscript from
which they were transcribed.
Whilst Ward was thus occupied enlisting the services of
skilful and devoted men to collect the scattered monuments of
Irish History, he himself was busily engaged in preparing for
the press several works which were all closely connected with
the same subject. The following treatises on which he was
engaged are mentioned by O'Sheerin : —
1. On the ancient names of Ireland (De nomenclatura Hi-
berniae).
2. On the condition and political development of Society
in Ireland (De static tt Processu veteris in Hibernia reipublicae).
3. On the Privileges of St Patrick (Anagraphe mirabilium
Sancti Patricii).
4. An Inquiry concerning the pilgrimage of St. Ursula (In-
vestigatio expeditionis Ursulanae).
5. An Hyberno-Latin Martyrology, compiled from the
ancient Martyrologies of Ireland (Martyrologium ex muttit
vetustis Latino-Hibtrnicum).
6. The Life of St. Rumold, Bishop of Mechlin (Sancti
Rumoldi Vita).
The fame of Father Hugh Ward was soon widespread
throughout Belgium. Letters were addressed to him from all
parts, proposing queries connected with the Saints of Ireland ;
and among his correspondents we find the renowned Father
Bollandus, from whom the great Jesuit collection of the Lives
of the Saints derives its name.1
1 " REVDE. IN X TO. PATER,
"PaxXti.,
" Cum nuper ad Rev. Vram. scriberem, excidit mihi quaerere de
operibus S. Columbani an apud vos ea sint etiamnum. R. Petrus F'ranciscus
Chiffletius desideraret sibi ex epistola quadam ejus describi quae de cyclo Pas-
chali 84 annorum habet. Ad haec rogat ut si quid in vitis sanctorum Hibcrniae
de eodem 84 annorum cyclo occurrat sibi communicemus. Ego praeterqam in
Bedaet vita S. Columbae nihil de ea controversia reperio : si extaret S. Adamnani
Huensis vita non dubito quin plusculum de ea re reperiretur cum pro cyclo Ro-
mano sive Uionysiano plurimum ille laboravit. Quaesivit idem non semel an de
S -Anatolio Scoto niliil legisscm. Nihil legi. Colitur in Burgundia. An est Reve-
rentiae vestrae notus ?
" Commendo me sanctis Rev. Vrae. Sacrificiis et praecibus.
" Rev. Vrae.,
" Servus in Xto.,
" Antwerpia, a6Julii, 1634. "JOANNES BOULANDUS.
" Revdo. Patri in Xto., P. Hugoni Vardaeo, O.S.F., Lovanii."
/// t/ie Sei'cnteenth Century. 69
One of the letters thus addressed to him is particularly
interesting; it was written by Father Augustine Wichmann, of
the Premonstratensian Order, and dated from Tungerloo,
the Feast of St. Waldetrude, in 1628. It is addressed to
Father Hugh Ward, Order of St. Francis, Guardian of the
College of St. Anthony in Louvain : —
" With both hands 1 have received, and then I have lovingly
kissed the bundle of your most learned remarks on the Life of
St. Dympna. Our people of Brabant will be astounded, as
well as I, when they will receive, through your kindness, these
wonderful details in the Life of St. Dympna. And, would to
Heaven ! that those manuscripts, regarding her deeds, which
are preserved in your nation, should soon be placed within
our reach. Oh, Dympna ! hear my prayer, for it is directed
to promote thy glory : and thou Oh, Angel ! who art named
Accelera, hasten this boon for me."
He then propounds some of his own views about the Life of
St. Dympna ; and among other things, remarks that she could
not have been the superior of a Convent, as according to the tra-
dition of Gheel, she was only fifteen years of age at the time
she suffered martyrdom. " Therefore," he thus continues,
" your conjecture seems to me to be the most probable, that
is, that her staff, which is preserved, is not an Abbatial cro-
zier, but a staff of pilgrimage, like that of St. Oda, which
was brought from Mount Garganum, as her Life, which we
possess, records, for she passed by that mountain when jour-
neying from your country to Rome."
From other remarks of Father Wichmans, we glean that
it was Ward's opinion that St. Dympna made a pilgrimage
to Rome ; that her martyrdom took place about the year 480,
and that the name of Gheel was derived from the two Gaelic
Saints, SS. Dympna and Gerabern, who rendered that spot
so illustrious by miracles, that a city soon sprung up round
their shrines. He adds, " I have nothing to oppose to your
explanation of the name Gheel, but I would wish to learn
from you can any similar explanation be given to the name
Zammale, by which the town is called, where they resided
before their martyrdom."
He further gives the following interesting particulars re-
garding St. Oda and her companion, St. Hilvaris : — " I don't
know whether your Reverence has ever verified from other
sources the statement made by Gazet in his Ecclesiastical
History of Belgium, written in French, wherein, in the chap-
ter-on the Saints of Bois-le-Duc, he writes, regarding the
Irish Saint, St. Hilvaris : — St. Hilvaris, virgin, the companion
of St. Oda, founded a Collegiate Church in the town of Btca,
70 Irish Historical Studies
which, from her, is called Hilvaris-Bcca. This is also the
constant tradition there. The town is situated in the middle
of our Campania, which was the native place of the late fa-
mous Theologian, Martin Becanus." ]
Twelve years later Father Wichmans again wrote to Lou-
vain, seeking further details about St. Dympna. His letter
was no longer addressed to Hugh Ward, who had passed to
his reward, but to Father John Colgan, the worthy successor
of Ward, as Irish hagiologist in St. Anthony's. He states in
this letter that the life of St. Dympna, by F. Cameracensis,
was the most ancient preserved in Gheel, and was compiled
in the 1 3th century, from the tradition of the inhabitants, and
from paintings and various monuments collected in several
places. There is fortunately preserved among the Colgan
fragments at St. Isidore's in Rome, a fly-sheet containing
a rough draft of a portion of Colgan's letter in answer to the
above, and dated i8th September, 1640. It adds not a
little to our scanty information regarding that great saint
and martyr of our early church. He first remarks that the
Father of St. Dympna should not be styled Monarch of all
Ireland, but rather Dynast, or inferior prince, many of whom
received the title of kings, and some of whom it is probable
persevered for a time in their pagan vices and superstitions.
He then continues as follows: — 2
"That the matter may be more accurately illustrated,
I premise four remarks: —
" 1st — That Dympna, orDimhna, is generally written Damh-
nad in Irish, although, according to the origin of the word, we
should rather write it Damhna, according to what I have
already remarked in my notes above, number 3.
1 " Manipulum doctissimarum Adnotationum in vitam S- Dimphnae nuper
utraque manu recepi et pleno ore exosculatus sum. . . . Stupebunt mecum
Brabantini nostri dum stupenda ilia, audita nunquam, ex vobis audient cum bene-
volentia, in vita S. Dimphnae. Et O si 1 manuscripta ilia quae apud gentem ves-
tram latent de ejusdem gestis per inanum vestram brevi recipiam. Audi votum
O Dimphna ! quia ad honorem tuum illud emitto ; tuque imprimis, cui nomen
Ac cetera, idem mihi accelera
" Nescio autem utrum a R. V. alibi animadversum sit quod habit Gazetius in
Hist, sua Eccles. Belgica, gallico idiomate edita, capite de SS. Dioeces. Silvae-
ducensis in quo haec de S. Hilvare Hiberna :— S. Hilvaris virgo, pedissequa S.
Odte, fundatrix fuit Ecclesiae Collegiatae in pago Becensi qiu ab ea nomen traxit
Hilvaris- Beca.' Estque ea constans ibidem traditio: ager autem est in medio nostrae
Campaniae, patriae magni illius nuper Theologi Martini Becani."
1 Pro veritate melins eruenda praemitto quatuor : —
1. Dimhnam Hibernice passim vocari Damhnad, licet ex prim a yocis origine
Damhna potius videatur dicta juxta ea quae fusius notavi supra in notis n. ^
2. Extare in Orgiellia Ultoniae in Hibernia perampla regione celebre et in magno
praetio et veneratione habitum, in hujus virginis memoriam, monumentum quod
b.uhull-damhnad id est baculus S. Dimhnae appellatur. Quando enjm non solum
dynastae et nobiles illius regionis sed et plebci volunt aliquid jurejurando affir-
In the Seventeenth Century. 71
" 2nd — That in Oirghialla, which is a very large district in
Ulster, in Ireland, there is still preserved, through reverence for
this saint, a celebrated memorial called Bachull-Damhnad, i.e.,
Staff of St. Dympna, which is held in the highest honour
and veneration, and when anyone of this territory, whether
he be prince or peasant, wishes to affirm anything on oath,
he is invariably sworn on this Bachull as a most inviolable
tessera of truth. It is uncertain whether it was used as a
pastoral staff of Abbess, or as a staff of pilgrimage to foreign
parts, but now it is covered with gems and gold, and held in
the highest honour.
" 3rd — That in different parts of Ireland there still remain
four churches dedicated to one or more saints of the name of
Dympna. The first and principal church is situated in the
aforesaid province of Oirghialla, in the district of Sliabh-Beatha ;
it is called Teagh-Damhnad, i.e., the house of St. Dympna, and
was formerly the burial-place of the princes and dynasts of
Oirghialla (who in olden times were called by the generic name
of kings) and in it to our own times was preserved the above
mare per hunc baculum tamquam certum veritatis asserendae sacramentura solent
jurare. Et sive in officio abbatissae, sive in sua peregrinatione extra patriam,
fuerit, ejus baculus est gemmis et auro coelatus et in magno praetio semper
habitus.
3. Quod hoclie extant in Hiberniae diversis regionibus ecclesiae quatuor sive uni
sive diversis hujus nominis virginibus dicatae. Prima, et praecipua, in praedicta
oirgiellia provincia in regione de Sliabh-Beatha, quae Teagh-Damhnad id est
aedes S. Dimhnae appellatur, in qua olim erat et sepultura principum et dynas-
tarum orgielliae qui temporibus priscis absolute rcgcs vocabantur.juxta moxdicenda,
et in hac usque ad nostros dies servabatur praedictus S. Dymhnae baculus et in ea
insuper celebratur solemniier fcslum S. Dymhnae tamquam non solum loci sed et
totius regionis patronae non tamcn die 15 Mali, ut (Ihelae, sed 13 Junii quo et
publicae ibi majoris solemnitatis gratia servantur nundinae. Sccunda, quinque
circiter miliaribus a prima distans est in eadem regione latere mentis Betha alia
ecclesia .... Atchumairce appellata ; et quia pars non exigua hujus uia^ni
montis spectabat olim ad liauc ecclcsi.un hinc ipsa vitgo dcnominationcm ab ipso
monte accepisse videtur qua solet Damhna de monte Betha appellari. Tertia est
viginti circiter hide miliaribus distans in comitatu el oppulo Luthensi et regione de
machaire orgiell,id est, planitic orgelliae cui adjacet alia capella ad jactuin bombar-
dae,S.Gerelx:rnoutti-adilioliabetciicaUi:fi'ruuteiiim in ilia cella S.Dymhnam fuisse a
S. Gerel>emo litteris et pietale inslructam. Quarta. est Kill-Alga nppellata in
regione Mediae et media inter oppida de baile Athtruim, et baile-Athbuidhe, ab
utroque tribus circiler distans miliaribus ; quo die aulem servetur S. Dymhnae fes-
tum in hisce ecclesiis mi hi nondum constat.
4. Quartum quod praempnendum duxi est quod duae, nisi tres, hujus nominis
memorantur a nostns hagiologis aliisque historicis virgines vitae sanctimonia et
natalibus clarae. Prima, S. Dymhna patre S. Ronano Nennedii filio et matre
Dublacha, orta de celeberrima onellorum familia de qua ejusque aliis sororibus
vide plura in notis ad vitam S. Lassarae sororis ejus ad 13 Novemb., sed quia Ro-
nanus harum virginum pater non fuit paganussed a puero Christianus et postea vir
sanctus et post mortem uxoris episcopus, miraculis clams ante filiarum ejus
obitum ut habetur in citata S. Lassarae vita, non potest Dimhna nostra Gelensis a
patre impio et pagano capite truncata fuisse ejus filia. Seeuitda, est S. Dimhna de
monte Beatha de cujus familia paterna, matre et sanctissimis fratribus melius con-
stat quam ic ipso patre cujus nomen ab authoribus non exphmitur."
7 2 Irish Historical Studies
staff of St. Dympna. In it also the festival of St. Dympna
is celebrated with the greatest solemnity, as the feast of the
patron not only of that place, but of the whole province ; it is
not kept, however, on the 1 5th of May, as in Gheel, but on
the 1 3th of June, on which day a public fair is held as an
occasion of special celebration. The second church is about
five miles distant from the former, and is situated in the same
district, on the side of Mount Beatha, and is called Atchumairc,
i.e., the ford of refuge; and as a large portion of the mountain
formerly belonged to this church, the Saint seemsto have derived
from it her characteristic designation, for she is generally
known as " St. Dympna of Mount Beatha." The third church
is situated at a distance of about twenty miles thence in the
county and town of Louth, in the district of Maghera Oirgh-
ialla, i.e., the plain of Oirghialla, and at a short distance from
this church there is another chapel which, according to tradi-
tion, was dedicated to saint Gerebern ; and tradition has it
that it was there St. Gerebern instructed our St. Dympna
in science and in religion. The fourth church is that called
Kill-Alga, in the county Meath, half-way between Trim and
Athboy, being distant about three miles from each of these
towns. I have not as yet been able to discover on what
day the feast of the Saint is kept in these churches.
"4. The fourth point to be held in mind is this, that two if
not three holy Virgins of the name of Dympna, are comme-
morated by our Hagiologists and other historians as renowned
for their birth and sanctity. The first St. Dympna had, for
her father, St. Ronan, the son of Nennedh, and for mother,
Dublacha, who was descended from the celebrated family of
the O'Neils ; about her and her sisters, see at the I3th of
November, the notes on the Life of St. Lassair, who was her
sister. As, however, Ronan, the father of these holy virgins
was not a Pagan, but was a Christian from his infancy, and
as he advanced in years was remarkable for his sanctity, and
after the death of his wife was chosen Bishop, and was cele-
brated for miracles during the lifetime of his daughters, as
appears from the life of St. Lassair, it is manifest that St.
Dympna of Gheel, who was beheaded by her Pagan and
impious father, cannot have been St. Ronan's daughter. The
second St. Dympna is called St. Dympna, of Mount Beatha,
of whose father's family, as well as of her mother and holy
brothers, we are better informed than of her father himself,
whose name is passed over in silence by our writers."
After this important passage another short paragraph is
added (which however is in great part erased), as follows : —
" Her mother's name was Bronach, the daughter pf Milcho,
/;/ the Scvtntccnth Century. 73
with whom St. Patrick lived as a slave for many years. See
Aengus Keledeus."
This is all that is preserved of the letter of Colgan. The
Mount Beatha here referred to is the modern Slicve Beagh,
which is situated in the County Tyrone, near its junction with
Fermanagh and Monaghan. Near it, to the south-east, is the
ancient Teach Damhnat, giving name to the modern parish of
Tedavnet The bachull of St. Dympna is spoken of by Petrie
as forming part of his valuable collection, and the ornamental
work is described by him as not later thaui the tenth century.
He gives two illustrations from it in his Round Towers, page
318. As regards the tqwn and whole district of Louth,
special devotion seems to have been there shown to St.
Dympna even to a late period. In the i6th century as
Hanmer writes in his chronicle,1 her memory was vividly
cherished there, and it was supposed that her father had been
some dynast of that territory. Colgan also writes in the
printed volume of his Acta Sanctorum, page 713, that "a
most celebrated virgin of the name Damhna sprung from
Oirghialla, is venerated to the present day as the common
patron of all the territory of Orighialla." The Kill- Alga
mentioned above is now known as Kildalkey. It still gives
name to a parish situated at a few miles from Trim. Mr.
Donovan, who examined this district in connexion with the
Ordnance Survey, reported that St. Damhnat, i.e., Dympna,
was its patron saint. In the Annals of the "Four Masters," he
thus writes : " Kill-dealga, anglicized Kildalkey, was the
name of an old church, now totally destroyed, giving name to
a parish situated between the parish of Trim, in East Meath,
and the boundary of Westmeath," (page 320). He adds that
the festival of the saint was formerly kept there on the I5th
of May. Though no vestige' remains of the ancient church,
a holy well near the site still retains the name of Tobar-Dam-
hnata, i.e., St. Dympna's well.
As an appendix to Hugh Ward's "Life of St. Rumold"
some scattered poems were inserted, composed by him at
leisure intervals, in honour of his "special patrons. Two of
these short poems are in praise of St. Dympna, and one of
them, which we choose as a specimen, will sufficiently prove
that even in Latin verse our distinguished countryman was
true to his name, and reflected no dishonour on the traditional
glory of his family : —
" Dymphna peregrina superans mortalia forma
Indiges inter abit Daphnea virgo Deas,
Pacta pudicitia regnum patriamque patremque,
Cuncta tenet fugiens quae fugiendo manet.
1 Chronicle of Ireland, page 143.
74 Irish Historical Studies
Quern dedit Angelicum genitrix speciosa decorem,
Plus decorat maculis dextra sinistra patris.
Non onus est, sed honor, species laesura ferentes ;
Quam gemina integro palma pudore manet.
Haud demit, geminat patricida machaera coronam ;
De saevo agna Lupo bina trophaea refert.
Purpurat Augustam Dignam1 cruor; almaque sceptrum
Lilia dant ; addit gemmea serta Deus.
Cumque baud digna forent Digna terrena sepulchra,
Coelica coelicolae mausolea struunt.
Jam septena Ghelae cedunt miracula mundi ;
Pluria namque uno haec una dat urna die."
The Life of St. RumolcP is the only published work of
Hugh Ward, and it was not till many years after his death
that even this was given to the press by his friend and com-
panion, O'Sheerin. Nevertheless it is justly described by the
learned Bollandist, De Buck, as " indisputably one of the most
erudite books for which we are indebted to Irish Archaelogy."5
Hugh Ward engaged in this work at the request of the
Archbishop of Mechlin, who, with his clergy, was most desi-
rous of having the details of the life of the great patron of
that See illustrated by one so well versed in the antiquities of
Ireland. It was completed in the year 1631, but its publica-
tion was deferred, in the hope that some further particulars
connected with St. Rumold might be gleaned from the docu-
ments which were then so zealously sought for by O'Clery
and other members of the Order in Ireland. Ward, however,
was cut off by death before these documents could betransmitted
to Louvain. It was the intention of Colgan to insert the whole
work, with additional notes, in his Acta Sanctorum on the 1st
of July, but he, too, was summoned to his reward before ac-
complishing his design. Hence it was that O'Sheerin, on
being appointed hagiologist of the Order, resolved to begin
his labours by the publication of this work of Ward, lest, as
he writes in the preface, " he should be forgotten who had be-
1 The Latin Digna corresponds with the pronunciation of the name of our saint
in Belgium. In the Palatium Spirituale, or Life of St. Begga, published at
Antwerp, in 1632, by R. P. Elias, a S. Teresa, St. Dympna is commemorated on
the 1 5th of May as " Sancla Digna, virgo et martyr."
* Sancti Rumoldi martyris inclyti, Archiepiscopi Dublinifnsis, Mechliniensium
Apostoli &*c. Acta, Martyrium, Liturgia antiqua et Patria : ex antiqttissimis cum
tnanu, turn prelo editis harum rerum Scriptoribns, summa fide collccta, notis illns-
trata; et aucta Disquisitione /listonca, seu investigutioiie getiuinae Scotiae S. Rumoldi
et contribulium Sanctorum per R. P. F. Hugonem Vardaeum Hibemum olim in
Lovaniensi Collegio S. Antonii &c. de Padua guardianum, S. Theol. Professorem,
«t Hagiographum." Lovanii, 1662.
8 V Archaeologie Irlandaise, p. 44.
In the Seven teen t/t Century. 75
gun these studies, and had collected a great deal of matter
with much toil and industry, or lest it should be supposed that
nothing had been achieved by all his toil."
The few and unfinished remarks made by Ward regarding
the family of St. Rumold, show how accurate was his know-
ledge of the antiquities of our country. He conjectures that
the Latinized name Rumoldus corresponds with the Celtic
Knmond, which is often met with in the Annals of Ireland :
thus Rumond Duagh is commemorated as connected by blood
with St. Kieran of Saigher, and as the father of many saints :
Rumond O Haedhagain, Abbot of Clonmacnoise, is mentioned
in 978: Rumond mac Catkusach, Bishop of Clonard, in 919:
another Rumond, "exceedingly versed in chronology and
poetry," in 742, at which time, indeed, the patron of Mechlin
also flourished ; but Ward adds, that this entry of our annals
probably refers to another St. Rumond who lived at that
time, and is referred to by St. ./Engus in his Tract on the
" The Mothers of the Saints of Erin," where Funechta is styled
" the mother of St. Cormac, Bishop of Athtruim, and of SS.
Baithellach, Ossan, and Rumond"
In the ancient life, St. Rumold is said to have been born
in a city called Guervia. This gives occasion to Ward to
remark that the Scottish writers were unable to find any
place in Scotland corresponding with this name, but in Ire-
land, he adds, we have Sliebh-Guaire in Breffny, " which was
formerly part of Connaught, but is now a county in Ulster ;"
also the more celebrated Durlas-Guaire, i.e. the fortress of
Guaire, King of Connaught, situated nine miles from Galway
and four miles from the see of Kilmacduagh, — the royal
palace of Prince Guaire, who was renowned for his munifi-
cence and hospitality, formerly marked this spot ; then again,
Gort-insi-Guairc, the hereditary propertyof the O'Shaugnessys,
only two or three miles distant from Durlas-Guaire ; a fourth
town situated between Dublin and Wexford (thirty-three
miles from the former and twenty-three from the latter), in
the townland of Kilmantan, is still called Guaire-an-Ri, i.e.
" Royal Guaire"1 — it was formerly the residence of the Dublin
princes, and is now the seat of Viscount Esmond ; in fine,
Rath-Giiaire, a village of Wcstmeath, situated twenty-five
miles from Dublin and five miles from Mullingar; "it was
once a noble palace as its ruins still attest." It is not easy
to decide which of these places is the city mentioned in the
life of St. Rumold, but as it states that the royal residence of
the father of the saint was situated there, we may, with
1 This gives us the origin of the modern name Corey.
76 Irish Historical Studies
some probability look to Guaire-an-Ri as the birth-place of
St. Rumold. It is worthy of remark that in the beginning of
the eighth century our annals mention a prince of the Hy-
Kinnsellagh called Dathi, which, as Ward fully proves, was
the name of the father of our saint.
The most important part, however, of the work of Ward
is an Essay on the Ancient SCOTIA, in which he displays the
greatest learning, and proves that that name originally be-
longed solely to Ireland, and that it was only at a com-
paratively recent date it became appropriated to the northern
part of Britain. In this. essay he shows himself intimately
acquainted with all the then accessible materials of Irish
history, and he brings forward many passages from MS. lives
of our early saints. In his incidental references, he remarks
that the hymn in honour of St. Columbanus, beginning " Nostri
solemnis sacculi" which by some is attributed to Jonas, and
by others to Notker Balbulus, is marked in the ancient MS.
of Bobbio, as composed by St. Gall, the holy companion of
St. Columbanus.1 At page 152 he states that in the sacristy
of Namur was preserved the inscription, " St. Forannan, an
Irish archbishop and first abbot of the monastery of Walcio-
dorum, is enshrined there, illustrious by his many miracles,"
and, after a few other remarks, he adds, " these things I
myself copied in Walciodorum in 1626." Treating of the
religious rule followed by the Irish saints, he writes (p. 64)
that there were at least twelve great monastic founders in
our early Church, each of whom composed a rule for his
disciples ; " I myself have fragments," he adds, " of these
various rules, and they are referred to in the lives of our
saints written in the earliest times. Thus, the ancient nar-
rative of St. Molua's life, makes mention of his rule, which
was brought to St. Gregory the Great by the holy abbot
Dagan, and it was so admired by that great Pontiff that he
exclaimed : ' Molua has raised even unto heaven a safe bar-
rier for his followers, to preserve them from every assault of
worldly wickedness." At page 105, speaking of the beautiful
discourse of Vernulaeus on the Irish saints in Belgium, he
states that it was delivered on the occasion of the conse-
cration of Dr. Fleming, Archbishop of Dublin, in 1623, in the
public Academy of Lou vain, in the presence of four arch-
bishops, and of a select number of academicians, who, in their
poems and various compositions, declared that " Belgium
was indebted to Ireland, and particularly to Dublin, for St.
Rumold and other saints, but now repaid in part this debt
1 Page 122., See this hymn in Messingham " Florilegium,'* p. 220.
In the Seventeenth Century. 77
by sending to Dublin as Archbishop, the Superior and Lecturer
of Theology at St. Anthony's." At page 299 he also men-
tions that Edward Geraldine, connected with the noble families
of Kildare and Desmond, and born in Ireland, held the post
of Sergeant-Major in the Irish Legion in Belgium, and sub-
sequently attained the rank of Colonel and Count of the Holy
Empire in Germany, but died at Heydelberg in 1626, and
was interred in the Franciscan church of that town. These
few instances will suffice to show how important, even in
its incidental references, is the " Life of St. Rumold."
The last event that we meet with connected with Father
Ward's life is the visitation of the houses of his order in
the province of St. Andrew, in Belgium, which he held in
1633 by special authority from the Papal Nuncio,1 as well
as by commission from the Franciscan-General. The Archives
of St. Isidore's preserve some minutes of his report on the
various allegations that were made to him, and on the true
causes which created disturbance among the brethren of
that province. From it we learn that he proceeded to Lisle
on the 1st of July, 1633, held a consultation with the Nuncio
at Brussels, on the 28th of the same month ; returned a
second time to Lisle on the 6th August, and finally com-
municated the result of his investigation to the Nuncio on
the 1 8th of September, 1633, and two days later to the
Commissary-General of his order. This was one of the last
important missions entrusted to Hugh Ward.3
Two years later a tedious and painful disease brought his
earthly career to a premature close, on the 8th of November,
1635-
1 The patent of the Nuncio styles him " R. P. Fr. Hugonem Vardaeum ejusdem
professions ex Provincia Hibemiae religiosum et Sac. Theologiae Lectorem quern
ad id muneris idoneum noscimus." — Archiv. S. Isidori,
1 \[ 'adding in " Scriptores Ord. Min.." pat;e 179. gives the following sketch of
the life of Ward: — " HugoWardaeus, HiWrnus Ultoniensis, provinciae S. Jacobi
alumnus, quern ego in Coventu Salmanticensi anno i6i6,curavi ad ordinemadmitti.
Acris et perspicui vir ingenii, Lovanium missus jn Collegio S. Antonii FF. Min.
Hib. Lectoris et Guardiani functus muneribus. Cum admirabili facilitate et
singular! peritia linguam callerct Hibernicam, se totum convertit ad monumenta
patriae colligenda, ea praescrtim quae ad vitas spectabant sanctorum, parabatque
praelu : Plurimas Santtorum Ilibirnorum ritas et a vetustis Biographis Latine
com posit as et multas alias patrio sermonc scriptas cum diversis Martyrologiis et
Hapographis eodem idiomate compilatas quas Joannes Colganus ejusdem instituti
et Collegii, de quo infra, nuper ediderat. Multa reliquit historiarum fragmenta
et illustrata Veterum Martyrologia. Obiit Lovanii anno 1635, die 8 Novembris."
CLAIMS OF THE IRISH COLLEGE, PARIS, ON THE
BRITISH GOVERNMENT IN VIRTUE OF TREA-
TIES WITH FRANCE.
WE
return again to the subject of the Claims of the Irish
College, Paris, on the British Government. We have already
devoted two articles to the matter, and we have still some-
thing more to say about it.
• In our last article, we commented on the judgment pro-
nounced by Sir John Leach, on behalf of the Privy Council,
in repudiation of the appeal made to that tribunal by the
Very Rev. Dr. McSweeny, President of the Irish College, and
Universal Administrator of the Irish Foundations in France,
in 1832 ; and our observations conducted us to the following
conclusions : —
ist. — That Sir John Leach was in error in repudiating the
individual or personal rights as regards the burses of the
College.
2nd. — That he was in error in the community view he took
of the College, and in his allegation of its being a French
Establishment.
3rd. — That he was entirely at fault in invoking a precedent,
the precedent of the Douay and other English Colleges in
France, which had no relevancy to the case.
4th. — That the precedent of the Canadian institutions, which
was exactly in point, should have led him to an opposite con-
clusion.
5th. — That it was dishonest of the British Commissioners
to withhold compensation, or withholding it, not to return
the money to France, which they had received for the pur-
pose of such compensation, in order that France might
herself make compensation for the losses and injuries the
College had suffered at her hands.
In the present article we purpose occupying ourselves with
the question : —
What is become of the Indemnity Fund out of which the
Irish College should have received its compensation ?
This is a grave and delicate question, and we feel all its
gravity and delicacy. But it is thrust upon us.
The British Treasury, in making a return to an address of
the House of Lords, dated 9th of May, 1870, in pursuance of
a motion of the Most Honorable the Marquis of Clanricarde,
"for copies of tJie award made in the case of the Ra'. P. ul
Long, as Administrator General of the Irish College, Paris,
Claims of the Irish College, Paris. 79
by the Commissioners appointed for liquidation of British
Claims out of the funds received from the French Government,
and of the judgment of the English Privy Council, 1832, on
the appeal frcm that award: Also a copy of the judgment in
1825, in the Appeal Case of the English College, Douay ," accom-
panied this return with a further return "of Unsettled De-
mands on the funds provided by the Government of France
for liquidating the claims of British subjects, and the balance
which remains unappropriated to the liquidation of such
claims, including interest thereon" This latter return comes
before us as a wind-up account of the Indemnity Fund in
question, and results in the statement that " there no longer
exists a balance which remains unappropriated to the liquida-
tion of unsettled demands"
This statement of the British Treasury must be understood,
under the circumstances, as a reply beforehand to the appeal
which the friends of the Irish College are about making to
the Imperial Parliament, and it would, in fact, say to them,
" You are come too late. The Indemnity Fund, from which
you are seeking compensation, has been long since entirely
appropriated and expended, and nothing remains to meet
your claim." Hence, as we have said, the question is thrust
upon us : What is become of the Indemnity Fund out of which
the Irish College should have received its compensation ? But,
before entering on the investigation to which this question
challenges us, we desire to return for a moment or two to the
judgment of Sir John Leach, on which we commented in our
preceding article. For the more we consider the judicial treat-
ment to which the claims of the I rish College have been subjected,
the more we see the flagrant injustice which has been dealt to
this venerable National Institution, by the Government of
Great Britain, or, what amounts to the same thing, by the
Commissioners acting in her name, and on her behalf, to give
effect to treaties between her and France.
Sir John in his judgment says : " Now W€ are bound, of
course^ by the judgment in the Douay case" This is the
strong position within which he entrenches himself — the pre-
cedent of the Douay case. Hence, we must look back on
the precedent, to see how it applies. The case of the Douay
College, with the other English Colleges in France, was
brought, in the first place, before the Commissioners appointed
to administer the treaties for the liquidation of the claims of
British subjects, and was rejected. But let us note particularly
the ground of rejection. It was, to use the words of the Com-
missioners, because " these establishments had lost their cor-
porate character by the laws of France ; so that in consequence
8o Claims of the Irish College, Paris,
of the dissolution of the ancient charter, and the creation
of a new one for similar purposes, the claimants were not at the
time the real members composing such a new corporation, and
not entitled in their individual capacity to claim the property
which belonged to the ancient Corporations."
Let him who can, understand this decision. To us it appears
to be the veriest illustration of a causa sine causd — a reason
that is no reason. But let us pass on. In virtue of the act
of 1819, the right of appeal was allowed to claimants from
the Commissioners to the King in Council. ThPrepresenta-
tives of the English College, availing themselves of this right,
appealed to the Privy Council in 1825. They appealed in
vain. But did the Privy Council sanction the ground of re-
jection relied upon by the Commissioners ? By no means.
They saw the futility of that ground ; it should, therefore,
as an Appellate Tribunal, have sent back the case, for recon-
sideration, to the Commissioners. Instead of doing so, how-
ever, they took up the cause as de integro, and adjudicated
it on grounds that seemed good to themselves. These are
their words : " Now the Institution, on behalf of which the
claims are made, although their members were British sub-
jects, and their property derived from funds constituted by
British subjects, were in the nature of French corporations;
they were locally established in a foreign territory because
they could not be so employed in England ; their end and
object were not authorized by, but were directly opposed to,
British law, and the funds dedicated to their maintenance
were employed to that purpose in France, because they could
not be so employed in England ; and if other circumstances
were wanting to fix their character, it appears that these
establishments, as well as their revenues, were subject to
the control of the French Government, and the conduct of
that Government, since the restoration of the monarchy, shows,
that if all had- been suffered to remain entire during the
period of the revolution, the monarchical Government would
have taken the whole under its superintendence and manage-
ment. We think therefore that they must be deemed French
Establishments. Then, are such Establishments, though
represented by British subjects, entitled to claim under the
treaties ? Treaties, like other compacts, are to be con-
strued according to the intention of the contracting parties,
and, looking at the occasion and object of these treaties, we
think it was not, and could not have been, in the contem-
plation of the contracting parties that the British Govern-
ment should demand, nor the French Government grant,
compensation /or property held in trust for Establishments
On the British Government. Si
in France, and for purposes inconsistent with British laws,
and which were subject to the control of the French Govern-
ment We therefore think, that having regard to the nature
and character of the Establishments which the claimants
allege themselves to represent, and to the purpose to
which the property in respect whereof compensation is
claimed, was dedicated, the claimants have not brought their
case within the meaning or spirit of the treaties."
We have now before us the whole of the Douay case, and
this is Sir John Leach's precedent for deciding the Irish Col-
lege case. We must therefore ask, in what does the pre-
cedent hold ? Not surely in the reason alleged by the Com-
missioners, namely : " that it (the Douay College) had lost
its corporate character by the laws of France, so that in
consequence of the dissolution of the ancient charter and the
creation of a new one for a similar purpose, the claimants
were not, at the time, the real members comprising such a
new Corporation, and not entitled in their individual capacity
to claim the property which belonged to the ancient Corpo-
ration." Evidently the Douay case is no precedent for the
Irish College case, in \ti\s pronouncement of the Commissioners,
and, indeed, to do Sir John justice, he does not urge it. He
seems equally impressed as the Privy Council, speaking
through Lord Gifford, with the futility of the allegation put
forth. At all events, in the case of the Irish College, there
was no question of an old charter dissolved or a new charter
created, even if there was any sense in such a reason. The
Irish College maintained its existence and character as a
National Institution of Ireland in all the troubles and pertur-
bations of France.
But Sir John's chief reliance is on the decision of the
Privy Council in the Douay case, and therefore he quotes
Lord Gifford as giving two reasons for that decision ; one,
that the Establishments (the Douay and other English Col-
leges) were opposed to the law of England ; //// other, that
they were French Establishments, founded, as he says, under
the authority and by the permission of the King of France,
and that therefore they could not be considered within the
meaning of the term " British subjects."
In quoting these two reasons, the learned gentleman ad-
mits that the first does not apply to the Irish College, in
consequence of the different state of British Law with regard
to the Catholic Religion and its institutions in Ireland. There-
fore, he relies solely upon the second reason. Here we must
tell him that he leans upon a broken reed. He must be very
wanting in logical acumen, not to observe that Lord Gifford
voi. vii. 6
83 Claims of t)u Irish College, Paris,
does not rely upon either, separately, of the two reasons he
assigns for his decision. He combines both, and rests his
decision on both together. Nay, reading his judgment, it is
plain to any one to see that he relies, chiefly, on the first
reason, and attaches little weight to the second. Therefore,
on the admission of Sir John himself, who allows this first
reason not to apply to the Irish College case, his argument
for the Douay precedent completely breaks down.
But he attaches much importance to what Lord Gifford
says of the " control of the French Government over the
English Establishments and their revenues," and he would
argue, that the French Government having exercised a con-
trol also over the Irish College, the precedent of the Douay
College is, so far, relevant and in point. And then he goes
on to say, " We first find the control of the Convention :
we next find the control of the Consulate ; we next find
the control of the Empire ; and lastly, we find the control
of the monarchy in the edicts of Louis XVIII. This case,
comes, therefore, plainly," he adds, " within the reasons
given by Lord Gifford for the prior decision."
We must here take Sir John Leach's logic to task. The
gentleman may have, indeed, possessed the radical power of
reasoning, but his talents seem to have been whetted very
badly indeed for logical discernment.
We must therefore make good the deficiency.
" Control" is a word, as every one knows, of very ample
and various signification, so that one kind of control may
be very unlike another. Now this is actually the case as
between the control exercised by the French Government
over the English Establishments and their revenues, on the
one side, and the Irish College on the other. With regard
to the English Establishments, France abrogated their char-
ter, as the Commissioners assert in their judgment on their
claims, and revived it anew as it would have done with any
similar French Establishment. But with regard to the Irish
College, the control which the French Government exercised
was quite of an opposite character. It was a control to mark
a distinction between it and French Ecclesiastical Institu-
tions, and to maintain for it uniformly, and in all the phases
through which the country passed, its special character and
status as an Irish Establishment. Thus, if the Convention
exercised a control respecting it, it was to take it out of the
category of French Seminaries, and to exempt it from the
decree of confiscation with which they were smitten. Thus,
again, if the Consulate exercised any control, it was to give
more* prominence to it as an Irish National Establishment,
On the British Government. 83
and to secure for it a certain proportion of its own revenues.
Thus, also, if the Empire exercised any control, it was to
continue and confirm what the Consulate had previously done.
Thus, in fine, if the monarchy exercised any control after
the Restoration, it was to give it the position it at present
occupies as an Irish Institution, as much so as it is possible
for any institution to have such a position in a foreign country.
On speaking of the control of the French Government
in reference to the Irish College, or any foreign establish-
ment locally situated in France, be that establishment a
college, an orphanage, an hospital, or a joint-stock company
for any purpose of trade, it would be impossible for any
such establishment to obtain existence, or continue to exist,
without some control on the part of the French Govern-
ment or Legislature in its regard. Now what we contend
for respecting this control, is, that no foreign institution could
have less of it than the Irish College, and that, existing in
France it could not be less French nor more Irish than it is,
and has been at all times. Therefore, we arrive at this con-
clusion, that Sir John Leach must either say that it is impos-
sible for an Irish Establishment to be in France and remain
Irish, a proposition which no man in his senses will assert,
or he must allow the Irish College to be an Irish and not a
French Establishment.
But Lord Gifford, speaking of the English Colleges, said,
on the part of the Privy Council, that they were French Es-
tablishments, therefore Sir John Leach would say, a pari,
that the Irish College was a French Establishment also.
Here again we are dealing with an expression of large and
various meaning. Hence, we must be precise in understanding
what Lord Gifford intends to convey by the expression
" French Establishments." His Lordship's meaning is to be
ascertained from his reasoning on the case. To put his ob-
servations in technical form, according to his reasoning, he
would say " the Establishments in question are either English
or French. But they cannot be 'English, therefore they
must be French." He sustains the minor proposition, viz. : —
that they cannot be English, by referring to the " nature and
character of the Establishments, and to the purpose to which
the property, in respect of which compensation is claimed,
was dedicated," all which he insisted to be " directly opposed
to British Law." Now the direct contrary was the case of
the Irish College, which was in strict accordance with British
Law, so that Sir John's argument a pari completely breaks
down, and, instead of being similar, the two cases are in ab-
solute contrast with each other.
84 Claitns of tlu Irish College, Paris,
But Lord Gifford observes that the funds of the English
Establishments were " held in trust" by the French Govern-
ment. Yes ; he makes the observation, but takes no inference
from it against the appeal. The inference is logically in an
opposite direction, trust, being incompatible in the same
hands with ownership. Say you are trustee for any funds,
you declare thereby you are not the owner. The ownership
is elsewhere. Thus, if Sir John Leach wishes to remark, that
the Irish College funds were in the trust-keeping of the
French Government, his remark points to the inference that
the ownership belonged to the College itself, as a National
Institution of Ireland.
We have been longer than we intended on this point,
because we wished to expose the futility of the ground taken
by Sir John Leach, speaking for the Privy Council, in the
clap-trap pretension of the Irish College being a French
Establishment. And from all we have said it is manifest that
no foreign institution could be less French on French soil,
than is the Irish College, nor could it be more Irish. Even
though words should be silent on the subject, the College
itself proclaims the fact Let any one approach it by the
street "Rue des Irlandais" in which it is situated, and entering
the building, let him inspect the national emblems of Ireland,
the Irish cross, the Irish harp, the Irish round towers, the
Irish wolf-dog, the titles of the Irish dioceses, the statues and
pictures of the titular saints of Ireland, the Irish mottoes,
&c., &c., and then, let him mingle with the professors and
students who are exclusively Irish — if the visiter be an Irish-
man, he forgets, for the moment, that he is in France, and
feels as if he were at home in old Ireland, or if he be a
Frenchman, he feels as if he had gone out of his native land,
and as if treading upon foreign soil. So little is the Irish
College a French Establishment ; so completely is it, and has
it always been an "Irish Institution.
A parting word with Lord Gifford, and his reasons for
rejecting the Appeal in the case of the English Colleges. We
are not pleading the cause of these establishments. But when
we quote his Lordship in connexion with the Irish College,
we feel bound to dissent from the principle he lays down as
warranting his decision in the Douay appeal case. That prin-
ciple, generalized and carried to its logical result, would mean
that British subjects in a foreign country, for any object and
purpose not in accordance with British law at home in Eng-
land, are not entitled to British protection, and that the
British Government may abandon them to any violence to
which they may be exposed, in person or property. We
On the British Government. 85
protest against such doctrine, and we know it to be contrary
to the practise of Great Britain with respect to her subjects
in foreign lands. On the contrary, 'tis her boast, and her proud
boast, that as under the Roman Empire, " Civis Romanus
sum" was an appeal which secured protection of life and pro-
perty for the citizen of the great empire throughout the world,
so " / am a British subject " are words to secure the same
protection for the subject of the British Crown, in whatever
region he may require it.
It is now time to return to our question, which we have
already laid down in the beginning of this paper, viz., Wliat
is become of the indemnity fund out of which the Irish College
should have received its compensation f
We feel that entering on so grave and delicate an investi-
gation we must proceed with cautious and steady steps.
Fortunately we have safe guides upon whom we could rely to
pass even through a labyrinth.
Our first guide is Monsieur Le Baron, a living authority.
He was an officer of the General Staff under the first Napo-
leon, and a Barrister of the Court of Appeal of Paris. He
says of himself, " Young, I defended the honor of my country
with my sword, for I made the campaigns of 1812 in Russia,
of 1813 at the seige of Dantzic, and of 1815 in the army of
the Rhine. Afterwards, the Emperor having been exiled to
St. Helena, I broke my sword in despair, and returned to the
desk in order to give myself up to the special study of
international law. Having grown old I defended the interests
of my country with my pen, for I spent nigh a quarter of a
century in London, to collect all the documents relative to
the debt due by England to France." This debt is no other
than the surplus of the indemnity fund given by France to
England, to make compensation to British subjects who had
suffered injuries and losses during the French Revolution and
subsequent wars — the fund out of which we claim compen-
sation for the Irish College. During his long years in
London, M. Le Baron sought out all sorts of documents
bearing on the subject, treaties, conventions, diplomatic cor-
respondence, parliamentary papers, &c, and he puts the
result of his investigations and labours into an elaborate
brochure, which now lies before us.
As the groundwork of his pleading in this brochure, he
quotes the treaties of 1815 and 1818. By the former, there
was an annual revenue of 3,500,000 francs inscribed on the
Great Book of the public debt of France, as a security for the
claimants under the treaty. And it was further provided
that in case this sum should not be sufficient, additional funds
86 Claims of the Irish College, Paris,
would be provided ; accordingly, as the Commissioners
appointed to administer the treaty proceeded with their work,
they considered that the above-named sum would be inade-
quate, and they called for a new inscription of 3,000,000 of
francs, which was granted under an additional treaty, bearing
date 25th April, 1818. Both treaties stipulated, that when
all the claims would be satisfied, the residue, with its accumu-
lations of interest, should be refunded to France. They fur-
ther provided that the claimants should be paid interest, even
compound interest, on their claims, from the 22nd March, igi6.
M. Le Baron then follows the Commissioners in their
operations up to 24th July, 1826, when they announced their
mission as closed, and there remained an annual revenue of
700,000 francs, representing a capital of 14,000,000 francs,
or £5 60,000. They furnished a report to this effect to the
House of Commons at the time, taking credit very modestly
therein, for an additional year's salary by way of gratuity.
Gratuity no doubt it was ; for what could be more spon-
taneous or less opposed to their best good wishes in their
own regard ?
M. Le Baron contests the accuracy of this report, and having
found access to the half-yearly accounts, which, according to
the eighteenth article of the statute, 59 George III., chapter
31, the Commissioners were bound to present to Parliament,
he makes out an account in detail, by which he finds, in-
stead of the surplus 14,000,000 francs, a surplus of 64,776,132
francs, 61 centimes, or £2, 5 96,000 odd.
How are we to account for this enormous discrepancy?
M. Le Baron is startled at it and leaves it so, to bear its
own comment. Perhaps however we shall find some clue to
it in the strange section No. 17 of the Act 1819, to which we
have referred above, and which conferred upon the Commis-
sioners the powers of disposing of such an immense fund, ex-
pressly enacting, however, " that the said Commissioners shall
not, nor shall any such Commissioners be deemed public
accountants, in respect of any such sums."
The Commissioners have fully availed themselves of this
indulgence. Hence it does not appear that they kept any
regular accounts, such as could be submitted to any com-
mercial firm or business-like board of audit. We are therefore
prepared, in advance, for the revelations we will have further
on to bring to light.
For the present, we shall take leave of M. Le Baron, and
commit ourselves to the safe guidance of another French
authority, M. L. Belmontet. Like M. Le Baron, M. Bel-
montet devoted long years of application to tiie study of
On the British Government. 87
the question which engages us. He had recourse to all sorts
of authorities, accumulating proofs upon proofs ; and so pene-
trated was he with the conviction that the surplus of the
fund in question should be restored to the French treasury,
that being a member of the "Corps Legisiatif," he presen-
ted a resolution to that effect in the session of 1867. The
resolution consists of several propositions, from which we
extract only as much as bears on our purpose.
The resolution says, " in virtue of the peace treaties of
1814, 1815, and 1818, France confided successively to England
an annual revenue (une rente) of 6,500,000 francs, to wit,
3,500,000 by article IX. of the convention No. 7, of the 3Oth
November, 1815, and 3,000,000 by article I. of the convention
of 25th April, 1818, these two revenues representing a capital
of 130,000,000 francs, to indemnify the English subjects whose
properties, moveable and immoveable, in France, had been
confiscated and sold, in execution of its revolutionary laws."
He then speaks of the surplus remaining, and appeals to
the half-yearly and authentic accounts presented by the
Commissioners to the House of Commons from 1820 to 1826,
and he continues : —
" From these official accounts it results that after the portion
of the revenue applied and assigned to indemnify the Eng-
lish subjects, the surplus remaining amounts to the sum of
64,776,132 francs, 61 centimes."
He further adds " this unemployed surplus has been loudly
and publicly proclaimed in the English Parliament in the
sittings of the I4th June, 1852 ; ist August, 1853 ; and 5th June,
1 86 1."
It is a striking fact that M. Belmontet exactly coincides
with M. Le Baron, these two gentlemen giving thereby
mutual support to the conclusions at which they have res-
pectively arrived.
M. Belmontet's resolution was seconded by a M. Martel,
who, amongst other things, spoke as follows : —
" I understand how delicate this question is for the Govern-
ment, and I should not wish to say anything to embarrass
it. . . c But I have examined the question, and I have es-
pecially seen what has taken place in the bosom of the Parlia-
ment of Great Britain. I can assure you that in this Parliament
the most honourable men, Lord Lyndhurst, Lord Truro, Lord
Monteagle, and others, rose up to say that there was a point
of honour therein for England ; that there were sums which
had been remitted to her in order to indemnify the English
subjects who had suffered losses caused by the French Re-
volution, and that a part of these sums had been diverted
88 Claims of the Irish College, Paris,
from their destination. ... If the Chamber wish I shall lay
before their eyes two or three speeches delivered in the Par-
liament of Great Britain, and it (the Chamber) will see the
language that was used by these great men."
Continuing, he quoted the very words of Lord Lyndhurst,
Lord Fitzwilliam, Lord Truro, and others, some of which we
shall take occasion to produce later on.
We shall now return to M. Le Baron. He presented, as
it will be recollected, the sum of £2,596,000 as a residue in
1826 of the 'British Subjects' Indemnity Fund' — the fund out
of which the Irish College should have received its compen-
sation. What has become of the residue ? M. Le Baron will
throw some light upon it. After the Commissioners first ap-
pointed had closed their labours in 1826, a new Commission
was appointed in the same year, in order to take account of
claims that had been long since set down as forfeited, A
second Commission was appointed under date, 8th June, 1830,
in order to call up for payment claims that had been long
extinct. A third was appointed on the 5th March, 1833, for
the purpose of submitting for settlement new claims set down
as forfeited, and presented since 2nd May, 1826, as also to
receive for payment other claims extinct since 1818. In fine,
a fourth Commission dated 5th June, 1849, was created in
order to make a rateable distribution of a sum of £16,067
that remained in the Fund, amongst claimants named in the
minute of the 5th March, 1833.
M. Le Baron follows up the operations of these several
Commissions, and presents to us, amongst others, the following
remarkable disbursements : —
£250,000 for the improvement of Buckingham Palace.
With regard to this sum, he allows that it was paid back in
various instalments extending over a number of years, but
the interest thereon £34,822 IOT. remained to be accounted
for.
£60,000 paid on the I9th December, 1824, to a French
company of the East Indies.
£130,000 for the Coronation of George IV.
£50,000 for the relief of manufacturing districts in England.
£23,700 to pay Mr. Labedat, &c.
In quoting these sums, M. Le Baron gives his authorities
as he goes along.
Now let us ask the question again, what has become of
the fund from which the Irish College should have received
its compensation ? The above figures answer the question,
showing that whilst the College is denied justice, the fund
responsible for its claims has been dissipated, being applied
On the British Government. 89
to purposes foreign to the end and object for which it was
granted by France, and accepted by England, under treaties
guaranteed by the Great Powers. But it is not in France alone,
that virtuous voices were raised against this abuse of this fund,
diverting it so strangely from its appointed destination. The
English Parliament resounded with denunciations against it.
We will specially refer to a remarkable debate in the House
of Lords, on the 1st August, 1853, on the subject. In that
debate we have Lord Lyndhurst expressing himself in indig-
nant tones to the following effect I—-
We quote from the Times of next morning —
" He has been asked what has become of this money, and
it was asserted that all the money had been distributed
according to the terms of the convention. Now he had such
confidence in the love of justice of his noble and learned
friend, the Lord Chancellor, that if he could satisfy him the
money had not been appropriated according to the terms of
the convention, he was sure he would have the support of his
noble and learned friend. The jury found that a balance of
£482,000 remained after satisfying the claims strictly due.
That sum, with its accumulations, amounted to £566,000, and
that sum had been paid by the Commissioners into the treasury.
Applications were then made by the individuals who had
claimed compensation for claims which had not been preferred
within a limited time. These claims amounted to £196,000,
and that sum was ultimately awarded. But these claims
certainly ought not to have been compensated at the expense
of those who were strictly with the terms of the convention.
Other sums of £23,000 and £232,000 were paid by the Govern-
ment to the French Government for claims arising out of the
maintenance of French prisoners and the Bordeaux tariff,
respectively, and thus a sum of £255,000 was appropriated
to the public service, and out of the balance in discharge of
debts due from the Government to the French Government
for the purposes of compensation. There was a further sum
of £68,000 of which no account could be given, and all that
could be said of it was, that it was not applicable to the dis-
charge of these claims." So far Lord Lyndhurst.
We shall now cite Lord Truro, from the Times also of the
same date. Speaking on the same subject, and denouncing the
misapplications disclosed by Lord Lyndhurst, his Lordship
said : —
" He did not deny the power of Parliament to do what it
had done in the matter. Parliament, it was said, could do
anything except make a man a woman. But Parliament had
no power, in one sense, to apply the money of which they
9O Claims of tht Irish College, Paris.
were the trustees to other purposes than those for which that
money had been handed over to us The
French Government paid over certain sums of money to this
country, the sums to be paid to one class of claimants being
wholly distinct from that which was to be paid to another,
and these trust funds the Parliament was bound by con-
tract with the French Government to apply according to the
condition on which they were given. This however they have
not done. They appropriated the money to other purposes.
We find that the subject was taken up likewise in the
House of Commons, on the 2Oth June, 1854, and elicited the
strongest denunciations. Amongst others, Mr. Montague
Chambers does not hesitate to declare, that " as to the fund
being duly appropriated or entirely expended, the misappli-
cations, as appears from authentic returns, were startling and
notorious ; and he goes on to cite the cases we have already
mentioned, of Mr. Labedat, of the Bordeaux claimants, and
of the additional year's salary to which the Commissioners
helped themselves at the close of their mission.
A Mr. Munz, member for Bermingham, was also amongst
the speakers, and said " the question was to know who had
the Funds. It was proved that the English Government
had them, it should therefore give them up."
As a matter of course, the subject occupied the public press,
and besides the reports of the debates spoken of, and the com-
ments upon them at the time, we would refer to The Spectator
of the 2ist of April, 1860, The Morning Star, of the 7th May,
1 860, and The Morning Chronicle of the 4th August, 1 860.
Our readers now see what is become of the fund from
which the Irish College should have received compensation
for its injuries and losses, and they will agree with us, that it
is no answer for the Treasury of Great Britain to say to it,
" You have come too late, the fund is long since entirely
expended and applied." The College is entitled to say, "You
have misappropriated and misapplied the money you
received to pay us. Restitution is an obligation of a public
department abusing a trust, as well as of an individual. In
the name of justice, therefore, and on the plainest principles
of moral obligation, we demand restitution."
We purposed going into the inquiry, upon what authority
the Treasury made the disbursements outside the provisions
and stipulations of the treaties, and we hoped to throw
additional light from this source on the claims of the
College. Our article, however, has expanded beyond the
dimensions we anticipated, and we must reserve this branch
of the subject for our next.
Document. 91
Therefore, to sum up, we have seen —
1st. — How Sir John Leach in pronouncing the judgment
of the Privy Council on the claims of the Irish College, and
in making the judgment of Lord Gifford in the case of the
Douay College a precedent, distorted and misapplied his
Lordship's judgment, and that the cases, so far from being
alike, are opposed in all essential particulars.
2nd. — How the Fund from which the College should have
received compensation more than fifty years ago, has been
misappropriated and spoliated.
3rd. — That if the fund be expended on other purposes
belonging to the public service, the Treasury is bound to
provide restitution from the public revenues in its custody.
P.S. — We would earnestly recommend to the Public, and more especially mem-
bers of Parliament, the perusal of a pamphlet entitled The Case and Claims on the
British Government of the Irish College, at Paris, under the Treaties with France.
London : James Duffy, 22, Paternoster-row, and 15, Wellington-quay, Dublin,
by HIBERNICUS HISTORICUS."
The author gives proof of deep study and patient research in every part of his
production, and sustains himself as he goes along by authentic references.
On this account it cannot fail to be highly useful, with a view to the considera-
tion of the subject in the next session of Parliament, when it is expected that on a
Petition of the Irish Bishops the judgment of the Privy Council will be reviewed
and considered.
DOCUMENT.
APOSTOLIC LETTERS OF HIS HOLINESS PIUS
IX., PROROGUING THE GENERAL COUNCIL.
PIUS PP. IX.
AD FUTURAM REI MEMORIAM.
Postquam Dei munere Oecumenici Vaticani Concilii cele-
brationem inire anno proxime superiori Nobis datum est,
vidimus sapientia virtute ac sollicitudine Patrum qui ex
omnibus orbis terrarum partibus frequentissimi convenerant
maxime adnitente, ita res gravissimi hujus et sanctissimi
operis procedere, ut spes certa Npbis affulgeret eos fructus
quos vehementer optabamus, in Religionis bonum et Ecclesiae
Dei humanaeque societatis utilitatem ex illo fore feliciter pre-
fectures. Et sane jam quatuor publicis ac solemnibus sessioni-
bus habitis salutares atque opportunae in causa fidei Con-
stitutiones a Nobis eodem sacro approbante Concilio editae
ac promulgatae fuerunt, aliaque turn causam fidei turn ecclesi-
asticae disciplinae spectantia ad examen a Patribus revocata,
quae supremadocentisEcclesiaeauctoritatebrevi sanciri ac pro-
mulgari possent. Confidebamus istiusmodi labores communi
Fraternitatisstudioaczelosuosprogressushabere,etadoptatum
92 Document.
exitum facili prosperoque cursu perduci posse ; sed sacrilega
repente invasio huius AlmaeUrbis, SedisNostrae,etreliquarum
temporalisNostraeditionisregionum,qua contra omnefascivilis
Nostriet Apostolicae Sedis Principatus inconcussa jura incredi-
bili perfidiaet audaciaviolatasunt, in earn Nos rerum condition-
em conjecit, ut sub hostili dominatione et potestate, Deo sic
permittente ob imperscrutabilia judicia sua, penitus constituti
simus. In hac luctuosa rerum conditione, cum nos a libero
expeditoque usu supremae auctoritatis nobis divinitus collatae
multis modis impediamur, cumque probe intelligamus minime
ipsis Vaticani Concilii Patribus in hac Alma Urbe praedicto
rerum statu manente, necessariam libertatem securitatem
tranquillitatem suppetere et constare posse ad res Ecclesiae
Nobiscum rite pertractandas, cumque praeterea necessitates
Fidelium, in tantis iisque notissimis Europae calamitatibus
et motibus, tot Pastores a suis Ecclesiis abesse baud patiantur;
idcirco Nos, eo res adductas magno cum animi Nostri moerore
perspicientes ut Vaticanum Concillium tali in tempore cursum
suum omnino tenere non possit, praevia matura deliberatione,
motu proprio eiusdem Vaticani Oecumenici Concilii cele-
brationem usque ad aliud opportunius et commodius tempus
per hanc Sanctam sedem declarandum, Apostolica auctoritate
tenore praesentium suspendimus, et suspensam esse nunciamus,
Deum adprecantes auctorem et vindicem Ecclesiae Suae, ut
submotis tandem impedimentis omnibus sponsae suae fidel-
issimae ocius restituat libertatem ac pacem. Quoniam vero
quo pluribus et gravioribus periculis malisque vexatur Ecclesia
eo magis instandum est obsecrationibus et orationibus nocte
ac die apud Deum et Patrem Domini Nostri Jesu Christi,
Patrem misericordiarum et Deum totius consolationis, volumus
ac mandamus, ut ea quae in apostolicis litteris die 1 1 aprilis
anno proxime superiori datis, quibus indulgentiam plenariam
in forma Jubilaei occasione Oecumenici Concilii omnibus
Christifidelibus cpncessimus, a Nobis disposita ac statuta
sunt, iuxta modum et rationem iisdem litteris praescriptam
in sua vi firmitate et vigore permaneant, perinde ac si ipsius
Concilii celebratio procederet. Haec statuimus nunciamus
volumus mandamus, contrariis non obstantibusquibuscumque ;
irritum et inane decernentes si secus super his a quoquam
quavis auctoritate scienter vel ignoranter contigerit attentari.
Nulli ergo omnino hominum liceat hanc paginam Nostrorum
suspensionis nunciationis voluntatis mandati ac decreti infrin-
gere vel ei ausu temerario contraire, si quis autcm hoc attentare
praesumpserit, indignationem Omnipotentis Dei et Beatorum
Petri ac Paulli Apostolorum Eius se noverit incursurum. Ut
autem eaedem praesentes litterae omnibus qugrum interest
Notices of Books. 93
innotescant, volumus illas seu earumexempla ad valvas Eccles-
iae Lateranensis et Basilicae Principis Apostolorum nee non
S. Mariae Maioris de Urbe affigi et publicari eique publicatas
et affixas omnes et singulos quos illae concernunt perinde
arctare, ac si unicuique eorum nominatim et personaliter
intimatae fuissent
Datum Romae apud, S. Petrum sub anulo Piscatoris die 20
Octobris Anno MDCCCLXX.
Pontificatus Nostri Anno vigesimoquinto.
N. CARD. PARACCIANI CLARELLI.
NOTICES OF BOOKS.
I. Hortus Animate; or, Garden of the SouL II. TJie Scale of
Perfection; by WALTER HILTON. London: John Philp.
Like all of Mr. Philp's publications, these two most recent
additions to his catalogue ate brought out with great taste
and care. The Hortus Animates an Edition du luxe of the old
familiar Garden of t/ie Soul. The revival of the Pre-Refor-
mation title, besides distinguishing this from ordinary editions,
is justified by the circumstance that all the prayers for which
a Latin original exists, are here given side by side in Latin
and English. So also, the Epistles and Gospels for all the
Sundays and chief festivals of the year, the Office of the
Blessed Virgin, and the Vespers for Sundays and feasts.
The Hortus Animae is thus a Missal and Vesperal, as well
as a Prayer-book ; and evidently no pains have been spared
to make it as complete as possible. The bulk of the volume
has, nevertheless, been kept within convenient limits for prac-
tical use. The Illustrated Calendar is very beautiful. Be-
sides four or five large engravings, the initial letters in every
page are in themselves works of art.
The Scale of Perfection is a reprint of an old spiritual Trea-
tise, by Walter Hilton, Canon of Thurgarton (not a Carthu-
sian monk), who died in 1395. The language is, of course,
quaint, but of much beauty and simplicity. Many, however,
will find the Introductory Essay on the Spiritual Life of
Mediaeval England more pleasant reading. It is from the
pen of Father Dalgairns, of the Oratory, who presents his
curious and interesting data in a very vivid manner. His style
has only improved, and his historical knowledge ripened, since
the time when his contributions made themselves remarkable
even amongst the series of English Saints edited by Dr. New-
man. It is a pity that the pious old Canon's pithy chapters
have no index or table of contents to guide us through them.
94
MONASTICON HIBERNICUM,
OR,
A SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE ANCIENT
MONASTERIES OF IRELAND.
[N.B. — Thetextof the "Monasticon" is taken verbatim from Archdall : the notes
marked with numbers are added by the Editors.]
COUNTY OF CORK.
forsaken the world, and dedicated himself solely to God, died
in this abbey.6
1026. Cellach O'Selbac, 'comorb of St. Barr, and esteemed
chief among the sages in Munster, died this year in his pil-
grimage.*
1027. Died Neil O'Mailduibh, comorb of St. Barr.*
1028. Died Airtri Sairt, coraorb of St. Barr.h
1034. Died Cahal, the comorb.1
1057. Mugron O'Mutan, comorb of St. Barr, was murdered
in the night by his own people.*
1080. The town was destroyed by fire.1
1089. Dermot, the son of Toirdhealbhach O'Brien, spoiled
and plundered the town of Cork, and carried away the re-
liques of St. Barr.m
1107. Died Maclothod O'Hailgenen, comorb of St. Barr. n
II 1 1. Died Patrick O'Selbac, comorb also.0
1134. This abbey was refounded, for regular canons follow-
ing the rule of St. Augustin, under the invocation of St. John
the Baptist, by Cormac, King of Munster, or, as some write,
King of Desmond.? Some of our annals place this founda-
tion three years later/* The son of the founder tells us, that
his father built this abbey for the strangers from Connaught,
who were the countrymen of St. Barr.r
1152. Gilla^Eda O'Mugin, the abbot, assisted at the famous
synod of Kells held this year. He was justly esteemed for
his piety, and died in 1172. From him this house acquired
the name of Gill abbey.8
1174. About this time Dermot, King of Munster, who was
son to the founder, confirmed the grant made to his father,
and made additions thereto. Donat, abbot of Maig ; Gregory
•Annal. Innisfal. f War. Sish. p. 556. 'Id. h/</. ^Ann. Ulst. *War. Bish.
p. 557. Annal. Inufal. \Annal. Inisfal. ™Id. °M. "Id. *War. Man.
334. '/</.,/. 336. *War. Bithop*,p. $57.
County of Cork. 95
of Cunuga ; and Eugene, of Ardmore, were subscribing wit-
nesses to this charter.* ,
1192. Gilbert O'Brogy was abbot, but was deposed ; licence
was granted to the convent, dated April the 2ist, to pro-
ceed to an election.11
1248. The abbot paid into the exchequer the sum of £20,
being the amount of a fine imposed on him.w
1300. The abbot was indicted at Cork for receiving and
protecting thieves and felons; but he pleaded that he had
formerly paid a considerable fine for that offence before John
Wogan, Chief Justice of Ireland, and that he had not been
guilty since ; the jury acquitted him.*
1303. On the 2nd of May a licence was granted to this
convent to elect an abbot in the room of G - , lately de-
ceased/
1338. Thomas, the abbot, indicted John Fitz-Walter and
others for cutting down a number of trees in his wood at
Cloghan, in this county, to the value of lOOr. and carrying
away the same by force of arms.8
1357. Thomas O'Fin, the canon of this house, was elected
abbot, and the temporalities were restored to him on loth
of October,*
1359. Maurice was abbot, who resigned in same year, and
the temporalities were seized from the ist of July to the
1st of September following, when they were restored to
William, the newly-elected abbot.b12
Inquisition 1 2th January, 33rd Queen Elizabeth, finds that
Knocknyleyny, in county Cork, containing half a carucate of
land, annual value 4^. 6d.t was parcel of the possessions of
this house.bb
*Kingtp. 336. *Pryn.t vol. 3-,/. 573. * King, p. 336. *Id.
/. 1017. « Xing, p. 337. •/</. *Id. ^ChiefRememb.
'Pryn., vol. 3.,
11 In addition to the facts connected with the monastery of Cork given in the
text, we may mention the following : —
A.D. 680. Died Suibne, son of Maoluva, successor of St. Barr.
A.D. 759. Died the abbot Donait, the son of Tohence.
A.D. 767. Died the abbot Sealbach MacConalta.
AtD. 795. Died Commach MacDonat, abbot of Corca mor.
A.D. 812. Died the abbot Commach, son of Donat.
A.D. 821. Died the abbot Forbasach.
A.D. 833. Died the abbot Dunlaing.
A.D. 835. Dunlaing. son of Cathasach, successor of Barra, of Corcach, died.
A.D. 850. Colam MacAireachtach, abbot of Corcach, died.
A.D. 866. Reachtabra, son of Murchad, abbot of Corca mor, died.
A.D. 891. Soerbreathach, son of Comadh, scribe, wise man, bishop, and abbot
of Corcach, died.
A.D. 892. Airgetan, son of Forandan, was abbot of Cork.
A.D. 894. Died the abbot Airgetan.
A.D. 903. Ailioll, son of Eogan, abbot of TrUn Corcftighe, wa« »lain in the
96 Ancient Monasteries of Ireland.
Inquisition 2/th March, James I., finds that a great devas-
tation, amounting to the sum of one hundred marks, sterling,
was made on this abbey within the three preceding years, and
particularly on the mill and weir of the said abbey; and
Thomas Smith inhabited and held the said abbey during that
time.
This abbey, containing two acres, with a church and the
appurtenances, also six gardens and third part of a water-
mill; with the tithes of the same, parcel of the possessions
of this house, were granted to Cormac M'Teige M'Carthy.
See Inislounaght, in county of Tipperary ; and 26th June,
33rd of same Queen, the said abbey containing four acres, was
re-granted to Sir Richard Greneville, Knt., together with sixty
acres called Ballygagin ; Kilnoony, in county of Kerry, con-
taining two hundred and sixty acres ; Killynecanana, lying
ftorth-east of Cork- water, and containing sixty acres; Far-
renduffe fifteen acres; the island of Insiquiny, with three
acres of unprofitable, and a chief rent out of the island of
Cloghaule, parcel of the possessions of said house, to hold to
him and his heirs, at the annual rent of .£15 ^s. 6d., Irish
money.bbb
Ware supposes this to be the abbey which St. Bernard calls
Monasterium Ibracense, but Allemande is more inclined to
think that Begery, in county of Wexford, is that monastery.
The monks of this abbey erected the first salmon weirs
on the river Lee, near the city of Cork. The remains of
this building were totally demolished about the year 1745.
bWM«</. Gen.
same battle in which Cormac Mac Cuillenain, Archbishop and King of Munster,
met his melancholy fate.
A.D. 907. Died the abbot Flann Mac Laoige.
A. D. 926. Fonnachta was abbot in spirituals, he directed the greater part of
Ireland.
A.D. 949. Ailill, son of Core, was abbot.
A,D. 987. Colum Airchinneach, of Corcach, died.
A.D. 1000. Flaithemh, abbot of Corcach, died.
A.D. 1036. Died Aengus, son of Cathan, abbot of Corcach, died.
A.D. 1057. Dubhdaletha Ua Cineadha, Airchinneach of Corcach, died.
A.D. 1085. Clereach Ua Sealbhaigh, chief succeisor of Bairri, the glory and
wisdom of Desmond, completed his life in this world.
A.D. 1096. Ua Cochlain, a learned bishop and successor of Bairre, died.
A D. 1 106. Mac Beatha Ua Hailgheanain, comorb of St. Barra, died.
A.D. 1116. Cork was destroyed by fire.
A.D. 1126. Corcach mor, of Munster, with its church, was burned.
A.D. 1152. Finar, grandson of Celechar Ua Ceinneidigh, successor of Colum,
son of Crimtthann [of Tir-da-ghlas], and who had been successor of Ban for a
time, died.
A.D. 1157. Gillaphadraig, son of Donnchadh Mac Carthaigh, successor of Barr
of Corca, died.
(To be continued.)
SERIES.]
THE IRISH
ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD.
DECEMBER, 1870.
THE ENDOWED SCHOOLS OF IRELAND.1
T,
HERE is a portion of the great question of Education in
Ireland which does not seem to occupy that share of
public attention which it merits : we mean Middle-class or
Intermediate Education.
In 1854 a Royal Commission was appointed "to inquire
into the endowments, funds, and actual condition of all schools
endowed for the purposes of education, and the nature and
extent of the instruction given in such schools, and to report
their opinion thereon ;" and in the following July, an Act was
passed (18 and 19 Vic., Cap. 59), "to facilitate inquiries of
Commissioners of Endowed Schools in Ireland." By this Act
it was declared, that " Endowed Schools " should " mean and
include all schools of royal foundation in Ireland, the 'schools
on the foundation of Erasmus Smith, the Charter Schools and
Diocesan Schools, and all schools endowed on charitable or
public foundations in Ireland." It is in this sense also that
we wish to treat of the Endowed Schools in the present article.
The importance of the subject, especially in the present posi-
tion of the Education question, can scarcely be over estimated.
The Endowed Schools referred to are engaged in middle-class
or intermediate education ; that is to say, in that portion of
education which immediately concerns the middle-classes of
Ireland — those classes which, in truth, constitute the bone
and sinew of our people ; those classes which, more than any
other, will affect for good or evil, the future of our country ;
those classes, in fine, which by their spirit of religion and
by their intelligence, will maintain and increase the fair
name of the "fnsu/a Sanctorum ct Doctorum." In these days,
more than ever, all that we have enumerated, and much
1 An Inaugural Discourse read by the Rector of the Catholic University at the
Academical Commencements, December 1st, 1870.
VOL. vii. 7
98 TJte Endowed Schools of Ireland.
more, depends on our professional men, and on the respect-
able farmers of our country districts, and shop-keepers of our
towns and cities, and as education is now-a-days the key to all
social advancement, on the education which they give to their
children must in a great measure depend their influence for
good in future generations. Hence, on the one hand, the im-
portance, or rather necessity, that the system of education
under which the youth of our middle-classes is reared, should
be Christian, that is, Catholic ; othenvise their learning will
" be falsi nominis scientia" " knowledge falsely so called,"
against which St. Paul warned his disciple Timothy : learning
which, instead of being a blessing to themselves, to their
country, and to society, will be a curse to all. And hence,
on the other hand, the flagrant violation of distributive justice
involved in confining to one section of the community public
educational advantages from which others are excluded, in
giving to Protestants, and Protestant institutions, public
endowments for intermediate education, while Catholics of
the middle-classes are left totally unassisted in their efforts
to obtain for their children the like benefits.
Intermediate education holds a middle place between the
university and primary schools. The latter regard the great
masses of a people which cannot aspire to the higher branches
of education : intermediate schools are the foundation of the
university, which is the summit of a nation's education. Now,
Irish Catholics have rights with respect to them, as well as with
respect to the university and to primary education. Hitherto
those rights have been denied to Catholics, while the educa-
tional interests of members of the Established Church have
been fostered at enormous cost to the country. We allude to
the royal and other schools mentioned above, which have been
and are still endowed for intermediate education at the public
expense. The benefits of these numerous institutions and
of their large endowments are almost exclusively monopolized
by members of the late Established Church. Our Bishops, in
the Maynooth Resolutions of August, 1869, declared, "that the
Catholics of Ireland are justly entitled to their due proportion
of the public funds hitherto set apart for education in the
Royal and other Endowed Schools."
The Royal Commission appointed in 1854, reported on this
important subject of Endowed Schools on the 1st February,
1858. Three of the five Commissioners reported in favour
of extending the " mixed" system to those public institutions
which were then, and still are, Protestant. Two of these
three gentlemen were the present Protestant Bishop of Lime-
rick, who was at that time a Fellow of Trinity College, and
The Endowed Schools of Ireland. 99
the Vice-President of the Queen's College, Belfast. We quote
the following extracts from the excellent letter which H. G.
Hughes, Esq., Q.C. — now Baron Hughes, the only Catholic
on the Commission — addressed to his brother commissioners.
These extracts will show how different are the views of Catho-
lics on this most important question :—
" We all concurred in opinion," says Baron Hughes, " that
the demand in Ireland for ' intermediate' education is con-
siderable. I believe that it is not only considerable, but that
the demand is rapidly increasing, while the means of supply-
ing it are diminishing. ... I cannot concur in a Report
which proposes to establish a system which I believe to be
wrong in principle and impossible in practice ; and it is there-
fore right that I should state the reasons which induced me
to opp9se the adoption of the principle of ' mixed' education,
and which now induce me to decline to concur in your pro-
posed Report . . . In the year 1811, Mr. Leslie Foster,
then a member of the Board of Education, addressed a letter
to the Secretary of the Board, in which he stated : ' That
whatever plan may appear to this Board most eligible, it should
be laid before the heads of the Roman Catholic clergy previous
to our Report No person,' he adds, ' acquainted with the
discipline of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland can doubt,
that on the sentiments of the Bishops will depend the degree
of resistance or co-operation which such a plan would receive
from the subordinates of their religion.' I believe," continues
Mr. Hughes, "that the same discipline still exists, and that
the same results would inevitably follow. The sentiments of
the R. C. Bishops on the subject of ' mixed' education are
beyond doubt. Their views on that subject are not peculiar
either to their order or to their religion. Similar views have
been entertained by the most eminent divines of the Protes-
tant Church, and have been advocated by the most distin-
guished statesmen in the British Senate.
" I am convinced that the ' mixed' system is wrong in
principle, and cannot, even if right, be carried out in Ireland.
I believe that the separate system is sound in principle, and
if that is doubted, I think it is worthy of being submitted to
a fair trial, as the only alternative the State can adopt, if it
proposes to legislate for the education of the middle classes."
Now, any arrangement of the University question, to be at
all satisfactory to the middle classes of Irish Catholics, must
be coupled with a re-distribution of the public endowments
for intermediate education. It has been frequently stated, and
with good reason, that the Legislature in establishing and
endowing the Queen's Colleges committed a great mistake, by
ioo The Endowed Schools of Ireland.
endeavouring to found a University without subsidiary schools
to supply it with students. It was believed at the time, that
the Endowed Schools' Commission of 1854 was issued in
the hope that, by reporting in favour of mixed intermediate
schools, it would prepare the way to the supplying of the defi-
ciency. But, thanks in a great measure to the clear and bold
enunciation of the principles of Catholics by Mr. Baron
Hughes, and by the great meeting of the county and city of
Cork, nothing was done for the extension to intermediate
schools of the system of mixed education. Still, the want of
good middle-class schools exists, although the Catholic schools
and colleges, created by the piety and love of learning inhe-
rent in the Irish heart, have done, and are doing much. The
Endowed Schools' Commissioners appended to their report a
list of 91 " towns having above 2,000 inhabitants, according
to the census of 1851, and in which there is situate no gram-
mar or superior English school, which is in operation, and
included in tables of schools and endowments." Some of the
towns mentioned in the list have classical schools under Catholic
management; but the list shows how many centres of popu-
lation receive no public assistance for the important work of
intermediate education.
The following towns have grammar schools in operation,
endowed to the amount of £250 a year,and upwards. All these
Schools are exclusively, or almost exclusively, Protestant.
ESTIMATED
TOWN. NAME OF SCHOOL. VALUE OF
ENDOWMENTS.
Kilkenny, Kilkenny Grammar School, ... ^291 2 o
Drogheda, Erasmus Smith's School, ... 254 6 8
Navan, Navan Endowed School, ... 309 I 9
Ennis, Erasmus Smith's School, ... 362 17 9
Midleton, Cork, Midleton Endowed School, ... 265 I 5
Clonmel, Clonmel Endowed School, ... 564 o o
Tipperary, Erasmus Smith's School, ... 373 7 o
Belfast, Royal Academical Institution, ... 589 o 3
Armagh, Royal Free School, ... 1520 17 9
Cavan, do. ... 729 19 6
Raphoe, do. ... 575 17 4
Enniskillen, do. ... 2286 6 2
Londonderry, Diocesan Free School, ... 899 10 o
Dungannon, Royal Free School, ... 1545 10 I
Galway, Erasmus Smith's School, ... 472 18 o
Exhibitions attached to Erasmus Smith's Schools, 360 o o
£11,399 15 8
The Endowed Schools of Ireland. 101
But the extent of the endowments enjoyed by the Royal
Schools and other Endowed Schools, which came under the
consideration of the Royal Commission of 1854-58, may be
best known from the following facts, which we also take from
their report.
Extracts from Report of Commissioners on Endowed Schools,
Ireland. (1858.;
From Report of J. W. Murland, Esq., Inspector of Estates.
ROYAL SCHOOLS,
A. R. P.
DUNGANNON, 6 townlands — 3,890 3 12 £1,651 16 7
ARMAGH, 6 do. — 1,514 i 31 M89 5 7
ENNISKILLEN 41 do. over — 5,5660 2 2,262 13 8
CAVAN, 4 do. & over— 923 i 26 637 9 o
RAPHOE, 12 do. & over — 1,855 3 2O
of which are 495 1 1 1 1
mountain, 6,960 i 21)
CARYSFORT, I townlandand 305 I 34 \ 6
mountain, 284 3 31 j"
BANAGHER, 2 townlands and 1
over 387 3 8 > about 2 50 o o
and deep bog 211 i 8)
72 townlands 14,443 3
mountain,&c. 7,456 \ 20
21,900 I 34
It would seem that CLOGHER and DERRY are entitled to 400
acres not mentioned in this list
ERASMUS SMITH'S SCHOOLS.
A. R. p.
LIMERICK ESTATES, 4,343 2 19 £4,017 12 3
TIPPERARY do. 3,037 2 28 1,813 5 8
GALWAY do. 2,738 o 17 2,602 5 o
WESTMEATH do. 767 2 32 413 7 4
SLIGO do. 284 o 7 279 9 o
and mountain, 1,942 o 29 147 o o
KING'S Co. do. about 300 o o 23 i 6
13,413 i 12 £9,296 o 9
IO3 The Endowed Schools of Ireland.
CHARTER SCHOOLS Endowments, partly public, and partly
donations.
Gross rental... £7,771 10 5
Deductions 1,768 19 i
Net rental, £6,002 114
FROM THE GENERAL REPORT.
The total acreage of endowments in operation is 75,600 acres
Estimated annual value of school-premises, £14,615 9 7
Annual income from land (net) 37.564 4 2
Do. from trust funds 16,391 2 7
£68,570 16 4
Endowments not in operation, £7,170 us. \\d. per annum.
Endowments lost or expired, acreage: i,3i4A. 2R. 31?.
Income from lands and trust-funds, £2,574 i8.r. tyd. per annum.
From the preceding table it appears that the estate of
the Royal School of Armagh consists of six townlands, and
contains 1,514 acres; while the Royal School, Enniskillen,
is endowed with 5,566 acres, comprising 41 townlands, chiefly
the confiscated estates of the Maguires of Fermanagh. The
head master of the latter institution enjoys, free of rent, the
lands of Portora, comprising over 53 acres.
A considerable portion of these endowments is devoted
to the maintenance of the schools, the payment of teachers,
&c. There is no valid reason why Catholics should not have
for their schools and colleges a fair share, either of this
annual income, or of the bulk sum which would accrue from
its capitalization. Justice demands that these funds, as far
as they have been given by the State, should be made
available by the legislature for the benefit of the nation.
Nor would this be done by applying to existing Protestant
institutions the principle of " mixed education." For, as
Baron Hughes remarked in the letter we have already quoted,
neither the present, nor the "mixed" system, meets the
educational wants of Catholics; and hence either "only provides
for the education of the fewer and the richer, at the expense
of the many and the poorer."
Another portion of the existing endowments is devoted to
assist deserving students, by exhibitions and burses, either in
the schools themselves or in Trinity College. In Trinity
College, Dublin, there are 153 such exhibitions, varying from
£50 a-year downwards, and tenable in general for five years.
There is no reason why these rewards and helps to learning
should not be open to the competition of Catholics, to be
The Endowed Schools of Ireland. 103
enjoyed by them in institutions congenial to their religious
principles, either in Catholic schools and colleges, or should
they wish to pursue higher studies, in the Catholic University.
Justice, and the principles of religious equality embodied
in the recent Irish Church Act, require that those immense
educational endowments should be re-distributed and made
available for the benefit of Catholics and of Catholic insti-
tutions, as well as of Protestant and mixed schools and col-
leges, saving, of course, all private rights and life interests.
It may be said that these schools are open to Catholics
as well as to Protestants. The Endowed Schools' Commis-
sioners (p. 53 of their Report) quote from the Report of a
previous committee on Foundation Schools, A.D. 1838 : —
" The Committee reported," they say, that " though the course
pursued in the instance of diocesan schools of appointing
masters from the Church of England, and generally clergy-
men, prevailed also in the case of the Royal Schools, it does
not rest on any law. The Lord Lieutenant, as in the case
of the diocesan, has the appointment solely in his own hands,
unshackled by any limitation of a religious exclusive character
The assistants also are usually Protestants, but chosen from
the laity. The Royal Schools have at all times been con-
sidered open to all religious persuasions."
That the appearance of liberality put forward in the fore-
going sentences is only a delusion, is evident, first — because
although thirty-two years have elapsed since that Report
was presented to the House of Commons, nothing has been
done to correct the acknowledged injustice ; the schools con-
tinue as exclusively Protestant as ever in their teaching, their staff,
and theirgeneral management; secondly — because theadmission
of a few Catholics to those institutions would not render them
less objectionable to Catholics generally, who, it is well
known, object to mixed education, as much as to teaching
based on Protestantism and impregnated with its peculiar
tenets ; thirdly — because during the long period which has
intervened — thirty-two years — representing an entire genera-
tion, although the Catholics of Ireland, in the midst of the
greatestdiffkulticsandsufferings.of afaminealmost unexampled
in its severity, of an emigration which still continues to drain our
country of some of its best blood, of numberless calls upon their
limited resources, have made prodigious efforts to advance
the interests of educationr no help has been extended to
them by the State in this matter of intermediate education
While Protestants of the middle classes enjoy at the public
expense all the advantages we have enumerated, Catholics
of the same social grade are, as far as the State is concerned,
IO4 The Endowed Schools of Ireland.
in the same position they occupied fifty or one hundred years
ago — nay, in the worst days of the penal laws, when the rich
endowments given by our fathers for Catholic education
were confiscated or diverted to the maintenance and propa-
gation of the dominant religion.
It may be said that some of the endowments in question
are private gifts. As far as they are private property, of
course we do not intend our remarks to apply to them ; but
by far the largest part of these abundant endowments are
derived from the crown and legislature, and, assuredly, that
which the state gave, it has a right to re-distribute on more
equitable principles. We ought to mention in particular the
Erasmus Smith's Schools. The Commissioners appointed
under the act of the Irish Parliament of 1791, stated with
respect to th'em, that the income of the Governors had in-
creased from the ^"300 a-year mentioned in the charter to
upwards of £4,200 a-year. And they observed, that the
Erasmus Smith's foundation, though originating in the inten-
tions of a private individual, might, nevertheless, from the
repeated interpositions of the Legislature and the crown, be
considered as a public institution ( Vide Report of Endowed
Schools' Commission, p. 65).
But after making all reasonable deductions, the endowments
in questionwould still, under proper management, furnish alarge
national fund, which might, if necessary, be supplemented
from other sources ; and the Catholic schools and colleges,
which the piety and the love of learning inherent in the Irish
heart have created, when aided out of that national fund in
proportion to the wants of Irish Catholics, would become most
efficient institutions, in which Catholics, without offering violence
to their religious principles could prepare for public examina-
tions,andfor the cultivationof higher literary or scientific studies
or the prosecution of professional studies in the Catholic Univer-
sity College. It is thus the Royal and other Endowed Schools
prepare Protestants for the Protestant University. Thus would
a suitable foundation be laid for a National University in which
Catholics would be on a footing of educational equality, with
their Protestant fellow-countrymen. Thus would be abolished
the system of Protestant educational ascendency which still
remains as a relic of the Ecclesiastical Ascendency, now hap-
pily no more ; and all Irishmen would have the same encour-
agement from the State to cultivate the intellectual powers
which they have received from the Almighty Giver of all good
gifts.
105
A VISIT TO THE ARAN-MORE OF ST. ENDA.
PART II.
[HE fame of St. Enda's austere holiness, and of the
angelical life which so many were leading in Aran under his
guidance, soon spread far and wide throughout the land.
The sweet odour of Christ, diffused from the lonely island in
the Atlantic, penetrated to every part of Ireland, and where-
ever it reached, its gracious message stirred with joy the
hearts of the noblest and best among the servants of God.
It told them of a spot where men led a life of higher sanctity,
and of more thorough severance from fleshly ties than was
known elsewhere ; and to souls hungering and thirsting after
perfection, to hear of the spiritual treasures stored up in
Aran, was to long for the wings of the dove to fly thither,
to be made happy sharers in its graces. Hence, soon, the
Galway fishermen, whom St. Enda had blessed, found
day after day their coracJis crowded with strangers — reli-
gious men, of meek eye and gentle face — seeking to cross
over to the island ; and so frequently was the journey made,
that the words of the prophet seemed verified, and even in
that trackless sea "a path and a way was there, and it was called
the holy way."1 The pilgrims were men of every period of
life, some in the spring of their youth, flying from the plea-
sures that wooed their senses, and the earthly loves that laid
snares for their hearts ; others in the vigour of healthful
manhood ; and others aged and infirm, who came to close in
religious peace the remnant of their days, which at their
best they had accounted as few and evil. And thus Aran
gradually came to be as the writer of the life of St. Kieran of
Clonmacnoise describes it, the home of a multitude of holy
men, and the sanctuary where repose the relics of countless
saints, whose names are known only to the Almighty God.8
"Great indeed is that island," exclaims another ancient writer,
" and it is the land of the saints, for no one, save God alone,
knows how many holy men lie buried therein."3
But, although it is not possible to learn the names of all the
saints who were formed to holiness by St. Enda in Aran, our
ancient records have preserved the names of a few at least
1 Isaias xxxv, 71.
1 " In qua multitude sanctorum virorum manet, et innumerabiles sancti, omnibus
incogniti nisi soli Deo Omnipotent!, ibi jacent." Colgan, Acta SS.
* " Magna est ilia insula, et est terra sanctorum ; quia nemo scit numerum
sanctorum qui sepulti sunt ibi, nisi solus Deus." Vita S. Albei. Colgan, Acta SS.
106 A Visit to the Aran-More of St. Enda.
out of that blessed multitude. Among them we find almost
every name of note that appears in the second part of the well-
known list of the saints of Ireland, drawn up by some author
who flourished not later than the middle of the eighth century,
and in addition to these, many others of great celebrity, who
are not included in that catalogue. This second order of
saints lasted from about the middle of the sixth to the begin-
ning of the seventh century.
The history of these men is the history of St. Enda's work
on Aran.
First among St. Enda's disciples must be ranked St.
Kieran, the founder of Clonmacnoise, who has been styled by
Alcuin the glory of the Irish race. St. Kieran came to
Aran in his youth, and for seven years lived faithfully in the
service of God, under the direction of St. Enda. His youth
and strength fitted him in an especial manner for the active
duties, which were by no means inconsiderable in so large a
community, and in a place where the toil spent on an
ungrateful soil was so scantily repaid. "During these seven
years," says the ancient life of our saint,1 "Kieran so diligently
discharged the duties of grinding the corn, that grain in
quantity sufficient to make a heap never was found in
the granary of the island." Upon these humble labours
the light of the future greatness of the founder of Clonmac-
noise was allowed to shine in visions. St. Kieran had a
vision, which he faithfully narrated to his master, St. Enda.
He dreamed that on the bank of a great river, which is called
the Shannon, he saw a mighty tree laden with leaves and
fruits, which covered with its shade the entire island of Erin.
This dream he narrated to St. Enda, who said, "the tree
laden with fruit, thou art thyself, for thou shalt be great
before God and man, and shalt bring forth sweetest fruits of
good works, and shalt be honoured throughout all Ireland.
Proceed therefore, at once, and in obedience to the will of
God, build thou there a monastery." Upon this, St. Kieran,
prepared himself for the building of the monastery of Clon-
macnoise. His first step was to receive the priesthood. But
he could not bring himself to sever the happy ties that bound
him to his abbot. He still longed to be under his guidance,
and when recommending himself to the prayers of his
brethren he said to St. Enda, in the presence of all,
" O father, take me and my charge under thy protection, that
all my disciples may be thine likewise." " Not so," answered
Enda, "for it is not the will of God that you should all live
under my care in this scanty island ; but to thee, for thine
J Colgan, Vita S. End. , page 709.
A Visit to the Aran-More of St. Enda. 107
admirable humility and perfect charity, will Christ the Lord
grant the half of Ireland as the portion of thine inheritance."
And when they had thus spoken, a cross was set up in the
place, in sign of the brotherhood they had contracted between
themselves, and those who were to come after them ; and
they said : " whosoever in after times shall break the loving
bond of this our brotherhood, shall not have share in our love
on earth, nor in our company in heaven."
The love which St. Enda bore towards his holy pupil, for
his many and wonderful virtues, made their parting singularly
painful to them both. For a time the holy abbot felt as if the
Angels of God were leaving Aran with Kieran,and he could find
no relief for his anguish but in prayer. The sternness of religious
discipline had not crushed but chastened the tenderness of
an affectionate disposition in St. Enda, any more than in St.
Bernard, whose writings are the truest expression of the best
feelings of the religious heart. And as St. Bernard deplored
the loss of his brother Gerard, in whom the active and con-
templative virtues were admirably united, so might St. Enda
have spoken of Kieran. "Whom now shall I consult in
doubtful matters? Who will bear my burdens? His wise
and gentle speech saved me from secular conversation, and gave
me to the silence which I loved. O diligent man! O faithful
friend ! He plunged himself in cares that I might be spared
them, but in this he sought not for his own advantage, for he
expected (such was his humility) more profit from my leisure
than from his own. Who more strict than he in the preserva-
tion of discipline ? Who more stern in- the chastening of his
body ? Who more rapt or more sublime in contemplation ?l
The last hours spent by St. Kieran on Aran, as described
in the ancient life of St. Enda, are full of touching incidents,
which reveal the tender and simple affectionateness of those
mortified religious.
The entire community of the island shared the sorrow that
had come on their venerable abbot. When the moment of
departure was at hand, and the boat that was to bear him from
Aran was spreading its sails to the breeze, Kieran came slowly
down to the shore, walking between St. Enda and St. Finnian, and
followed by the entire brotherhood. His tears flowed fast as he
moved along,andthosewhoaccompanied him mingled their tears
with his. Peter de Blois, when leaving the Abbey of Croy-
land to return to his own country, stayed his steps seven
times to look back and contemplate once again the place where
he had been so happy ; so, too, did Kieran's gaze linger with
tenderness upon the dark hills of Aran and on the oratories
1 St. Bernard, Serm. in mort. Gcrardi. Op. torn. I, Col. 1354.
io8 A Visit to the A ran- More of St. Enda.
where he had learned to love God, and to feel how good and
joyous a thing it is to dwell with brethren whose hearts are at
one with each other in God. And when the shore was reached,
again he knelt to ask his father's blessing ; and, entering the
boat, was carried away from the Aran that he was never to see
again. The monastic group stayed for a while on the rocks
to follow with longing eyes the bark that was bearing from
them him they loved ; and when at length, bending their steps
homewards, they had gone some distance from the shore, St
Enda's tears once more began to flow. " O my brethren,"
cried he, " good reason have I to weep, for this day has our
island lost the flower and strength of religious observance."
What was loss to Aran, however, was gain to Clonmacnoise,
and through Clonmacnoise to the entire Irish Church, to which
the venerable monastery on the Shannon was the source of
so many blessings and of so much glory. Those who admire it
even now in its ruins, should not forget that its splendours are
reflected back upon the rocky Aran, where St. Enda formed
the spirit of its founder, and fostered with his blessing the work
he had undertaken to accomplish.
St. Kieran died at Clonmacnoise in the year 549, in the prime
of life, having governed his monastery for the short space of a
single year.
Next among the saints of Aran comes St. Brendan.1
The life of this illustrious saint narrates "how the man
of God went westward with fourteen brethren to a certain
Island called Aran, where dwelt St. Enda with his bre-
thren. With these the servant of God, Brendan, remained for
three days and three nights, after which, having received the
blessing of St. Enda, and of his holy monks, he set out with
his companions for Kerry." This visit of St. Brendan to Aran
has been described by one of our poets2 as follows :—
Hearing how blessed Enda lived apart,
Amid the sacred cares of Ara-Mhor ;
And how, beneath his eye, spread like a chart,
Lay all the isles of that remotest shore ;
And how he had collected in his mind
All that was known to man of the old sea,
I left the hill of miracles behind,
And sailed from out the shallow sandy Leigh.
f
Again I sailed, and crossed the stormy sound
That lies beneath Binn-Aite's rocky height,
1 In codice Insulensi. See Colgan, p. 712.
*Tfit Bell-Founder and other Potms, by D. F. MacCarthy, page 1 80, sqq.
A Visit to the Ar an- More of St. Enda. 109
And there, upon the shore, the saint I found
Waiting my coming through the tardy night.
He led me to his home beside the wave,
Where, with his monks, the pious father dwelled ;
And to my listening ear he freely gave
The sacred knowledge that his bosom held.
When I proclaimed the project that I nursed,
How 'twas for this that I his blessing sought,
An irrepressible cry of joy outburst
From his pure lips, that blessed me for the thought.
He said, that Jie, too, had in visions strayed
O'er the untrack'd ocean's billowing foam ;
Bid me have hope, that God would give me aid,
And bring me safe back to my native home.
Thus, having sought for knowledge and for strength,
For the unheard-of voyage that I planned,
I left these myriad isles, and turned at length
Southward my bark, and sought my native land.
There I made all things ready, day by day ;
The wicker boat, with ox-skins cover'd over,
Chose the good monks, companions of my way,
And waited for the wind to leave the shore.
St. Finnian of Moville is also mentioned in the ancient life1 of
our saint as oneof St. Enda's disciples at Aran. This remarkable
man was first placed under the care of St. Colman of Dromore,
who flourished about the year 510. It is expressly mentioned
in the life just quoted, that it was from Aran he set out on his
pilgrimage to Rome. This was probably his first visit to the
Apostolic See. Being of an active temperament, he there de-
voted himself with great ardour for several years to the study of
the ecclesiastical and apostolical traditions. He then returned
to Ireland, after having received the pontifical benediction,
and carrying with him a rich store of relics of the saints given
him by the Pope, and the penitential canons, which, in his bio-
grapher's time, were still called the canons of St. Finnian. He
also brought to Ireland, the earliest copy of the Hieronymian
translation of the Gospel : a treasure of such value in the es-
timation of his ecclesiastical contemporaries, that the records
of the period very frequently refer to St. Finnian's Gospels.
In 540, he founded the great monastery of Moville, where
St. Columba spent portion of his youth. After labouring
with energy for many years in Ireland, St. Finnian
1 Colgan, Act. SS. page 708.
no A Visit to tJie Aran-More of St. Enda.
returned to Italy, where, according to the best author-
ities, he was made Bishop of Lucca, in Tuscany, in which
church he is venerated under the name of St. Frigidian, or
Fridian. The Italian annals give 588 as the year of his death ;
the annals of Ulster and Tigernach 589.
The Irish life of St. Columbkille makes mention of the
sojourn of that great saint on Aran. The traditions still
current on the island confirm this statement. The deep love
of St. Columba for Aran, the sorrow with which he quitted its
shores for lona, the spiritual excellencies which he had therein
discovered, are expressed with singular warmth of religious
feeling in a poem, written by him on his deparure,
of which Mr. Aubrey De Vere1 has given the following
spirited version : —
I.
Farewell to Aran Isle, farewell !
I steer for Hy ; my heart is sore : —
The breakers burst, the billows swell
'Twixt Aran Isle and Alba's shore.
II.
Thus spoke the Son of God, " Depart !"
0 Aran Isle, God's will be done !
By angels thronged this hour thou art ;
1 sit within my bark alone.
III.
O Modan, well for thee the while!
Fair falls thy lot, and well art thou !
Thy seat is set in Aran Isle :
Eastward to Alba turns my prow.
IV.
O Aran, sun of all the west !
My heart is thine ! As sweet to close
Our dying eyes in thee as rest,
Where Peter and where Paul repose.
V.
O Aran, son of all the west !
My heart in thee its grave hath found.
He walks in regions of the blest
The man that hears thy church-bells sound.
1 De Vere's " Irish Odes and other Poems," page 274-275.
A Visit to the Aran-More of St. Enda. \ 1 1
VI.
O Aran blest ! O Aran blest !
Accursed the man that loves not thee !
The dead man cradled in thy breast —
No demon scares him — well is he.
VII.
Each Sunday Gabriel from on high
(For so did Christ the Lord ordain)
Thy Masses comes to sanctify,
With fifty Angels in his train.
VIII.
Each Monday Michael issues forth
To bless anew each sacred fane :
Each Tuesday cometh Raphael,
To bless pure hearth and golden grain.
IX.
Each Wednesday cometh Uriel,
Each Thursday Sariel, fresh from God;
Each Friday cometh Ramael
To bless thy stones and bless thy sod.
x.
Each Saturday comes Mary,
Comes Babe on arm, 'mid heavenly hosts!
0 ! Aran, near to heaven is he
That hears God's Angels bless thy coasts!
The stanzas which in the original Irish correspond to
the fourth verse of Mr. De Vere's translation, have been
rendered as follows by Dr. O'Donovan, who remarks that
O'Flanagan's translation is here defective.
The Son of the King — O ! the Son of the living God,
It is he who sent me to lona ;
It is he who gave to Enna great the prosperity,
Aran, the Rome of the pilgrims.
Aran thou sun— O ! Aran thou sun !
My affection lies with thee westward ;
Alike to be under her pure earth interred,
As under the earth of Peter and Paul.
The ancient life of St. Enda also reckons among the inha-
bitants of Aran, St. Finnian the elder, the founder of the great
112 A Visit to the Aran- More of St. Enda.
school of Clonard, who died in the second half of the sixth
century ; St. Jarlath, the founder of the see of Tuam ; St. Mac
Creiche, of the race of the men of Corcomroe, who were in
possession of Aran when St.' Enda first went thither. The
Martyrology of Donegal makes mention of St. Guigneus ; the
Martyrology of Aengus adds St. Papeus, St. Kevin of Glenda-
loch, St. Carthage of Lismore, St. Lonan Kerr, St Nechatus
or Nechanus, and St. Libeus, brother of St. Enda. In the
midst of this holy brotherhood St. Enda died in 540 or 543.
Among the saints to whom, as we shall soon see, churches were
dedicated on the island, we find St. Benignus of Armagh, who
also most probably resided in Aran, and St. Caradoc, or
Carantoc, whose name recalls his British origin. These two
men may fairly be taken as representatives of the native and
foreign elements which at that period went to make up the Irish
Church. It is remarkable to find that on Aran, which seems
to have been a common centre for the saints of the second
order, these two elements are found in harmony, and most
closely connected with each other. These facts contrast
strangely with what we read in a late writer, that " the second
order of saints do not appear to have had any connection
with Armagh, or the institutions of St. Patrick," and that
" they were connected with the British Church, and not with
the Church of St. Patrick."1 The history of Aran and of its
monuments forbids these attempts to disparage the unity of
the ancient Irish Church.
The sight of Aran peopled by this host of saints forcibly
recalls to mind that other island, where, in an age of wild
and fierce passions, the arts of peace, religious learning, and
the highest Christian virtues, found a sanctuary. At the
beginning of the sixth century, Aran may, with, truth, be
styled the Lerins of the northern seas. True, its bare flags and
cold grey landscape contrast sadly with " the gushing streams,
the green meadows, the luxuriant wealth of vines, the fair
valleys, and the fragrant scents which," according to St.
Eucherius, " made Lerins the paradise of those who dwelled
thereon.2 " However its very wildness did but make it richer in
those attractions so well described by St. Ambrose, which made
the outlying islands so dear to the religious men of that time.8
They loved those islands, "which, as a necklace of pearls,
God has set upon the bosom of the sea, and in which those
who would fly from the irregular pleasures of the world, may
find a refuge wherein to practise austerity and save them-
1 Todd's St. Patrick, page 95-96.
1 S. Eucherius de laude Eremi, 442.
3 Hexatmeron, lib. 3, c. 5. .
A Visit to the Aran- More of St. Enda. 1 1 3
selves from the snares of this life. The sea that enfolds them
becomes, as it were, a veil to hide from mortal eye their deeds
of penance; it aids them to acquire perfect continence; it
feeds grave and sober thought ; it has the secret of peace ;
and repels all the fierce passions of earth. In it these faithful
and pious men find incentives to devotion. The mysterious
sound of the billows calls for the answering sound of sacred
psalmody ; and the peaceful voices of holy men, mingled with
the gentle murmur of the waves breaking softly on the shore,
rise in unison to the heavens." It must have been one of these
men, whose island home had shut out all sights of earth save
that of the .altar, of the sea, and of the wild birds disporting
along the sunny shore, who, in an ancient Irish treatise1
on the mass vestments, warns the priest that his " heart
should be chaste and shining, and his mind like the foam of
the wave, or the chalk on the gable of an oratory, or like the
colour of the swan in sunshine, that is, without any particle
of sin, great or small, resting in his heart."
At Aran, too, as at Lerins, while men sought after eternal
happiness, they found that earthly happiness pure and with-
out alloy was poured into their hearts. In their religious
brotherhood they met with the hundredfold return which God
has promised to those who make sacrifices for Him. Oh ! how
joyous was the life of that blessed company of the saints of
Aran, where the nobly born Enda and Kevin proved their
kingly descent by the regal fulness of their virtues as well as
by the grace and dignity of their manners ; where Columba
could gratify his scholarly passion for fair manuscripts, and
Kieran find fresh treasures of ecclesiastical lore to acquire ;
where Brendan could learn all that man knew of the ocean
and its mysteries, and Mochuda evermore delight in the
sacred harmonies that first had won his young heart to the
religion of Christ: where the highest form of oriental asceticism
was happily united with the fire of the active energy of the
west. No wonder that Kieran wept to leave the beloved
shore ! No wonder that through the farewell wail of the
exiled Columba, there runs such an- intensity of almost pas-
sionate sorrow, that a thousand years have not been able to
efface it !
Thus far we have endeavoured to give a faint outline of
the result of the spiritual labours of St. Enda. It is now time
to describe the material traces of his presence which came
under our observation at Aran. And first as to the churches.
Dr. Malachy Keely, Archbishop of Tuam — a man dis-
tinguished for his zeal in religion, and endowed with every
i Curry's Lectures on the MS. Materials of Irish Historj, vol. I, p. 376.
VOL. VII. 8
H4 ^ Visit to the Aran-More of St. Enda.
virtue — compiled in 1645, or shortly before, a description of
the churches then existing in Aran, which has been pre-
served by Colgan. The following is his list of churches in
Aranmore : —
1. The parish church, commonly called Kill-Enda, lies in
the County of Galway, and half barony of Aran, and in it St.
Endeus, or St. Enna, is venerated as patron, on the 2ist of
March.
2. The church called Teglach-Enda, to which is annexed
a cemetery, wherein is the sepulchre of St. Endeus, with one
hundred and twenty-seven other sepulchres, wherein none but
saints were ever buried.
3. The church called Tempull Mac Longa, dedicated to St.
Mac Longius, is situated near the parish church, which is
called sometimes Kill-Enda, that is, the cella or cell of St.
Endeus, and sometimes Tempull mor Enda, or the great
church of Endeus.
4. The church called Tempull Mic Canonn, near the aforesaid
parish church.
5. The church called of St. Mary, not far from the same parish
church.
6. The church which is named Tempull Benain, or the
temple of St. Benignus.
7. The church called Mainistir Connachtach, that is, the
Connaught Monastery, in place of which, being afterwards
demolished, was built a chapel to St. Kieran.
8. The church called Kill-na-manach, that is, the church or
cell of the monks, which was dedicated to St. Cathradochus,
or Caradoc, the monk, surnamed Garbh, or the rough.
9. The church Tempull Assurnuidhe (or, perhaps, Esserni*
nus), and this church is held in the greatest veneration among
the islanders.
10. The church called Tempull an cheathruir aluinn, or the
church of the four beautiful (saints), who were SS. Fursey,
Brendan of Birr, Conall, and Berchann, whose bodies are also
said to be buried in the same tomb, lying in the cemetery of
the same church.
1 1. The church called Tempull-mic-Duach, or the church of
St. Mac Duagh, (who is also called Colmanus, surnamed Mac
Duagh), which is a handsome church dedicated to that saint
12. The handsome, and formerly parochial church, called
Tempull Breccain, or the church of Brecan, in which also his
feast is celebrated on the 22nd of May.
13. The church near the aforesaid church of St. Brecan.
which is commonly called Tempull a Pkuill.
Several of these edifices have long since perished ; and of
A Visit to the Atan-More o/ St. Enda. 115
those yet remaining, some, as not being immediately connected
with St. Enda, do not come within the scope of this paper.
For this reason, we make no mention of the ecclesiastical es-
tablishment of St. Brecan,1 with its seven churches, and its in-
scribed stones marking the graves of St Brecan, of the seven
Roman strangers, and of the monks. But among the buildings
visited by us which directly concern our present purpose, we were
fortunate in meeting with samples of almost every class of the
ecclesiastical structures in use among our Christian forefathers
in Ireland. We found within short distance of St. Enda's
tomb, what we may safely style representative specimens of
the primitive Irish churches, as well of those known as daim-
hliagS) as of those called duirtcaclis ; the remains of a round
tower, and several early stone houses, of divers kinds. Before
we conduct our reader through those variously interesting re-
mains, we ask his attention to Dr. Petrie's2 description of the
architectural peculiarities of the primitive Irish churches, which
description we here present in a condensed form.
The ancient Irish churches are almost invariably of small
size, being usually not more than sixty feet in length. In their
general form, they closely follow that of the Roman basilica,
and they are even called by this name in the oldest writers ;
but they never present the semicircular absis at the east end so
usual in Roman churches, and the smaller churches are merely
simple oblong quadrangles. In addition to this quadrangle,
the larger churches present a second oblong of smaller dimen-
sions extending to the east, and constituting the chancel or
sanctuary, in which the altar was placed, and which is connec-
ted with the nave by a triumphal arch of semicircular form.
These churches have rarely more than a single entrance, which
is placed in the centre of the west end ; and they are very im-
perfectly lighted by small windows splaying inwards, which do
not appear to have been even glazed. The chancel has usually
two or three windows, one of which is always in the centre of
the east wall, and another in the south wall ; the windows in
the nave are also usually placed in the south wall, and rarely
exceed two in number. The windows are frequently trian-
gular headed, but more usually arched semicircularly, while the
doorway, on the contrary, is almost universally covered by a
horizontal lintel, consisting of a single stone. In all cases, the
sides of the doorways and windows incline, like the doorways in
the oldest cyclopean buildings, to which they bear a striking
resemblance. The doorways and windows rarely exhibit
1 Petrie's Inquiry into theorigin and uses of the Round Towers of Ireland, p 139-
* Ibid. p. 158, sq.
1 1 6 A Visit to the Aran-More of St. Enda.
ornaments of any kind. The walls are generally formed of very
large polygonal stones carefully adjusted to each other, both
on the inner and outer faces, while their interior is filled up
with rubble and grouting. In the smaller churches the roof
was frequently formed of stone, but in the larger ones always
of wood, covered with shingles, straw, or reeds. These larger
churches are designated in Irish writings by the names damJi-
liag or stone church, tempull (templum) eccles, regies (ecclesia),
and sometimes, baslie (basilica). The smaller churches or ora-
tories were called duirteaclis, and in the beginning were for
the most part, as the etymology denotes, houses of oak, although
the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick makes mention of a stone
oratory at Armagh coeval with St. Patrick himself. The average
dimensions of the duirteacJis was about fifteen feet in length, and
ten in breadth, interior measurement. In the general plan of this
class of buildings there was an equal uniformity. They had a sin-
gle doorway, always placed in the centre of the west wall, and
lighted by a single window placed in the centre of the east wall,
and a stone altar beneath this window. It can scarcely be
questioned that this class of buildings was originally erected
for the private devotion of the founders exclusively : for in the
immediate vicinity of such oratories we usually find not only
the cells which served as habitations for the founders, but also
as tombs in which they were interred.
We found a beautiful specimen of the class of larger churches
here described, inTempuL-Mac-Duagh,at Kilmurvey. It hasthe
nave and chancel which characterise the first-mentioned species
of the Tempulls. The nave is little more than eighteen feet long
by fourteen broad, and the chancel nearly sixteen feet long by
eleven broad. The stones of the walls are of immense size,
and the entire building has a sombre, severe look. The door-
way is a remarkable instance of the cyclopean door, and
resembles the doorway of the Cathedral Church of Kilmac-
duagh erected for St. Colman Macduagh by his kinsman
Guaire Aidhne, King of Connaught, about the year 6 10. It
is five feet six inches in height, two feet in width at the top,
and two feet three inches at the bottom. The lintel is of
granite, and measures five feet six inches in length, one foot
six inches in height, and extends the entire thickness of the
wall which is two feet six inches.1
Our chief interest, however, was naturally centred in the group
of buildings which exist at Killeany, and consist of the church
of St. Benignus, the church of St. Enda, the round tower of
St. Enda, and the stone houses in its immediate vicinity.
Our readers will have remarked that the first six churches
l For an engraving of this doorway, see Petrie's Round Tfavtrs, p. 174.
A Visit to the Aran-More of St. Enda. 1 17
named in Dr. Keely's list, all stood near each other, and to the
north of the present village of Killeany. Out of the six, four
have almost entirely disappeared, namely, Kill-Enda, called
also Temp tll-mor-Enda, or the great church of Enda ; Tempull-
mac-Longa, Tentpull-mic-Canonn, and the church of St. Mary.
They were demolished by the unholy hands of the invaders
for the sake of the materials which they supplied to build the
castle of Arkin. So all-devouring time, says O'Flaherty1 —
" Diruit, edificat, mutat quadrate rotundis."
The church known as Teglach Enda "still exists on the
shore ; it is in good preservation, and is a fine specimen of
the single church without chancel It is twenty-four feet in
length and fourteen in breath. All the walls now standing
are by no means of an equal antiquity. The eastern gable
and part of the northern side wall are the only parts belonging
to St. Enda's time, the remainder of the building being the
work of a later period. The eastern gable is built of large
stones like those at Tempull-Mac-Duagh, cemented with ex-
cellent mortar, one of the stones extending almost the entire
breadth of the gable. The window in the eastern gable is one
foot seventeen inches high and eight broad on the outside, and
on the inside two feet three inches high, and one foot two
inches at the top, widening, however, at the bottom to one
foot eight inches. The doorway is placed in the northern
wall, and is about two feet broad, and five high. It is in the
modern pointed style, and cannot be more than five hundred
years old. There is a narrow window in this northern wall of
about three feet in height, of the same age as the doorway.
Beneath this window, on the outside of the edifice, we found
inserted in the wall a beautiful sepulchral slab inscribed, or
do Scandlain, a prayer for Scanlan, which, however, was clearly
not in situ, since the lines ran not parallel but at right
angles with the ground. It was, probably, one of the many
sepulchral slabs belonging to the cemetery which surrounds
the church, and was employed by the restorers of the build-
ing, just as the sepulchral slabs of the Roman Catacombs
are sometimes found in the walls of the oratories erected at
a later date over the entrances to the cemeteries, or over the
spot where some illustrious martyr reposed below. We do
not know who this Scanlan was, but in the list of saints of
the family to which St. Enda belonged, we find mention made
of a Scanlan who was father of Flann Febhla, Archbishop of
Armagh. Around the church spreads the cemetery, now
1 lar Coonaught, p. 82.
1 1 8 A Visit to the A ran- More of St. Enda.
almost completely covered up by the sands, in which the
body of St. Enda, and those of one hundred and fifty
other saints, are interred. Between this cemetery and the
castle of Arkin, we found some remains of masonry
buried in the sands, which had left uncovered what seemed
to be the lintel of the doorway of one of the primitive
buildings. Probably it was portion of one of the four churches
mentioned by Dr. Keely, and which had been destroyed.
A little beyond this point, in the street of the village of
Killeany, we entered a narrow road, leading up the hill at the
foot of which this ruined castle still frowns on the sea, and soon
reached a small well sunk deep in the ground, known to the
natives as the Friar's well. It was the well that served the
Fathers of a Franciscan Monastery, which was built, Ware says,1
in the year 1485, probably by the O'Briens, on the slope of the
hill just under the round tower of St. Enda. This establish-
ment also was demolished by the barbarians for the sake of
its building materials. It was easy for us, however, to trace its
site by the lines formed by the foundations of the walls ; and
the base of a large stone cross with portion of the cross itself
were found lying in the middle of a field on which the build-
ing once stood. The walls of loose stone on the road side
were here festooned by thick and verdant shoots of the hop
plant, which spread in great luxuriance around. This shrub
is not found elsewhere on the island. It, and the ruined cross,
and a few shapeless walls, are all that survive to tell where
once stood garden and cloister of the Franciscan Monastery.
A little higher up, on the hill side, we came to St.Enda's well,
and altar ; the latter surmounted by a rude cross, and betray-
ing by its clumsiness the work of a modern hand. St. Enda's
well, and indeed all the other wells we saw in the island, are
carefully protected by the Araners ; the scarcity of water ren-
dering the possession of a well almost as precious to them as it
was to the Eastern shepherds in the days of Rebecca. At a short
distance to the left of the well, stands the remnant of the
round tower of St. Enda. Once its height -was worthy of the
cluster of sacred temples which stood within the circle traver-
sed by the shadow it projected in the changing hours ; but now
it is little more than thirteen feet high. An aged man who
joined ourgroup, told us that in St. Enda's time theMass wasnot
commenced in any of the churches of the island, until the bell
from St. Enda's tower announced that St. Enda himself had
taken his place at the altar in his own Church. There have
been many theories propounded concerning the uses of the
round towers, less satisfactory than this of the simple Araner.
•Vol. i. p. 280.
A Visit to the Aran- Mote of St. Enda. 1 19
The contrast between the masonry of the round tower
and that of the pagan forts is very remarkable. The round
tower was built of chiselled stones, bound together with ce-
ment ; the pagan fortress of stones not dressed by the hand,
and put together without mortar. No one who has had an
opportunity of comparing both, can ever be persuaded that
they are the work of the same period or of the same builders.
Ascending the hill where it rises to the south-west behind
the tower, we reached the exquisitely beautiful ditirteach
known as Tempull Benain, or temple of St. Benignus, pupil
of St. Patrick and Archbishop of Armagh, which crowned
the highest point of the hill above us, and stood out with its
sharp linesclearlydefined against the sky. This church is errone-
ously called Temple Mionnain. It lies north and south, a pecu-
liarity which distinguishes it from the other churches of these
primitive ages, which, as a rule, lie east and west. A solitary
arched window in the eastern wall, where the altar stood, gave
admittance to the light through an opening alittle more than a
foot high and a foot broad. The doorway is in the north gable,
and commands an enchanting prospect over Casla Bay. It is six
feet three inches in height, and one foot three inches broad at
top, while, likethe cyclopean doors, it widens at bottom to a width
of two feet. The original height of the side-walls was seven
feet four inches ; the northern gable rose to the height of
seventeen feet, but is now only fifteen feet high. In the
western wall there is one large stone, in size four feet by four,
and eleven inches in thickness. Tempull Benain measures on
the outside only fifteen feet one inch in length, and eleven feet
three inches in breadth. The roof has totally disappeared,
but was evidently a stone roof like that on the building known
as St. Kevin's house, at Glendalough. Dr. O'Donovan, who,
in company with Dr. Petrie, examined all the churches in Aran,
and to whose accuracy we owe those details of measurement,
unhesitatingly declares this church of St. Benain to be an
erection coeval with St Benignus himself. It is well known
that this saint has always been the .object of great devotion
in the west, on account of his apostolic labours in that portion
of Ireland.
And here, before leaving this part of our subject, we wish
to quote Dr. Petrie's eloquent remarks on the primitive churches
of our land, and what are especially applicable to those on
Aran. "That they have little in them," says the learned
man,1 " to interest the mind or attract regard as works of art,
it would be childish to deny ; yet, in their symmetrical sim-
1 Round Towers, page 188, 189.
120 A Visit to the Aran-Mote of St. Enda,
plicity — their dimly-lighted nave, entered by its central west
doorway, and terminated on the other side by its chancel arch,
affording to the devout worshipper an unimpeded view of that
brighter sanctuary, in which were celebrated the divine myster-
ies which afforded him consolation in this world and hope in
the next — in the total absence of everything which could dis-
tract his attention — there is an expression of fitness to their
purpose, too often wanting in modern temples of the highest
pretensions ; as the artless strains sung to the Creator, which,
we may believe, were daily hymned in these unadorned
temples, were calculated, from their very simplicity and art-
lessness, to awaken feelings of deep devotion, which the gor-
geous artificial music of the modern cathedral but too rarely
excites, even in minds most predisposed to feel its influences,
and appreciate its refinement. In short, these ancient temples
are just such humble, unadorned structures, as we might
expect them to have been ; but, even if they were found to
exhibit less of that expression of congruity and fitness, and
more of that humbleness so characteristic of a religion not
made for the rich, but for the poor and lowly, that mind is but
little to be envied which could look with apathy on the
remains of national structures so venerable for their antiquity,
and so interesting as being raised in honour of the Creator in
the simplest ages of Christianity."
But where, it may be asked, did all these religious men live ?
How were they sheltered from the Atlantic tempests of which
the first fury was necessarily spent on the beetling cliffs of
Aran ? How were they protected from the wintry cold, and
from the rain ?
Let not our readers expect, in answer to this question, a
description of any vast structure sufficient for the adequate
accommodation of communities, as large as those that were
housed in the stately monasteries of the middle ages. In
Aran, as elsewhere in Ireland, the early monastic establish-
ments were composed1 of separate cells for the abbot,
monks, and clergy, while the houses required for the
accommodation of strangers, the kitchen, etc., were all se-
parate edifices, surrounded by a cashel or circular wall, and
forming a kind of monastery or ecclesiastical town, like those
of the early Christians in the East, and known among the
Egyptians by the name of Laura. The Laura herein differed
from the Coenobium, that the latter was but one habitation
where the monks lived in common, whereas the former con-
sisted of many celb divided from each other. Such groups
1 Round Towers, p. 416.
A Visit to the A ran- More of St. Enda. 1 2 1
of cells are frequently mentioned in the lives of the Irish
Saints.1
These structures, it is fair to assume, were formed of the ma-
terials within easy reach of the builders, and consequently, in
many parts of Ireland, of perishable materials, such as wood and
clay. For this reason few vestiges of them remain in the
northern and eastern portions of the island. But in the west
and south, many such buildings yet survive ; and of these we
found interesting specimens in Aranmore. There, writes
O'Flaherty,2 " they have cloghanns, a kind of building of stones
laid one upon another, which are brought to a roof, without
any manner of mortar to cement them, some of which cabins
will hold forty men on their floor; so ancient that nobody
knows how long ago any of them was made. Scarcity of
wood and store of fit stones, without peradventure, found out
the first invention." These houses are of a circular or oval
form, having dome roofs, constructed without a knowledge
of the principle of the arch, and without the use of cement.
They are formed upon the model left by the pagan Firbolg,
and Tuatha de Danaan tribes, as is obvious from the resem-
blance they bear to the pagan circular stone forts. One
remarkable difference between the houses of the pagan and
Christian periods, is, that whereas the former are round inter-
nally and externally, the latter though externally round, are
occasionally quadrangular in the interior, as if the quadran-
gular form of the churches had been adopted also for the
houses of ecclesiastics. Whole villages of these houses exist
on Aranmore.8
The neighbouring island of Ardillaun still exhibits the
Laura, founded by St. Fechin, in the seventh century,
which is one of the most interesting and best preserved
apchoretical establishments in Ireland, or perhaps in Europe.*
On the crest of the hill, on which Tempull Benain stands,
about thirteen feet to the north-west of the sacred edifice,
there was a doghaun, partly under the ground, ten feet in length,
and five feet four inches in breadth ; the door-way was more
than two feet broad, and the walls three feet thick. O'Dono-
van, who describes it,6 is of opinion that it was probably the
house of St. Benignus himself. Our interest was most
excited by a cyclopean house, of angular form, which measured
from north to south-, eleven feet eight inches, and six feet
ten inches across. It had two doorways, about two feet
broad, and three thick ; and in one of the chambers there
1 Bollandists, Act. S3. Mail, Tom. 3, in life of StMochuda or C arthage of Lismore
1 Op. cit. page 68. * Proceedings of R. I. Academy, voL x., page 25.
* Ibid, page 551-555. ' Ordnance Surrey, MSS.
122 A Visit to the Aran-Moreof St. Enda,
was a window. The double door is said to be more common
in the Aran doghauns, than in these found elsewhere.1 One
of the chambers in this house measures four feet nine inches
In length, and four feet in breadth. The entire structure has
suffered much from exposure. In addition to these separate
cells, Dr. Petrie discovered on Aran-More, the ruins of a build-
ing, which would have been large enough to serve the purpose
of a refectory. It is situated near the churches of St. Colman
MacDuach, at Kilmurvey, and is an oval structure, without
cement, of fifty by thirty-seven feet, external measurement,
with a wall of six feet in thickness. But it is now full time
to bring our wanderings to a close.
With the permission of the excellent and hospitable priest
who has charge of the island, we resolved, on the last morning
of our stay on Aran, to celebrate mass in the ruined church
of Teglach-Enda, where in the year 540 or 542, St. Enda was
interred, and where likewise repose the relics of a countless
army of white-robed saints. The morning was bright and
clear, and as we traversed the road skirting the shore from
Kilronan to Killeany, the dark and rigid outlines of the rocks
were softened by the touch of the early sunshine. The
inhabitants of Killeany, exulting in the tidings that the Holy
Sacrifice was once again to be offered to God near the shrine
of their sainted Patron, accompanied or followed us to the
venerable ruins. The men, young and old, were clothed in
decent black, or in white garments of home-made stuff, with
sandals of undressed leather, like those of the peasants of
the Abruzzi, laced round their feet ; the women were attired
in gay scarlet gowns and blue bodices, and all wore a look of
remarkable neatness and comfort. The small roofless Church
was soon filled to overflowing with a decorous and devout
congregation ; and as the sands had accumulated to a con-
siderable height on the exterior of the building, those who
found no place within, were enabled to overtop the high walls
on either side, and thus assist at the Sacrifice. It was plain
to us, from what we saw before us, that these churches had
not been originally intended to receive even ordinary as-
semblages of the faithful.
We can never forget the scene of that morning : the pure
bright sand, covering the graves of unknown and unnumbered
saints as with a robe of silvertissue, that glistened in the sunshine;
the delicate green foliage of the wild plants, that rose here and
there, as if wrought in embroidery upon the white expanse; on
one side, the swelling hill crowned with the church of
Benignus, and on the other the blue sea, that almost bathed
1 Procctdings R. I. Academy, rel, x., p. 555-
Letters of Balmez. 1 23
the foundations of the venerable sanctuary itself; the soft
balmy air that hardly stirred the ferns on the old walls ; and
tin- fresh, happy, solemn calm that reigned over all
The temporary altar was set up under the east window,
on the site where of old the altar stood; and there, in the
midst of the loving and simple faithful, within the walls
which had been consecrated some twelve hundred years
before, over the very spot of earth where so many of the
saints of Ireland lay awaiting their resurrection to glory,
the solemn rite of the Christian Sacrifice was performed, and
once more, as in the days of which St. Columba wrote, the
angels of God came down to worship the Divine Victim in
the Churches of Aran. And surely, not unworthy of the angelic
company were the devotion and faith of the humble worship-
pers around. Throughout the Mass, a hush and a silence
came upon them, and the only sounds that fell upon the ear
was the solemn voice of the priest, or the murmur of the
waves breaking on the beach outside ; but at the moment of
the elevation, when they beheld the pure and holy and un-
spotted Host raised up for them to Heaven, a cry of adoring
faith and love went forth from their lips, and every head was
bowed to the dust before the Lord.
LETTERS OF BALMEZ.
XL— SELF-LOVE.
MY ESTEEMED FRIEND — I am sincerely pleased your last
letter exempts me for ever from dealing farther with the Ger-
man philosophy, or the French, which is an imitation of it.
I knew your naturally clear judgment, thirsting for truth and
opposed to abstractions, would not tolerate the symbolic lan-
guage and the phantastic ideas with which the good Germans
have adorned philosophy, in the leisure moments abundantly
afforded them by their climate of fogs and frosts. You won-
der, and not without reason, that this philosophy could have
spread in France, where mens' minds lean to the opposite ex-
treme of sensual and materialist positivism. I believe it was by
a kind of necessity in the supposition that the Voltairian philo-
sophy was completely discredited, and those who wished to be
regarded as philosophers must put on a grave and majestic
1 24 Letters of Balmez.
mantle ; and as they had no desire to follow the sound writers
who preceded them in their native country, they had to cast their
eye beyond the Rhine, and with great pomp import into the
midst of a capricious and novelty-loving people the systems
of Schelling and Hegel, as portentous inventions, capable of
making the human mind progress indefinitely. For the rest,
if I must frankly say what I think, I believe the French
genius will not put up with the German philosophy, but will
discover there is Pantheism in it at bottom ; and without
waiting to subtilize or cavil about the universal and only sub-
stance, will jump at its last consequence, which is Atheism,
without the ambiguity of mysterious words. In arriving at
this result, it will observe it is taught nothing new beyond
what it learned from its own philosophers of the last century.
It will then despise this philosophy, said to be new, as a pla-
giarism of another worn out and effete ; and then it will be re-
quisite to seek new springs of illusion to supply food, even
for a short time, to the curiosity of the schools and the vanity
of the professors. This is the history of the human mind, my
dear friend. Examine its pages, and you shall at once dis-
cover that the phenomenon we witness is the reproduction of
what has occurred in all ages. The advantage derived from
it by religious men is not small, for when they contemplate
the versatility of the human mind, they more easily com-
prehend the necessity of a guide in the midst of illusions and
extravagances.
I have been almost surprised by the argument you use
against the truth of our religion, founded on the fact that with
our doctrines we contradict one of the most indelible and at
the same time most innocent sentiments of the human breast —
self-love. I was amused by the terms in which you develop
your ideas. The reasons on which you ground them would
certainly be strong, only they rest on a false supposition, and
consequently are like edifices void of foundation. " I know
not," you say in your last, " what misanthropic spirit reigns
among Catholics, and covers everything with gloomy sadness.
You don't want anything earthly to be named, nor permit
people to think on the affairs of this world ; you annihilate, as
it were, the entire universe, and when all is sacrificed to
your tetrical system, when you have succeeded in isolating
man in frightful solitude, want him to turn against himself, to
deny himself, to annihilate himself also, to despoil himself of
his most intimate sentiments, to abhor himself, and make a
cruel effort against the most lively instincts of his nature. But
what ! Is God the Creator opposed to God the Saviour ?
Will God, who has communicated to us the love of ourselves,
L etters of Balmts. 125
who has imprinted it in indelible characters on our soul, —
will that same God, when working in the order of grace, de-
light in contradicting himself as the author of nature ? These
are things I could never understand, and I think you shall
have trouble in dissipating the mists that prevent me from
seeing the truth. I know you will utter an eloquent sermon
about the misery and iniquity of man, the just motives we
have for professing a holy hatred of ourselves, but I now warn
you I cannot desire such sanctity ; weak and vain and evil as
I know I am, I cannot do less than love myself, and when I
compare my nothingness with the elevation of the cherubim,
I feel more affection, more love for my insignificant being,
than for those sublime intelligences which are said to hold a
high place in the celestial hierarchy." The tone of security
you employ tells me there is here something more than
doubts— something approaching true conviction; and no won-
der, in the supposition that you build on a false principle and
consequently arrive at false conclusions. You have found
some expressions in certain mystic works and have taken
them literally, and hence your ascribing to our religion doc-
trines she does not hold.
Whotcld you Christianity condemns self-love, understanding
this condemnation in a rigorous sense ? This is the vacuum
left by you in your reasoning. You were not careful enough to
make sure of the principle on which you founded it, and so whilst
you believed you were building on a solid base, you were only
raising castles in the air. This is not the first time such a
thing has happened to religion, for often and often, for the sake
of combating it, phantasms are conjured up, and people make
war on them as if they were its offspring, whereas they are
only the creations of her opponent's brain. I do not accuse
you of acting perversely ; I am sure you suffer from mis-
apprehension, which you will correct immediately I point it
out ; and I flatter myself I can do so notwithstanding your
assertion that it is difficult to dissipate the mists that impede
your knowledge of the truth. As to the eloquent sermon on
the misery and wickedness of man, I think you may make
your mind easy, as I have given you sufficient proofs I am not
inclined to declamations of any sort. But let us come to the
difficulty.
It is false that religion prohibits us from loving ourselves ;
and so false, that on the contrary one of its fundamental
precepts is this same self-love. I need nothing but the
Catechism to convince you of this. I hope you have not for-
gotten we are told in it to love our neighbours as ourselves,
in which the precept of love which each one should entertain
1 26 Letters of Balmez.
for himself is most expressly recorded. This love is presented
to us as the model of that we should have for our neighbour;
and the precept would clearly be contradictory if we were
prohibited from entertaining this love which is to serve as
the rule and standard of that which we should have for
others.
Are you aware the principle so common in the world, that
charity should begin at home, is expressly recorded in all the
theological tracts that have been written on charity ? They
all clearly mark out the order charity should observe, accord-
ing to its different relations with the objects to which it
extends, the first and principal being God, the second we
ourselves.
You now see all your arguments are upset when I roundly
deny the principle on which they rested, and adduce in favour
of my negation proofs so clear and simple that you cannot
reject them ; nevertheless, I will amplify my ideas on the point,
and make applications of them which shall satisfy you com-
pletely.
We will go back again to the Catechism. In it we are told
that man was created to love and serve God in this life, and
to enjoy Him in eternal bliss. Now then, all our actions have
God and eternal bliss for their end. Does he who desires
to be eternally happy not love himself ? And is he who is
bound to labour all his life to attain this felicity, not also
obliged to love himself exceedingly ? Or rather, do these two
obligations not coalesce in one ? The Christian holds it as a
dogma of faith that this life is a transit to another. If he
despises the terrestrial, if he makes no account of the vanities
of the world, it is because all is passing, because all is nothing
compared with the happiness he is promised after death, if
he endeavour to merit it by his good works — his property, his
health, his life, his honour — he should be willing to lose all
sooner than stain his conscience with one sole act which
might close the gates of heaven against him. But in that ab-
negation, in that abandonment of self, well-ordered self-love
rides safely at anchor, for he despises the insignificant to attain
the important,he abandons the terrestrial to obtain the celestial,
he leaves the temporal to secure the eternal When we ex-
amine the Christian doctrines, we find they wonderfully har-
monise the love of God, the love of ourselves, and the love
of our neighbour, and consequently it is totally false that the
natural inclination which leads us to love ourselves is des-
troyed by religion ; it is rectified, regulated, purified from the
stains which deform it, preserved from ruin, and directed to
the supreme end, infinitely holy and good, which ,is God.
Letters of Balnus, 1 27
How are we to understand, then, that destruction of self-
love of which mystic writers speak ? We must understand
by it the extirpation of vice, the restraint of the passions,
victory over pride, in a word, a solicitude to prevent the love
of the sensual from injuring the moral man. To make the
superior prevail over the inferior parts of man, is not to des-
troy his love for himself, but to cause it to act in conformity
with the eternal law and advantageously to him. If a man
abstains from a banquet for the sake of avoiding injury it
might cause him, can it be said he does not love but hate
himself? He will be truly said to deprive himself of a gratifi-
cation, but that privation springs from the regard he has for
his health, and consequently flows from his self-love, which
induces him to sacrifice the less to the greater, and will not
allow him to injure his health for a momentary appetite. This
simple example, which we daily witness without any wonder,
fairly explains the relations of the Christian doctrines with
self-love, as we have only to extend the principle to higher
objects, and consider the rule which guides a particular action
is the same that regulates the whole conduct of the Christian.
" But how then are we told to abhor ourselves ?" This ab-
horrence does not, and cannot, refer to anything but what is evil
in us, whether it be wicked acts or certain inclinations which
tend to draw us from the path of the law of God ; but we
should not, and cannot by any means abhor our nature as
far as it is good and the work of God. On the contrary, we
should love it, and the proof is in the fact that we should
abhor what is evil in it, and to abhor the evil of anything is
to desire its good and love it
You are aware, my esteemed friend, that some of the rules
laid down for the conduct of Christians are precepts, others
counsels. The observance of the former is necessary for
eternal life. The observance of the latter contributes to our
perfection in this life, and merits a higher degree of glory
in the next ; but it does not so oblige that its omission would
be culpable. The same holds in our conduct with regard to
self-love. By the precepts we are obliged to abstain from
all infraction of the law of God, no matter how our dis-
ordered appetites may impel us, as also to sacrifice the
pleasure that might result from the satisfaction of our pas-
sions when there is question of doing something expressly
commanded by the law of God ; in this way we are all
obliged to suffocate our self-love, and if we do not, we
hold it as a dogma of faith we can never gain eternal
life, but shall receive a punishment without end. But
there are certain abstinences, certain mortifications of
128 Letters of Bahncz.
the senses, which belong not to the principles, but only
to the counsels. We see these mortifications practised
more or less rigorously by persons who aim at perfec-
tion, and in some of the saints we find austerity carried to a
degree that astonishes and bewilders us. But in these very
saints self-love, properly understood, was not smothered.
They gave themselves up unreservedly to penance, either to
purify themselves from their faults, or to render themselves
more agreeable to the Lord, by offering him in holocaust
their senses, their body, all they had and all they were ; but
in the meantime did these extraordinary men forget them-
selves? No doubt they forgot the sensual man, or rather
they declared war to the death on him, and attacked and
tormented him whenever possible ; but they did so, because
they regarded him as an enemy of the spiritual man — a
terrible, fearfully dangerous enemy, whom they could not
trust for a minute, and from whose neck the chain could not
be removed without imminent risk of rebellion against his
ruler, the spirit, whom he might reduce to slavery. But those
illustrious penitents never forgot the salvation of their soul,
and the eternal felicity of the other life, but on the contrary
incessantly sighed after it, anxiously longed for God to free
them from this body which oppressed them, and their
strongest desire was to be dissolved and be with Christ. The
vision of God,- the union with God in bonds of ineffable love,
was the object of their hopes, their desires, and their con-
tinued sighs ; and so they cannot with propriety be said to
abhor themselves, but rather to love themselves with a better
love than the rest of men.
I hope the preceding considerations may convince you you
built on a false supposition, and if you want to continue your
attacks on religion as opposed to self-love, must look out for
other principles. In fact to do so, now that your error on the
point is removed, and it was proved to evidence that religion
not only does not prohibit self-love, but commands us to
entertain it, there is only one course open to you, and that is
to show that she has a wrong idea of this love, and whilst
proposing to direct and purify, suffocates and smothers it.
But do you know on what ground the question will then be
placed? Do you know that, considered under this aspect, it
has nothing to do with what we have hitherto discussed, but
becomes an inquiry whether the precepts and counsels of the
Gospel are just, holy, and prudent ? I do not believe you will
dare dispute a truth generally admitted even by the most
violent enemies of Christianity. They deny its dogmas, they
mock its creed, they laugh at its hierarchy, they despise its
Letters of Balnuz. 129
authority, they consider it as a mere philosophical system, and
despoil it of all supernatural and divine character ; but when
they come to our moral code, they all agree it is admirable,
sublime, superior to that of all ancient and modern legisla-
tors ; is in intimate harmony with the light of reason, with the
most noble and beautiful sentiments that find shelter in our
breast, and is the only one worthy of ruling humanUy and
directing the destinies of the world. So that when given up
to their vain desires, they idealise new Christianities and
totally new religions, they all adopt the morality of the
Gospel for their model ; and even when perhaps they profess
in the depth of their heart doctrines morally degrading and
highly obnoxious, they do not dare to express them publicly,
but eulogise the sweetness, the sanctity and sublimity of the
maxims uttered by the lips of Jesus Christ.
If then you direct your attacks against this point, you shall
meet with serious opposition ; and hence I will venture to
give you an advice, which most of those who attack religion
would do well to take, and it is, that when you come to judge
our doctrines or maxims you do not allow yourself to be
carried away by that giddiness which decides on things of the
utmost importance, without taking the trouble to examine
them with proper attention ; but reflect that what so many
men eminent in talent and wisdom have believed and taught
and practised, must undoubtedly be well founded, and not to
be overturned by a few observations, which though ingenious,
are extremly futile. Believe me when you find arguments of
this sort which appear to easily upset any religious truth, you
should suspend your judgment, and not be precipitate, but
meditate or read and consult ; and you shall soon discover
the invincible Achilles has no more strength than what is
supplied by a false supposition or vicious reasoning. I have
no doubt you are convinced that if in time you resolve on
returning to the bosom of religion, you may love yourself. In
the meantime be assured of the affection of your attached
friend,
J. B.
AN IRISH MARTYR AT TIEN-TSIN.
1 HE 2 ist of June, 1870, will for ever be memorable in the
Christian annals of China; and the blood of many martyrs,
which. on that day flowed in the city of Tien-Tsin, gives
promise that a rich harvest of faith will soon smile upon that
dreary wilderness. Such days of martyrdom, are days of
glory for the Church of Christ, and are sure to usher, in the
triumph of the holy cause, which the heroes of religion thus
seal with their blood.
It is a privilege for Ireland, that one of her chosen daughters
was reckoned in that glorious array of the 2ist of June last —
one of those ten Sisters of Charity who, fired with the zeal
and fervour of their great founder, St. Vincent de Paul, wel-
comed on that day the Pagan executioners of Tien-Tsin, and,
offering their lives as a holocaust to God, attained their
heavenly crown.
Sister Louise was born in the parish of St. Mary's, Clonmel,
County Tipperary, in the year 1835. She shewed from in-
fancy a great disposition for works of charity, and felt
strongly inclined to devote herself to religion and the service
of the poor. After her early studies, she went to the convent
of St. Mary's, Kingstown, to complete her education, and
her memory is still cherished there for her piety and virtues.
In the year 1854 she became a postulante of the Sisters of
Charity at their hospital in Amiens, and received the habit
of the Congregation after the usual novitiate in the parent
house, Rue du Bac, Paris. The first field for her charitable
labours was Koulogne-sur-mer. She was sent in 1857 to
Drogheda, where she spent five years of loving labour amidst
the poor of that town. Her only pain was that she had not
adequate resources to meet the pressing demands of the
numbers who. appeared fit objects of her devoted charity.
From Drogheda Sister Louise was sent to the house of the
sisters at Hereford. The difficulties and privations of that
mission were a suitable preparation for her future sacrifices.
An hospital was to be established at Shanghai, China. The
Jesuit Fathers asked for the daughters of charity to take its
charge and direction, and Sister Louise, having frequently made
known to her superiors her readiness and desire to labour in
any distant mission, was selected to join other sisters from
Italy, Algiers, and France, to devote themselves to this
good work
An Irish Martyr at Tien-Tsin. 131
Sister Louise was very useful in the hospital at Shanghai.
Being the only sister able to speak English, her time and
exertions were in constant demand in labouring for the
English, Irish, and American sailors and soldiers. These
recipients of her kind and untiring attention will long remem-
ber her, who so tenderly nursed them when suffering in a
far distant land.
The last work in which Sister Louise was engaged was
the Institute of the Immaculate Conception at Pekin — an
orphanage for the support and education of poor children
rescued from death, when abandoned by Chinese mothers, in
consequence of the inhuman and savage objection the Chinese
have to rear female children.
It was from this house Sister Louise proceeded in company
with her superioress as far as Tien-Tsin, when an adorable
Providence arranged that she should prepare to sacrifice
her life in her loving Master's service. She was on her way
to Europe, when, making a short stay at Tien-Tsin, she went
to visit the Catholic Church ; and praying before the statue
of Our Lady of Victories, she felt an irresistible impulse to
request of her superioress to take another companion to
Europe, and to leave her to her beloved work among the
Chinese.
The superioress could not fail to see in her earnestness and
entreaty the work of grace, and yielding to her request took
another sister with her to Europe, and left the Irish sister to
receive her early crown.
With renewed zeal Sister Louise devoted herself at Tien-
Tsin to the orphans and the hospital, from the end of March
to the 2ist of June, when, with her heroic companions, she
lost her life in the cause of charity.
During the first months of the present year, the city of
Tien-Tsin was a favorite resort of the leading enemies of
the Christian name, and for some time previous to the day
of massacre, rumours were industriously set afloat that the
Sisters of Charity and the Priests took special delight in
tearing out the eyes and hearts of Chinese children, which
were afterwards used for medicinal purposes. The hatred
of the Chinese mob was gradually fanned into a flame, and
at length on the 2ist of June, it burst forth in all its fury
against the Catholic institutions of Tien-Tsin.
The French Consul seeing the gathering storm, went on
the morning of that day to solicit the aid of the Govern-
ment authorities in guarding from violence the foreign settlers
in the city. On his return from the Governor, he himst If
and his companion were brutally assailed and cut to pieces
132 An Irish Martyr at Tien-Tsin.
by the mob. " But, (thus continues the correspondent of the
'limes, writing from Shanghai, on the 8th of July,) dreadful
as is this death, the details are more horrible of the massacre
of the Priests and Sisters of Charity which followed the
attack on the mission premises. It is not clear whether this
occured before or after the murder of the French Consul ;
but the two occurrences were very nearly simultaneous. The
establishments of the Lazarists, the Jesuits, and the Sisters
of Charity were burnt, and their inmates murdered with cir-
cumstances of brutal atrocity. Women, whose only fault
was to have devoted their lives to do good, who had earned
the respect of the foreign community at Shanghai (where
they were known and appreciated), as well as at Tien-Tsin,
were stripped, their bodies ripped open, their breasts cut
off, their eyes scooped out, and their remains cast into their
own burning house. All the native inmates of the missions
were also, it is said, burnt to death ; the children only were
saved, several hundred in number, and even of these between
thirty or forty were unknowingly suffocated in a large cave
where they had taken refuge at the first approach of the
mob. The body of a priest, since recovered, is so mutilated,
as to be hardly recognisable, and two others are missing,
supposed to have been also burnt."
One of the devoted sisters who had left Tien-Tsin only
a few days before this dreadful massacre, writing from
Ning-Po, on the 3rd July, to the superioress of the Order
in Paris, details some circumstances connected with this
dreadful tragedy. "The courier of to-day, bears to you
intelligence which will overwhelm your maternal heart with
affliction : — For some days we were in great anxiety about our
dear mission at Tien-Tsin, but we were in hopes that the
rumours were exaggerated, and that the storm would soon
cease. The events of the 2ist of June, proved how welt
founded were the fears that were entertained. On that day
the storm of persecution burst forth in all its fury against
the Catholics of Tien-Tsin. The mission-house, the Catholic
Church, the Consulate, the house of our sisters, were all
reduced to ashes. Our ten sisters were massacred, and then
their bodies were thrown into the flames of their own burning
houses. M. Chevrier, and M. Ou (a Chinese priest), were
put to death, and their bodies cast into the river. The French
Consul, and many other Catholics, were also massacred. It
was a storm of fiendish fury. We are told that they even
tore out the eyes and hearts of our sisters, and this would
be explained by the calumny that was circulated against
us for some time back, that we used to tear out the hearts
An Irish Martyr at Tim-Tsin. 133
and eyes of the poor little Chinese children. All this pro-
ceeded from the malice of Satan, who was filled with envy at
all the good that this mission was achieving, and hence
gathered together all the wickedness of hell, in order to
impede it. The persecution only fell on the Catholics ; the
Protestants, though very many of them are in that city, did
not suffer from it in any way, and God did not permit their
cause to be mixed up with ours. Here, then, is a good num-
ber of martyrs. Our Holy Father will, I hope, return thanks
to God that some of his children have attained this crown.
How I would rejoice to have been one of their number : but
I was not worthy of so great a favor, and I was called away
from that city, just at the moment when the persecution
burst forth. All the persons connected with our two houses
were also massacred, and with them a good many other
Christians ; and the children were carried off to a pagan
hospice. We have been told that our dear sisters expected
this dreadful outburst of persecution, and though they hoped
it might be averted, they spent the whole morning of that
day in preparing for it. The Missionaries also spent a part
of the morning hearing the confessions of the Christians.
In fine, our hearts are broken at this news ; for though we
feel sure that our dear sisters and the worthy Missionaries
are in heaven, and here everybody calls them martyrs, still
this does not prevent those that survive them being over-
whelmed with affliction at the dreadful massacre."
She then adds the following extract from a letter received
from Tien-Tsin : "It is reported here, and all the pagans
vouch for it as certain, that at the time of the massacre of the
sisters, a Bonzesse (i.e., the wife of one of the pagan priests),
went to the balcony of her house to look on at the bloody
scene, and as each one was massacred, she saw a beautiful
and brilliant cloud mounting to heaven. Struck with this
prodigy, she cried out that these people must have been be-
loved by God, and she at once proceeded to the court-yard of
the sisters' house. The murderers seeing her, asked her what
she sought there. She replied that they were injuring holy
people, and that she came to adore the God whom the mur-
dered sisters adored, whereupon they at once struck off her
head."
The Times correspondent at Shanghai, writing on the nth
of August, gives some details regarding the interment of the
remains of these victims of Chinese ferocity.
" The victims of the Tien-Tsin massacre were buried on the
3rd inst., in the presence of a large body of native and foreign
officials, and of nearly all the foreign residents of Tien-Tsin.
134 ^ » Irish Martyr at Tien- Tsin.
I mentioned in a previous letter that the site of the burnt con-
sulate and mission premises had been selected for their ceme-
tery. The coffins had all been lowered into the grave on the
previous day, so that it remained only to perform the funeral
ceremony, which was impressively conducted by Mgr. Thierry,
the pro-vicar of Chilli, aided by two other missionary priests.
After it had ended, and holy water had been sprinkled on
the grave, orations were delivered by several of the officials
present in relation to the event. Count de Rochechouart, his
Imperial Majesty's Charge d'Affairs, spoke first. History, he
said, might be searched in vain for events so detestable as the
massacre of the 2ist of June. Seventeen French subjects, of
whom twelve were women, had been massacred, cut to pieces
by a fanatical mob, which, not content with killing and de-
stroying, had wished to increase the enormity of its crime en
sacliarnant sur les cadavres. He could not trust himself to
relate the horrors which had been committed ; but neither
could he pass in silence the sublime conduct of the Sister Su-
perioress, who, when the bloodthirsty mob had surrounded the
building and was breaking in the doors, advanced alone towards
them, and offered herself and her sisters as victims to their
rage, begging that they would spare the Chinese who sur-
rounded and had learnt to rely on them.
"Mgr. Thierry spoke briefly but well, in a tone becoming his
profession. The death of the victims had been to them a gain ;
come to China with a hope of martyrdom, they had obtained
the accomplishment of their most sincere wish, and had given
their lives for Christ."
That noth'ing should be wanting to complete the crown of
the martyred Sister Louise, the enemies of her faith at home
united with the barbarian murderers of Tien-Tsin in seeking to
heap obloquy on the memory of such heroic victims of cha-
rity. The Protestant missionaries and residents of China
raised their voice against the barbarity of the pagan murderers.
Nearer home, Protestant merchantsheld a meeting at the London
Tavern, to protest "against the horrible outrages perpetrated
on Christian ladies engaged in works of mercy." But the
Orangemen of Ireland are Protestants of quite another stamp,
and the Mail, in a leading article, writing as their official
spokesman, could find no other name for these heroines of cha-
rity but baby-farming Nuns ; and adds that at the hands of the
Chinese populace they received the punishment which they
deserved. I need not remind the reader that baby-fanning is
a term reserved for those wicked wretches in England, who
obtain babies from unnatural parents, undertaking to rear them
for a certain price, and then maliciously and murderously drug
An frisk Martyr at Tien-Tsin. 135
them to death. And thus that Protestant organ, almost sur-
•iig the virulence of the Tien-Tsin barbarians, would fain
compare such a system of assassination with the mission of
tlr.sj heroines of charity who gratuiously, and at the risk of
their own lives, would seek to rescue the Chinese infants from
the certain death to which their heartless pagan parents so
often expose them.
In contrast with such ignoble bigotry, we will present two
Protestant narratives — the one English, the other American —
regarding this dreadful tragedy. The Rev. Charles Henry
Butcher, M.A., British Chaplain at Shanghai, writes from that
place on July 6 : — " It is no exaggeration to say that since
Cawnpore no such deed of blood has been committed. The
murder of the Sisters of Charity, is an outrage not on a nation
or a church, but on humanity itself. As chaplain to the
Britisli community of Shanghai, I have had opportunities of
seeing the noble and devoted work of some of these women,
when taking care of the sick at the hospital at this port, before
they removed to the north. One lady, who has been mur-
dered with every circumstance of horror, was an Irish lady,
whose memory is cherished with affection and gratitude by
many of the community here. While the recollection of these
things is fresh it is not easy to write with calmness, but I must
venture to ask your permission to place prominently before
your readers three points which are, in my judgment, the most
practical and important lessons of the Tien-Tsin massacre.
" i. — This event disproves one popular fallacy — viz., that
the Chinese are free from superstition. We hear repeatedly a
broad contrast drawn between the calm and comprehensive
spirit of the Confucian philosophy and the narrow-minded
bigotry of sectarian Christians. Now, though there is much
that is admirable in the writings of Confucius, it is a mistake
to believe that his system has been able to preserve the mass
of the people from the most abject and ignorant supersti-
tion. The credence obtained for the stories about eye-goug-
ing, &c., lately circulated against the Roman Catholic mis-
sionaries, goes far to prove this. The people, whom many
delight to represent as a school of tolerant and placid philo-
sophers, ate actually proved to be capable of cruelties which
bear comparison with those of North American Indians. As
an illustration of the fallacy of the popular view, I may say
that at the very time when I received the news of the savage
murder of nine Sisters of Charity, a priest, and his converts, I
was reading an article in the Saturday Review, stating that
the Pekin Government is 'entirely exempt from religious
bigotry.'
136 An Irish Martyr at Tien-Tsin.
" 2. — This event blows to pieces any fragments of trust irt
the late Mr. Burlinghame and his theories, that may yet
remain in men's minds. The speeches about the Chinese
mandarins desiring to see the ' shining cross' on every hill, are
now felt to have been fabrications made to serve a particular
purpose ; at least, even Chinese perversity could scarcely per-
suade us that men show their regard for a faith by burning
its churches and stabbing and disembowelling its priests. The
truth is, the litterati hate missionaries ; the common people
hear them gladly.
" 3. — The tragedy in the north shows us that the Chinese
Government is absolutely untrustworthy. His Excellency
Chung How knew, three or four days before the massacre, that
an outrage was intended. He took no steps whatever to
prevent it ; on the contrary, he connived at it. The actual
perpetrators of these crimes were the bravos of Tien-Tsin, but
it must never be lost sight of, that the sisters were murdered
in the presence of disciplined troops, who protected the native
shops from pillage, but did not stir a hand to defend the
foreigners — i.e., they were present to keep the murderers to
their fiendish work, and to prevent their digressing into any
other more innocent employment. This event has no parallel
in the Gordon riots, or any similar disturbances when a
Government has been temporarily unable to control a mob.
That the responsibility rests with the officials none can doubt
who read the account, which says distinctly : —
" ' The whole thing was done by the bravos of Tien-Tsin,
the fighting men and brothel bullies, the streets being full
of troops, who were apparently there simply to keep the
rowdies from breaking into the shops. The attack was made
by signal, the same as used at fires, and when the murders
were completed, the retreat was tom-tommed in the same
way as at fires, and the crowd dispersed.'
" It is very important to keep this in mind, as before the
assassins could have well washed the blood off their hands,
an Englishman in the employ of the Chinese was engaged
in writing to a Chinese newspaper an account, endeavouring
to throw the blame on the French Consul and the Sisters.
No money and cunning will be spared to hide the truth, and,
therefore, it is the duty of every one who is assured from re-
liable sources of the facts to endeavour to give them the widest
publicity in Europe and in America.
"And now about the future. It is the wish of all fair-minded
men interested in the China question that foreigners may not
attempt to atone for a culpable remissness by any unreason-
able violence. To take blood money, and to procure the
An Irish Martyr at Tien-Tsin. 137
judicial slaughter of a number of substitutes, while the real
criminals escape, will do more harm than good. The troops
whom we had seen so ready to protect the people while they
were doing evil, should be compelled to protect the foreign
missionary while he is doing good. This is all that the Roman
Catholic Fathers desire. To quote the words of the Shanghai
Priests' reply to the Protestant address of sympathy : —
14 4 No doubt the blood of so many innocent victims so bar-
bously shed must rise up to the Altar of the Lamb, and cry
aloud on our behalf till it obtains for us the sole vengeance
we wish for — viz., the better spread of the true light on
these people, now living under the shadow of death, the
greater freedom for the better exercise of works of charity
towards the sufferer, and principally towards the little ones,
who were for our Divine Saviour objects of such singular
affection.'"
An American correspond eht from Tien-Tsin, thus writes
to the New-York Nation, on July 23, 1870: —
44 Notices of the Tien-Tsin massacre have reached you
already, doubtless ; but you may not be in possession of the
facts relating to it. Little more will be attempted now than
to bring before your readers the main features of an event
so horrible in its details that no one can think of it but with
a shudder.
4' For many months rumours were in circulation that the
Catholics were guilty of taking out the eyes and hearts of
children for medicinal purposes, which, though false, created
much exitement. These rumours increased in virulence till
they burst forth in an unfuriated mob, on the 2ist of June,
causing great destruction of life and property. Twenty-two
foreigners, occupying various positions in life, were the vic-
tims of one of the most brutal massacres which history
records.
44 Reliable evidence of a most convincing character had been
obtained, establishing the following points, viz. : —
"The plot has been maturing for weeks, if not months, and
the time for its consummation has been arranged and known
for days previous.
44 The plot was known, approved, and aided in execution by
two, at least, of the leading city officials and some of the
military officers, one of whom led foreign drilled troops to the
attack, and encouraged the people in the work of destruction
and death. More than a month has elapsed since the enactment
of this fearful deed of blood and suffering, and yet no proof can
be adduced to show that our representative in Pekin has
attained even an approximately adequate conception of the
138 An Irish Martyr at Tien-Tsin.
magnitudeof the crisis whichhas overtaken us. The only positive
information we have is, that the members of the U. S. Lega-
tion are rusticating ' at the hills/ enjoying in undisturbed
tranquillity the countless charms of their summer retreat. Re-
port speaks of them as ' calm and grand' in deportment, and
so philosophically superior to what is occurring about them,
that they receive with a smiling suspicion all our notices of
this sad catastrophe, as the fanciful narrations of an excited
brain. And what wonder, when we remember that their
official adviser, our consular agent at Tien-Tsin, is an alien
whose interests are wholly with the Chinese Government, in
whose employ he receives about 5000 dollars per annum ?
" That the above is not overdrawn may be gathered from
the following facts : —
"The foreign ministers were informed that, for a considerable
period previous to the fatal day, the anti-foreign feeling in
Tien-Tsin and the surrounding country had been deepening
and intensifying ; that it had been increasingly manifested
in the conduct of the official classes ; and that, in manifold
and specious ways, it was gradually permeating all classes
of society. The same facts were often referred to by those
resident in Pekin. The expulsion of the hated foreigner was
known to be matter of common desire and expectation.
"It was known to them that this general feeling through-
out China had found expression, during the last three or
four years, in a series of attacks on foreigners, all emanating
from the same sources, aiming at the same end, and, in degree,
following an ascending scale of gradation ; and that innocent
blood of a preceding year remained still unavenged. They
were at last informed that the climax had been reached in
fearful deeds of violence and blood. The terrible events of
that never-to-be-forgotton day were minutely described to
them, and of the dire results they were fully apprised. They
were told that a score of foreigners — the most of whom were
unoffending, delicate women — were horribly murdered in
broad daylight— that they were subjected to the most cruel
barbarities that fiendish ingenuity could invent ; that, when
death had at last ended their sufferings, their remains were
treated with every possible indignity — haggled, cut in pieces,
and cast some into the water and some into the flames.
They were told how the corpses were rescued from the
river at the foreign settlement, hacked, mutilated, almost beyond
recognition — such spectacles of ghastly horror that the stout-
est hearts, in gazing, were terror-stricken and bowed down in
grief. They were told that when the coffins sent by the man-
darins, and said to contain the bodies of the Sisters 'of Charity,
An Irish Martyr at Tien-Tsin. 139
were opened, there were found only a few ashes and a
melancholy collection of charred bones. They know that
several score of natives, Christians and others in foreign
employ, were robbed, beaten, tortured, and not a few mur-
dered, for no other crime but that of connection with us. They
have been informed that many buildings, in more than a
dozen localities — -some of them imposing structures erected
at great cost, others the houses of Christians and friendly
natives — were looted, torn in pieces, or consigned to the flames.
They have had ample information of the fact that this
event was not the result of a sudden outburst of popular
feeling, but has been a matter of gradual and extensive
preparation.
"Some may think this an overdrawn picture; but I assert
it to be given on credible evidence. It is substantiated by
documents in our possession ; it is borne out by competent
judges in the capital ; it is 'proved by the demand already
made on Tien-Tsin residents to prepare estimates of losses
sustained, in order to immediate payment by the Chinese
Government. And all this while the villains — who tore down
our chapels, searched in them for the missionaries with avowed
intent to kill them ; beat and killed the native Christians ; cut
in pieces foreign officials, and cut off the breasts, ran spears
through, and ripped open the bodies of innocent and defence-
less women — arc still running at large, vaunting their blood-
stained booty, boasting of their valour in perpetrating these
diabolical deeds of crime and shame, and stirring up the
people to commit further outrages."
We feel confident that Sister Louise will receive from Holy
Church at no distant day the bright aureola of the martyrs of
Christ ; but whilst amidst the white-robed army she folio weth
the Lamb, and waits this earthly tribute to her devoted
heroism, we pray her to intercede for those who calumniate
her saving religion here at home, that their eyes may be
opened to see the wickedness of the course which they pursue,
their hearts be led captive to truth, and they themselves be
brought to share the manifold blessings of God's mercy, as
members of the one true fold.
140
MONASTICON HIBERNICUM,
OR,
A SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE ANCIENT
MONASTERIES OF IRELAND.
[N.B. — The text of the "Monasticon" is taken verbatim from Archdall : the note*
marked with numbers are added by the Editors.]
COUNTY OF CORK.
Grey Friary ;™ Dermot M'Carthy Reagh founded this-
monastery A.D. 1214, For Conventual Franciscans, and dedi-
18 The MS. History of the Franciscan Order in Ireland, written by F. Francis
Ward, O.S.F., in 1632, gives the following details connected with this convent: —
" The convent of Cork, called also the monastery of the Blessed Virgin Mary of
Shandon, was founded in the episcopal city of Cork, in the year 1214, and com-
pleted in the year 1229. Father Wadding says that this monastery, on account of
its strict observance of regular life, and the piety of the brethren, was formerly
called ' the mirror of all Ireland.' It was erected into a custodia in the year 1260,
in the general chapter of Narbonne. It passed to the Friars of the Reformed
Observance previous to the year 1 500, and remained in their possession till the
year 1540, when heresy and persecution began to rage, and it was the first convent
in all Ireland that was suppressed by the heretics. It remained desolate till the
year 1600, when in the provincialate of F. Maurice Ultan, a residence was erected
in that city, and F. William Farris was appointed guardian, and from that time
to the present day (1632), the friars labour with great fruit for the salvation of the
faithful and the conversion of the heretics. The first founder of the convent was
Dermod MacCarthy More, called Dondraynean, King of the people of Munster ;
and some provincial kings of his kindred were buried there in the habit of the
Friars Minors. The most powerful family of the MacCarthys also erected a
mausoleum for themselves in that Convent, till, in the course of time, they were
divided into several noble families, each of which built a special convent for its
own immediate members. Besides the tombs of the MacCarthys, and of fourteen
Knights of Mora, the families of the Barrys and the chief nobles and citizens of
that county are buried there. Philip Prendergast, the Treasurer of King John of
England, who was one of the greatest benefactors to this house, is also buried there.
A curious charter of his to the convent will be found in Wadding. A chapter
was held in this convent in 1224, 1288, 1521, and 1533. One of the most remark-
able religious of this convent was F. .Francis Matthew, who, after being Guardian
in Cork, his native city, was appointed Provincial in 1626, and was suosequently
Guardian of St. Anthony's, in Louvain. In his writings he assumed the nime of
Ursulanus, and it was in reply to him that Paul Harris wrote his curious Arktomatur,
i.e., a whip for the Bear. F. Matthew was put to death for the faith in Cork, in the
year 1644.
Grey Friary— Inquisition 5th April, XXX. Elizabeth, finds that Andrew Skiddeis,
late of the City of Cork, gent., was seized in fee of the precincts of this priory,
with three gardens near Cork ; the moiety of a water-mill, the third part of
another mill ; a pool of water called the Friar's Pool ; the right of fishing for
salmon in Gaule s weir from sun-set on Saturday to sunrise on Sunday ; also one
salmon on every Friday out of the said fishery, provided two fish were taken ;
forty acres of land in the townland of Templenamkahir, with the appurtenances,
all the said premises being of the annual value of 40*. ; also a park, containing
by estimation, one acre, annnal value $s. ; also certain gardens belonging to the
friary, annual value 6s. ; all the said premises being in the county of Cork, and
held from the Queen in capite by knight's services.
"Ordnance Surrey MS., R.I. A." vol. ir., p. 5*-
Ancient Monasteries of Ireland. 141
«ated it to the Virgin Mary ; the founder dying in the year
1219, his son Fineen continued the work, and the Lord
Philip Prendergast, of Newcastle, was a great benefactor,
having rebuilt this house in the year 1240;° although other
writers affirm that the Bourks were the parents of the
second foundation.*1
A.D. 1244. On the I5th of October King Henry III.
•granted the sum of £20 to be paid on the feast of All Saints
yearly, to buy one hundred tunics for the use of the Fran-
ciscan Friars of Dublin, Waterford, Cork, Athlone, and Kil-
kenny.*
1291. A general chapter of the order was held here.00
1293. King Edward I. granted to the Friars Minor of
Dublin, Waterford, Cork, Limerick, and Drogheda, an
annual pension of thirty-five marks.1 Several liberates for
the payment of this pension remain on record.
1317. The friars of this monastery complained, that they
were indicted and impleaded in the King's courts, contrary,
as they alleged, both to the common and ecclesiastical laws.*
1371. Philip Prendergast, a descendant of the founder,
made a grant to this friary .h
1 500. Before this year the Franciscans of the strict obser-
vance had reformed this convent.1
Many illustrious persons were interred here, particularly
Cormac M'Donald, King of Desmond, in 1247 ; M'P'inin,
who was killed in the Lord Stanton's court in 1249 ; Dermot,
surnamed the Fat, in 1275; Donald Rufus, in 1300 ; and
Thady, the son of Donald, King of Desmond, in 141 3-k
The Franciscans of this monastery were called the friars of
Scandun.1
26th May, 8th Queen Elizabeth, this friary, with its appur-
tenances and forty acres of land in the town of Templene-
marhyr, also a park containing one acre and an half and a
stank, with seven gardens, parcel of the possessions of the
friary, were granted to Andrew Skydie and his heirs, in capite,
at the annual rent of 58^. 8d. sterling.11
This building, which stood on the north side of the city,
is now entirely demolished.
Dominican Friary ;u this monastery, called the abbey of
• War. A/ss. vol. 34, A 13$. and Man. &Allemande. •A7«f,/. 308. mClynn.
Anna!. l King, p. 308. * Annul. Munst. * Wadding. '/</. *King,p. 307.
Wadding. *Aud.Gcn.
H Dominican Friary. — Inquisition 25th June, XXVII. Elizabeth, finds that
David Goulde was seized in fee of three parts of the precincts of this friary, three
parts of the moiety of a salmon fishery, three parts of a water-mill, three parts of
a certain arable and pasture land belonging to the friary ; annual value £6.
" Ordnance Survey MS., R.I.A.," voL iv., p. 67.
H2 County of Cork.
St. Mary of the Island,™ was founded in the year 1229."
Philip de Barry, who arrived here to assist Robert Fitz-
Stephen, his uncle, in his conquests in this country, was a
principal benefactor to these friars, and his equestrian statue
in brass, was formerly in this church.015
A.D. 1333, i3th January, 8th King Edward III., a liberate
issued for the payment of one year's annual pension to the
Dominican friars of Cork, Drogheda, Dublin, Waterford, and
Limerick.P
1340. John le Blound was prior/*
^Botirke. " Ann. de Trim. King. p. 87. "War. Man. vKing.p, 87. *Id. p. 90.
w This house was founded for friars-preachers, or Dominicans, by Philip de
Barry, a Welsh knight, ancestor of the noble family of Barrymore. in the county
of C< rk. A bronze equestrian statue of the founder was preserved in the church
by the community, as a monument of pious gratitude, until the suppression of the
convent under Henry VIII. The convent was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin ;
and. from its insular site — being built on one of the great marshes of " the five-isled
city " — was called '• St. Mary's of the Island." The church attached to the con-
vent is noticed in the history of the order as having been rragnificent — "Magnifica
Fcclesia." Soon after its erection. David MacKelly dean of Cashel. took the
habit of a Dominican in this house; in 1237 he was consecrated bishop of Cloyne ;
next year, being succe ded in the chair of St. Colman by a brother Dominican,
Allan O'Sullivan. he was translated to the Metropolitan see of Cashel. Arch-
bishop David introduced into the arch-diocese nn affiliation of friars-preachers from
Cork, and built for his brethren a beautiful church and abbey, at a short distance
from his own cathedral, on the rock of Cashel. His name is celebrated in the
•works of many foreign and domestic writers. In 1245 he assisted at the first
general council at Lyons, to the acts of which his name is subscribed.
A charter, confirmed by assent of King Edward II., was granted, in 1317. by
Sir Rog, r de Mortimer and his council in favour of the Dominican community, by
which the ward or cu tody of the j;ate of the lately-erected city walls, nearest to the
abbey of St. Mary's, should be committed to the mayor, bailiffs, and other trusty
men. am' free passage to and from the city should be given to the friars, and, for
their sake, to other good citizens.
Edmund Mortimer. Earl of March and Ulster, father of the Heir- Presumptive to
the cro«n of England, and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, when he came to Cork took
up his viceregal residence in the Dominican convent. He died in that house on
St. Stephen's day, 1381. and as is supposed, was buried in St. Mary's Isle.
A friar of the order of Preachers Irom Cork, and thence called Fr. Joannes
Corcagiensis. was Archbishop of Cologne in 1461 . — (See Supplement of Hib.
Dom., page 866. )
The Convent of Cork, with the houses of Dominicans in Youghal. Limerick,
and Coleraine. were in 1509. erected into " a congregation of strict observance,"
under the direction of a Vicar General of the Order, which congregation was
solemnly approved in the general chapter in Rome, A.D. 1518. A few years
later, all the Dominican communities of Ireland, inside and outside the Pale, being
restored to discipline, and united in spirit, were formed into a distinct Province of
the Order, to be governed by an Irish Provincial, freely chosen in Chapter.
The monastery of the Island at Cork, with all its appurtenances, lands, water
mills, salmon weirs, fishing pools. &c., was confiscated to the Crown, in 1544,
and sold to a person named William Boureman, at a head rent of six shillings
and nine-pence a year ! The Friars, nevertheless, maintained possession for a
long time afterwards a; d though often obliged to disguise and hide themselves,
they never abandoned the hope of regaining their ancient Convent, in which,
at intervals, during "the troublesome times,^ they contrived to live in community
until the reign of William III.
In the reign of Queea Elizabeth, Matthew Sheyne, Protestant Bishop of Cork,
Ancient Monasteries of Ireland. 143
1355. Another liberate issued on 4th of May for the pay-
ment of the same pension.1"
1381. Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March and Ulster, and
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, died in this monastery on the
26th of December," and John Colton being appointed Lord
Justice, took the oath of office in this house, on the following
day.*
.*l. 'Cox. vol. i,/. 135. *War.Bj>s.p.%4.
ordered the image of St. Dominic to he dragged from " the Abbey of the
to the High Cross of the City, where it was publicly committed to the
flames, and burnt to ashes, amidst the tears of the persecuted Catholic citizens.
At the commencement of the reign of James I., the Friars began to repair
thc;r convent and church. Religious per-cuition soon stopt the work of resto-
ration in the old Catholic churches and abbeys. In 1616 we find a giant made
to Sir John King, of the church, steeple, monastery, &c., of St. Dominic, in
Cork
A middle Chapter of the Fathers of the Irish Dominican Province, was held
in the Convent of Cork, at which Father James O'Hurly. subsequently Bishop of
Emly. preside ;, which is specially noticed in the Acts of the General Chapter of
Rome, in 1644 Several of the Friars .there assembled, became soon after illus-
trious as bishops and martyrs for the faith in the time of persecution.
: Father John O'Morrogh. a distinguished preacher in this convent is said, in the
Annals of the Order to have flourished about the year 1640.
1642. The Dominican Order completely restored in Ireland. There were
flourishing, in the short interval of peace for the Catholic Church, 43 houses, and 600
Friars of the order of St Dominic.
1644. The Catholics expelled from Cork, by order of Lord Inchiquin.
The year 1647 was marked by the g'orious martyrdom of Father Richard Barry,
a Cork I'ominican, then Prior of Cashel. who. having valiantly stood up for
the defence of the sanctuary in the Cathedral of Cashel, and refused to accept his
life, on condition of stripping himself of his religious habit, and assuming a
secular dress, was condemne , to be burned alive on the summit of the Rock of
Cashel, and having heroically suffered in the flames for the space of two hours,
was transfixed through the side with a sword. Four days after, when the Pai iia-.
montary forces had retired. the Vicar-General with the Notary Apostolic riLnry
O'Callanan, having judicially examined the proofs of his martyrdom, conveyed his
sacred remains in solemn procession and with joyful anthems to the beautiful
cloister <f his Convent, where, perhaps, they are reposing undisturbed to the
present day.
In 1648, Dominic de Burgo. a young professed memberof the Order of Preachers,
and near relative of the Karl of Clanricarde, was made prisoner on board of the
ship in which he had taken his p ssage to Spain, to pursue his studies. II
thrown into prison at Kinsale whence he made his escape by jumping from the top
of the gaol wall down on the sea-shore. For two days he lay concealed in a neigh-
bouring wood, all covered with mud. without clothing, food, or drink. At length
he found shelter under the hospitable roof of the Roches in that neighbourhood,
probably of Garrettstown. He was. at a later period of life, the celebrated Bishop
of F.lphin, for whose head or capture the government offered a large reward, and
to whom Oliver Plunket. the martyred Archbishop of Armagh, wr te from his
dungeon, warning him of the attempts of the Privy Council against his life. He
died in exile.
In 1651, Father Eneas Ambrose O'Cahil. an eloquent preacher, and zealous
missionary in Cork, being recognised as a Friar of a Dominican community, was
rushed upon by a troop of Cromwell's soldiers, cut to pieces with their sabres, and
his limlis were scattered about to be trampled underfoot. At this tim<- ii.
a most furious per coition raged, the effects of which, on the condition of the i
nican Order in Ireland, are thus described in one of the Acts of the General Chapter
held in Rome A.D. 1656: — " An abundant harvest of those who in our Irish
144 County of Cork.
1400. September i8th, an annual pension of thirty marcs
was granted to the Dominicans of Cork, Dublin, Waterford,
Limerick, and Drogheda."
province, have suffered cruel torments for the Catholic faith, has been gathered, in
these our days, into the celestial granary ; since of forty-three convents which the
Order possessed in this island, not a single one survives to-day, which the fury of
the heretical persecutor hath not either burned or levelled to the ground or di-
verted to profane uses. In these religious establishments, there were counted about
six hundred, of which but the fourth part is now in the land of the living, and even
that number is dispersed in exile ; the remainder died martyrs at home, or were
cruelly transported to the island of Barbadoes." Among other facts connected
with this period, it is recorded that Father Thomas Fitzgerald, a Dominican, a
good priest, combining great zeal and piety, with primitive simplicity of manners,
dressed himself as a peasant, and in that assumed garb, served the Catholics
of Cork during the entire period of Cromwell's usurpation. Father Eustace
Maguire, of the convent of Cork, was no less distinguished, in the time of terror
and persecution, for his intrepid courage, than for his meek piety and religious zeal.
Being chosen by the Catholics as governor of the castle of Druimeagh, near Kanturk,
he so guarded and defended it during the period of Cromwell's wars, that it was
never taken or surrendered.
In 1689, King James II. landed at Kinsale, and proceeded thence to Cork. On
his arrival in this city, the king lodged in the house of the Dominican Friars, and
on Sunday heard mass in the Church of the Franciscans, called the North Abbey.
At the accession of William, Prince of Orange, the most persecuting laws were
enacted against the Catholic clergy and people. The Dominican Friars fled from
St. Mary's Island, of which they never after were able to resume possession. The
Convent was used for the residence of the Governor or Mayor of the City. It was
called, in after times, the Great House of St. Dominic's, and became the town
mansion of the Earl oflnchiquin.
About the year 1698, Father John Morrogh, O.S.D., not being able to escape
from the city, on account of illness, was taken prisoner, thrown into irons in Cork
jail, where he found rest in a pious death, in the year 1702. About the same time,
Father Walter Fleming, O.S.D., came to Cork, whence he sailed to France, in
company with Father John O'Heyn (author of the interesting Dominican history,
called Epilogus Chronologicus), and having sailed the year after for Ireland,
with Father Daniel M 'Donnel.of the same Order, both Friars were seized on board
before they came on shore, and more than a year were kept in chains and close con-
finement in Cork jail, whence they were allowed to take shipping again for France.
In the beginning of the 1 8th century Father Ambrose O'Connor, appointed
Provincial of Ireland while in Spain, privately returned home, and made bis visi-
tation in this country', providentially escaping the spies who were in search for
him. In the Memorial or Report jof his Visitation as Provincial, which he drew
up for Pope Clement IX. in 1 704, he states that he found about ninety Dominican
missionaries working in the service of religion, but living in concealed places, and
that five were confessing the faith in prison.
The fury of the persecution somewhat abating about the time of the Hanoverian
succession, the scattered Dominicans of Ireland cautiously began to unite and form
themselves into communities. The friars of Cork lived together in the narrow
obscure lane in the northern district of this city, off Shandon-street, called to this
day Friary-lane. Father Peter M'Carthy was Prior.
1731. In the Report of the Lords' Committee to inquire into the state of Popery
in Ireland, one Friary only is returned as being in Cork, with ihe number of friars
unknown.
In 1784, the Dominicans built a -more suitable convent and chapel in a more
public and convenient place, on the site of old Shandon Castle. They remained
here till 1839, when their present beautiful church of St. Mary's, on Pope's Quay,
was solemnly dedicated.
( To be continued.)
[NEW SERIES.]
THE IRISH
ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD.
JANUARY, 1871.
CLAIMS OF THE IRISH COLLEGE, PARIS, ON
THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT, IN VIRTUE OF
TREATIES WITH FRANCE.
in a late number, of the claims of the Irish
College, Paris, on the British Government, we made good the
following points : —
1st — That Sir John Leach, in pronouncing the judgment of
the Privy Council on the claims of the Irish College, and in
making the judgment of Lord Gifford in the case of the Douay
College, a precedent, distorted and misapplied his Lordship's
judgment, and that the cases, so far from being alike, were
opposed in all essential particulars.
2ndly — That the fund from which the Irish College should
have received compensation more than fifty years ago, has
been misappropriated and spoliated.
3rdly — That if the fund has been expended on other
purposes belonging to the Public Service, the Treasury is
bound to make restitution from the public revenues in its
custody.
We proceed now to answer a question of which we gave
notice in our last, viz. : Upon li'liat authority did the Govern-
ment apply the fund, out of which the- Irish College should have
received its compensation, to purposes other than those indicated
by the Treaties in question f Tin's may appear to be a simple
question ; and one might expect we should answer it simply,
and in an off-hand manner. This, however, we regret, cannot
be so. On the contrary, we have before us a tedious and
troublesome inquiry, and we must request in advance the
patience of our readers, more especially as we are likely to
meet on our way several incidental matters that may have an
important bearing upon the main issue of these papers.
VII. IO
146 Claims of the Irish College, Paris,
But before entering on our subject, we shall take leave to
remark, that the question we propose places us in an attitude
which to some may appear rather bold and presuming. We
may be asked, Do we mean to question the uprightness of the
Government in dealing with the trust fund confided to its
administration in virtue of an International Treaty ? Do we
mean to cast distrust and discredit on the Public Service of
the country ? We reply, there is nothing more remote from
our wishes than to make a gratuitous attack on the Govern-
ment, either past or present, or any department of the Public
Service. But we have a task to perform — a just and legiti-
mate task. We have undertaken to vindicate the rights of a
national institution in a foreign land, and to repair an injury
inflicted upon it more than half a century ago, and yet remain-
ing unredressed. If, in the prosecution of this task, awkward
facts shall meet us, we do not think that we should be diverted
from our course in order to avoid disclosures, however painful,
and in every way undesirable, it may be to bring them to light.
But need we an apology ? Responsibility, and therefore
publicity, are they not of the essence of free institutions, like
those under which we live ? Does not the Government of these
realms profess to do its work in the open face of day ? Does
not our whole political system warn every department of the
Public Service, and every officer in the public employment, that
there must be no "hidden things of darkness" in the discharge
of their official duties, and that "nothing is covered that
sooner or later shall not be revealed, nor hid that shall not be
known."
We therefore offer no apology. Nay, we avail ourselves of
no more than the simple right of every citizen, however humble,
to make the inquiry we put before us. We therefore ask the
question again with all confidence, Upon what authority did the
British Government apply -the fund out of which the Irish
College should have received its compensation to purposes other
than those indicated by the Treaties in question ?
A Government, as every one knows, is a complex machine,
consisting of various departments for their respective purposes.
It is frequently, therefore, a work of difficult analysis to fix
responsibility, or apportion the just measure of praise or
censure, of merit or fault, in public affairs. And in our present
inquiry we are concerned with no less than three distinct
departments, viz., the several Commissions that from time
to time had charge of the fund on which the Irish College
had its claims, the Lords of the Treasury, and the Imperial
Legislature.
Beginning with the Commissions, the first was that which
On the British Government. 147
vras appointed under the Treaty of 1815, between Great
Britain and France, and which was composed partly of Eng-
lish and partly of Frenchmen, and continued their operations
until 1818. We have no charge to bring against this Commis-
sion of applying the fund placed at its disposal outside the
provisions of the Treaty. We shall remark, however, en
passant, that it was to it that the claim of the Irish College,
amounting at the time to ,£3,398 1 5-r. 2d. a-year, was presented
by the Very Rev. Paul Long, the then Administrator-General
of the Irish Foundations in France ; that it registered the
claim as presented as legitimate, and, of course, included it in
the approximate estimate of the total amount deemed neces-
sary afterwards to satisfy the various claimants according to
the intents and purposes of the further Treaty of 1818, of
which we will have occasion later on to speak more at large.
Well would it have been for the Irish College if this mixed
and, therefore, impartial tribunal had the adjudication of its
claim. But owing, perhaps, to the fact that it stood low on
the register of claims, or to changes in the administration of
the College itself at this period, or to both causes combined,
the claim was held over, and passed on with other reserved
claims to the succeeding Commission in 1818.
This second Commission owed its appointment to a special
Treaty agreed to between the two Powers, and having for
object, as its preamble indicates, the final arrangement of the
claims of his Majesty's subjects, in order to effect the payment
and entire extinction, as well of the " capital as of the interest
thereon,due to them;" forwhich object it provided acapital pro-
ducing an annual interest of 3,000,000 francs, in addition to the
3,500,000 francs annually already provided by the Treaty of
1815. It was exclusively composed of Englishmen, and
exercised its functions in England until 1826. The members
were appointed directly by the Government, at the head of
which was Lord Liverpool, with Lord Eldon as Lord Chan-
cellor of England, two characters specially distinguished
at the time, as they are still notorious in history, for
their unrelenting hostility to the rights of their Roman
Catholic fellow-subjects. It is also worthy of remark, that the
period was one of great religious strife, calculated to envenom
sectarian bigotry to the highest degree, on account of the
struggle for Emancipation which the Catholics of the empire
were carrying on with such vigour and perseverance. We
are consequently prepared for the supercilious disdain with
which the gentlemen of this Commission treated the claim of
our time-honoured national Establishment in Paris.
Already had they rejected the claims of the Douay and
148 Claims of the Irish College, Paris,
other English Catholic Colleges in France, but they had
condescended to give a hearing to their case, and arrived at
an award by what had, at least, the appearance of a judicial
proceeding. Then came the case of the Irish College; it was
a mere Irish affair, it was unworthy of being entertained.
Consequently, without the formality even of an award, the
Commissioners directed their secretary or some other official
to notify to the representative of the Irish College, that he
should consider his claim as included in the disallowed claims
of the English Colleges already disposed of. The Administra-
tor could have well represented, as we have abundantly shown
m these papers, how, instead of analogous, the two cases
stood upon entirely different footings, and that the reasons
that militated against the English Colleges spoke in favour of
the Irish establishment. But it was a mere Irish affair, and
that was an " ultima ratio" of the case. But we find that
whilst these gentlemen were pretending " to strain at a gnat,"
when disposing of the Irish College, they had no difficulty in
" swallowing a camel," in dealing with other applications. In
looking over their proceedings we find, amongst others, the
enormous misapplication of £130,000; for what purpose may it
be supposed ? — for the expenses of the coronation of George
IV. ! ! This fact we find revealed in the History of England,
in French, by Roujoux and Maingnet in 4°, 1847, *• 2>P- ^9°-
Need we ask the question, upon what authority did these Com-
missioners make this enormous allocation for a purpose that
had as little to do as the Alabama claims w.ith the Treaty
which they were appointed to administer. But before parting
with them, we have another little account to settle — a two-penny
affair, likely, it appeared to them. To our readers, however,
the amount will appear more serious. Under the provisions of
the Act of Parliament to which they owed their appointment
and authority, they were to have been paid their expenses and
salaries by deducting two per cent., on the amount of all the
claims to be liquidated by them ; but this appeared to them a
paltry provision, and we, therefore, find in their accounts the
sum of £132,178, and a further sum of £122,414 13^. 3</.,
making a total of £254,592 13^.3^., instead of, or in^addition
to (we do not know which), the two/rr cent, allowed them by
the statute ; and to take a friendly farewell of their Commis-
sion, they had the modesty to take credit to themselves at
the close of their labours, for a year's salary in advance, — in ad-
vance— that is, to borrow a phrase from the trade, " for work
and labour" UNDONE and NEVER TO BE DONE. And, yet, to
the very last, the Irish College can find no access to their
sympathies. No compunctious visitings come upon them for
their injustice to the Irish College, Paris.
On the British Government. 149
We now proceed to the other Commissions. They are re-
spectively of the dates 1826, 1830, 1833, and lastly, 1849.
When the Commission of 1818 had terminated its mission in
1826, it laid before Parliament " an account of its stewardship,"
and exhibited a balance of 700,000 francs annual revenue, re-
presenting a capital of 14,000,000 francs or £560,000. But
M. Le Baron, the French authority whom we quoted in our
last, finding access to the half-yearly accounts as previously
reported to Parliament, discovers this balance to be inaccurate,
and, that instead of a surplus of 14,000,000 francs, it should be
64,776,132 francs or £2, 596,000 odd.
However, the Commissioners passed the amount reported
by themselves into the Treasury, and so washed their hands
out of their responsibilities.
We have now the Lords of the Treasury committed to a
joint responsibility with the new Commissioners, the former
holding the trust-fund in their safe-keeping, and the latter
investigating and adjudicating the claims as they came before
them. We will, therefore, treat both as in a common cause,
and we shall dispose of the several Commissions above
enumerated in globo, as the observations we purpose making
shall have the same application to each.
As the new Commission of 1526 was installed, we find them,
as one of their first acts, making order on the Treasury for
£250,000 for the repairs and improvement of Buckingham
Palace. Casting our eyes further over their disbursements we
meet the enormous amounts, some of which we enumerated
in our former article. By what authority were these sums
taken out of the fund, from which, let us constantly remember,
the Irish College should have received its compensation.
The treaties of 1814, 1815, and 1818, between England and
France, are yet in existence ; they are an international compact
between two great countries, and are guaranteed, moreover,
by the Great Powers of Europe that had been combined in
war against France. And the compact, so far from authorizing
such disbursements, is most distinct and precise in fixing the
application of the fund, also of any surplus that might remain
after such application. Reserving for the moment, the obser-
vations we have to make, we prefer that other authorities
should speak first, and applying the rule "ex uno disce ovints,"
we will listen to the Times, as it thunders out on the Buck-
ingham Palace affair. We quote from its issue of 29th April,
1828, the following leading article : —
" Within these few days we adverted to a strange occurrence
which had come to light, involving the disposition of a sum of
public money reputed to amount to £250,000. The subject
1 50 Claims of the Irish College, Paris,
is as delicate as it is painful. After the peace of 1814, a con-
siderable number of British subjects preferred claims upon the
French Government for indemnification of losses sustained
through acts of that Government or its officers. After some
negociations between the two Courts, that of France handed
over a sum of money to Great Britain in full satisfaction of the
claims as estimated, leaving the detailed distribution of it to
the British Government, as the claims of its own subjects
might be decided on by its own tribunals. A Commission for
the investigation and settlement of these claims was appointed
by the ministers of the day. After intervals of no very short
duration (including several years), two classes of claimants
were successively satisfied or rejected, and at last the Com-
mission closed its sittings, declaring in substance, as is said,
that no further demands could be authenticated, and that no
further distribution of the fund ought to be made by the
Government of Great Britain, A large balance of from
.£200,000 to £300,000 was thus left unappropriated in the
hands of the British Treasury ; and the money so left, became
beyond all question, public property, to be accounted for to
Parliament, and not disposed of without its sanction. By a stroke
of the pen, however, it is said, that the First Lord of the
Treasury transferred this large balance of public money from
the Treasury where Parliament ought to have found it, to
another department. The affair we presume will undergo a
rigid investigation."
This article elicited the following letter, which we find in the
Times under date 2nd May, 1828 : —
" To THE EDITOR — Sir, the misappropriation referred to in
your paper of Tuesday last, or the misappropriation — to use a
gentle word — of a sum reported to amount to £250,000 is a
very serious one. The really unappropriated balance, however,
of money received from the French Government, to enable the
British Government to satisfy the claimants alluded to, is
supposed to nearly double that sum. What adds to the scan-
dal of the transaction is, that the claimants are in fact not
satisfied. The case, I believe, stands nearly thus. When the
separation of the mixed Commission took place, which was
established in Paris in 1815 to manage the fund for indemni-
fying the subjects of the belligerent powers for the losses they
had sustained through the French Revolution and the subse-*
quent wars, each power received a share, and engaged to settle
with its own subjects,— his Grace the Duke of Wellington
having been unanimously appointed to make the division
among the powers. The British Commission was then trans-
ferred to London, and out of the sum apportioned to Great
On the British Government. 151
Britain, one part was destined to satisfy the claimants under
the Convention No. 7 of the treaty of November 20, 1815, who
were, I think, all English by birth, and the other to satisfy
those under Convention No. 13, who had become British in
the course of the war, and remained so at the peace, such as
the inhabitants of the Mauritius, the Ionian Islands, &c. Many
of the claims under both heads have been rejected, I conclude,
for sufficient reasons. Those which were admitted under Con-
vention No. 7 have been liquidated in full, principal and in-
terest, whilst those under Convention No. 13 have only received
£53 i8s. yd. per cent, and are refused the remaining
£46 is. 3</. per cent, under the//<vz that there is no more money.
Now, Sir, the inquiry should be made, by whom, and on what
principle, a given sum was at the outset set apart for one class
of claimants, and another sum for another ? Surely it could
not have been with the view of creating a large surplus on the
one hand and leaving a deficit on the other. The whole sum
obtained should be divided as far as it will go among those
whose claims have been admitted, and who have all an equita-
ble right to be paid in full. I have reason to believe that the
overplus balanced under Convention 7 would be far more than
sufficient to pay the remaining £46 is. $d. percent, due to the
claimants under Convention 13. How unwarrantable then is
the abstraction of a large sum out of the surplus under Con-
vention 7, at the very moment when a large class of claimants,
who, I contend, have a right to be satisfied in full from the
sum levied upon France for the specific purpose, have been
paid little more than one-half of what the Commissioners have
admitted to be due to them. The question cannot rest where
it is. FiAT JUSTITIA.
" London, May i."
The Times returns to the subject, and gives the following
leader on the 28th June, 1823:—
" On the affair of the .£250,000, a part of the sum given by
the French Government for satisfying the claims of British
subjects, and really applied to the building of the new palace,
we have a remark or two to make which we overlooked
yesterday, but which, we venture to think, of some import-
ance. With respect to the remaining claims of British sub-
jects, though many of them we have no doubt are well founded,
yet are the proofs required of the validity of those claims of
so difficult a nature, and probably now, that another object
is found for the money, the ears of the Commissioners so dull
of hearing, that we shrewdly suspect it is not intended or
contemplated to bestow one farthing more upon those in
whose behalf the money was first demanded. What then
152 Claims of the Irish College, Paris,
ought really to be done with this excess, if we were an honest
and upright-minded people, if our Government were just
and equitable? Unquestionably it ought to be returned to
France.
"The French Government paid a covenanted sum to ours, in
lieu of all demands of a certain kind to be made by British
subjects. The whole of that sum was not expended on the
objects for which it was destined. Then what ought to become
of the residue ? Why it ought, we again assert, to be returned
to the French. They are probably too proud to request it.
But we know that they will also, hereafter, have a strict logical
right to advance this extortion transaction as a proof of the
bad faith of Great Britain, of her rapacious and perfidious
practices in pecuniary transactions; that she has screwed more
money than she ought to have required from France for a
certain purpose, and has applied a part of what she received
to building regal palaces. It is out of French money that
the palace of the kings of England is partly built — out of
French money advanced by that people to satisfy the demands
of certain English people. We again say that a high-minded
Government would restore the ^250,000 to France."
Weshallnextquotenolessapersonage than Lord Lyndhurst.
His Lordship took a prominent part in a debate in the House
of Lords on August 1st, 1853, the subject being the adminis-
tration of the fund we are treating of. As we observed, the
Treasury and Commissioners are in the same boat, and his
Lordship prefers in his observations taking the former to task.
His words, as we find them in the Times of next morning, are
to the following effect : — " It was asserted by a great law
authority that a corporation had no conscience. How far
that was applicable to the Treasury it was not for him to
determine. They saw in the public papers cases where con-
scientious persons sent money to the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer, which they ought to have paid, but they might look in
vain for any instance of reciprocity on the part of that
functionary. The footsteps were all one way. But nnlla
vestigia retrorsuin* In his long experience of public men, he
had never known a case in which money was paid back again
when it had once been got in. The genius at the head of the
Government, represented by the noble Earl and the Chancellor
of the Exchequer, stood at the entrance of the Treasury, stern,
inflexible, and obdurate — ' Qitam si dura silcx aitt stet Marpe-
sia cautes? "
Such are the scathing words in which the great statesman
upbraids the Treasury as being inexorable to the claims of
simple justice, and puts it into the inextricable dilemma of
On the British Government. \ 5 3
plead ing guilty to the charge of having no conscience, or of
granting the claim he urged on the occasion.
We, on our part, urging the claim of the Irish College, press
the same argument, and give the Government the option of
saying to us, "the Treasury has no conscience," or of admit-
ting our claim.
But his Lordship bears down with yet greater force upon
the Treasury. Like ourselves, he would ask upon what
authority the Treasury applied the trust fund in question to
purposes other than those stipulated ; and, employing the
weapon of sarcasm, of which he was so distinguished a
master, he puts forward, by way of hypothesis, extreme necessity
as the pretence — extreme necessity, which makes all things
common, and abrogates all law of right and property. His
words, as reported by the Times, are : — " The answer he
would make, and he would make it with shame, would be,
that this country was so poor, so wretched, and had so little
means, that it had appropriated the funds allotted by Parlia-
ment for these claimants to discharge the debts due to the
French Government." Extreme necessity ! ! the phrase in
his lordship's mouth means, more forcibly than if he were to
say in express words, extreme injustice, extreme fraud,
extreme perfidy.
But we will quote another great authority, one who, like
Lord Lyndhurst, sat upon the woolsack in his day, and who
took part in the same debate. It is Lord Truro. He spoke
as follows, according to the Times of the same date : — " The
French Government paid over certain sums of money to this
country ; the sums to be paid to one class of claimants, being
wholly distinct from those which were to be paid to another ;
and these trust funds Parliament was bound by contract with
the French Government to apply according to the condition
on which they were given. This, however, they have not done;
they appropriated the money to other uses."
To these terrible condemnations we will add a few sober
reflections from ourselves.
It is to be recollected that the several Commissions were
appointed for the purpose of administering the Treaties we
have referred to, and of disbursing the funds placed in their
hands, according to the express terms of those Treaties.
Consequently we should expect them to follow a uniform rule,
and to be directed by fixed principles taken from the terms
of the Treaties. The contrary, however, we find to be the
case. Each succeeding Commission calls up for liquidation,
and award claimants disallowed by preceding Commissions,
thereby showing that arbitrary rule was their sole guidance in
the distribution of the money.
1 54 Claims of the Irish College, Paris,
We also find that these several Commissions were called
into existence by minutes of the Lords of the Treasury,
which arrogate the authority of dispensing with the stipula-
tions of the Treaties. Thus, for instance, by the minute ap-
pointing the Commission in 1826, the Treasury prolongs the
time fixed for claimants by the treaties to present their claims.
Also we find that the Treasury minute creating the Commis-
sion of 1830, grounds itself "upon the mere bounty of His
Majesty, upon the liberality of the Crown," assuming the right
of distributing a part of the fund amongst individuals who
had no claim whatever upon it under the Treaties ; and by
the minute creating the Commission of 1832, its decisions are
declared beforehand as "final and unassailable, being an
act of grace and favour" These several minutes, placed
side by side with the Treaties, bear their own comment. If
the decisions of the Commissioners were to be regulated
according to the Treaties which they had to administer, there
should be no room for " the mere bounty of his Majesty" " tlie
liberality of the Crown" "acts of grace and favour? Justice
before liberality. But the Lords of the Treasury, and the
Commissioners, inverted the rule, setting at nought the Trea-
ties and their express stipulations.
We have associated the Lords of the Treasury and the
Commissioners in a joint responsibility. They acted in a
vicious circle. The Lords of the Treasury appointed the seve-
ral Commissions from 1826, and gave them their orders
respecting the fund. The Commissioners, on their part, made
orders for payment on the Treasury, so that the Treasury
cast the responsibility of its payments on the Commissioners,
and the Commissioners, in turn, cast the responsibility of their
orders on the Treasury, in pursuance of the minutes of their
appointment. Nevertheless, the poor Irish College, Paris,
injured and robbed though it had been by the French Re-
volution, admitted though it had been by the first Commission
acting in France to a right of compensation, could never
obtain admission within the circle of the Lords of the Trea-
sury and the Commissioners, even " by the mere bounty of
His Majesty," or " the liberality of the Crown," or by any
" acts of grace or favour."
But, after all, the Lords of the Treasury and the Commis-
sioners of the Fund must have some support at their back —
some plea to exculpate them in the exercise of such authority.
It cannot be expected that they would have recklessly and
capriciously cast to the right and to the left hundreds of
thousands of pounds confided to them as a sacred deposit,
under the guarantee of International Treaties. Here we have
On the British Government. 155
arrived at the most serious, and, we must add, the most dis-
tressing part of our case. We find ourselves at this point
standing in the actual presence of the Imperial Legislature.
No well-affected citizen should think or speak otherwise than
with respect and reverence of the exalted institution to which
are entrusted our properties, our liberties, and our lives, and
which is allowed a species of omnipotence in the unbounded
sway it exercises over all our institutions and the countless
interests of the great commonwealth. But " humanum est
errare" has been, unfortunately, a truth from the beginning,
and everywhere that human nature has to act, we find the
traces of human weakness, and too often of human perversity.
Reserving the latter epithet, we would say that Parliament has
its moments of distraction, weariness, and drowsiness, and it
happens sometimes that when those who should watch fall
asleep, " the cockle is sown among the wheat," and thus en-
actments find their way to the Statute Book, which virtuous
and honourable men have reason to be ashamed of. What
are we preparing our readers to expect? Nothing less than
the legislative anomaly of a National Legislature annulling
and abrogating International Treaties. How is this ? Let
us bear in mind that the subject matter about which we are
concerned is the trust fund confided by France to this country
for specific purposes. These purposes are declared on the
face of the Treaties. But the British Legislature interposes
its authority, and by Act of Parliament directs the application
of the fund to other purposes. The Treaties are the well-
known Peace Treaties of 1814, 1815, and 1818, between
France and Great Britain. The Act of Parliament is that of
59th year of George III., c. xxxi., intituled "An Act to enable
certain Commissioners fully to carry into effect several conventions
for liquidating claims of British subjects and others against the
Government of France"
The point in which the Treaties and this Act come into con-
flict, is the surplus of the fund after satisfying the claims
specified in the Treaties. This surplus, the Treaties say, must
return to France, The Act of Parliament says, No ; the sur-
plus must remain in this country for such purposes as t/tc Com-
missioners of the Treasury shall direct the Commissioners of Li-
quidation, Arbitration, and Award.
We shall put in juxta-position the text of the Treaties and
of the Act. The Treaty of 1815, article 9 of the Convention
No. 7, which is one with the other Convention of April 1 5,
1818, which refers to it in its Preamble, and Article 1st, the
latter being the complement of the former, says that " «'//<•//
till the payments due to the claimants shall have been made, the
156 Claims of the Irish College, Paris,
surplus of unappropriated revenue, with the proportion of accumu-
lated and compound interest which sJuill belong thereto, shall be
returned, if there be any, to the French Government'' On the
contrary, our Act of Parliament says, section xvi., that the
fund in question was to be transferred to England, and to be
invested in Exchequer Bills or other Public Securities, bearing
interest " for tlie purposes of being applied to the Payments or
Liquidation of any such claims, OR IN CASE ALL SUCH CLAIMS
SHALL BE PAID, OR LIQUIDATED, FOR SUCH OTHER PURPOSES
AS THE SAID COMMISSIONERS OF TREASURY, FOR THE TIME
BEING, OR ANY THREE OF THEM, SHALL DIRECT THE SAID
COMMISSIONERS OF LIQUIDATION, ARBITRATION, AND AWARD
TO APPLY THE SAME."
Now, the merest tyro-lawyer will pronounce this Act of
Parliament to be a nullity. There is no condition more vital
or fundamental in legislation than competent authority in the
legislating power ; and we do not require to be told that the
Imperial Parliament, omnipotent though it be in matters of
internal legislation, has no authority whatever over an Inter-
national Treaty. The Act, therefore, which would authorize
the Lords of the Treasury, and the Commissioners appointed
by them, to dispose, in the manner they did, of the trust-fund
confided to them under the guarantee of an International
Treaty, was a nullity, and absolutely void from the commence-
ment. But it was not merely a nullity ; it was a breach of
faith — of a nation's faith, pledged by solemn International
Treaty. We recollect an eminent judge in one of our own
Courts complaining in a particular case from the bench on
which he sat, that in administering law he was obliged to violate
Justice. The Commissioners of the trust-fund in question,
had reason to make the same complaint, that they were re-
quired according to law to violate an International Treaty, and
perpetrate perfidy in the name of the Imperial Parliament,
with a foreign state. Is this language too strong? I fit be
deemed so, let us observe that Lord Truro has used stronger
terms in stigmatising this Act of Parliament. We quote him
from the Times, August 2nd, 1853, as he is reported to have
spoken in the House of Lords in a debate on the subject of
this trust-fund we are treating of. His words are : " The Par-
liament it was said could do anything except make a man a
woman ; but Parliament had no power in one sense to apply
the money, of which we were the trustees, for other purposes
than those for which that money had been handed over to us.
He complained of that Law as WICKED, FRAUDULENT, AND
UNJUST.
We are now arrived at the end of our inquiry, starting from
On the British Government. 157
the question — Upon what authority did the Government apply the
fund, out of which the Irish College should have received its
compensation, to purposes other than those indicated by the
Treaties in question ?
We have followed the fund from France to England, from
the mixed Commission appointed under the Treaty of 1815,
to the exclusive Commission appointed by the Government in
England under the Act of Parliament of 5Qth year of George
III., cap. 33, on which we had to make such painful remarks.
We have further followed it from the last-mentioned Commis-
sioners to the British Treasury, and we have seen it in a joint
trusteeship between the Lords of the Treasury and other
Commissioners appointed by their order. We have seen how
both these bodies; acting in concert, or, as we have said, in a
vicious circle, dissipated the fund on purposes unauthorised by
the Treaties, and how they were sustained in so doing by an
Act of Parliament, which was a manifest nullity, and which the
highest legal authority branded in open Parliament as
"WICKED, FRAUDULENT, AND UNJUST."
To these terms of reprobation Lord Truro might add, that
the Act was also an impossibility. How is this ? We have
seen that it was in direct contradiction with the express pro-
visions of the Treaties of 1814, 1815, and 1818. Nevertheless,
it refers to these Treaties, and binds the Commissioners by
oath to fulfil them, and carry out the Act at the same time ;
that is, to perform contradictory duties, a task of manifest
impossibility. The oath imposed by the Commissioners was
literally as follows : —
" I, A. B., one of the Commissioners of Liquidation, Arbi-
tration, and Award, appointed to carry into effect the pro-
visions of several Conventions, concluded between His Majesty
and His Most Christian Majesty the King of France, do swear
that according to the best of my judgment and knowledge, I
will faithfully, impartially, and truly execute the several
powers and trusts vested in me by an Act of 59 year of the
reign of King George III., entituled An Act to enable certain
Commissioners fully to carry into effect several conventions for
liquidating claims of British subjects and others against the
Government of France, according to the tenor and purport of
said Act, and according to the true intent and meaning of the
said several Conventions. So help me GOD."
We see the Commissioners by this oath placed between
the " tenor and purport of the said Act" on one side, and the
irreconcilable "intent and meaning of the said several Conven-
tions' on the other. Their position reminds us of the philo-
sopher's ass between the two bundles of hay ; but the money
1 58 Claims of the Irish College, Paris.
imparts a superior attraction to the Act of Parliament, and null
and void though it was, and " wicked, and fraudulent, and
unjust" though it was, they determined their hesitation, if
indeed they hesitated at all in that direction, turning their
back upon the Treaties, the force and obligation of which
were above and beyond the reach of Parliament.
To come to an end, Lord Lyndhurst and Lord Truro helped
us a considerable way through this paper, and we shall now
avail ourselves of their assistance to conclude it. The former,
in the debate in the House of Lords of August ist, 1853, to
which we have more than once alluded, said of the surplus of
the fund: — "The balance of this money being thus appro-
priated and misapplied from its original purposes, would any
one say it was not reasonable that the country which had
benefited by the appropriation of this property to the public
service, should replace that money ?" And Lord Truro in
the same debate said — " The verdict of the jury which decided
in his favour had never been questioned, and in answer to
all this he was met by an Act of Parliament. It was an
answer which he did not hesitate to say was as disgraceful
to this country as it was unjust to the claimant. Everything
that they could expect to be done, in order to establish a case,
had been done in the case of Baron De Bode, and unless the
misapplication of the fund was to be taken as a justification of
breach of faith with the French Government, of dishonour to
this country, and of gross injustice to the claimant, the demand
which had been made would be fully recognized." This case
of the Baron De Bode created a great sensation in Parlia-
ment and out of Parliament at the time. But every point in
it applies strictly to the Irish College, so that mutato nomine,
the concluding words of these two great statesmen may be
taken as enforcing its claims, and obtaining for it the com-
pensation of which it has been so long and so unwarrantably
deprived.
159
LETTERS OF BALMEZ.
XII. — MORAL CODE OF THE GOSPEL.
MY ESTEEMED FRIEND — The method you employ in our
discussion proves, or rather, as I had already known it, con-
vinces me of one thing, and that is, your want of firmness and
moral exactness, of which those who build not on the solid
foundations of religion, are totally devoid. It has been said,
with much truth, that morality without dogmas, was justice
without tribunals. We hear your incredulists raise and enthu-
siastically proclaim the sublimity of the doctrine of Jesus
Christ in everything appertaining to the regulation of the con-
duct of man ; you confess there is nothing superior or equal
in the precepts of ancient or modern philosophers ; you ac-
knowledge there is nothing to add or retrench ; and you do
all this with such a tone of sincerity and such apparent bona
fide as to leave no doubt that if you reject the dogmas of the
Christain religion, you at least embrace its code of morality as
a philosophical conviction. But then, behold ! you immediately
launch into the exposition of some doctrine totally at variance
with the morality of the Gospel. You, yourself, have done
this in your last letter ; for, after resigning yourself to the
abandonment of the trench in which you had fortified yourself
concerning self-love, you change the argument, but not the
object.
You say you agree with me that religion does not destroy,
but only rectifies self-love ; and you have no hesitation in ac-
knowledging the objections of your former letter hinged on a
false supposition. Nevertheless, you are unwilling to abandon
your ground, and insist that the manner in which religion rec-
tifies self-love is too severe, and opposed besides to the instincts
of nature. Here we have the application of what I told you a
short time ago, viz., that men without religion frequently fall
into a manifest contradiction, by praising in one place the
moral code of Jesus Christ, and attacking it in another without
consideration or respect. You are one of those who recognise
the sanctity of the Gospel morality, and yet you do not hesi-
tate to condemn it for what it prescribes concerning the passions.
But do you know that to declare a moral code bad or useless,
or inapplicable in relation to the passions, is little less than to
condemn it in its totality ? Have you not remarked that the
greater part of moral precepts deal with the regulation and re-
1 60 L e tiers of Balmcz.
pression of the passions ? If then, the morality of the Gospel
is not suited to them, of what use is it ?
You assert the Gospel precepts are much too severe in their
opposition to irresistible instincts of nature ; and as regards
some of its counsels, you venture to say it will be hard to per-
suade you they are comformable with reason and prudence.
You hold that the secret of directing the passions is to leave
them a safety-valve to avoid an explosion, and regard the
neglect of this maxim as one of the capital defects of the code
of the Gospel. You do not object to its declaring culpable
acts which introduce disturbance into families, and even those
which tend to multiply the population, while the fruit of the
incontinence is abandoned to public charity ; but you cannot
believe its rigor should be carried so far as to prohibit the very
thought, and declare him culpable, in the eyes of God, who
should admit levity into his heart, though he abstain from
everything repugnant to nature, or that could entail injury on
the family or society. Avoiding the discussion to which your
objection might tend under many aspects, and circumscribing
ourselves to the prudential point of view, I maintain the
moral code of the Gospel is so profoundly wise and prudent in
its so called harshness, that it would be much more harsh if
moulded after your doctrines. This assertion may appear to
you extravagant, and yet, I flatter myself with being able to
support it with such reasons, that you shall find yourself com-
pelled to suscribe to my opinion.
As you appear fond- of the study of the heart, I shall ven-
ture to ask you, whether, supposing an act to be prohibited, it
is more difficult to secure obedience by prohibiting the desire
of it also, or allowing it to roam at will ? I hold it as certain,
that it is much more easy to make a man avoid what he can-
not even desire, than what he cannot do, but the desire of
which is not prohibited. It.is said there is as little distance
between the thought and the execution, as between the head
and the arm ; and daily experience tells us that he who has
conceived vehement desires of possessing an object, seldom
hesitates at employing the means of attaining it.
Precisely in this very matter in which we are engaged
reason becomes so blinded, and the passions preponderate to
such a degree, that he who allows himself to be hurried away
by them becomes degraded and stupified, and disregards his
honour, his property, his health, nay, even his very life, — and,
in a passion like this, do you think prudence would advise the
desire to be permitted but the execution prohibited ? You
unhesitatingly assert that the prohibition which extends to
the desire is cruel, without adverting that true harshness is
L e tiers of B a lines. 1 6 1
found in your system alone, for it tantalises a man, and pre-
sents to him pure and crystalline waters, but will not allow
him to quench his thirst. Reflect maturely on these observa-
tions, and you shall find that real harshness is found, not in the
Gospel, but in your code ; that in yours, under the appearance
of indulgent suavity, a real torture is applied to the heart,
while, in that of the Gospel, the peace and tranquility of vir-
tuous souls is secured by prudent and timely severity. The
man who knows it is not lawful to indulge even in a bad
thought, firmly rejects it the moment it occurs to him, and
does not allow passion to blind him ; the man who believes
there is no sin but in the execution, endeavours to gratify the
inclinations of nature, and deceives himself with the hope that
pleasure in the thought or desire cannot lead him to commit
the act ; but the moment reason and the will abdicate their
sovereignty, even under the express condition they should
not be carried beyond the limits of duty, it is impossible for
them to restrain the turbulent passions which, emboldened
by the first concession, would demand to be completely
satisfied.
Between religion and the philosophers who, under dif-
ferent names, attack her, there is this great difference : —
the former establishes as a principle the absolute necessity of
nipping the passions in the bud, believing it will be so much
the more difficult to subject or direct them by how much the
more growth they are allowed to make ; whilst the latter
hold the most irregular passions are to be allowed a certain
expansion, beyond which they must be restrained. And is
it not strange that this course is pursued by men who have no
means of subduing the heart but sterile discourses, whose
impotence is manifested whenever they have to struggle with
a passion rnore or less vehement, while religion, which has so
many means of influencing the understanding and the will,
and lording it over the entire man, adopts quite a different
course ? Religion, founded by God Himself, adheres to a
prudent rule, and regards the prevention of the evil as better
than its cure, applying the remedy when it is insignificant to
avoid doing so when it is great ; but clever mortals, opening
the dyke for the waters, allow them to flow freely, determined,
when they have reached a certain limit, to cry out to them —
" Stay here, farther you shall not go ! "
I know not, my esteemed friend, if you be convinced by
the reasons I have assigned in defence of the moral code of
the Gospel, and against that of the philosophic system. You
cannot, however, deny these considerations are not to be
VII. II
1 62 Letters of Balmcz.
despised, as they are founded in the very nature of man,
and on the teaching of daily experience. What \ve have said
of the most turbulent and dangerous passion that afflicts
miserable mortals, can be applied to all the rest, though the
saying that there is no remedy but in flight is peculiarly
verified in it, a sentence profoundly wise and prudent, warning
a man of how much importance it is not to lose dominion
over himself, because once he has given rein to them, it is
very difficult to restrain the passions.
We can apply to the individual what happens in society.
If the supreme power, whose duty it is to govern, begins to
yield to the exigencies of those who should obey, their
demands will daily increase, and its authority will become
degraded in proportion as it loses ground, until in the end an
anarchy supervenes, or an appeal is made to a violent reaction
to recover what was lost, and establish rights which should
never have been abdicated. The laws of order have an
analogy even in their application to very dissimilar things
— it might be said to be the self-same law without other
modification but what is indispensably necessary to suit it to
the species of subject to be governed by it.
I remarked that what I had said of the voluptuous passion
could be applied to the others, and I shall make you feel it
by attacking you in the most sensitive part, which is philan-
thropy ; for you, philosophers, cannot bear to have your ardent
love for humanity called in question. You constantly extol
the precept of universal fraternity, which, according to the
religion of Jesus Christ, makes all men members of the same
family. From this Commandment comes the prohibition to
injure our neighbour ; and, according to our principle, not
only we cannot injure him, but we cannot even entertain the
desire of doing so, and look on it as a sin to simply indulge
in a thought of vengeance..
Well, now, if we apply your theory to the present case,
we shall have to condemn the Christian code as unduly harsh,
and limit ourselves to declaring it unlawful to commit an
act that may injure our brethren, but illicit to entertain a
thought or desire of doing so. And so your fine fraternity
may be expressed thus: — "Fellowmen, injure us not by
word or deed, for by doing so you would break through the
rules of sound morality, and offend the God who created you,
not that you might act to each others prejudice, but that you
might live together in peace and harmony. Thus far are you
bound by the law ; but entering into the sanctuary of your
own interior, you are at perfect liberty to desire what evil you
L etters of Balnuz. 1 63
wish to other men, certain that by so doing you are guilty
of no fault, for God is not so cruel as to prohibit not only the
act but even the thought and desire." Does not the precept
of charity — of universal fraternity — look rather curious and
strange, if explained in this way ? And yet it is thus ex-
plained by you, for I have done no more than collect together
different parts of your system to render the contrast more
striking.
The radical vice of such a system consists in its putting the
interior at variance with the exterior ; in supposing it right to
limit moral obligations to external acts ; in establishing a
species of civil morality which, in ultimate analysis, is nothing
more than a purely human jurisprudence, without other object
but to secure public tranquillity. This is the result of your
doctrines. And it is no way strange ; for what more natural,
when God is exiled from the world, and no religion admitted —
when the divine influence on the acts of men is ignored, than
that they should be considered in the purely external order, and
have no importance in the eyes of the philosopher but inas-
much as they are capable of producing some exterior good,
or causing some exterior evil. By removing God, or what is
the same, by destroying religion, you destroy the interior
man, and reduce all morality to a combination of well-
calculated utilities.
These consequences may be disagreeable to you, and I
have no doubt you will make an effort to reject them ; but
to avoid disputes, I beseech you to turn back and follow the
thread of my argument, convinced that if you do so with
impartiality, you must acknowledge my words are not false
or exaggerated.
In the meantime, to show how palpable are the errors and
the inconveniences of the doctrine you hold with such security,
I will make an application of this precept of universal fra-
ternity, not considered in its prohibitive but in its preceptive
part. Once admitted the evil of actions is in the external
act alone, we must also admit their goodness will be in the
exterior also ; and so we shall perform a laudable act by doing
good to our neighbour, but not by desiring it. But do you
know whither this principle leads us ? Would you believe
it does nothing less than destroy at one fell swoop that uni-
versal fraternity so extolled by the philanthropy of philoso-
phers ? What is the love which is limited to exterior acts ?
Is any love true which does not exist in the heart ? Is it not
this which language indicates, when it distinguishes between
beneficence and benevolence — the doing good and the desiring
164 Letters of Balmez.
it ? Is not the latter as well as the former a praiseworthy
virtue ? If a person cannot be beneficent, because he lacks
the means, is he not worthy of praise if he be benevolent,
that is, if he has the desire of doing the good which it is out
of his power to accomplish? If a person does good, does
he not desire it before he does it ? That is to say, is not
the beneficent man benevolent first ? And is he not beneficent
because he is benevolent ? I do not know whether you will
look at things from this point of view, but I can say for myself
I consider the desire and the act so united, that they appear
to me things of the same order, and as if the one were the
complement of the other. And, as far as beneficence is con-
cerned, I will go farther, when I represent to myself a man
v/ho does good from any motive whatever, but at the same
time does not entertain in his heajt an affectionate desire,
which impels him to act ; that is, when I see beneficence
without benevolence, either I do not conceive an act of virtue
there, or at least, I find it lame and devoid of the beautiful
adornments that render it agreeable and enchanting.
Now, my dear friend, you must see the Christian religion
is not so far astray in introducing herself into internal acts —
in extending her commandments and prohibitions even to the
most hidden things we execute in the lowest depths of our
conscience ; and that to accuse her of harshness in the matter
is to upset not only religious morality, but even that taught
by the light of reason. Thus are things joined which appeared
quite distant ; thus are virtues united with an intimacy so
close, that whoever dares to deny one finds himself obliged to
reject many others, which, perhaps, he respects and venerates
with all sincerity and reverence. From these considerations
I wish you would draw this consequence — that we should
not isolate religious questions too much when we come to
examine them, for by doing so we run the risk of mutilating
the truth, and a mutilated truth is an error. Infidels and
sceptics almost always fall into this mistake : they take up
a dogma, a moral precept, a practice or ceremony of religion ;
they separate it from everything else ; they analyze it, pre-
scinding from all the relations it has with other dogmas,
precepts, practices, or ceremonies ; they look at but one side
of it, and endeavour to make the ceremony appear ridiculous,
the practice irrational, the precept cruel, the dogma absurd.
There is no order of truths that will not fall to the ground
if examined in this way ; because its truths are not considered
as they are in themselves, but as the caprice of the philoso-
pher has regulated them in the closet of his mind. In such
Letters of Bn/mt's. 165
a case phantasms are created which do not exist ; the real
enemies are avoided, and war made on imaginary ones with
whom it is in no way dangerous to contend.
When one has to deal with the most sweet and seducing sen-
timents, it is not difficult to deceive the incautious by repre-
senting to them as an innocent expansion what is in reality a
deadly poison. Thus, for example, in the difficulty you
raise in you letter, what is more comformable to the instincts
of nature, to the softest impulses of the heart, than the doc-
trine you hold ? " What !" you say, " is it not enough to pro-
hibit the acts which might entail evil results on society, the
family, or the individual ; but must you penetrate into the
interior of the soul too, and then take delight in tormenting
the poor heart by obliging it to abstain from these exhalations,
which, rather than crimes, God should regard as the innocent
alleviations of nature. If the evil be not consummated, whom
does the desire injure ? Is it possible the Creator can take
umbrage at the most inoffensive acts of the creature ?" These,
my friend, are what are called sentimental strokes, and deci-
sive arguments for candid and ardent souls, anxious to find a
doctrine to excuse their weakness, and tone down the austerity
of the morality they learned from the catechism. But they are
really dangerous sophisms, which do not conduce to the well-
being and consolation of those in whose favour they are made,
but on the contrary, sadly corrupt and lead them astray.
" What ! " one might reply, imitating your tone ; " will you be
so cruel as to allow the sweet fresh liquid to approach our lips,
and not allow us to partake of it ? Are you so cruel as to
give passion the reins in the interior, and refuse it a safety-
valve in the exterior ? Can you be so cruel as to unchain the
tempests in the depth of the heart, kept agitated and tor-
mented by you on all sides, without giving it freedon to alle-
viate its pains, and, by extending the storm, to make it less
intense and grievous ? Oh ! close the door entirely or allow
of a remedy ; do not set the interior man at such variance
with the exterior — the heart with its works. As you beast of
your humanity, endeavour to render your false indulgence less
cruel."
As regards the point, whether God can be indignant at the
interior acts of the creature, we might say : — " What ! if rela-
tions exist between God and man — if the Creator has not
abandoned his creature — if he regards it yet as an object of
care, is it not clear — is it not evident, that the understanding
and the will, that is, what is most precious in man — what
renders him capable of knowing and loving his Maker — what
1 66 Letter of tJte Irish Bishops.
raises him above the brute — what constitutes him king of
creation — is not that, we repeat, what should be regarded as
the object of the solicitude of the Supreme Ruler ; and should
we not feel certain He does not attend to exterior acts, but
inasmuch as they come from the sanctuary of the con-
science, where he delights to be known, loved, and adored ?
What is man if we prescind from his interior ? What is mora-
lity, if not applied to the understanding and will ? Is that
doctrine well-founded, which mercilessly destroys what is most
independent and dignified in man, whilst it boasts of being in-
stinct with the sentiments of morality ?"
Be persuaded, my dear friend, that there is no truth or
dignity in anything that opposes religion ; and what appears
at first sight noble and generous, is base and degrading. And
apropos of philanthropic sentiments, beware of those sudden in-
spirations, which may appear to you decisive arguments, but
which, when examined at the light of religion, or even sound
philosophy, are nothing but unfounded reasonings, or conclu-
sions from unsound principles, conducing to establish the
dominion of matter over spirit, and let loose the voluptuous
passions on the world.
See if any service can be done you by your fond and affec-
tionate friend
J. B.
LETTER OF THE IRISH BISHOPS TO OUR
MOST HOLY FATHER, AND REPLY OF HIS
HOLINESS.
BEATISSIME PATER,
Quae adversus Sanctitatem Tuam proxime elapsis diebus a
perditis hominibus Romae gesta sunt, maximo dolore et animi
indignatione nos omnes Hiberniae episcopos, et clerum et
populum fidelem curae nostrae concreditum, affecerunt. Cum
enim ut Beati Petri successorem et infallibilem Christi vica-
rium Te veneremur, et praecipuo quodam amore prosequamur,
fieri non potuit quin acerbissimae *nobis essent injuriae Tibj
illatae, et omni reprobatione digni isti homines haberentur, qui
Letter of the Irish Bishops. 167
adversus Dominum et Christum cjus tumultuantes urbem
ipsam Romam, apostolorum principum sanguine consecratam,
summorumPontificumadiebusSanctiPetrisedemetdomicilium,
totius Christiani populi communem patriam aggressi fuerint, at-
queexpugnaverint, tequeinsuper omnium catholicorum patrem,
et doctorem captivum constitucrint ; et contra omnia jura
divina et humana sacrum tuum principatum et saeculorum
diuturnitate firmatum, et ecclesiae libertati servandae omnino
necessarium penitus delere conati fuerint.
Haec scelera et sacrilegia adeo atrocia nobis visa sunt, et
tanto moerore nos affecerunt, ut vix loqui et doloris et indig-
nationis sensus qui in nobis exurgunt, verbis exprimere
possimus. Ne tamen muneri nostro erga Patrem dilectissi-
mum deessemus, pauca haec scribenda existimavimus ut sciat
Sanctitas Tua filios tuos ex longinquis regionibus Tecum in
dolore tuo condolere. Eodem etiam tempore litteras gregi-
bus nostris dandas decrevimus ut de injuriis quae amantissimo
Pontifici et Patri irrogatae sunt, eos certiores faceremus hor-
taremurque ut piis precibus ad Deum optimum maximum,
atque omni alia qua possent ratione, opem Tibi afferrent.
Inter sacrificia missae etiam et in omnibus publicis precibus
curabimus ut orationes riant, atque obsecrationes pro inco-
lumitate Tua ad thronum divinae misericordiae perpetuo
ascendant.
Vehementer porro optamus ut tempus quam citissime veniat,
quo populorum supplicationibus expergefactus Deus ad judi-
candam causam suam exurgat, coecos tumultus, bella, et secre-
tarumsocietatumconjurationescomprimat,etscelestosreligionis
et sedis apostolicae hostes ad nihilum redigat. Laetissimus
quidem ille dies illucescet, quo profligatis portis infernorum,
nationes Catholicae Te in libertatem vindicabunt, et urbem
Romam et totam ditionem pontificiam Tibi et sedi apostolicae
restituent, ita ut cum ea qua convenit libertate, res universae
ecclesiae administrare, et concilium vaticanum tarn sapienter,
plaudentibus omnibus Catholicis congregatum, ad felicem ter-
minum perducere possis.
Haec dum in votis nobis sunt, et certa esse eventura con-
fidimus, omnia quae in nostra protestate sunt praestabimus
ut iniquis hisce temporibus, quibus sanctissima tua jura
audacter, impune et sacrilege impugnantur, fidem, obsequium
et venerationem nostram et ecclesiae nostrae Hiberniae erga
Te et Sancti Petri cathedram ostendamus et operibus com-
probemus.
Denique dolore at amaro luctu obruti ad pedes sanctitatis
Tuae provoluti benedictionem pro nobis ct omnibus fidelibus
1 68
Letter of the Irish Bishops.
gregibus nostrae curae pastoral! commissis humillime ob-
secramus.
Sanctitatis Tuae,
Obedientissimi et obsequentissimi famuli,
Dublini, die 19 Octobris, 1870.
* PAULUS CARD. CULLEN,
Archiepus. Dublinensis.
* JOANNES,
Archiepus. Tuamensis.
* THOMAS FEENEY,
Epus. Alladensis.
*GULIELMUS DELANY,
Epus. Corcagiensis.
*GULIELMUS KEANE,
Epus. Cloynen.
* DAVID MORIARTY,
Epus. Ardferten et Agliadohen.
*DOMINICUS O'BRIEN,
Epus. Waterfordien. et Lismoren.
* LAURENTIUS GILLOOLY,
Epus. Elphinensis.
JOANNES MACEVILY,
Epus. Galviensis.
* PATRITIUS DORRIAN,
Epus. Dunen. et Connorien.
*NlCOLAUS CONATY,
Epus. Kilmorensis.
* JACOBUS DONNELLY,
Epus. Clogheren.
* JACOBUS LYNCH,
Coad. Epus. Kildar. et Leigh.
* DANIEL MURPHY,
Epus. Hobartoncnsis.
*TlMOTHEUS O'MAHONY,
Epus. Armidalensis.
* DANIEL M'GETTIGAN,
Archiepus. Armacanus.
* PATRITIUS LEAHY,
Archiepus. Casseliensis, &c.
*E. WALSHE,
Epus. Ossoriensis.
*FRANCISCUS KELLY,
Epus. Derriensis.
* PATRITIUS DURCAN,
Epus. Achadensis.
*J. P. LEAHY,
Epus. Dromorensis
e JACOBUS WALSHE,
Epus. Kildarien.etLeighlien.
* THOMAS FURLONG,
Epus. Femensis.
* MICHAEL O'HEA,
Epus. Rossen.
* GEORGIUS BUTLER,
Epus. Limericensis.
* THOMAS NULTY,
Epus. Midensis.
. *NICOLAUS POWER,
Epus. Sareptanus, Coadj.Laoneo.
*G. J. WHELAN,
Epus. Aureliopolitanus.
* THOMAS GRIMLEY,
Vic. Ap. Cap. Bona?. Spei.
* PETRUS DAWSON,
Vic. Cap. Ardachadensis.
169
DILECTO FILIO NOSTRO PAULO TITULI SANCTI
1'KTRI IN MONTE AUREO PRESBYTERO SANC-
TJE ROMANCE ECCLESI/E CARDINALI CULLEN
ARCHIEPISCOPO DUBLINENSI, CETERISQUE
VENERABILIBUS FRATRIBUS EPISCOPIS HI-
BERNLE.
Dilccte Fili Noster et Venerabiles Fratres, salutem et
Apostolicam Benedictionem. Quo vividior semper in hac
insula vestra, Dilecte Fili Noster ct Venerabiles Fratres, inter
ipsas aerumnas religio floruit, quo impensiore studio et obsequio
Vos, Clerusque et populus vester prosequuti constanter estis
et proscquimini Apostolicam hanc Sedem, eo etiam acerbius
afficii debuistis a consummatione sacrilegi illius sceleris, quo
Nos, reliqua civilis ditionis" Nostrai parte et ipsa principe urbe
spoliati, hostili commissi fuimus arbitrio, illaque privati
exteriore ministerii libertate, quam supremo muneri Nostro
obeundo plane necessarian! Ecclesia tota pronunciavit. Silicet
iivlignantes execrari debuistis violatum jus gentium, procul-
cata solemnia fcedera, vim brutam foedoe conjunctam
hypocrisi ad populos decipiendos, vulnus atrox Ecclesiae
in ejus Capite inflictum, immanem injuriam illatam universae
familiae Catholicae, religionem, mores, publicam privatamque
tranquillitatem summum in discrimen adductos. Et quoniam
sincera dilectio sejungi nescit ab opere, consistere ncquivistis
in hujusmodi indignationis sensibus, sed credito vobis populo
perspectum facere voluistis criminis impietatem, ne a vetera-
torum dissimulatione et fraudibus deciperetur, eumque
excitare ad oppressae Ecclesiae causam quae sua quoque est,
communi reclamatione, petitionibus, et omni, qua fas est,
ratione tuendam atque juvandam. Quae sane omnia cum de
sacrorum jurium agatur etreligionis defensione, si juxta leges
fiant et moderante ecclesiastica auctoritate, sicuti sincerum
religionis amorem praeferent et piirum divini honoris zelum,
sic nequibunt non esse perutilia. Sed acceptissimum omnium
habemus, Vos orationem cum piis operibus conjunctam sua-
sisse populo vestro et auribus omnium inculcasse. Utut enim
humana ope impetrata, coercerentur malorum cftcctus, resque
materiales restituerentur ; cum de bello agatur ad versus
Deum ubique ferme conflato, eumque e rejectis passim sanae
docrinae principiis invectaquc monstrosa errorum colluvie
manavcrint ille sacrarum rerum comtemptus illud cujusvis
auctoritatis odium ilia corruptio unde facinora proccsserunt,
quae lamentamur; parum certe proficeretur ncc quidquam
1 70 Documents.
duraturum constitui posset, nisi funditus ipsa malorum radix,
quod solius Dei est, extirpetur. Ad ipsum itaque clamare
non cessemus, ut exurgat tandem et judicet causam suam ;
et qui humanae pariter et religiosae societatis est auctor, utrique
periclitanti succurrat dispulsisque errorum tenebris et luce
veritatis reducta, det gloriam nomini suo, libertatem Ecclesiae,
orbi pacem. Nos gratissimo officiis vestris animo copiosa
caelestis gratiae munera vobis, Dilecte Fili Noster et Venera-
biles Fratres, Cleroque et populo uniuscujusque vestrum votis
omnibus adprecamur ; supernique favoris auspicem et praeci-
puae Nostrae benevolentiae testem Apostolicam Benedictionem
universis peramanter impertimus.
Datum Romae apud Sanctum Petrum die 17, Novembris,
anno 1870.
Pontificatus Nostri Anno Vicesimoquinto.
DOCUMENTS.
L— SANCTISSIMI DOMINI NOSTRI PII DIVINA
PROVIDENTIA PAPJE IX., EPISTOLA ENCYC^
LICA AD OMNES PATRIARCHAS PRIMATES,
ARCHIEPISCOPOS, EPISCOPOS ALIOSQUE LO-
CORUM ORDINARIOS GRATIAM ET COMMU-
NIONEM CUM APOSTOLICA SEDE HABENTES.
PIUS PP. IX.
VENERABILES FRATRES SALUTEM ET APOSTOLICAM
BENEDICTIONEM.
IXESPICIENTES ea omnia, quae Subalpinum Gubernium
pluribus ab annis non intermissis molitionibus gerit ad ever-
tendum civilem Principatum singulari Dei providentia huic
Apostolicae Sedi concessum, ut Beati Petri successores in
exercitio spiritualis suae jurisdictions necessaria ac plena liber-
tate et securitate uterentur, fieri non potest, W. FF., ut in
tanta contra Ecclesiam Dei et Sanctam hanc Sedem conspira-
tione intimo cordis Nostri dolore non moveamur ; atque hoc
tarn luctuoso tempore, quo idem Gubernium sectarum perdi-
tionis consilia sequens, sacrilegam almae Urbis Nostrae et re-
liquarum civitatum, quarum Nobis imperium ex superiori
usurpatione supererat, invasionem quam jamdiu meditabatur,
contra omne fas vi armisque complevit, dum Nos arcana Dei
consilia coram Ipso prostrati humiliter veneramur,illamprophe-
tae vocem usurpare cogimur "ego plorans et oculus^meus dedu-
Documents. \ 7 1
cens aquas, quia longe factus est a me consolator convertens
animam meam : facti sunt filii mei perditi quoniam invaluit
inimicus."1
Satis quidem W. FR, a Nobis exposita et catholico orbi
jamdiu patefacta est nefarii hujus belli historia, idque fecimus
pluribus Allocutionibus Nostris, Encyclicis, Brevibusque
litteris diverse tempore habitis aut datis, nempe diebus I
Novemb. an. 1850, 22 Jan. et 26 Julii 1855, 18 et 28 Julii et
26 Sept. 1859, 19 Jan. 1860, ac Apostolicis Litteris 26 Martii
1860, Allocutionibus deinde 28 Sept. 1860, 18 Martii et 30
Sept. 1 86 1 et2O Sept, 17 Octob. et 14 Novem. 1867. Horum
documentorumserie perspectae atque exploratae fiunt gravissi-
mae injuriae a Subalpino Gubernio iam ante ipsam Ecclesias-
ticae ditionis superioribus annis incoeptam occupationem
Supremos Nostrae et hujus Sanctae Sedis auctoritati illatae,
turn legibus contra naturale, divinum et ecclesiasticum jus
rogatis, turn sacris ministris, religiosis familiis et Episcopis
ipsis indignae vexationi subjectis, turn obligatam solemnibus
conventionibus cum eadem Apostolica Sede initis fidem in-
fringendo, atque earum inviolabilc jus praefracte denegando
vel eo ipso tempore, quo novas Nobiscum tractationes inire
velle significabat. Ex iisdem docu mentis plane liquet, VV.
FF., totaque videbit posteritas, quibus artibus et quam callidis
ac indignis molitionibus idem Gubernium ad justitiam et
sanctitatem jurium hujus Apostolicae Sedis opprimendam
pervenerit ; ac simul cognoscet quae curae Nostrae fue-
rint in illius audacia, quae augebatur in dies, quantum
in Nobis erat compescenda atque in Ecclesiae causa vindi-
canda. .Probe nostis anno 1859 ab ipsa Subalpina potestate
praecipuas Aemiliae civitates submissis scriptis, conspira-
toribus, armis, pecunia ad perduellionem fuisse excitatas ; nee
multo post, comitiis populi indictis, captatisque suffrages
plebiscitum confictum esse, eoque fuco et nomine provincias
Nostras in ea regione positas a paterno Nostro imperio, bonis
frustra refragantibus, avulsas. Perspectum quoque est, anno
deinde consequuto idem Gubernium ut alias hujus S. Sedis
provincias in Piseno, Umbria et Patrimonio sitas in praedam
suam converteret, dolosis pratextibus adductis, improviso
impetu milites Nostros et voluntariam Catholicae iuventutis
manum, quae religionis spiritu et pietate erga communem
Parentem adducta ex omni orbe ad defensionem Nostram
convolaverat, magno circumvenisse exercitu, eosque tarn
subitam irruptionem minime suspicantes, impavide tamen pro
religione certantes cruento proelio oppressisse. Neminem
Jfttet insignis ejusdem Gubcrnii impudentia et hypocrisis, qua
1 Jerem. thr. i. 16,
172 Documents.
ad minuendam sacrilegae hujus usurpations invidiam jactare
non dubitavit sc illas invasisse provincias ut principia moralis
ordinis ibi restitueret, dum tamcn rcipsa ubique falsac cujus-
que doctrinae diffusionem cultumque promovit, ubique cupidi-
tatibus ct impietati habenas laxavit, immcritas etiam poenas
sumens de Sacris Antistitibus, de Ecclesiasticis cujusque
gradus viris, quos in custodiam abripuit et publicis contumcliis
vexari pcrmisit, cum interea insectatoribus et iis qui ne
Supremi quidem Pontificatus dignitati in persona humilitatis
Nostrae parcebant, impune esse pateretur. Constat praeterea,
Nos debito officii Nostri munere non solum iteratis semper
obstitisse consiliis et postulationibus Nobis oblatis, quibus
agebatur ut officium Nostrum turpiter proderemus, vel scilicet
juribus et possessionibus Ecclesiae dimissis ac traditis, vel
nefaria cum usurpatoribus conciliatione inita ; verum etiam
Nos iniquis hisce ausibus et facinoribus contra omne humanum
et divinum jus perpetratis solemnes protestationes coram Deo
et hominibus opposuisse illorumque auctores et fautores
Ecclesiasticis censuris obstrictos declarasse et quatenus opus
esset iisdem censuris in illos denuo animadvertisse. Denique
exploratum est, praedictum Gubernium in sua contumacia
suisque machinationibus nihilominus perstitisse, rebellionem-
que in reliquis Nostris provinciis et in Urbe praescrtim promo-
vere immissis perturbatoribus ac omnis generis artibus sine
intermissione curavisse. Hisce autem conatibus minime ex
sententia procedentibus propter inconcussam Nostrorum
militum fidem, Nostrorumque populorum amorem ac studium
insigniter et constanter Nobis declaratum, turbulentam demum
illam tempestatem in Nos erupisse anno 1867, quum Autumni
tempore conversae in Nostros fines et hanc Urbem fuerunt
perditissimorum hominum cohortes scelere et furore inflam-
matae et subsidiis Gubernii ejusdem adjutae, quorum ex
numero occulti plures in ipsa hac Urbe pridem consederant ;
atque ab earum vi crudelitate et armis omnia Nobis Nostris-
que dilectissimis subditis acerba et cruenta timenda erant, uti
liquido apparuit, nisi Deus misericors earumdem impetus et
strenuitate Nostrarum copiarum et valido legionum auxilio
ab inclyta natione Gallica Nobis submisso irritos reddidisset.
In tot vero dimicationibus, in tanta periculorum, sollicitu-
dinum, acerbitatum serie maximum Nobis interim Divina
Providentia solatium conferebat ex praeclara vestra, W. FF.,
vestrorumque Fidelium crga Nos ethane Apostolicam Sedcm
pietate ac Studio, quod et insignibus significationibus editis et
catholicae charitatis operibus jugiter demonstrastis. Et
quamquam gravissima in quibus versabamur discrimina vix
aliquas Nobis inducias rclinqucrent, nihil tamcn unquam, Deo
Documents. 173
Nos confortante, curarum remisimus, quae ad temporalcm
subditorum Nostrorum prospcritatcm tuendam peftinebant ;
ac quae esset apud Nos tranquillitatis et securitatis publicae
ratio, quae optimarum quarumcumquedisciplinarum etartium
conditio, quae populorum Nostrorum erga Nos fides et voluntas
omnibus nationibus facile innotuit, ex quibus advenae frequen-
tissimi in hanc Urbcm occasione praesertim plurium celcbri-
tatum, quas peregimus, sacrorumque solemnium certatim omni
tempore confluxerunt.
Jamvero cum res ita se haberent nostrique populi tranquilla
pace fruerentur, Rex Subalpinus ejusque Gubernium capta
occasione ingentis inter duas potcntissimas Europae nationes
flagrantis belli, quarum cum altera pepigerant se inviolatum
servaturos praesentem ecclesiasticae ditionis statum, nee a fac-
tiosis violari passuros, protinus reliquas dominationis Nostrae
terras Sedemque ipsam Nostram invadere et in suam potesta-
tem redigere decreverunt. At quorsum haec hostilis invasio,
quaenam causae praeferebantur ? Notissima profecto cuique
sunt ea quae in Epistola Regis die 8 proxime elapsi
Septembris ad Nos data et per ipsius Oratorem ad Nos
destinatum Nobis tradita disseruntur, in qua longo
fallacique verborum et sentcntiarum ambitu, ostentatis
amantis filii et catholici hominis nominibus causaque obtenta
publici ordinis, Pontificatus ipsius et personae Nostrae servan-
dae, illud poscebatur, ne temporalis nostrae potestatis ever-
sioncm velut hostile facinus vellemus accipere, atque ultro
eadem potestate cederemus, futilibus confisi sponsionibus ab
ipso oblatis, quibus vota, ut ajebat, populorum Italiac cum
supremo spiritualis Romani Pontificis auctoritatis jure et liber-
tate conciliarentur. Nos equidem non potuimus non vehemen-
ter mirari, videntes qua ratione vis quae Nobis brevi inferenda
crat obtegi et dissimulari vellet, nee potuimus non dolere in-
timo animo vicem Regis ejusdem qui iniquis consiliis adactus
nova in dies Ecclesiae vulnera infligitethominum magis quam
Dei respectu habito non cogitat esse in caelis Regem regum et
Dominum dominantium, qui "non subtrahet personam
cujusquam, nee verebitur magnituclinem cujusquam quoniam
pusillum et magnum ipse fecit, fortioribus autem fortior
instat cfuciatio."1 Quod autem attinet ad propositas
Nobis postulationes cunctandum Nobis non esse censuimus,
quin officii et conscientiae legibus parentes, Pracdcces-
sorum Nostrorum exempla sequeremur, ac praesertim fel. rec.
Pii VII., cujus invicti animi sensa ab eo prolata in simili pror-
sus causa, ac Nostra est, hie uti Nobis communia exprimere ac
usurpare juvat " Memincramus cum S. Ambrosio2 Nabnth
1 Sap. VI. Set 9. • De Basil, trad. n. 17.
i/4 Documents.
Sanctum virum possessorem vincae suae interpcllatum petitione
regia ut vincam suam daret, ubi rex succisis vitibus olus vile
sercret, eumdtm rcspondisse : absit ut ego patrum mcorum tra-
dam hatreditatem. Multo hinc minus fas esse Nobis judicavi-
mus tarn antiquam ac sacram haereditatem (temporale scilicet
Sanctae hujus Sedis Dominium non sine evidenti Providentiae
divfriae consilio a Romanis Pontificibus preadecessoribus
Nostris tarn longa saeculorum serie possessum) tradere, aut vel
tacite assentiri ut quis Urbe principe Orbis Catholici potiretur,
ubi perturbata destructaque sanctissima regiminis forma, quae
a Jesu Christo Ecclesiae Sanctae Suae relicta fuit, atque a Sa-
cris canonibus Spiritu Dei conditis ordinata, in ejus locum
sufficeret Codicem non modo sacris Canonibus, sed Evangelicis
etiam praeceptis contrarium atque repugnantem, inveheretque,
ut assolet, novum hujusmodi rerum ordinem quiad consocian-
das confundendasque sectas superstitionesque omnes cum
Ecclesia Catholica manifestissime tendit.
" Nabuth vites suas vel proprio cruore defendit) Num po-
teramus Nos, quidquid tandem eventurum esset Nobis, non
jura possessionesque Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae defendere,
quibus servandis, quantum in Nobis est, solemnis jurisjurandi
Nos obstrinximus religione ? vel non libertatem Apostolicae
Sedis cum libertate atque utilitate Ecclesiae universae adeo
conjunctam vindicare ?
" Ac quam magna revera sit temporalis hujus Principatus
congruentia atque necessitas ad asserendum Supremo Ecclesiae
Capiti tutum ac liberum exercitum spiritualis illius, quae di-
vinitus Illi toto orbe tradita est, potestatis, ea ipsa, quae nunc
eveniunt (etiamsi alia deessent argumenta) nimis jam multa
demonstrant."2
His igitur inhaerentes sensibus quos in pluribus Allocution-
ibus Nostris constanter professi sumus, responsione Nostra ad
Regem data, injustas ejus postulationes reprobavimus, ita
tamen utacerbum dolorem Nostrum paternaecharitati conjunc-
tum ostenderemus, quae vel ipsos filios rebellem Absalon imi-
tantes nescit a sua sollicitudine removere. Hisce autem litteris
nondum ad Regem perlatis, ab ejus interea exercitu pontificiae
Nostrae ditionis intactae hactenus et pacificae urbes occupatae
fuerunt, praesidiariis militibus, ubi resistere conati fuerant,
facile disjectis ; ac brevi deinde infaustus ille dies proxime
elapsi Septembris vicesimus illuxit, quo hanc Urbem Aposto-
lorum Principis Sedem, Catholicae religionis centrum omnium-
que genitum perfugium multis armatorum millibus obsessam
vidimus, factaque murorum labe et excussorum missilium
terrore intra ipsam illato, vi et arm is expugnatam deplorare
1 S. Ambr. ibid. * Litt. Apost. 10 lun. 1809. •
Documents. 175
dcbuimus cjus jussu, qui paulo ante filiali in Nos afifectu et
fideli in rcligionem animo esse tarn insigniter professus fucrat
Quidnam Nobis ac bonis omnibus illo die luctuosius esse
potuit ? in quo copiis Urbem ingressis, magna factiosorum
adventita multitudine repleta Urbe, vidimus statim publici
ordinis rationem perturbatam et eversam, vidimus in Nostrae
humilitatis persona Supremi ipsius Pontificatus dignitatem et
sanctitatem impiis vocibus impetitam, vidimus fidelissimas
Nostrorum militum cohortes omni contumeliarum genere
affectas, atque effrenem late licentiam ac petulantiam domi-
nari, ubi paulo ante filiorum affectus communis Parentis moe-
rorem relevare cupientium eminebat. Ab eo deinde die ea sub
oculis nostris consequuta sunt, quae non sine iusta bonorum
omnium indignatione commemorari possunt : nefarii libri
mendaciis, turpitudine, impietate referti ad facilem emptionem
proponi coepti et passim disseminari ; multiplices ephemeri-
des in dies vulgari ad corrupteiam mentium et honesti moris
ad contemptum et calumniam religionis, ad inflammandam
contra Nos et hanc Apostolicam Sedem publicam opinionem
spectantes ; foedae indignaeque imagines publicari, aliaque
hujus generis opera, quibus res personaeque sacrae ludibrio
habentur et irrisioni publicae exponuntur ; decreti honores et
monumenta iis qui judicio et legibus poenas gravissimorum
criminum dederunt ; Ecclesiae ministri, in quos, omnis con-
flatur invidia, plures injuriis lacessiti, ac aliqui etiam prodi-
toris percussionibus sauciati ; nonnullae religiosae domus
injustis conquisitionibus subicctae ; violatae Nostrae Quirinales
domus, atque ex iis ubi Sedem habebat unus e S.R.E. Cardi-
nalibus violento jussu raptim abire coactus, aliique Ecclesi-
astici viri e familiarium Nostrorum numero ab illarum usu
exclusi et molestiis affecti ; leges et decreta edita quae liberta-
tem, immunitatem, proprietates et jura Ecclesiae Dei mani-
feste laedunt ac pessumdant ; quae mala gravissima latius
etiam nisi Deus propitius avertat, progressura esse dolemus,
dum Nos interim ab ullo aliquo remedio afferendo conditionis
Nostrae ratione praepediti vehementius in dies admonemur de
ea captivitate, in qua sumus ac de defectu plenae illius liber-
tatis, quam Nobis relictam esse in Apostolici Nostri ministerii
exercitio Orbi mendacibus verbis ostenditur, et necessariis,
quas appellant, cautionibus firmari velle ab intruso Gubernio
jactatur.
Neque hie praeterire possumus immane facinus quod vobis
profecto innotuit, W. FF. Perinde enim ac Sedis Apostolicac
possessiones et jura tot titulis sacra atque inviolabilia, ac per
tot saccula semper explorata ct inconcussa habita in contro-
\ crsiam ac disceptationem rcvocari possent, et quasi censurae
176 Documents.
gravissimae quibus ipso facto et absque ulla nova declaratione
violatores praedictorum jurium et possessionum innodantur,
popular! rcbellione atque audacia vim suam amittere possent
ad sacrilegam quam passi sumus expoliationem honestandam,
communi naturae ac gentium jure despecto, quaesitus est
ille apparatus ac ludicra plebisciti species alias in provinciis
Nobis ademptis usurpata ; et qui exultare sclent in rebus
pessimis hac occasione rebellionem et ecclesiasticarum censur-
arum contemptum, veluti triumphali pompa, per Italicas urbes
praeferre non erubuerunt, contra germana sensa longe maximae
Italorum partis, quorum religio devotio ac fides erga Nos et
Ecclesiam Sanctam multis modis compressa, quominus libere
manare possit, impeditur.
Nos interim qui a Deo universae domui Israel regendae et
gubernandae praepositi et supremi religionis ac justitiae
vindices et Ecclesiae jurium defensores constituti sumus, ne
coram Deo et Ecclesia tacuisse ac silentio Nostro tam iniquae
rerum perturbationi assensum praestitisse redarguamur, reno-
vantes et confimantes, quae in superius citatis Allocutionibus
Encyclicis ac Brevibus litteris alias solemniter declaravimus
ac Novissime in protestatione, quam jussu ac nomine Nostro
Cardinalis publicis negotiis praepositus ipso vicesimo Septem-
bris die, ad Oratores, Ministros et Negotiorum gestores exter-
arum nationum apud Nos et hanc S. Sedem commorantes
dedit, solemniori quo possumus modo iterum coram Vobis,
W. FR, declaramus, Nostram mentem propositum et volun-
tatem esse omnia hujus S. Sedis dominia ejusdemque jura
integra intacta inviolata retinere atque ad successores Nostros
transmittere ; quamcumque eorum ursurpationem, tam modo
quam antea factam, injustam violentam nullam irritamque
esse, omniaque perduellium et invasorum acta, sive quae
hactenus gesta sunt, sive quae forsitan in posterum gerentur
ad praedictam usurpationem quoquo modo confirmandam,
a Nobis etiam nunc pro tune damnari, rescindi cassari et
abrogari. Declaramus practerea et protestamur coram Deo
et universe orbe Catholico Nos in ejusmodi captivitate
versari, ut supremam Nostram pastoralem auctoritatem
tuto expedite ac libere minime exercere possimus. Tandem
monito illi S. Paulli obtemperantes " Quae partici-
patio injustitiae cum iniquitate ? aut quae societas luci
ad tenebras ? Quae autem conventio Christi ad Belial,"1
palam aperteque edicimus ac declaramus, Nos memores officii
Nostriet solemnis iurisiurandi quo tenemur nulliunquam con-
ciliation! assentiri vel assensum praestituros quae ullo modo
jura Nostra atque adeo Dei et Sanctae Sedis destruat vel
1 2 Cor. cap. VI. 14 et 15.
Documents. 177
imminuat : itidcmque profitcmur Nos paratos quidcm divinae
gratiae auxilio, gravi Nostra aetatc, usque ad fcccm pro Christi
Ecclcsia caliccm bibere qucm Ipsc prior bibcrc pro cadem
dignatus cst, nunquam commissures ut iniquis postulationibus
quae Nobis offcruntur adhacrcamus atquc obsccundemus.
Uti enim praedeccssor Noster Pius VII. ajcbat : " vim huic
summo Sedis Apostolicae impcrio affere, tcmporalem ipsius
potestatem a spirituali discerpere, Pastoris et Principis munia
dissociare, divellcre, exscindere, nihil aliud est nisi opus Dei
pessumdare ac pcrdere velle, nihil nisi dare operam ut Rcligio
maximum detrimentum capiat, nihil nisi earn efficacissimo
spoliare praesidio, ne summus ipsius Rector, Pastor Deique
vicarius in Catholicos quoquo terrarum sparsos alque inde auxi-
lium et opcm flagitantes, confcrre subsidia possit, quae a
spirituali Ipsius, per nemincm impedienda, petuntur potes-
tate."1
Quoniam vero Nostra monita, expostulationes et protesta-
tiones in irritum cesserunt, idcirco auctoritate omnipotentis
Dei, SS. Apostolorum Petri et Pauli ac Nostra Vobis, W.
FR, ac per Vos universae Ecclcsiae declaramus, eos omncs
qualibet dignitate etiam specialissima mentione digna, ful-
gentes, qui quarumcumque provinciarum Nostrae ditionis atque
almae hujus Urbis invasionem, usurpationem, occupationem
vel eorcm aliqua perpctrarunt, itcmque ipsorum mandantes,
fautores, adjutores, consiliarios, adhaerentes vel alios quoscum-
que praedictarum rerum exequutionem quolibet praetextu ct
quovis modo procurantes vel per seipsos excquentes, majorcm
excommunicationem aliasque censuras et poenas ecclesiasticas
a sacris Canonibus, Apostolicis constitutionibus et gencralium
Conciliorum, Tridentini pracsertim (Sess. 22. c. II de Reform.)
decretis inflictas incurrisse juxta formam et tcnorem cxpressum
in supcrius commcmoratis Apostolicis litteris Nostris die 26
Mart. a. 1860 datis.
Memorcs vero Nos ejus locum tenere in terris qui venit
quaerere et salvum facere quod perierat, nihil magis optamus
quam devios filios ad Nos revertentes paterna charitate com-
plccti ; quare Icvantes manus Nostras in caelum in humilitate
cordis Nostri dum Deo, cujus cst potius quam Nostra, justissi-
mam causam rcmittimus et commcndamus, Eum per viscera
misericordiae suae obsecramus obtestamurque, ut adsit prae-
senti auxilio Nobis, adsit Ecclcsiae suae, ac miscricors et pro-
pitius efficiat ut hostes Ecclesiac aeternam perniciem quam
sibi moliuntur cogitantes, formidandam ejus justitiam ante
diem vindictae placare contcndant, et mutatis consiliis
l Alloc. I CMartii 1808.
VOL. VII. 12
i/8 Decree placing the whole Church
Sanctae Matris Ecclesiae gemitus Nostrumque moerorem
consolentur.
Quoverohujusmondi tarn insignia beneficia a divina demen-
tia assequamur, Vos enixe ac summopere hortamur, W. FF.,
ut una cum Fidelibus cujusque Vestrum curaeconcreditis, ves-
tras fervidas preces Nostris votis conjungatis, atque omnes
simul ad thronum gratiae et misericordiae adeuntes Immacu-
latam Deiparam Virginem Mariam et Beatos Apostolos Pe-
trum et Paullum depracatores adhibeamus. " Ecclesia Dei
ab exortu sui usque ad haec tempora pluries tribulata est,
et pluries liberata est. Ipsius vox est : saepe expugnaverunt
me ajuventute mea, ctcnini non potuentnt miki. Supra dor sum
tneum fabricaverunt pcccatores, prolongaverunt iniquitatem
suam. Nee nunc quoque relinquet Dominus vigam peccatorum
super sortem justorum. Non est abbreviata manus Domini,
nee facta impotens ad salvandum. Liberabit et hoc tempore
absque dubio sponsam suam qui suo sanguine redemit earn,
suo spiritu dotavit, donis caelestibus exoraavit, ditavit nihilo-
minus et terrenis."1
Interim uberrima caelestium gratiarum munera Vobis, W.
FF., cunctisque Clericis Laicisque Fidelibus cujusque Vestrum
vigilantiae commissis a Deo ex animo adprecantes, praecipuae
Nostrae ergo vos charitatis pignus Apostolicam Benedictionem
Vobis Ipsis eisdemque Dilectis Filiis ex intimo corde deprom-
tam peramanter impertimus.
Datum Romae apud S. Petrum die I Novembris Anno
MDCCCLXX.
Pontificatus Nostri Anno Vicesimoquinto.
PIUS PP. IX.
DECREE PLACING THE WHOLE CHURCH UNDER
THE PATRONAGE OF ST. JOSEPH.
DECRETUM.
URBIS ET ORBIS.
Quemadmodum Deus Josephum ilium a Jacob Patriarcha
progenitum praepositum constituerat universae terrae Aegypti
ut populo frumenta servaret, ita temporum plenitudine adven-
tante cum Filium suum Unigenitum mundi Salvatorem in
1 S. Bern. Ep. 244. ad Conradum Reg.
Under tJu Patronage of St. Joseph. 179
terram missurus esset alium srlegit Josephum, cujus ille primus
typum gestaret, quemque fecit Dominumet Principem domus
ac possessionis suae, principaliumque thesaurorum suorum
custodem elegit. Siquidem desponsatam sibi habuit Immacu-
latam Virginem Mariam, ex qua de Spiritu Sancto natus est
Dominus Noster Jesus Christus, qui apud homines putari
dignatus est filius Joseph, illique subditus fuit. Et quern tot
reges ac prophetae videre exoptaverant iste Joseph non tantum
vidit, sed cum eo conversatus, eumque paterno affectu corn-
plexus, deosculatusque est ; necnon solertissime enutrivit
quern populus fidelis uti panem de coelo descensum sumeret
ad vitam acternam consequendam. Ob sublimem hanc digni-
tatem quam Deus fidelissimo huic servo suo contulit, semper
Beatissimum Josephum post Dciparam Virginem ejus Spon-
sam Ecclesia summo honore ac laudibus prosecuta est, ejus-
demque interventum in rebus anxiis imploravit. Verum cum
tristissimis hisce temporibus Ecclesia ipsa ab hostibus undi-
que insectata adeo gravioribus opprimatur calamitatibus, ut
impii homines portas inferi advcrsus earn tandem praevalere
autumarent, ideo, Venerabiles universi Orbis Catholici Sacro-
rum Antistites suas ac Christifidclium eorum curae concredit-
orum preces Summo Pontificio porrexerunt, quibus petebant
ut Sanctum Josephum Catholicac Ecclesiae Patronum con-
stituere dignaretur. Deinde cum in Sacra Oecumenica Syno-
do Vaticana easdem postulationes etvota enixius renovassent,
Sanctissimus Dominus Noster PIUS Papa IX. nuperrima ac
luctuosa rerum conditione commotus ut potentissimo Sancti
Patriarchae Josephi patrocinio Se ac Fideles omnes commit-
teret Sacrorum Antistitum votis satisfacere voluit, eumque
CATHOLICAE ECCLESIAE PATRONUM solemniter
declaravit ; illiusque festum die decimanona Martii occurrens,
in posterum sub ritu duplici primac classis, attamen sine octava
ratione Quadragesimae, celebrari mandavit. Disposuit insuper
ut hac die Deiparae Virgini Immaculatae ac castissimi Josephi
Sponsae sacra hujusmodi declaratio per praesens Sacrorum
Rituum Congregationis Decretum publici juris fierit. Con-
trariis non obstantibus quibuscumque.
Die VIII. Decembris anni 1870.
C. EPISCOPUS OSTIEN. ET VELITERNEN.
CARD. PATRIZI S. R. C. PRAEF.
Loco * Sigilli
D. Bartolini S. R. C. Secretaries.
1 80 Decree.
EPISTOLA CIRCULARIS
Rme. Domine
Sanctissimus Dominus Noster PIUS Papa IX. satisfacere
volens postulationibus omnium ferme Sacrorum Antistitum
in Oecumenica etiam Vaticana Synodo manifestatis Sanctum
Patriarcham Josephum Deiparae Virginis Sponsum declaravit
Ecclesiae Catholicae Patronum, ut ipsa in misserima hac tem-
porum augustia plurimis exagitata calamitatibus, iilius patro-
cinio destructis tandem adversitatibus ac erroribus universis
secura Deo serviat libertate. Etsi autem Sanctissimus idem
Dominus praefati Sancti Josephi natale Festum die XIX.
Martii occurrens sub ritu duplici primae classis in posterum
celebrari mandaverit, tamem a redintegrando in eodem Festo
duplici praecepto sese absttnuit, voluitque ut per praesentes
Sacrorum Rituum Congregationis Litteras significaretur Lo-
corum Ordinariis Se libenter eoram votis esse satisfacturum
si Ordinarii ipsi inspectis Locorum ac Temporum nee non
resnectivi Gubernii voluntate ita in Domino expedire judican-
tes supplicia vota sua huic Sanctae Sedi Apostolicae porrex-
erint ad redintegrationem in hujusmodi Festo utriusque prae-
cepti.
Interim ut Amplitudo Tua diu felix et incolumis evadat
ex animo adprecor.
Ex Secretaria Sacrorum Rituum Congregationis hac die
8 Decembris 1870.
Uti Frater.
C. EP. OSTIEN. ET VELITERNEN.
CARD. PATRIZI S. R. C. PRAEF.
Dominicus Bartolini S. R. C. Secretarius.
Rmo. Domino
Ordinario
DECREE OF THE S. CONGREGATION OF RITES
REGARDING THOSE SAINTS WHOSE MEMORY
HAS BEEN CHERISHED FROM TIME IMME-
MORIAL.
BERGOMEN.
DECRETUM GENERALE.
PRO CULTORIBUS HISTORIAE ECCLESIASTICAE ET SACRAE
ARCHEOLOGIAE AGENTIBUS, DE SANCTIS, QUI IN
POSSESSIONE SUNT PUBLICI CULTUS A SANCTA
SEDE RECOGNITA ET ADPROBATA.
" R. Pater Victor De Buck e Societate Jesu commentarium
quoddam de Sancta Eusebia Give Bergomate Virgine et
Martyre in Lucem edidit in volumine duodecimo Actorum
Sanctorum Bollandianae Collectionis ad diem 29 Octobris,
quo in commentario plura congessit argumenta, quibus ipse
martyrium inficiari conatus est, non solum Sanctae ipsius
Eusebiae, sed et Sanctorum Domni et Domnionis ac aliorum
martyrum Bergomensium. Quum autem praefati Sancti
Eusebia Domnus et Domnio inter Patronos minus principales
Civitatis recenseantur ac insigni devotionis ac pietatis sensu
a concivibus suis honorentur, ad avertendum scandalum, quod
praefata opinio inter fideles praesertim Civitatis Bergomae,
erit allatura, Rmus. D. Petrus Aloisius Speranza Episcopus
Bergomen, supplici dato libello, Sacrorum Rituum Congrega-
tionem adiit enixe deprecans, ut hujus negotii examen ipsa
susciperet, ac decerneret quid sentiendum esset de hujus
Bollandiani Scriptoris commentario. Instante itaque prae-
fato Rmo. Episcopo, Emus, et Rmus. D. Cardinalis
Carolus Sacconi hujus Causae Ponens designatus in ordinariis
Comitiis hodierna die ad Vaticanum habitis sequens dubium
discutiendum proposuit, nimirum "An Argumenta allata a
Patre de Buck probent in casu ?"
" Emi. porro ac Rmi. Patres sacris tuendis Ritibus
praepositi, licet prae oculis habuerint summam utilitatem
quam Ecclesiae Catholicae attulit magna Bollandiana Collectio
adversus heterodoxorum de Cultu Sanctorum commenta ;
tamen, accuratissime perpensis omnibus Documentis ad
Causae hujus elucidationem copiose adductis, hanc edixere
sententiam, videlicet "Argumenta allata a patre De Buck
1 82 Letter of His Holiness to Sister M. F. Clare,
adversus traditionem, quae respicit Sanctos Martyres de quibus
agitur, nihil probant" Die 2O August! 1870.
" Facta autem de praedictis per infrascriptum Sacrae
ejusdem Congregationis Secretarium SSmo. Domino
Nostro Pio Papae IX. fideli relatione, Sanctitas Sua senten-
tiam Sacrae Congregationis ratam habere ac confirmare
dignata est. Mandavit insuper ut admoneantur omnes
Cultores studiorum Historiae Ecclesiasticae et Sacrae Archeo-
logiae, ut quandocumque agitur de Sanctis vel Beatis, qui,
approbante SanctA Sede, sunt in possessions publici Cultus
Ecclesiastic^ caute se gerant, ac pre oculis habeant regulas Jiac
de retraditas a Benedicto XIV. in Litter is Apostolicis de nova
Martyrologii Romani Editione n. 2 et 1 8 : De Servorum Dei
Beatificatione et Canonizatione Lib. IV. Par. II. Cap. XVII.
n 9 et 10. Ibidfm Lib. IV. Part. II. Cap XIII. n. 7 et 8,
ubi agitur de Breviario Romano. Die I Septembris anni
ejusdem."
C. Episcopus Portuen. et S. Rufinae
CARD PATRIZI S. R. C. Praefectus
Loco * Sigilli.
Dominicus Bartolini S. R. C. Secretarius,
LETTER OF HIS HOLINESS TO SISTER M. F.
CLARE, CONGRATULATING HER ON THE
LIFE OF ST. PATRICK.
DILECTAE IN CHRISTO FILIAE, MARIAE FRANCISCAE CLARAE,
E SORORIBUS SANCTAE CLARAE.
PIUS PAPA IX.
DILECTA in Christo Filia, Salutem et Apostolicam Benedic-
tionem. Gratulamur tibi, Dilecta in Christo Filia, quod pro-
lixum ac difficile opus, cui vix pares esse posse sexus tui vires
videbantur, ad exitum perduxeris ea felicitate, quae piorum
ac doctorum laudes promeruerit. Nee gaudemus tantum
quod per scitam copiosamque lucubrationem hanc gloriam
promoveris insignis Hiberniae Apostoli, Sancti Patritii, pieta-
temque fidelium in eumdem succenderis ; sed etiam de Ec-
clesia tota bene merucris. Nam per ipsam descriptionem
gestorum tanti viri, largita hominibus a Catholica religione
beneficia. subiecisti oculis ita, ut in dubium revocari nequeant,
Congratulating her on the Life of St. Patrick. 1 83
Nee cnim sola fidci lux occurrit ab ilia allata, ad populum,
qui sedebat in tenebris et in umbra mortis, sed feri ac barbari
mores ita simul reformati et compositi, ut insula isthaec, veluti
in alium con versa, Insula Sanctorum appellari meruerit. Clerus
autem ab eodem ubique constitutus, una cum religione ac
pietate ita coluit promovitque scientiam, ut dum Europa tota
barborum incursu vastabatur, et opprimebatur ignorantiae
tenebris, tutum litteris ac disciplinis perfugium exhibuerit, et
confluentem undique juventutem sic exceperit et excoluerit,
ut complures inde prodierint diversarum nationum apostoli
innumerique viri sanctitate et doctrina celleberrimi. Atque
tanti viri donum Hibernia debuit huic Apostolicae Sedi; et is
non aliam Hibernis doctrinam attulit, quam quae tradebatur
ab eadem sede, quaeque jam a christianae religionis exordiis
gentes superstitioni erroribusque mancipatis, foedoque volup-
tatum omnium coeno demersas, erexerat, caritate consocia-
verat, et ad vitae cultum hominis nobilitate dignum tradux-
erat. Quae quidem facta cum calumnias ignorantiae, obscu-
rantismi, regressus, quibus passim Ecclesia et sanca haec sedes
impetuntur, evidentissime refellant ; vita certe Sancti Patritii
a te concinnata eo merito draestat, ut hoc beneficium cuique
exhibuerit eo praestantius ac validius quod ultra fluat ab ipsa
factorum narratione. Cum autem perennitatem fructuum
operis Sanctissimi Praesulis demiremur in constantia tuae
gentis nulla unquam insectatione, vi, machinatione, calamitate
dejecta per tot saecula ; non immerito confidimus fore, ut per
instauratam nunc a te veterum eventuum ac gloriae memoriam
piissimus hie populus studiosius etiam incendi debeat ad
preclara majorum suorum vestigia terenda. Hunc certe suc-
cessum ominamur labori tuo, dum divini favoris auspicem, et
paternae, Nostrae benevolentiae pignus, Apostolicam Bene-
dictionem tibi et sororibus tuis peramanter impertimus.
PIUS PP. IX.
Datum Romae apud S. Petrum
die 6 Octobris, Ano 1870.
Pontificatus Nostri Anno Vicesimoquinto.
1 84
MONASTICON HIBERNICUM,
OR,
A SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE ANCIENT
MONASTERIES OF IRELAND.
[N.B. — Thetextofthe "Monasticon" is taken verbatim from Archdall : the notes
marked with numbers are added by the Editors.]
COUNTY OF CORK.*
1484. In a general chapter of this order, held at Rome
the loth of November, a licence was granted to Maurice
Moral, prior provincial, to reform this convent.w
e,p. 87.
* The site of the present city of Cork was, in the beginning of the sixth century,
a low, marshy tract, through the centre of which flowed the waters of the Lee.
When this river overflowed its banks the whole country presented the appearance
of an immense lake, which was called in those early times Lough Eirce.
It was at the source of the river Lee, near Lough Allua, that St. Finbarr erected
his first cell ; and to the present day that district, now situated in the parish of
Inchigeelagh, recalls his memory in the classic name of " Cougane Barra" which
means " the lonely retreat of St. Finbarr." Thence, however, he soon removed to
the banks of Lough Eirce, and erected there his chief school and monastery, which
became so illustrious for its learning and sanctity, that innumerable students and
pilgrims flocked to it from every part of our island. '' Here in this solitude the saint
laid the foundation of his monastic establishment : it grew rapidly, became a crowded
city, a school for learning, a college for religion, a receptacle for holy men, a sanc-
tuary for the oppressed, an asylum for the poor, an hospital for the sick. " — (Hairs
Ireland, ii., 214.)
From the peculiarity of the site chosen for the monastery, the city received its
name of Corcach Bascain, or simply Corcach, that is, 'a marsh.'
Colgan has given a short account of this famous school, and preserved the names
of some of the most illustrious saints who flourished there: — "After these things,
St. Barra came to a place which in the Irish language is called Loch-Erce, near
which he constructed a monastery, to which, as to the abode of wisdom, and sanc-
tuary of all Christian virtues, disciples flowed in crowds from every quarter in so
great numbers, through zeal of holiness, that, from the multitude of the monks and
cells, it changed that desert, as it were, into a large city : for from that school
which he instituted there, numerous men came, remarkable for holiness of life and
the praise of learning, amongst whom were conspicuous St. Eulangius or Eulogius,
the instructor of St. Barra himself, St. Colman, of Dore Dhunchon, St. Bathinus,
St. Nessan, St. Garbhan, son of Findbarr, St. Talmach, St. Finchad of Ross-
ailithir, St. Lucerus, St. Cumanus, St. Lochinus of Achadh-airaird, St. Carinus,
St. Fintanus of Ros-coerach, St. Euhel de Roscoerach, St. Trellanus of Druim-
draighniche, St. Coelchuo, St. Mogenna, St. Modimochus, St. Sanctanus, and St.
Lugerius, son of Columb. All these, and many others that came from that very
celebrated school, by the merits of holiness and virtue, constructed cells in different
places, and consecrated themselves and all these to St. Barra, their father and
master, and his successors." — (Acta Sanctorum, p. 607.)
The name of St. Findbarr holds a prominent place in the early history of the
Irish Church. St. Cuimin of Connor, in his poem on the characteristic virtues of
our saints, writes : —
"Fin-Barr, the torch of wisdom, loved
Humility towards all men ;
He never saw in pressing distress
Any one whom he would not relieve, "
A ncitnt Monasteries of Ireland. \ 8 5
2Oth December, 35th King Henry VIII. a grant was
made to William Boureman of this monastery and its ap-
Tn the ancient list of Irish saints, which illustrates their lives by comparison with
the saints of other nations, St. Finbarr, who is styled "Bishop of Minister and
Connaught," is placed in parallel with St. Augustine, the apostle of England. —
(Liber Ilymnorum, I.A.S., p. 70. )
The martyrology of Donegal marks St. Bairre's festival on the 25th of September.
The martyrology of Tallaght on that day gives the feast of Barrind Corcaige, but
adds, on the 26th of September vel hie, Barrind Corcaighe. In the famous Cata-
logue of the Three Orders of Irish Saints, published by Fleming and Usher, the
name of S. Barrindau appears among the saints of the second order. Marianus
O'Gorman, in his metrical martyrology, prays:
"May the noble Baire from Corcach
Be before me to the great land,
For he is blooming-sweet to the poor."
St. ./Engus, in his Ff/irf, also commemorates on the 25th of September :
"The solemnity of the beloved man,
The festival of Bairre from Corcach."
And the note is added in the Leabhar Breac: — "This is the festival of Bairre
from Corcach : he was of the race of Brian, son of Eochaidh Muidhmhedhoinn,
and it is in Achadh Cill-Clochair, or Drochait, in Aird-Uladh on this day with
Bairre." There is evidently an omission in this note, which is thus supplied in the
Roman MS. of the felirt : — "Of the race of Brian Mac Eochaidh M. was Bairre
of Corcach, and it is in Achadh Cill-Clochair. or at Drochait in Aird-Uladh, that
his festival is kept ; or it is the feast of lomchadh that is kept in Cill-Clochair at
Ard-Uladh on this day with llairre."
Two ancient Latin lives of St. Finbarr were published by Mr. Caulfield in 1864.
In the Irish life preserved in the Brussels MSS. the virtues of the saint are thus
compendiated : — "His humility, his piety, his charity, his abstinence, his prayers
by day and by night, won him great privileges : for he was godlike and pure of
heart and mind, like Abraham ; mild and well-doing, like Moyses; a psalmist, like
I >a\ id ; wise, like Solomon; firm in the laith, like Peter; devoted to the truth, like
Paul the Apostle; and full of the Holy Spirit, like John the Baptist. He was a
lion of strength, and an orchard full of apples of sweetness, \\hen the time of his
death arrived, after erecting churches and monasteries to God, and appointing over
them bishops, priests, and other degrees, and baptising and blessing districts and
people, Barra went to Kill na-Cluana (i.e. Cloyne), and with him went Fiana, at
the desire of Cormac and Baoithin, where they consecrated two churches. Then
he said, ' It is time for me to quit this corporeal prison, and to go to the heavenly
King who is now calling me to Himself.' And then Barra was confessed, and
received the Holy Sacrament from the hand of Fiana, and his soul went to heaven,
at the cross which is in the middle of the Church of Cloyne ; and there came
bishops, priests, monks, and disciples, on his death being reported, to honour him.
And they took him to Cork, the place of his resurrection, honouring him with
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs ; and the angels bore his soul with joy un-
speakable to heaven, to the company of the patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and
disciples of Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Trinity, the Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost."
We will not attempt to give in detail any sketch of the life of this great saint.
A few facts will suffice for our present purpose: — "This most holy and elect of
God, and most worthy priest, Barr(it is thus his ancient Latin life begins), was born
of the sept called loruin-Katha, of Connaught, whose territory in after times
became the Diocese of Enaghdune." He had for his master a religious named
Corporitts, styled in our Irish calendars Mac-Cuirp, who himself had been trained
to piety in Rome, in the monastery of St. Gregory the Great. St. Finbarr was
remarkable for miracles from his infancy ; and it is recorded in his life that, in
company with SS. Colgu, Macdhoc, and David, and twelve religious of his own
monastery, he made a pilgrimage to Rome. St, Gregory the Great predicted his
1 86 A ncient Monasteries of Ireland.
purtenances, with three small gardens containing two acres,
a water-mill, two stangs of land, a fishing pool, half a sal-
mon-weir, three acres of arable land called the Half Skeagh-
promotion to the episcopate, which was fulfilled on his return to Ireland ; and at
the same time a fountain of oil, symbolical of the abundance of graces with which
his ministry should enrich our Church, sprung forth in that spot, " close to the altar,
where a cross was in after times erected, and where the saint's remains were also
for a time deposited." — (Lynch 's MS. Hist.)
Having governed his monastery and see for seventeen years, St. Finbarr was
summoned to his heavenly reward, and the 25th of September is marked in all the
ancient calendars for his festival. It was at the monastery of Cloyne, fifteen miles
from Cork, that St. Finbarr rested in peace ; but his remains were translated to his
own great monastery, and being deposited for a while beneath the monumental
cross at his cathedral church, they were subsequently encased in a silver shrine, and
exposed to the veneration of the faithful. They were thus preserved till the year
1089, when, as the Annals of Innisfallen relate, "A fleet, with Dermot O'Brien,
devastated Cork, and carried away the relics of Barre from Cill-na-Clerich."
St. Nessan, the immediate successor of St. Finbarr, was also renowned for his
sanctity : he died in the year 551. So numerous were the holy men who flourished
here, or wished their remains to be interred in the great Sanctuary of Lough-Eirce,
that St. ^Engus, about the year 800, writes : — " Seventeen holy bishops, and seven
hundred favoured servants of God, who rest in Cork with Barri and Nessan, whose
names are written in the heavens — all these I invoke unto my aid, through Jesus
Christ." And again, he invokes all the saints who, by their prayers and peniten-
tial deeds, had sanctified that district : — "Three hundred and fifty holy bishops,
three hundred and fifty priests, three hundred and fifty deacons, three hundred and
fifty exorcists, three hundred and fifty lectors, three hundred and fifty ostiarii, and
all the saints, with the blessing of God, in Loch Eirchi, in the territory of Mus-
craighe and Hy-Eachach Cruadha, as is said :
" The protection of Loch Irchi,
In which is a sweet-toned bell :
Numerous as leaves upon trees,
Are the saints who around it dwell.
"All these I invoke to my aid, through Jesus Christ." — (Irish Ecelesiastical
Record, vol. iii., p. 391.)
Among the sacred treasures of Cork was preserved a copy of the Gospels, tran-
scribed by St. Finbarr, and encased in a precious shrine: — " Evangelium sacris
Sancti Barrii digitis exscriptum librum gemmis auroque ornatum. " — (Lynches MS.)
Towards the close of the loth century, Columb Mac Kieregan sent this relic, borne
by two priests, as a protection to Mahoun Mac Kennedy, King of Munster. It
was brought back stained with that prince's blood, and our annalists relate that
Bishop Cormac, raising his hands to heaven, uttered a prophecy (inserted in the
' Wars of the Danes,' p. 93,) in which, execrating the dread sacrilege which had
been perpetrated, he prophetically foretold the future fate of the murderers.
St. Bernard, in his life of St. Malachy, has preserved to us an interesting account
of the appointment of a bishop of this see in the year 1 140. We will give in full
the narrative of this great doctor of the Church : — " About the year 1 140 a vacancy
occurred in the see of Cork ; dissensions followed, each party being desirous of
electing one pleasing to themselves, heedless of the choice of God. Malachy hear-
ing of such dissensions, proceeded thither. Having assembled the clergy and
people, he restored to union their hearts and their desires, for all agreed to leave
the selection of their future bishop to him whose pastoral solicitude extended to that
and to all the other churches of Ireland. He then chose for the see, not one of
the princes of the land, but one from among the poor, whom he knew to be holy
and learned, and one, moreover, who was not a native of that diocese. This person
being sought for, was found laid up with illness, and so weak that he was unable to
proceed abroad, except when borne on the arms of assistants. Then Malachy said,
'In the name of God I command him to arise: obedience will restore him to
health.' What was the poor man now to do ? He was anxious to ohf y, but he was
A ncient Monasteries of Ireland. \ 87
begge, ten other acres of arable, and twenty acres of arable
and twenty of pasture in Galverston ; to hold the same in
capite for ever, at the annual rent of 6s. ox/, sterling. ww
1578. This year, in the month of October, to the great
^•Aud. Gen.
unprepared to do so ; and even were he able to go thither, yet he feared the epis-
copal ministry. Thus the twofold enemy of sickness and fear of the burden strug-
gled against his desire to obey; nevertheless this was victorious, the hope of salva-
tion coming to its aid. Therefore he makes an effort ; he raises himself up ; he
tries his strength ; he finds that his strength has increased. With his material
strength his faith also increases, and this, too, becoming more robust, reflects its
firmness on his physical powers. And now he arises by himself ; he moves about
without difficulty; he feels no fatigue in walking. At length, without the help of
an assistant, he proceeds, sane and courageous, to Malachy, who placed him in the
see, amidst the applause of the clergy and people. Thus was all done in peace :
for, seeing the miracle, no one dared to resist the decision of Malachy, and neither
did he who was chosen make further opposition, seeing that the will of God was
so manifestly made known." — {Vita S. Malackta, cap. viii.)
Lynch, in his MS. History, justly supposes that the holy bishop thus chosen by
St Malachy was Giolla-Aedha O Muidhin, who took part in the Synod of Kells
in 1 152, and who is celebrated in our Annals as " a man full of the grace of God,
the tower of virginity and of wisdom in his time." He was of the Muinter-aedh,
on the borders of Lough Con, and as he was still living when St. Bernard wrote,
his name is not mentioned in the above narrative. He restored the church and
rebuilt the monastery which, in after times, was called from him " Gille- Abbey"
His death is marked in our Annals in the year 1172.
He was succeeded by Bishop Gregory, who governed the see fourteen years.
He made a grant of the Church of St. Nessan, in Cork, to the monks of St.
Thomas, Dublin, together with its lands, tithes, and other offerings, on condition
of the payment of a cask of wine annually. A charter of Dermot, King of
Munster, during his episcopate, makes known to us another church of this city,
dedicated to St. John the Evangelist. This important document is as follows : —
"Dermot, by favour of Divine Providence, King of Munster, to all the faithful
people greeting and peace for ever,
" Being fully persuaded of the fleeting nature of human memory, and of the
unstable pomp of a perishable world, we have on that account decreed to record
in writing the affectionate zeal with which our father, Cormac of blessed memory,
King of Munster, built and confided to the protection of his people the Church of
St, John the Apostle and Evangelist, at Cork, lor the use of Archbishop Maurice
and his successors, and for the pilgrims out of Connaught, the compatriots of
St. Barre.
" And now having succeeded to our paternal Kingdom, relying upon the Divine
assistance, we have undertaken, for the salvation of our soul, and of the souls of
our parents, to defend the said church in such manner as it becomes royal munifi-
cence to do, and to re-edify and enlarge the same, in honour of the saints under
whose protection the said place is known to be". Be it therefore known to all the
faithful, that we do confirm, for all time to come, to the said foundation, all that
the said place now justly possesses, either by the paternal donation, or by the
grants of other kings ; for my glorious father, the King, bestowed upon the said
place Lysnoldarrah, and Diarmid O'Connor endowed it with Aillina Carrigh.
" And be it known, furthermore, that we have ourselves granted to the said pil-
grims the lands of Ilia, and by this our charter do confirm the same : and our illus-
trious son Cormac, at the request of Catholicus, Archbishop of Tuam, has granted
in perpetuity to God and to St. John, the lands of Maeldulgi, for the salvation of
his soul and of ours, to be enjoyed freely and without molestation, and exempt
from all secular services, which grant of said lands we also hereby confirm.
"Now, finally, we do take under our protection the said monastery, with the
aforesaid lands, which we exempt from all secular charge, and yield freely and.
1 88 Ancient Monasteries of Ireland.
grief of the Irish inhabitants, the bishops did publicly burn,
at the high cross in this town, the image of St. Dominick,
which had belonged to this monastery.*
1 War. Bp$.p. 564.
peaceably to God for all time to come. And lest at any time any one should pre-
sume to call in question the truth of those former grants, or of this our present
grant, we have authenticated this charter with the impression of our seal, and de-
livered it, in the presence of fitting witnesses, to the King of Connaught, to be
preserved.
" And the following are witnesses, on the part of the clergy and people : —
" CHRISTIAN, Bishop of Lismore, Legate of the
Apostolic See.
" DoNAT, Archbishop of Cashel.
" GREGORY, Bishop of Cork.
" BRICIUS, Bishop of Limerick.
" BENEDICT, Bishop of Ross.
" MATTHF.W, Bishop of Cloyne.
" DONAT, Abbot of Mayo.
" GREGORY, Abbot of Cong.
" EUGENE, Bishop of Ardmore."
Of the old church thus repaired, the steeple is the only part that now remains.
A round tower formerly stood in the church-yard, but all traces of it have long
since disappeared. A Frenchman, M. De la Boullaye, who travelled in Ireland
in 1644, and published an account of his tour, at Paris, in 1653. writes that — •' In
one of the suburbs of Cork there is an old tower, ten or twelve feet in circum-
ference, and more than one hundred feet high, which they firmly hold to have been
built by St. Barre." And speaking of the ruins of Gill-Abbey, he says they are
situated at the distance of one mile from Cork, ' ' opposite the well called by the
English Sunday Spring, to the south side of the sea Here is a cave, which
extends far under the ground, where, they say, St. Patrick resorted often for
prayer." This is the cave referred to in our ancient writers as the " ant 'rum Sancti
Finbarri." The MS. of Dive-Downes, who was Protestant Bishop of Cork
towards the close of the iyth century, describes the parish of St. Finbarr as com-
prising the parishes of St. John, Rinn-Mahon, St. Stephen, St. "N icholas, and St.
Mary-de-Narde. He adds : — " There is one mass-house in the parish ; 'tis now
ruinous Colman Sarsfield is Popish priest of this and the united parishes ;
he has been here about four or five years. He has a mass-house (the one above
referred to) near Red-Abbey. He was bred at Bourdeaux.in France, in the Irish
seminary. Sarsfield says Mass twice every Sunday morning ; and the rest of the
priests in Ireland, by order from the Pope, have the privilege of saying two Masses
in one day, by reason of the great extent of most parishes or unions."
Some of the details of this MS. of Dive-Downes are full of interest, and throw
considerable light on the condition of Ireland, and especially of the See of Cork
about the year 1700. Thus he tells us that £20 was given at the time for
bringing in a Tory. Again, that Teigue Dash was prosecuted for having a
harper playing in his house on Sunday, — " In the'parish of Ardnageehy,
David . Terry, Papist, gives the seventh part of his milk to the poor. In
Abbeysrowry, the rector or vicar usually demands, besides his burying fees,
when the man of the family, or widow, dies worth jf5, the sum of 13*. 4*f. as
a mortuary ; if the man dies worth less than .£5, they demand his second-best
suit of clothes, or 6j. 8</. in lieu thereof. In Dromdaleague parish, Felix
M 'Carthy is priest ; he was here before the late troubles. A Protestant school-
master complains that Papists teach publick school in this parish. In Caharagh
parish 'tis thought that there are forty Papists for one Protestant; William Guricheen,
a very old man, is priest there. In Cannaway parish — no church, no Protestants-
there are the ruins of a house in the churchyard ; there is a vault whole ; the priest
built an altar in it about a year ago, when some person of note was buried. Denis
Sweeney is Popish priest of this parish and Macromp." Of Durrus, hftwrites — " Si.
A ncient Monasteries of Ireland. \ 89
This house, which stood in an island called Cross-green,
on the south side of the town, is now entirely demolished.*
> 'Smith, vol. i,/. 388.
Faughnan is the patron saint of this parish. Not far from Bantry, by the sea-
side, are the ruins of an abbey which belonged to the Franciscans. I don't hear
that there were any other religious houses l>esides this in the barony of Becra and
Bantry. Humphrey Sullivan is Popish priest of this parish and of Kilcroghan, he
has been here about twelve years. All the inhabitants are Papists. No Papists
are allowed to live within the walls of Bandon. The Earl of Cork in his leases
has obliged all the tenants not to admit Papists. In the parish of Skull, there are
about four Protestant families, and about four hundred Papist families. Daniel
Carthy is Popish priest of the eastern part of this parish ; he has been here ever
since before the late troubles. No glebe in this parish, no Registry-book, nor Bible,
nor Common Prayer-book. In Kilmoe, there are the ruins of a chapel at the
west -end of the town, dedicated to St. Mullagh. The church of Kilmoe is
dedicated to St. Briana, alias Brandon, whose festival is observed in this parish;
there are about nine Protestant families, and two hundred Papist. Teige Coghlen
is Popish priest of Kilmoe and of the western part of Skull; he has been here
about eight years. A young Irishman, a Papist, teaches school about the
middle of the parish. In all the O'Sullivan's country they observe as a holiday
'St. Rooane's Day.' At Kinneigh, a high round tower stands in the south-west
corner of the churchyard. "Tis supposed this church was formerly a cathedral. A
stone is in the south-west corner of the church of Kinneigh. counted very sacred,
which the Irish solemnly swear upon. The church is accounted by the Irish
very sacred. There is a tradition that formerly in this churchyard there was a
well that had great medicinal virtues, and that the concourse of people being
rery chargeable to the inhabitants, they stopped it up. In Murragh, Daniel
Hurley, a quiet man, is Popish priest of this and three or four contiguous
parishes ; there are more Protestants than Papists ; there was a registry lately
bought, and a Bible, and two Common Prayer-books. In Desertsurgis there
are one hundred and fifty families of Protestants ; no Popish schoolmaster in this
parish ; a Bible and Common Prayer-book lately bought. Denis Mahony is
Popish priest of this parish."
The County of Cork Grand Jury Presentments, at the close of the iyth
century, detail some facts of the deepest interest. In 1687, they present — "That
the Protestant clergy, under colour of law, exact from the Roman Catholick subjects
several sums of christening, purification, burying, and book money, and sue them in
their spiritual courts, and commit them to prison, so dispeopling the country, &c., that
therefore, your Lordship would favorably represent the same to the Government, or
otherwise make such order that may hinder these inconveniences ; and the rather,
because the like duties are not demanded in any other Christian country by the
clergy, nor from any other but the Roman Catholics." In 1694, they present —
"An address to the Judge, complaining of the Popish clergy that come from
beyond the sea, and praying for the suppression of Popish schools." In 1696,
they state — " That John Mulconry, a Popish priest, and others, are out on their
keeping, and cannot be taken by warrant ; we, therefore, pray they may be
ordered to surrender themselves by a certain day, or that the)' may be proclaimed
rebels and traitors to the Government." In the following year they complain —
1 That Cornelius Crowley, alias Maddery, of Skibbercen, and Owen MacOwen
Sullivan, of Kilcaskin parish, and others, all Irish Papists, have taught school,
and continue to do so, contrary to the Act." In April, 1698, they present — " That
P. Morrough, Titular Vicar-General, and Dr. fohn Slyne, Titular Bishop (of
Cork), remain in this kingdom contrary to the late Act" On I3th of August,
1701, they also complain that — "John Connelly, formerly Vicar of Rossccarbery,
still remains in this kingdom contrary to the Act." And on 27th July, 1702, they
again present — "That John Slyne, Titular Bishop of Cork, remains still in this
kingdom, exercising ecclesiastical jurisdiction contrary to the late Act."
We have said that St. Finbarr first erected his cell on the banks of Lake Allua.
1 90 A ncient Monasteries of Ireland.
Augustinian Friary1 ; a monastery was founded, on the
south side of the city, in the reign of King Edward I. for
friars following the rule of St. Augustin ;* some writers give
this foundation to Patrick Lord Kingsale, who lived in the
reigns of King Henry V. and VI.;* and another writer brings
the foundation so low as 1472, or i475-b
6th October, I9th of Queen Elizabeth, a grant was made
to Cormac M'Teige M'Carthy of this friars and its appur-
tenances, containing two acres, a church, &c., at the annual
rent of ^"13 ; and for the other possessions the rent of i6s. %d.
all Irish money .bb
Of this building, the steeple, which is 64 feet high, and the
walls of the church, still remain ; the east window, the only one
in the choir, was truly magnificent, and measured 30 feet in
height and 15 in breadth ; the whole erection was converted
into a sugar-house, and is now called the Red Abbey.0
• War. man. *Lodge, vol. 4, /. 35. *Herera, quoted by Allemande. bMw</. Gett.
'Smith, vol. l, p. 388.
In after times that spot became a favorite resort of Pilgrims . Seren churches
were erected there, and it bloomed as a garden of Paradise : —
"There is a green island in lone Gougane Barra,
Where Allua of songs rushes forth as an arrow ;
In deep-vallied Desmond, a thousand wild fountains
Come down to that lake from their home in the mountains.
There grows the wild ash, and a time-stricken willow
Looks chidingly down on the mirth of the billow,
As like some gay child, that sad monitor scorning,
It lightly laughs back to the laugh of the morning ;
And its zone of dark hills — oh ! to see them all bright'ning
When the tempest flings out its red banner of lightning ;
And the waters rush down, 'mid the thunder's deep rattle,
Like clans from their hills at the voice of the battle ;
And brightly the fire-crested billows are gleaming,
And wildly, from Mullagh, the eagles are screaming.
Oh ! where is the dwelling in valley or highland
So meet for a bard as this lone little island."
At the close of the I7th century, a priest named Denis O'Mahony chose
this spot as a penitential retreat, and restored its seven chapels. Opposite the
island he placed a small tomb with the inscription — " Hoc sibi ft' successoribus in
eadem vocation* monumentum imposuit Dominus Doctor Dionynus (fAfahonv,
Presbyter licet indignus, an. dom.y 1700."
'Augustinian Friary. — Inquisition 3 1st October, IV. King James, finds that the
friars were seized of the third part of a water-mill called the upper mill of Douglas,
on the lands of Buelibracky, and the tithes of the mill and the said lands, that
William White and John, his son, by writing, dated XIII. Edward IV., granted
to the friary a parcel of land in Shandon, near Cork, in breadth between the lands
of St. John the Baptist, on the north, and the lands of the said William and John
on the south, and in length from the land of the Grey Friars, on the west, to the
highway on the east : —
Inquisition yth October, V. James, finds that the said mill was built by the
O'Dalies, and that the said lands of Buelibracky contain, by estimation, two acres,
and that the same did belong to the friary.
A ncient Monasteries of Ireland. 191
Carmelite Friary; Bourke is the only author who men-
tions this house for White Friars.
Nunnery of St. John the Baptist; William de Barry and
John de Barry, supposed to be John Keltagh Barry, and
styled the Lord John Barry of Hely, who was basely mur-
dered in the year 1327^ did, together with John Fitz-
Gilbert, and Philip Fitz-Robert, grant several carucates and
parcels of land, tithes, and advowsons of churches, to Agnes
de Hereford and other women, to serve God in the habit
of nuns, in the house of St. John the Baptist, in St. John's-
street, within the suburbs of Cork.*
This nunnery, of which there are now no remains, was
situated near the present market-house, and the site was
accidently discovered in digging up some old tombs.1
Preceptory; there was a preceptory of the Knight's Tem-
plars in this town, for we find that William le Chaplain
was master of Cork about the year 1292.*
Priory of St. Stephen; An house was founded in the
south suburbs of this city for the support of Lepers, and
Edward Henry was keeper of it A.D. I295.hl
1408. November 22nd, Henry IV. granted the custody of
this house, then vacant and in his gift, to Henry Fygham,
chaplain, for life ;' and November 22nd, 1419, it was re-
granted to another Henry Fygham during life.k This priory,
when suppressed, was granted to the city of Cork, and
about the year 1674, an hospital for poor children, now
called the Blue-coat Hospital, was erected on the ancient
site.i
Christ Church ; otherwise called the Church of the Holy
Trinity.
Inquisition loth September, XX Queen Elizabeth, finds
that a chantry was founded in this church for the support of
eight priests ; to which, contrary to the statute of mortmain,
the following grants were made ; by James White, the Church
of St. Laurens in this city, with three messuages adjacent
thereto, annual value, besides reprises, 3^. ^d. ; by James
ALodge,vol. I,/. 196. *Dugdale,vol.2,p. 1020. tSmith,vol. \,p. 389. 'Jfing;
p. 38. bfj. p. 139. Harris's Collect, vol. 4. * King, p. 139. ^Smith, vol. I,
/. 389.
•Priory of St. Stephen. — Cormac Mac Dermody Carty and his assigns were en-
titled when on the road to Cork, that the master of this hospital should, for the
space of twenty-four hours, maintain and support all the horsemen and footmen
attending the said Cormac, his heirs and assigns, with victuals, and all necessaries,
in consideration of which the said master claimed housefoot, and firefoot out of
the woods of said Cormac for the support, repairing, and re-edifying of the hospital
when necessary. The master was seized of the advowsons Aghnynagh and the
rectory of the parish churches of Mucrumphe and Clounadrohide, and the patron-
age of the parish church of Moyviddy and Kilkollinan.
192 A ncient Monasteries of Ireland.
Milton, a carucate of land near Cork, in the tenure of James
Meagh, annual value 6s. ; and by Philip Golde, a college, built
of stone, near Christ Church, annual value, besides re-
prises, 6s.
St. Peter's ; The same inquisition finds, that there was a
chantry in this church ; to which, contrary to the statute of
mortmain, two messuages and a garden, annual value, besides
reprises, 6s. 8d., were granted by Robert Golde, for the purpose
of finding one priest to say mass.
Cregan, see Timoleague.
Cullen ; In the barony of Duhallow, and five miles and an
half south-west of Kanturk ; near this church are some ruins
which are said to have been an ancient nunnery.m
Donaghmore ; In the barony of Muskerry, and six miles
north-east of Macroomp. St. Fingene, a disciple ofc St.
Finbarr, was abbot of Domnach mor mitinen which, in after
ages, became a parish church, and is now called Donaghmore.
Permoy ; A small village on the river Blackwater, in the
barony of Clangibbon. An Abbey was founded here under
the invocation of the Virgin Mary, for Cistertian Monks, who
were brought hither from an abbey on the Suire, in the
county of Tipperary ; and a new colony was afterwards intro-
duced from the abbey of Furnes, in Lancashire.0
A.D 1226. Patrick, the prior, was made bishop of Cloyne,
according to Sir James Ware ; but from the records it appears,
that W. then prior of Fermoy, was elected bishop of Cloyne,
and received the royal assent.?
1248. The abbot was fined in the sum of £10 for divers
offences.*1
1290. Maurice le Fleming made a considerable grant to
this abbey/
1301. The abbot Maurice Carton fell from his horse into
the river Funcheon, in the neighbourhood of this abbey, and
lost his life ;8 he was succeeded by Henry.1
1303. Maurice, Lord Kerry, died in this year; at which
time Thomas, his fifth son, governed the abbies of Fermoy
and Odorney.u
1311. Dionysius was abbot.w
1355. David Rawyr O' Kyff was abbot.1
1367. Henry was abbot, and in same year William
Fleming was elected, who paid his homage as abbot of Fer-
moy, to John, bishop of Cloyne, for the lands of Kilconan.?
mSmith, vol. i, /. 302. nAct. SS. p. 258. °lVar. man. PcmbridgJs Ann. and
Ann. B.V.M. Dubl. &c. T>War. Bps. p. 575. *A'ing, p. 359. r/</. /. 282.
•Id. p. 358. */</./. 283. *Lodge, vol. 2, p. 103. "King. p. 359. *Jd. p. 282.
y^-A359-
( To be continued.)
[NEW SERfES.}
FEBRUARY, 1871.
IRISH HISTORICAL STUDIES IN THE SEVEN-
TEENTH CENTURY.
III. — PATRICK FLEMING, O.S.F.
Early Life of Finning; — He enters the Order of St. Francis; —
Accompanies F. MacCaghivell to Rome; — His Letters from
the Eternal City; — The Lives of Irish Saints, St. Peregrines,
St. Andreiv, &c., in the Roman Libraries ; — Death of Mac-
Caghzvcll ; — His Memoir, composed by Fleming ; — F. Fleming
at Ratisbonne ; — The Irish Monasteries there; — Various
places where Lives or Relics of Irish Saints are preserved on
the Continent ; — F. Fleming is appointed First Guardian of
Prague; — His devotion to St. Colnmbanus ; — His Martyr-
dom;— The "Collectanea Sacra;" — Notes of Fleming on the
" Cambatta" of St. Colnmbanns : the Saint's Journey to
Rome : the Monastery of Banger, &c. ; — The " Three Orders
of Irish Saints;' — Great value of the "Collectanea" at the
present day.
PATRICK FLEMING was born at Bel-atha-Lagain, in the
parish of Clonkccn, county Louth, on the i/lh of April, 1599.
The ruins of his family mansion arc still pointed out, close by
the modern Lagan Bridge, near the junction of the three
counties of Louth, Meath, and Monaghan. He was connected
by birth with the noble houses of Slane1 and Delvin, but his
virtues and learning, still more than his family honours,
reflected a bright lustre on his name. From a short
biographical notice which was composed by Coljjan, and
prefixed to Sirinus's edition of the CoLLl-x JAM A SACRA,
we learn that Fleming received in baptism the name of
1 See his Genealogical Table in Ulster Journal of Archaeology, vol. ii., page 254.
VOL. VII. IJ
194 Irish Historical Studies
Christopher, and that from his infancy he gave proofs of that
piety, sedateness, and diligence, which characterized his after
years. At the age of thirteen he was sent to the Continent,
to preserve him from the danger of proselytism, which was
as imminent from the Court of Wards to the children of the
Irish nobility, during King James's reign, as it is to the
children of our poor from the birds' nests of the present day.
The Rev. Christopher Cusack, uncle of Fleming, was at this
time administrator of the Irish colleges for the secular clergy
in Flanders ; and, indeed, these institutions mainly depended
on his munificence for their support. Under his guidance
Fleming pursued the humanity studies in Douay, and passed
thence to the College of St. Anthony at Louvain, where, on
the i /th of March, 1617, at the hands of F. Anthony Rickey,
he received the habit of St. Francis, and assumed in religion
the name of Patrick.
In 1623, Father Fleming, having completed his philo-
sophical and theological course, was chosen by Hugh
MacCaghwell, then Definitor-General of the order of St.
Francis, and soon after promoted to the Primatial See of
Armagh, to be the companion of his journey to Rome.
Passing through Paris he contracted a close friendship with
Hugh Ward, to whom he promised a zealous and devoted
co-operation in searching out and illustrating the lives of the
early saints of Ireland, " in the hope," says his biographer,
" that by promoting piety towards these holy men, their
example might be imitated by our people, and those golden
years be renewed amongst us which shed such lustre and
glory on our country."
In the last chapter we have seen the letters which were
addressed to Ward by Father Patrick Fleming as he journeyed
on towards the Eternal City. His subsequent letters from
Rome furnish us with additional interesting details regarding
his researches in the cause of Irish "history. He had passed
through Bobbio, and discovered there, with other monuments
of our ancient church, the precious fragments of St. Colum-
banus, which were afterwards published in the Collectanea
Sacra. These he forwarded without delay to Ward, and on
the feast of St. Mary Magdalene (22nd of July), 1623, wrote
to him as follows : —
" Write as soon as possible to let me know whether you
have received the bundle which I sent you with the Rule of
St. Columban, that we may no longer be in anxiety about it.
Should you not have received it, I will transcribe these docu-
ments again for you. The other works which I saw in Bobbio
have not yet come to hand, but there are copies of them here
In the Seventeenth Century. 195
in Rome, so that'Mcssingham may be sure to have them for
an appendix to his work, or they will suffice for a separate
special volume, especially as the Lives I sought for, can in
part be procured here. Thus, instead of one small volume,
I think you may be able to publish two volumes, which will
be far more becoming for our island of saints.
" That you might have some idea of the treasure which I
hope, with the blessing of God, to send you, I went with Father
Wadding (to whom you will return due thanks for all the
trouble he has taken with me in this matter) to the library of
the Oratorians, where Baronius composed his Annals, and I
found there the Life of St. Percgrinus in four large manu-
script sheets, from which, it appears, that he was a true saint,
and a glorious despiser of mundane vanity. I found there,
also, the Life of St. Donatus of Fiesole, with a lengthy
appendix of a Benedictine monk, named Cajetan, who,
amongst other things, proves him to have come from Ireland ;
the Life of the same saint, which is in the Minerva Library,
where, however, it is hard to find anything, as its books are
all upside down, states that he was ex Scotia ubi nnllum vivit
animal vcncnosmn, which manifestly refers to Ireland. Some
olher Lives, as, for instance, of St. Patrick and St. Brendan,
I found there also ; but you do not require these. There are
also some poems on St. ./Emilian, but I could not find his
Life. I hope, in the course of time, to find much more in
this library; and rest assured, I will not be slothful at the
work. If I had a Religious to accompany me in the present
great heat, I would myself copy the above Lives. Father
Hugh MacCaghwell, however, cannot bear the heat at all,
and thus I am obliged to defer this toil for the present.
There is a pretty full Life of St. Andrew 'of Fiesole, who is
espressly called Hybernus, which Father Luke Wadding has
promised to translate into Latin for me. I will be able to
have, without much trouble, the Life of St. Frigidian, for his
congregation is established at Lucca, where he founded a
monastery, still so famous throughout Italy, that there are
some cardinals connected with it. Our Primate (Peter Lom-
bard) saw this Life, and thinks he has a copy of it among his
papers, and promises it to me. There are some persons in
this city who celebrate St. Frigid ian's office, and I am sure
we will find his Acts with some of them.
" Be careful to mark the place and library from which you
receive each work, that thus your history may be the more
trustworthy, for that is a very important point, as Father Luke
Wadding assures me, and hence he constantly marks them in
his writings. I have in my possession the commentary of our
196 Irish Historical Studies
Primate, Lombard, on the affairs of Ireland ; but if you except
the history of the last centuries, he has scarcely anything
that I had not seen before. He is more full, however, than
others on the question of the nomenclature, as he illustrates it
copiously from Bede and other writers.
" This is the third day that the Cardinals are in conclave for
the election of a Pontiff. Pray to God that we may have a
Pope who, by word and example, may instruct the fold of
Christ."
The many lives of our Irish saints enumerated by Fleming
in this letter are all still preserved in the Oratorian Library at
the Chiesa Nuova. The most interesting, perhaps, and at the
same time the least known, is the life of St. Pellcgrino, or Pere-
grinnsfcy which name our countryman is now known among the
faithful of Italy. Having made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land,
he chose for himself a hermitage there in a desert place, and for
several years practised in his daily life all the austerities of
the early anchorets. In the first Saracen irruptions he was
made prisoner, and suffered a great deal. The leader, how-
ever, of these marauders was so struck by some miracles which
the saint performed, that he restored him to liberty. The
holy man then journeyed back to Italy, and chose for himself
another hermitage in a mountainous and woody district on the
borders of the territory of Lucca, where he soon after passed
to a better life. After his death many miracles attested his
sanctity. An oratory was erected over his remains, and pil-
grims, to the present day, flock thither to invoke his interces-
sion.
The St. Andrew to whom Fleming refers, was a deacon
and brother of St. Donatus. A small church dedicated to St.
Martin, situated on the declivity of the hill of Fiesole, and on
the banks of the Melsola, was repaired by him, and enriched
with valuable possessions. His remains are now enshrined
under its high altar, and the memory of St. Andrew is cherished
with warm devotion by the inhabitants of the surrounding
territory.
On. the 1 6th September, 1623, Father Fleming again wrote
to Hugh Ward, who had now passed from Paris to Louvain.
He had written, he states, five letters since his interview with
Ward in Paris, and had as yet received no letter in reply. A
note, however, had come to hand from Messingham, to the
effect, that his work was hastening to a close, but that he was
still ready to fulfil his promise of adding any important docu-
ments that might be forwarded to him. " It would grieve me,"
adds Fleming, " if through your fault this present opportunity
should be lost to us, which, perhaps for years, may not occur
In the Sci'cntetnth Century. 197
again. The present time is specially favourable to us ; for
the Sacred Congregation has imposed a precept on Dempster
to abstain in future from treating of such historical matters,
ami whilst this precept lasts it would be important for us to
set forth our state of the question ; wherefore, whatever you
may have in Louvain send it without delay to Paris to Mes-
singham, and hereafter, if God gives us the means, we our-
selves can republish the same documents more elegantly and
accurately." The conclusion of this letter is altogether
characteristic of the writer : —
" If you are suffering from sickness, as I have heard, you
will do well to depute Father Gallagher to maintain corre-
spondence with me till such time as you may be restored to
health. In the meantime, invoke our countryman, St. Pere-
grinus, who, during life, obtained the privilege from God that
those who implore his aid for anything conducive to their
greater good should obtain the wished-for favour. I pray
you, dear father, be firm in your resolve, and be friendly with
me. God forbid that you yourself should cease to enjoy the
blessings of light, now that you are preparing to restore our
saints to that light of which they have been so long deprived."
His next letter is dated the ist of June, 1624. In the
interval, Fleming had been busily engaged in preparing for
his public thesis in Rome, and hence had been able to do but
little in exploring the libraries of the Eternal City. The
first page of this letter is very much effaced ; but from the
few sentences that remain, it appears that Ward had been
for some time dangerously ill, and hence Fleming now exhorts
him to allow no longer any delay in carrying out his holy
project in regard to the saints of Ireland. He then continues :
" You ask me to send you all that I have collected here : I
would willingly obey, were it not that the thesis which I had
to defend in public before several Cardinals occupied all my
time. With the blessing of God I will be free from this
trouble in fifteen days' time, and then you will know by
experience how firm I am in my resolution ; for, as soon as
I shall hear that you have printed what I already sent to
you, I will transcribe and forward the Lives of St. Frigidian,
St. Andrew, St. Brigid, St. Pcrcgrinus, St Marinus, Bishop ;
St. Silas, Bishop ; and also the Life of St. Coemghen, which I
procured from the Jesuit Library of Ingolstadt.
" As regards the Irish saints who flourished in Italy, two only
remain to be sought for, i.e., St. Donatus, the brother of St.
Cathaldus ; and St. ./Emilian, whom, however, I know to have
been called a Scot. I have already told you what you may
ect in the next parcel. I forgot to mention the Bull for the
198 Irish Historical Studies
canonization of St. Virgilius, taken from the Regesta of the
Roman Pontiffs : it is drawn up in the same style as that
published for the canonization of our holy founder St. Francis.
From this you will be convinced of my diligence in exploring
the records of Rome. But, would to heaven that I were free
to pursue these studies. I am now here for a year, or there-
abouts, and yet I have only been able to visit four or five
libraries in this city. You know how this happens, and hence
I need say no more. Nevertheless, my noble Hugh, be not
dispirited ; we will yet, with the aid of Him who glorifies the
saints, do something to add lustre to the saints of Ireland,
despite the clamour of those who pursue the vain fictions of
their own imaginations.
"One of the librarians in charge of the Vatican Library
promised to let me see the catalogue of all the books which
have been sent by the Duke of Bavaria to the Sovereign
Pontiff: they formed that most celebrated collection which
was called the Palatinate Library. I expect to find many
treasures there as soon as they are arranged in order. I saw
amongst them some noble manuscripts, but I was not able
at the time to examine them.
"Rev. Eugene Swiney some time ago wrote to us from Paris,
stating that he had discovered the writings of some Irish
philosopher, which he is about to publish, and asking me to
forward to him the Homiliae Sancti Columbani, that both might
be published together. It is too bad that we should have all
the labour, whilst others of the secular clergy thus bear away
all the honor of publishing these homilies, which are more
precious than the purest gold. This should undoubtedly
annoy us, were it not that we seek to promote the glory of
our saints, and not our own glory. The fact is, the homilies
have not yet come from Bobbio, but they will be .sure to come
shortly ; for two friars will be sent expressly to bring them
to us. In the meantime, therefore, see what can be done with
them in Paris, for I will not send them thither till I hear from
you. Should I have a moment of time, I will transcribe one
of them that I brought with me from Bobbio, together with
the Rule of St. Columbanus, which you will shortly see in
the pages of Messingham's work.
" Indeed you should not have accepted your present post
in Louvain, relinquishing your former important work. Father
Gallagher might have been appointed to teach, for it is folly
to select him, so unexperienced in such studies, for so im-
portant and so urgent a work.
" Lest I should seem to send you an empty letter, I enclose
a concise and compendious history of St. Frigidian, and a
/// the Seventeen tli Cftituty. 199
similar account of St. Patrick, which contains some particulars
either omitted, or not clearly expressed, by Jocelyn.
The other fragments which I send are most curious, and to be
highly esteemed ; and they arc the more authoritative as
they were written by a holy Martyr. I am sure if you show
these things to those who are there with you, they will say
they are spurious, so be careful not to cast such pearls before
swine. Keep them to yourself, and with the blessing of God
we will soon find a place for them. I will omit to mention
several fragmentary notes which I have extracted from the
Martyrology of Canisius. I have searched in vain for the
work of Florus ; I pray you to enquire about it from all those
who are versed in such matters, and especially from Myraeus,
who lives in Brussells. Ask also about the life of St. Livinus,
written by Bonifacio, which I know not where to find.
"See then, my dearest Father in Christ and in his saints,
what a long letter I have written through my anxiety to con-
verse with you about everything. We may soon be together :
for, if God permits, I will proceed to Louvain after the General
Chapter, laden with documents. In the meantime, let us pray
for one another, that our holy desires may be fulfilled. I now
end this homily, for which I have stolen a few hours from my
study time. Dear Father, be ever mindful of me,
"Your truly faithful friend,
"FR. PATRICK FLEMING.
" Rome, 2\st June, 1624."
On the 27th of July, Father Fleming again wrote to Ward,
stating that on the preceding day he had received his letter
with exceeding joy. He had also received a letter from Dr.
Fleming, Archbishop of Dublin, giving the news that the
Religious of Louvain were thinking of publishing the Lives of
the Saints of Ireland, and of appointing Father Gallagher
to this work. " They do not seem in this (adds Fleming),
to have maturely pondered the matter ; for this Father, though
qualified for the task by his memory, and his style, is
deficient in the knowledge of our ancient histories : wherefore
I have sought to dissuade them from their choice, and have
urged them to leave the whole burden on your own shoulders."
Father Fleming subsequently exhorts Ward to begin his
series of works, with a treatise DC viris illustribus Hibcrniae,
for which abundant materials were at hand : he complains
that Messingham had failed in the promise which he had
made to them, and, therefore, it now only remained for them
to work on without him. " I have sent to you (he thus con-
cludes) some little notes with the nephew of the deceased
2OO Irish Historical Studies
Archbishop of Dublin (Dr. Eugene Matthews). I -have, at
length, received from Bobbie the Homilies of St. Columbanus.
But in the middle of my news, I am now obliged to bring
my letter to a close. I congratulate you with all my heart,
on the many important documents you have found."
The last letter of Father Fleming from Rome, is dated the
24th August, 1624. In it he consoles Ward on his appoint-
ment to teach Philosophy, even though this should distract
him from the great work on the Saints of Ireland, in which
he was engaged : " obedience, he says, is better than sacrifice ;
our zeal in publishing the Lives of the Saints will not, I trust,
be lessened on this account, but will be increased by time,
and as our reward we may be enabled to shed greater light on
the early monuments of our country." He subsequently adds :
"Lay aside then the Annotations, which, perhaps, you con-
template : these require a great deal of leisure, and a good
supply of books, both of which are now wanting to you, and
undertake rather to translate from the Irish language those
Lives of the Saints which you have collected, and add them
to the Latin Lives which you already have, and give a com-
pendium of all in one small volume, De riris illustribus Hi-
berniae, giving merely the place of each one's birth, his manner
of life, and his death. This may be published at but little
expense, and you can promise in it a longer treatise on the
Saints of Ireland. This work would cost you little trouble,
and you might take for your model the work of Pitseus De
Scriptoribus Angliae. By doing this you will avoid dis-
pleasing Messingham, and besides, the Continental readers
seeing reference made to so many saints not named oh their
calendars, will be the more desirous of having your treatise on
the Lives of these Saints.
" All this I already wrote to you and to the Archbishop of
Dublin (Dr. Thomas Fleming), but you yourself must judge
whether it be possible or not. There are many of our saints
about whom so little is known, that they would have no place
in the Lives of our Saints; but in such a work as I have
mentioned, they could easily be introduced. At all events,
rest assured that I will labour here untiringly in extracting
from various books everything connected with our saints,
which will serve in future time to illustrate their Lives.
" What you write to me about my journey to Louvain
(i.e., to visit the different libraries on the way), I fear cannot
be accomplished ; for where will I find a companion, and how
could I intrude myself into houses where I am not invited ?
There are three Irish Religious here, two in Rome and one in
Naples. Write to me by return of post how a cohipanion can
In the Seventeenth Century. 20 1
be secured. At all events, by the desire of my Superiors, I
will set out for Louvain next Pentecost.
" Messingham has written here to say that you promised to
send to him any documents you have, if he wished to publish
them. If human glory were our object, we should feel hurt,
indeed, that for such a treasure as the Rule of St. Columban,
no acknowledgment is made of those who communicated it
and discovered it. But have courage, dear Father ; I have
the Homilies of St. Columbanus, and there are some letters of
the same Saint in this city, though it is not easy to procure
them. It is said that one who resides in the palace of the
Cardinal, to whom my thesis was dedicated, has several
works of St. Columbanus. What truth, however, there is in
this, you will soon know with certainty.
" I have not yet received the Life of St. Coemghen. St.
Fulco is called Scotus ; but perhaps I may get some details
concerning him when I pass through Pavia. Father Edmund
MacCaghwell tells me that he saw in Ireland, in Latin, the
Life of St. Adamnan, which you say is still preserved (in Irish),
and easily met with. I particularly congratulate you on the
Acts and the lists of the kings which you have received. Why
not give us, in the course of time, a History of the Kings of
Ireland, such as other nations have. Leave nothing undone
that the Library may be enriched with all books necessary
for the work ; and make sure to carry out your purpose
of sending Brother Clery to Ireland to collect the MSS.
there."
It was probably before his departure from Rome that
Father Fleming composed a sketch of the Life of Dr.
Hugh MacCaghwell, whom he had accompanied to the
Eternal City, and who was in the meantime promoted to the
Primatial See of Armagh — a dignity which he held only for a
few weeks. This work of Fleming was incorporated by
Vernulaeus in the elegant panegyric on the deceased Primate,
which he delivered at Louvain ; and its chief facts are pre-
served by Lynch in his MS. History of the Bishops of
Ireland. As MacCaghwell himself rendered no small service
to Irish literature in the beginning of the I7th century, not
only by his labours in Louvain, of which we have already
spoken, but also by his edition of the works of Duns Scotus,
and his vindication of the claim of Ireland to be the birth-
place of that great writer, a few passages from the work just
cited may not be out of place here, or uninteresting to the
reader.
MacCaghwell, in Irish MacCathmhail, was born in the
county Down, in Ulster, about the year 1571; and in his
2O2 Irish Historical Studies
youth was sent to the island of Anglesey, to be trained in the
higher branches of science. There he shone as the light of
the school, honoured by all his companions as a prodigy of
genius, and as a guide in every path of virtue. From the
school he was summoned by Hugh O'Neil, to be at the same
time his counsellor and the tutor of his children. He dis-
charged the duties of this arduous post with such devotedness
and diligence, that the great O'Neil presented him with a
sword, the highest mark of esteem which the warlike chieftain
could then bestow. Towards the close of the century he was
sent, together with Henry, the son of Hugh O'Neil, on a
mission to the Spanish monarch, to solicit aid in the religious
war which the Irish septs were then waging against Elizabeth.
This mission was eminently successful ; but other thoughts
now engaged the mind of MacCaghwell ; and laying aside all
the hopes and honours which the world presented to him, he
enrolled his name at Salamanca among the children of St.
Francis. We need not enter into the details of his life in the
cloister. Suffice it to say, that his biographer attests that, as
heretofore, he surpassed his compeers in human science, so now,
among his religious brethren, he, " like an angel," pursued the
higher paths of religious perfection. Amongst his penitential
exercises, it is specially mentioned that he constantly wore a
rough hair-shirt next his flesh, and that he generally pro-
tracted his daily fast until sunset. He taught Sacred Theology
in Louvain : the same charge was subsequently entrusted to
him in Rome, and he discharged its duties with universal
applause ; and whilst the title of Professor Emeritus was
awarded to him by his superiors, he became generally
designated by his brethren as " Hugh the Angelic." Twice he
made the journey to the Eternal City on foot, and frequently
he, in like manner, visited the houses of the Order in Spain.
It is added, that during his stay in Rome he made, once each
month, and sometimes more frequently, the pilgrimage of its
seven chief basilicas. At the same time he was instrumental
in founding the college of his order at St. Isidore's ; and he
used all his influence with Cardinal Ludovisi to procure a
similar college in the Holy City for the aspirants to the ranks
of the secular clergy. This latter project, soon after his
demise, was realized through the exertions of his friend and
associate, Father Luke Wadding ; and throughout the whole
long era of Ireland's gloom, it continued to confer many
blessings on our Church. He also, in opposition to many,
who feared lest the appointment of new bishops to the vacant
sees in Ireland might reawaken the embers of persecution,
procured the appointment of four bishops for our island.
/// the Sci'tntft-nt/t Centtny. 203
On the death of Peter Lombard, this holy religious, at the
urgent request, of John O'Neil, Karl of Tyrone, was selected
by Urban the Eighth to fill the see of Armagh.1 In this
exalted dignity he pursued unchanged the same practices of
a devoted Franciscan, and was a model of observance to
all his brethren. He asked and received permission to select
any six priests of his order, to bring them with him as com-
panions and fellow labourers in his new mission.
Many other special privileges were also accorded to him,
one of which was a plenary indulgence for those who should
visit the church of SS. Patrick, Brigid, and Columbkille in
Down and Connor. However, he was not destined to revisit
the shores of his loved country, for, in the designs of God,
his labours already merited their crown. He had already taken
his leave of the Holy Father, and received a farewell blessing
for his flock ; he wished, however, to make, fort he last time,
his usual penitential pilgrimage to the seven chief churches of
Rome. On the way he was seized with fever, and so violent
was the attack that his companions feared he should expire
on the road-side. Conveyed back to the convent of Aracoeli,
the last benediction for the dying was sent to him by the
Pontiff. He bequeathed his cross and ring to Edmund
Dungan, Bishop of Down and Connor, who proved himself
worthy of this gift by laying down his life for the faith in
prison in 1629 ; and his only request to his Holiness was that
none should be chosen as his successor in the see of Armagh,
but one whom John O'Neil, the Earl of Tyrone, would
nominate. He2 was interred in the church of St. Isidore, and
1 From the Consistorial Acts we learn that he was appointed Archbishop of
Armagh on the 2nd of April, 1626, and was consecrated on the 7th of the Ides
of June, the same year.
* The following list of MacCaghwell's works is given by Wadding : —
" Hugo Cavellus, Hibernus Dunensis, vir aeque pius ac doctus, provinciae S.
Jacobi, ac caenobii Salmanticensis alumnus, ex primis fundatoribus et directori-
bus insignis Collegii S. Antonii Lovaniensis Fratrum Minorum Hibemorum, cui
nuiltis annis praefuit, et semper usque ad mortem profuit, Sacrae Theologiae
quam Lovanii, et in urbe ad insigne Aracoeli caenobium professus est, Lector
emeritus, sui ordinis defmitor generalis, et demum Archiepiscopus Armacanus,
totius Hil>erniae primas, disciplinae regularis, uti exactissimus observator, ita
etiam perpetuus promoter et fautor. Mirum quantos pro ea retinenda et restitu-
enda subierit labores, toties in Hispnniam et Italiam ex Belgio pedes ad ordinis
comitia generalia profectus, a laxioris vitae fautoribus Parisiis, anno millesimo
sexccntessimo vigessimo primo multa pcq>essus, ad extremum usque vitae discri-
men. Neque minus admirandum qunt ,-nus inter tot itinerum, negotiorum domus-
que regendae distractiones debili corpoiis extenuati constitutione potuerit adeo
studiis incumbere, ut summo omnium applausu ediderit :
1. " Scoti I'ommcntarios in quatuor lil>ros sertentiarum a se recognitos, cum
aiitu|uise(litionibus et vetustissimo codice MS. collates.
2. •' Scoti vitam," quam pracdictis c»mmentariis praemisit.
3. '* Appendicem Diffusam ad questionem primam distinctionis tertiae libri
teuii positam in calce ejusdem libri pro asserenda Immaculata Conceptione
204 Irish h istorical Studies
an epitaph, with the following inscription, was erected to his
memory : —
D. O. M.
Illustrissimo et Reverendissimo Domino
Fr.Hugoni Cavello,
Ordinis minorum strictioris observantiae
Lectori, Definitori General!
Archiepiscbpo Armacano
Primati Hiberniae
De patria, religione, litteris benemerito
Cujus mortem merita
In patriam reditum
Mors praevenit
Excellentiss. D. Joannes O'Neil Tironiae comes
Hunc lapidem poni fecit.
Obiit XXII. Septembris, M.D.C.XXVI.
LV.
But to return to Father Fleming. Whilst journeying from
Rome to Louvain, we first meet with him at Ratisbonne, now
Regensburg, at the famous Irish monastery of St. Peter, and
O'Sheerin informs us that he wrote there a compendium of
the ancient chronicle of that monastery. This chronicle is
frequently referred to by the various writers of our history in
the 1 7th century, and many passages from it are published
by Ward, Lynch, and others. The monastery of St. Peter
was founded by St. Marianus, an Irish pilgrim, who, in the
year 1067, set out from Ireland with two companions, John
and Candidus, with the intention of visiting the sanctuaries
Virginis Mariae"— omnia prodierunt Antwerpiae apud Joannem Keerbergium,
anno 1620.
4. " Ejusdem Scoti Commentaria, seu, Reportata Parisiensia."
5. " Questiones quodlibetales," quae simul cum Reportatis prodierunt post
ejus mortem.
6. " Quaestiones in Metaphysicam." Venet. an. 1625, apud Marcum Gina-
minura.
7. " Quaestiones in libros de anima."
8. "A'pologiam apologiae supra dictae pro Scoto scriptae," in qua respondet
Nicolao Jansenio Belgae ord. praedicatorum, Abrahami Bzovii partes suscipienti,
non sine gravi Scoti et regni Hibemiae injuria. Prodiit Parisiis sub nomine
Hugonis Magnesii discipuli Cavelli. Apud Michaelem Sonnium, anno 1623.
9. " Tractatum Parisiis compactum.dum simul cum Benigno (Jenuensi Ministro
Generali ageret de Reformatione magni conventus."
10. " Tractatum alterum Communium argumentorum, &c." Prodierunt simul
hi duo tractatus Parisiis, anno 1622.
11. " Speculum Poenitentiae," lingua et charactere Hibernico ab omnibus Euro-
paeis diverse, exaratum ; Lovanii in Collegio Fratrum minorum, anno 1628, im-
pressum.
Scribebat Pias Meditationes et Preparatoria praeludia pro morte Christiane
obeunda ; sed morte praeventus absolvere non potuit."
/;/ the Seventeenth Century. 205
of Rome. Being kindly received by a religious community
at Ratisbonne, they remained some time in that city, copying
missals and other sacred books. They found at the monas-
tery called Obermiinster a holy Irishman named Murchertach,
who was leading a hermit's life, immured in a cell. This re-
cluse exhorted Marianus to abandon his journey to Italy,
and to stay where the rising sun should first dawn on him.
It was near the church of St. Peter, at the southern gate of
Ratisbonne, that he met the rising sun. That church, and
the adjacent ground, were soon bestowed upon the Irish pil-
grims, and so many were the religious who flocked to this
monastery, especially from the province of Ulster, that before
the year 1090 it was found necessary to found another monas-
tery to receive them. This was called the monastery of
St. James, and became, in the course of years, one of the
richest monasteries of Europe. The history of its foundation
is one of the most interesting portions of the Ratisbonne
Chronicle. From it we learn that Isaac and Gervase, two
Irishmen of noble birth, accompanied by two others of the com-
munity, were sent by the Abbot of St. Peter's to Ireland to
collect funds for the new monastery. They were kindly received
by Corichobhar O'Brien, King of Ireland, and being loaded
with rich presents, returned to Ratisbonne. With the money
thus brought from Ireland, the site for St. James's monastery
was purchased on the western side of the city, and the new
monastery erected : "Be it known," writes the chronicler, " that
neither before nor since was there a monastery equal to this,
in the beauty of its towers, columns, and vaultings, erected
and completed in so short a time, because the plenteousness
of riches and of money bestowed by the king and princes of
Ireland was without bound." Soon, however, the treasury of
the monks was exhausted ; and Christian, now abbot of the
monastery of St. James, and descended from the princely
family of the MacCarthys, undertook a journey to his native
country, Ireland, to seek the aid of King Donnchadh O'Brien.
He is said to have been most successful in his mission :
he received numerous presents and gifts, but when preparing
to return sickened and died, and was buried before St.
Patrick's altar in the cathedral of Cashel. The treasure
which he collected, was subsequently forwarded to its destina-
tion, and with it were laid the foundations of that princely
estate with which this famous monasterium Scottorum was ever
afterwards endowed.
There is one fact connected with the building of the monas-
tery which is characteristic of our Irish pilgrims.1 " Whilst
f in Ulsttr Journal of Arck., vol. vii. page 244.
206 Irish Historical Studies
the building of the monastery of St. James was in progress,"
writes the German narrator, " one of the monks pursued his
journey, accompanied only by a boy, till he reached Kiev,
then the residence of the King of Russia : here the king and
his nobles made him rich presents, so that he loaded several
waggons with very valuable furs, to the amount of a hundred
silver marks, and arrived at home in safety, accompanied by
some merchants of Regensburg. The money obtained by the
sale of the furs was turned to account, and with it the buildings
belonging to the monastery were erected, and the roof put on
the church."
Wadding, in his short notice of the life of Father Fleming,
after stating that he was wholly devoted to the saints of
Ireland, adds, that for the purpose of illustrating their lives
he visited the principal Libraries of Italy, France, Belgium,
and Germany.1 It was probably on the occasion of his
present journey that he made this visit, and a short paper,
apparently drawn up to serve him as a guide in this literary
tour, is happily preserved in the library of St. Isidore's :
" At Verdun, in France, in the monastery of St. Michael, is
preserved the Life of St. Malcalinus, Abb., who was Abbot
of that monastery.
" In Virssenaken, in the Duchy of Brabant, the Life of St.
Himmelin, whose relics are preserved in that city.
"At Fosses, in the Diocese of Namur, the Life of St.
Ultan, who died there.
" In the monastery of the town of Bury, in Cornwall, the
Life of St. Buriena, Virgin.
" In Brussels, the Life of St. Rumold published by John
Domyns.
" At Liessies or Fecau (Laetiis vel Fisiaci], in Hainaut, the
Life of St. Etto, who reposes in the former place.
"In the district of Cumberland, in England, the Life of St.
Bees (S. Bcgae), Virgin.
" In the city of Condy, in Hainaut, the Life of St. Was-
nulph, who reposes there. He was the brother of St. Etto.
"At Cologne, in the church of St. Chunibert, repose the
two brothers Ewald. See the chronicle of Sigebert, at the
year 693 ; and Molanus in his additions to the Roman Martyr-
ology, at 3 rd of October.
*' At Wansor ( Wakiodorum), in the territory of Liege, the
Life of St. Eloquius, Abbot, who reposes there.
"At Vienna, in Austria, is enshrined the body of St.
Colman, Martyr.
1 Wadding " Scriptores, Ord. S. Francisci," page 2J2.
In the Seventeenth Century. 207
"In the monastery of Brie, near Paris, the Life of Syna,
who reposes there.
" At Louvain, the Life of St. Abbuin, Bishop of Fritzlar,
who reposes there. He was Bishop in the city of Burback.
" In the city of Mecklenburg, in the province of the
Vandals (near Wismar), the Life of St. Ivan, a Scot, who
was Bishop, and suffered martyrdom there, in the year 1067.
"At Malogne (Maloniae), near Namur, the Life of St.
Bertuin, Abbot, who rests there.
"In the territory of Aries (in territorio Atrebatensi), at
Albiniacke, the Life of St. Kilian, who rests there. There is
a college of Regular Canons there.
" At Cologne, in the monastery of St. Martin, the Life of
St. Mimborin, a Scot, who was Abbot of that place.
"At Wurtzburg, in Germany, the Life of St. Machair
(sancti Macarii}, a Scot, who rests there.
"At Pontoise (Pontisarae), in Picardy, the Life of St.
Sadoch, of whom mention is made in the Life of St. Riquier,
in Surius.
"At Ingolstadt, the Fathers of the Society of Jesus have a
Life of St. Kevin."
In Louvain, Father Fleming was engaged in the Chair of
Philosophy and Theology during the following years, till he
was, in 1630, chosen first Superior of the newly established
Convent of the Order at Prague. One of his last letters from
Louvain is dated iSth February, 1630, and is addressed to
Father Robert Rochford (also known as Father Robert a
Sancta Brigida), who was then in the College of St. Francis,
in Alcala. He invites Father Rochford to hasten his journey
to Louvain, where everything was prepared to welcome him.
Their present Lecturer of Philosophy, he says, Father Francis
Ferrall, had been appointed to the Chair of Theology in the
Argentine Province, and, "as for myself," he adds, "if other
duties be not assigned to me, I will, at least, devote myself
to my ' Columbanus! " Saint Columbanus was a favourite saint
of Father Fleming, and the fervent Religious seem to have
devoted each leisure hour to collect and prepare for the press
his hitherto scattered writings.
In 1630, St. Anthony's was found too small for their ever
increasing numbers, and Father Malachy Fallon proceeded to
the court of Ferdinand II., to pray for the site of a second
Convent, " in which the exiled students of the Irish Province
might be gathered together to glorify God, and to prepare
themselves for the mission in their native land."1 This
prayer was granted, and a site in the city of Prague being
1 From an original copy of the petition preserved in Archrv. S. Indori.
208 Irish Historical Studies
assigned to them, Father Patrick Fleming was selected to
proceed thither as first guardian and founder of the new
convent. In the official report of the foundation, sent to
Rome by the Superiors in Louvain, Father Fleming is styled
" Lector in Sacred Theology, who having completed all his
studies in Louvain, subsequently held the post of Lector of
Philosophy and Theology there, and, what was of more im-
portance, was at all times remarkable for the lustre of his
virtues." Fleming, accompanied by another Irish Franciscan
named Father Geraldine, set outonfootfor Prague inthe begin-
ning of November, 1630, and having overcome a thousand diffi-
culties which such a journey in Germany, especially in the
wintry season, presents to a poor Franciscan, arrived at his
destination before the close of November, and in the next
month the first students were sent thither. Some fragments
of Fleming's letters from Prague have fortunately been pre-
served. On the 1 2th of April, 1631, he writes to Father
Robert Rochford, now Lector of Philosophy at St. Anthony's,
Louvain, " There is here the greatest scarcity of books, and
hence, too, they are very dear. Only one or two booksellers
can be found in the whole of this triple city. One of our
greatest difficulties will be to form a library unless we get the
books from Frankfort, as, undoubtedly, we will have to do
after a time ; and, indeed, this will be less expensive than
to purchase them either bound or unbound here." On
the /th of June, writing to Father Malachy Fallon, Lector
of Theology in Louvain, he gives a few details concerning the
new convent : — " We have formed a choir capable of con-
taining thirty Religious, and underneath we have laid out a
chanel, opening on the street, where formerly there was a
smith's forge."
Writing again to Father Rochford, on the 6th August, 1631,
he states that he was to start on the following day for
Vienna, to arrange some difficulties that had arisen with the
secular authorities regarding his convent. He sent also a
copy of the seal of the new Convent, having for its motto,
"Nodus originahs non est in te," and adds, "these words
are attributed to St. Ambrose, and are given by Father
Hugh (Mac Caghwell) in his Rosary of the Immaculate
Conception, and, therefore, I added them on the seal."
Father Fleming continued in Vienna till the middle of
October, when he returned to Prague. On the 25th of that
month, he writes from his Convent there that for some d
they were all in suspense in consequence of the rumours of war.
He adds, " we are all well, and when these law-suits and wars
will have ceased, we will have many consolations here."
In the Seventeenth Cetitury. 209
In a second letter of the same day, he writes — " Colum-
banus is promised to me by the printer for the next Fair-
day ; be good enough to tell Moretus not to print the
Poenitential of St. Cummean till I send him a more correct
copy, together with a dedicatory letter to the Abbot of St.
Gall's. I have not been able to compose this as yet, owing
to the many distractions I have had. Our own work-
shops are in good order. The Prince de Coravite is our
most especial friend. Your Reverence will kindly ask Father
Francis Fleming to transcribe for me what Messingham has
on the Purgatory of St. Patrick, for I am anxious to print
here the Tract of the soldier George, and other visions
about it, and to dedicate them to this worthy Prince, who
has often spoken to me about that Purgatory, and he is so
interested in it, that he would wish to make the journey to
Ireland to seethe place."
Some further details concerning the Convent of Prague and
its devoted superior, are given in the preface of O'Sheerin1 to
the writings of St. Columban. It was on the 2nd of July, 163 r,
that the Franciscans were publicly inducted to their new
establishment in Prague by Cardinal Harrach, Archbishop of
Prague and Primate of Bohemia. His Eminence and all the
other civil and ecclesiastical authorities of Prague being
present, a discourse composed by Father Fleming was
delivered with great earnestness and effect by a young Reli-
gious, in deacon's orders, named Matthew Hoar,2 who was
destined in a few months to be the companion of Father
Fleming in martyrdom. Six friars thenceforward devoted
themselves there to the exercises of piety with unremitting
fervour. They had to contend against many difficulties, but
Father Fleming, to uphold the courage of his companions, con-
tinually referred in his discourses " to St. Columbanus, towards
whom he cherished a most tender devotion. He set before
them the many and almost superhuman difficulties this saint
had to encounter, and to secure his patronage and that of
their other patron saints, he caused the Litanies of the Blessed
Virgin to be recited each day, with prayers to St. Francis, St.
Patrick, St. Columbanus, St. Ambrose, St. Catherine, and other
saints."
1 O'Sheerin states that these details were extracted in 1665, by Father Anthony
Donnelly, O.S.F. Sac. Theol. Lector Jubilatus, from a work entitled De incun-
abulis Collegii Praxetisis, composed by Father Francis Magennis, companion of Father
Fleming in his flight, and subsequently guardian of the Franciscan Convent there.
• The writer adds, that Fr. Hoare was chosen on this occasion " ob eminentis
ingenii judiciique acumen, felicis memoriae foecunditatem, dicendique gratiam, cum
omnimoda morum honestate conjunctam, coram tot ac tantis Magnatibus fiducialiter
declamandam eaque ab ipso adeo proeclare, venuste ac plane Angelice, omnium
cum stupore. perorata, ut solemnitatem et auditorum devotionem minim in raodum
adauxent. "
'4
2IO Irish Historical Studies
In the month of October, however, the Elector of Saxony
invaded Bohemia, and, after the victory of Leipsic, ravaged
the country without opposition. The Lutheran peasantry at
the same time formed themselves into armed bands to plunder
the Catholic inhabitants and to wreck the religious houses,
scattering or murdering the inmates. Being warned of im-
pending danger, Father Fleming, with three companions,
resolved on yielding before the storm, and seeking safety in
flight, whilst the other two religious were commissioned to
remain in Prague, and to continue, if possible, in possession of
the monastery. During the Octave of All Saints the fugitives
set out on their perilous flight, but had not proceeded very far,
when, on the 7th of November, Father Fleming and the Deacon
Hoare were overtaken by a band of Lutheran peasants, and
barbarously murdered. The remains of these worthy Religious,
who thus merited to lay down their lives for Christ, were
devoutly translated to the town of Noticium, and interred
there under the pulpit in the Franciscan Church.
Before Father Fleming set out for Prague, he consigned his
" Collectanea Sacra" containing the life and writings of St.
Columbanus, and other valuable tracts connected with our
early Church, to Moretus, a publisher of Antwerp. The death,
however, of the holy martyr prevented its publication, and it
was only in the year 1667, that, through the exertions of
O'Sheerin, this precious monument of Fleming's learning and
industry was printed and preserved to us. In addition to the
extant works of St. Columbanus, and the documents connected
with the life of that saint, the " Collectanea Sacra" presents
the Life of St. Comgall, founder of Banger ; the Life of St
Molua, patron of Killaloe and founder of Clonfert-Mulloe, in
the Queen's County ; the Life of St. Mochaemog (or Pulckerius)
a companion of St. Columbanus in Bangor, whose feast is kept
on the 1 3th March ; also the Penitential Rule of St.'Cummian,
and other important tracts. One of its most curious frag-
ments is the " Mystical Interpretation of the names which
occur in the Genealogy of our Saviour," by St. Aileran, or
Aireran, as his name is sometimes written. St. Aileran has
received from our Irish writers the epithet of an Egna, i.e.,
" the Wise." He was lecturer in the famous monastery of
Clonard ; his feast was observed on the 2Qth December, and his
death is marked in the Annals of Ulster and the Four Masters,
in the year 674, where he is styled Aileranus Sapiens. This
" Mystical Interpretation" was known to Ware and Usher,
both of whom refer to it in their writings. Centuries earlier
it was inserted by Sedulius in his Commentary on St. Matthew,
who prefaces it with these words : " Here begins the typical
In the Seventeenth Century. 211
and figurative signification of the genealogy of Christ, which
St. Aileran, the wisest of the Scottish nation, explained."
Fleming found an ancient, though imperfect, copy of this
Tract in the Library of St. Gall's, and preserved it to us by
inserting it in his Collectanea Sacra.
Many of the extracts from MS. Lives of our Saints, and
the incidental remarks of Fleming himself, are full of the
deepest interest. Thus, at page 362, he mentions that the
cambatta, or staff, of St. Columbanus, which was sent by that
holy abbot to his great disciple St. Gall as a token of pardon,
was still preserved in the monastery of Fosse, in Rhetia. He
adds, that " this cambatta is of the wood which is called in
the Irish language ciiileann (i.e. holly), which the Germans call
baxholder;" and that Stephen White, S.J., was of opinion
that this was the very pastoral staff of St. Columbanus, which,
perhaps, derived its name cambatta from the Celtic word cam,
which means "crooked." In the same monastery was pre-
served the portable reliquary of St. Magnus, which he ever
carried around his neck, and which contained relics of the
Holy Cross, of the Blessed Virgin, of St. Maurice and com-
panions, and of St. Columbanus and St. Gall.
Speaking of the wooden church erected by St. Columbanus,
Fleming remarks that this was more Hibemico, as is instanced
in the church of St. Finan, in Lindisfarne (see Bede H. E.
lib. 3, chap. 25), and in the oratory of St. Malachy, which, as
St. Bernard writes, was formed of planed planks of wood,
closely and firmly united together. St. Attala, the disciple
of St. Columbanus, erected a large wooden cross before the
oratory of his loved master, and many miracles were performed
at it through his intercession.
The question has been warmly controverted, did St. Colum-
banus visit Rome? Fleming adopts the opinion that he did;
and he mentions in confirmation of it, that on the ancient
monument of the saint in Bobbio, he was represented as
kneeling at the feet of the Roman Pontiff, and receiving from
his hands the venerable reliquary which had ever since
been zealously guarded at that monastery. A very old paint-
ing was also preserved there, representing St. Comgall im-
parting his blessing to St. Columbanus and his twelve
companions, when setting out on their distant mission. One
of these figures had the inscription, " St. Kilian, companion
of St. Columbanus, on his journey to Rome."1 I may be
allowed to add, that other ancient records connected with
the monastery of Bobbio, and now preserved in the Barberini
Library, Rome, fully confirm this opinion of Father Fleming.
l"S. Culianus comes S. Columbani Romam euntis." Fleming, page 320.
2 1 2 Irish Historical Studies
Speaking of the monastery of Bangor, where St. Columbanus
had been trained to piety and science, Father Fleming thus
writes : " This seminary, indeed, merited that its site should
be marked out by an angelic vision, and be watered into more
abundant increase and growth by the grace of the Holy
Spirit . . . There still may be seen, on the spot were the Bangor
monastery stood, some structures, and vast walls of white stone,
and various enclosures, all of which betoken its former
grandeur."
In a valuable commentary on the Life of St. Columbanus,
Fleming treats of the various persons and places mentioned
in the memoir of the Saint by Jonas, as also of the conversion
of Ireland, of its ancient name of "Scotia," its fame for sanctity
and the glories of the monasteries with which it was enriched.
He has another special dissertation on the Rule of St. Colum-
banus, in which he inserts the Catalogue of the Three Orders
of Irish Saints, subsequently published by Usher. Fleming
tells us that his text of this famous Catalogue was taken from
" a very ancient and accurate Life of St. Patrick," and that he
had also another copy of it, made by Father Matthews, Pro-
vincial of the Order of St. Francis, in the year 1626, from two
MS. volumes of the ancient Life of St. Finnian, one of which
was in Usher's Library, and the other in the monastery of
the Island of All Saints in Lough Ree. There are some
important variations between Usher's and Fleming's text of
this Catalogue, and Dr. O'Connor, in his Rer. Hib. Scriptores
(vol. II., page 162), and the most learned of our later
writers, give the preference to Fleming's text. I am sure no
apology is needed for inserting in full this most important
fragment from our ancient church : —
"•Here begins the Cata- "Incipit Catalogus ordi-
logue of the orders of Saints num Sanctorum in Hibernia
in Ireland, according to the secundum divisa tempora.
various periods.
" The first order of saints " Primus ordo Sanctorum
was in the time of Patrick ; erat in tempore Patricii ; et
and then they were all tune erant Episcopi omnes
Bishops, illustrious and holy, clan et Sancti, et Spiritu
and full of the Holy Ghost, Sancto pleni, quadringenti
four hundred and fifty in quinquaginta1 numero, Eccle-
number ; the founders of siarumfundatores.unumcaput
Churches, worshipping the one Christum colentes, et unum
head, Christ, and following ducem Patricium sequentes,8
the one leader, Patrick, hav- unam tonsuram habentes, et
1 Usher's text has — " cccl. numero." — (Usher's Works, vol. vi., p. 478.)
1 Usher has " Unum caput Christum et unum ducem Patricium habcbant."
In the Seventeenth Century.
213
ing the one tonsure and one
liturgy of the Mass, and they
kept one Easter, viz., after
the vernal equinox, and what
was excommunicated by one
church was excommunicated
by all ; they did not reject the
ministrations and society of
women, because, founded on
the rock Christ, they feared
not the blast of temptation.
This order of saints continued
throughout four reigns, that
is, from the time of Laoghaire
the son of Niall, who reigned
thirty-seven years, and of
Oilioll, surnamed Molt, who
reigned thirty years, and of
Lugadh, who reigned seven
years; and this order of saints
continued down to the latter
days of Tuathal, who was
surnamed Moelgarbh, and
they all continued holy
Bishops.
" But the second order of
saints was as follows. For in
this second order there were
few Bishops and many
• Priests, in number three hun-
dred, worshipping the one
head, the Lord ; they had
different forms of Liturgy
and different rules of life,
and they celebrated the one
Easter on the fourteenth
moon. And they made an
uniform tonsure, viz., from
ear to ear. They also shun-
ned the society and ministra-
tions of women, and they
excluded them from their
monasteries. This order
also lasted for four reigns,
that is from the latter days
unam celebrationem Missae et
unum Pascha, scilicet post
aequinoctium vernale, celc-
brabant, et quod excommuni-
catum esset ab una Ecclesia
omnes excommunicabant,mu-
lierum administrationem et
consortia non respuebant, quia
super petram Christum fun-
dati, ventum tentationis non
timebant. Hie ordo Sanc-
torum per quaterna duravit
regna, hoc est, a tempore
Leogarii filii Neill qui regnavit
xxxvii. annis, et Alildi cog-
nomento Molt, qui xxx.
annis regnavit, et Lugadii qui
vii. annis regnavit ; ct hie ordo
Sanctorum usque ad tempora
extrema Tuathalii, cogno-
mento Moelgarbh duravit ; et
Sancti Episcopi omnes per-
manserunt.1
" Secundits vero ordo Sanc-
torum talis erat. In hoc enim
secundo ordine pauci erant
Episcopi et multi Presbyteri,
numero trecenti, unum caput
Dominum colentes, diversos
celebrandi ritus habebant et
diversas regulas vivendi, et
unum Pascha xiv. luna cele-
brabant. Et hi uniformem
tonsuram scilicet ab aure
usque ad aurem faciebant.
Mulierum quoque consortia,
ac administrationem fugiebant
atque a monasteriis suis eas
excludebant. Hie ordo per
quaterna adhuc regna duravit,
scilicet ab extremis Tuathalii
cognomento Moelgarbh tem-
poribus, et xxx. annos, quibus
1 Usher has the additional sentence — " Hi omnes episcopi de Komaniset Francis
et Britonibus et Scotis, exorti sunt."
214
Irish Historical Studies
of Tuathal Moelgarbh, and
during the thirty years that
Diarmait MacKervaill reigned
and throughout the time
of the two grandsons of
Muiredach, who reigned for
seven years, and throughout
the time of Aedh son of
Ainmire, who reigned for
thirty years. They received
a form of Liturgy of the Mass
from the holy men of Britain,
viz., from St. David, and from
St. Gildas, and from St.
Docus. And their names are
these, viz., Finnian, Enda,
Colman, Congall, Aedh,
Kieran, Columba, Brendan,
Bricquinus, Cainnech, Coem-
gen,Laisrean, Laisre, Lugeus,
Barrinde, and many others
who were of the second order
of saints.
" The third order of saints
was as follows : for, they
were holy Priests, and a few
Bishops, in number one
hundred, who dwelt in desert
places. These lived on herbs
and water and the alms of
the faithful, and despised all
earthly things, and wholly
avoided all murmuring and
detraction. They had different
rules and different forms of
Liturgy, and also a different
tonsure, for some wore the
crown and others the hair,
and they had a different
Paschal solemnity, for some
celebrated it on the four-
Dermitius MacKearvaill reg-
navit, et pro tempore, quo duo
neportes Muredachi qui vii.
annis regnaverunt, et pro tem-
pore quo Aidus filius Anmirei
qui xxx. annis regnavit. Hi
ritum celebrandi Missamac-
ceperunt a sanctis viris de
Britannia, scilicet a S. David,
et a S. Gilda, et a S. Doco.
Et horum nomina sunt hi (sic)
scilicet Finnianus, Endeus,
Colmanus, Congallus, ./Cde-
us, Queranus, Columba, Bran-
danus, Bricquinus.Cainnechus,
Caimginus Lasreanus, Lasre-
us, Lugeus, Barrideus,1 et alii
multi qui erant de secundo
gradu sanctorum.
" Tertius ordo Sanctorum
erat talis; erant enim Presby-
teri Sancti et pauci Episcopi
numero centum, qui in locis
desertis habitabant. Hi oleri-
bus et aqua et eleemosynis
fidelium vivebant et omnia
terrena contemnebant et om-
nem susurrationem et de-
tractionem penitus'evitabant.
Hi diversas regulas et varies
celebrandi ritus habebant et
diversam etiam tonsuram ;
aliqui enim habebant coronam,
aliqui caesariem, et hi diver-
sam solemnitatem paschalem
habebant ; alii enim xiv. luna,
alii XIII.2 celebrabant. Hie
1 The names as given by Usher are : " Duo Finiani, duo Brendani, Jairlathe a
Tuama, Comgallus, Coemgenus. Ciaranus, Columba, Cainecus. Eogenius Mac-
Laisn u~, Lugeus, Ludeus, Moditeus, Cormacus. Colmanus, Nesanus, Laisreanus,
Barrindcus, Coemanus, Ccranus, Comanus, et alii multi." He adds, in parenthesis,
as given by some other MS., " £ndtust Aedcus. Byrch inns."
1 Usher has, " alii enim rfsurrfftiflnem xiv. Inna rr/ xvi. cum juris inkntiontbus
celebrabant" without any second member of the sentence.
/// the Seventeenth Century.
215
teenth moon, others on the
thirteenth. This order con-
tinued throughout four reigns,
that is, during the time of
Aedh Allain, who reigned
for only three years, and
during the time of Domhnall,
who reigned for thirty years,
and during the times of
Moelcoba, and during the
time of Aedh Slaine. And
this order continued till that
great mortality. These are
their names : — Petran, bishop;
Ultan, bishop ; Colman,
bishop ; Aedan, bishop ;
Lomnan, bishop ; Senach,
bishop. All these and many
others were bishops. But
the priests were these, viz. —
Fechin, the priest, Airendan,
Faillan, Cummian, Colman,
Ernan, Cronan, and many
other priests.
" It is to be remarked that
the first order was thrice holy ;
the second order, holy in the
second degree ; and the third
order, holy. The first order
glows like the sun with the
fervor of charity, the second
is pale like the moon, the
third shines like the aurora.
The Blessed Patrick, taught
by a divine revelation, fore-
knew these three orders,
when in that prophetic vision
he saw all Ireland filled with
a glowing fire ; then only the
mountains seemed to burn ;
and afterwards he saw lights
only burning in the valleys."
1 Usher has "fliorum Kfailcobi," which is correct.
' Usher's text adds, " Murgnts Episcopus.
* Usher has, " Lomanus Ep., Senackus Ep.
4 Usher — instead of Cumenianus — has " Comanus, Comianus."
"Instead of this concluding sentence, Usher's text has — "Primus sicut sol
ardcscit, >ecundus sicut luna, tertius sicut stellae."
ordo per quatuor regna dura-
vit, hoc est, pro tempore Aidi
Allain, qui tribus annis tan-
tum regnavit et pro tempore
Domhnalli qui xxx. annis reg-
navit et per tempora Moelca-
vaexet pro tempore Aidi Slane.
Et hie ordo usque ad mortali-
tatem illam magnam duravit
Quorum nomina sunt hi, Pe-
tranus Episcopus, Ultanus
Episcopus, Colmanus Episco-
pus,2^Edanus Episcopus, Lom-
pnanus8 Episcopus, Senochus
Episcopus. HiEpiscopiomnes
et alii plures. Hi vero presby-
teri : Fechinus Presbyter, Air-
endanus.Faillanus, Cummeni-
anus,4 Colmanus, Ernanus,
Cronanus et alii presbyter!
plures.
" Nota quod primus ordo
erat Sanctus Sanctissimus,
secundus sanctior, et tertius
Sanctus. Primus6 sicut sol in
fervore claritatis, calescit, se-
cundus sicut luna pallescit,
tertius sicut aurorasplendescit.
Hos tres ordines B. Patricius
superno oraculo edoctus intel-
lexit, cum in visione ilia pro-
phetica vidittotam Hiberniam
flamma ignis repletam, deinde
montes tantum ardcre, postea
lucernas ardere in vallibus
conspexit."
216 Letters of Balniez.
The " Collectanea Sacra" is a quarto volume of 480 pages,
and its usual marketable price is fully proportionate to its
worth. At Heber's sale it sold for £40 ; and in 1849, a
copy was marked in Thorpe's London Catalogue for .£31 lOs.
A few years ago, one of the Oxford Colleges secured the
work for £,22, and another copy was purchased by the late
Protestant Primate of Armagh for £20. The splendid copy
bequeathed with so many other valuable books to the R.I. A.
by William Elliott Hudson, Esq., was purchased by him for
£24. A copy which belonged to the Rev. Charles O'Connor,
was purchased at the sale of the Stowe collection by the
late Dr. Todd, at whose demise it was again sold, in November,
1869, f°r £>7S- It is to be desired that a book so valuable and
so much sought for should be republished, and thus made
accessible to the students of our antiquities, most of whom are
at present practically excluded from the use of it.
LETTERS OF BALMEZ.
XIII. — HUMILITY.
MY ESTEEMED FRIEND — I find it is useless to attempt to
confine you to a connected discussion on the dogmas of
religion, and the principles on which they rest, for, faithful
to your system of observing no system, and inviolably ob-
serving the rule of your method, which is to observe none,
you skip like a butterfly from flower to flower ; so that when
one believes you absorbed in some capital question, and
decided on prolonging the attack commenced on some point
of the walls of the Holy City, you suddenly raise the siege,
sit down in some other quarter, and there threaten to open
a new breach, expecting me to fly to the defence of the point
menaced, but only to find you directing your steps to some
other place, uselessly fatiguing me without obtaining the
result I desired. No ; I made a mistake when I said I was
uselessly fatigued ; for though it is true I have not been able,
up to the present, to withdraw you from your error, because
you have ever refused to subject yourself to the trouble of
a discussion sustained with due order and connexion, yet I
flatter myself with having succeeded in removing some of
Letters of Halmes. 2 1 7
the prejudices which obstructed your advance in the road to
faith, hoping that some day, with your understanding
illuminated by superior inspirations, and your heart moved
by the grace of the Lord, you may resolve to seriously pursue
it, and burst the bonds that detain you, and so escape from
your present unhappy state, in which I hope the hour of
death shall not find you.
Apologising for this preamble, which you may regard as
inopportune, but which I consider a salutary inopportunity,
I come now to answer the difficulties you propose to me
on one of the virtues most extolled by the Christian
religion. I am very glad we have escaped from the disputes
which were the subject of the last letter ; for though it
treated of a very transcendent and highly important matter,
the subject was of a nature so delicate and fragile, that it
was necessary to measure one's words, and go in search of
expressions, which, while permitting the truth to appear,
might closely veil whatever could offend decency and the
delicate considerations due to modesty. But humility is a
subject on which we can talk without periphrasis, there being
no danger of making the blood rise to the cheek by an un-
measured word. You are somewhat Voltarian when speaking
of this virtue, and ironically apply to it the epithet sublime,
which Christians are fond of calling it. You appear to have
formed very mistaken notions about the nature of humility,
for you go so far as to assure me that no matter how you
might desire it you could not possibly be humble after the
fashion mystic works require, simply because you do not think
it possible to deceive oneself, and all the efforts to do so
would be in vain. I almost laughed when I found you
imagined you had proposed an unanswerable difficulty to me
when you said you could never persuade yourself you are
the most stupid among men, for you meet many who
evidently do not possess the knowledge, be it little or
great, which your education and instruction procured for
you ; or that you are the most perverse of mortals, for you
do not rob, assassinate, nor commit other acts with which
some men stain their hands ; and, nevertheless, you say, if we
accept the doctrine of mystics, this is the perfection of humility,
which the most distinguished saints and those most advanced
in this virtue, have attained. I do not wonder you feel
no inclination to run out on the streets and feign madness,
that you might be despised, and so have an opportunity of
practising humility ; but what I do wonder at is, that you
should consider such arguments invincible, and, proclaiming
your victory beforehand, intimate that one must either swallow
2 1 8 L f tiers of Balmez.
the absurdities resulting from these maxims and examples, or
condemn the lives of great saints, and cast the works of the
most famous mystics into the fire. I think the dilemma is
not so perfect as to leave no means of escape. I rather
believe it will neither be necessary to devour the absurdities
ncr engage in the repugnant occupation of Don Quixote's
housekeeper and the village priest.
I think you, who are so noble-hearted, cannot be at variance
with St. Teresa of Jesus, to whom, though you regard her as
a visionary, you cannot deny the eulogy so well deserved by
her eminent virtues, her pure soul, her good heart, her clear
and penetrating talent, and her pen, as amiable as sublime.
You know this saint had some experience in the Christian
virtues, and from all she had meditated and read, and con-
sulted besides with wise men, should know in what humility
consisted, and how this virtue was understood and explained
in the bosom of the Catholic Church. And do you believe
the saint thought that, to be humble, she should begin by
deceiving herself? I would wager anything you could not
guess the definition she gives of humility — the admirable de-
finition, which, I might say, appears selected on purpose to
answer your difficulty. The saint relates that she did not
comprehend why humility was so agreeable to God ; and
thinking on the matter one day, she found it was so, because
humility is truth. You see there is no talk here of deceit, and
humility, so far from urging us to it, dissipates it ; for its most
solid merit, the very title on which it is agreeable to God, is
its truth.
I shall explain in a few words that beautiful sentence of
St. Teresa of Jesus ; and I shall require no more than this
luminous observation of our saint's to make you comprehend
what humility is, in its relations with ourselves, with God, and
with our neighbour.
Is it opposed to the virtue of humility that we should
know the good qualities, natural or supernatural, with which
God has favoured us ? No ; on the contrary, read all the
works of scholastic and mystic theologians, and you shall find
that they all agree that this virtue is not opposed to any such
knowledge. If a man constantly experiences that he com-
prehends with great facility whatever he hears or reads, that
it is enough for him to fix his attention on the most abstruse
questions to make them appear clear and simple, there is no
inconvenience in the world in his being inwardly convinced
that God has bestowed this great favour on him ; nay, more,
it is impossible for him not to entertain this conviction, which
has for its object a fact ever present to his mind, and of
L etters of Balmez. 2 1 9
which his conscience assures him, or rather a series of acts,
that continually accompany his existence, and constitute his
intellectual life — that intimate life, of which we are as certain
as of the existence of our body. Can you imagine St. Thomas
was persuaded he was as ignorant as the lay brothers of his
convent ? Was it possible for St. Augustine to believe he
knew as little of the science of religion as the lowest of the
people to whom he was explaining it? Shall we say St.
Jerome, who had such a profound knowledge of the learned
languages, and of all the other things necessary for the correct
interpretation of the Sacred Scriptures, believed in his heart
he knew Greek and Hebrew but tolerably, and that the in-
vestigations with which he ascended to the sources of eru-
dition were totally fruitless. No ; Christians utter no such
absurdities. A virtue so solid, so beautiful, so agreeable to
the eyes of God, cannot require of us any such extravagances;
it cannot require us to shut our eyes to what is clearer than
the light of day.
Real humility brings with it the clear knowledge of what
we are, without adding or subtracting anything. If a person
have wisdom, he can be interiorly aware of it ; but he should
at the same time confess he has received it from God, and
that to him is due all the honour and glory. He should also
acknowledge that this wisdom, though it raises his under-
standing above that of the ignorant, or of those less wise than
himself, leaves him, nevertheless, very inferior to other wise
men, who are far before him in comprehensiveness and pro-
foundness. He should also consider that this wisdom gives
him no right to despise any one; for, as he has it by a special
beneficence of God, so might others have possessed it, if the
Creator had deigned to bestow it on them. He should
remember that this privilege does not exempt him from the
weakness and miseries to which humanity is subject, and by
how much the more the favours are with which God has distin-
guished him — by how much the more capable his understand-
ing may be of knowing good and evil, by so much the more
strict shall be the account he must render to God, who has
so made him the object of his bountiful munificence. If a
person have virtues, there is no inconvenience in his knowing
it, but he should acknowledge they are due to particular
graces from heaven ; if he does not commit the evil acts with
which other men stain themselves, it is because God holds
him by the hand ; if he does good and avoids evil by means
of grace, this grace has been given by God ; if, from his very
disposition, he is inclined to certain virtuous acts, and has a
horror of the contrary vices, this disposition has also come to
2 2O L ettcrs of Balmez.
him from God : in a word, he has motives to be content, but
not to become proud, on the supposition that he would be
unjust in attributing to himself what does not belong to him,
and defrauding God of the glory that is rightly His.
Listen to that great saint, to the man who soared so high
in all Christian virtues, especially in humility — to St. Francis
de Sales ; and see how he not only agrees that it is lawful to
know the perfections we possess, but also permitted and often
salutary, to fix our attention on them, and stop to consider
them at leisure : —
" But, Philothea, you will desire me to lead you forward in
humility, what I have said on it up to this appearing rather
like wisdom than humility. Forward, then, I go. There are
many who do not like, or do not presume to think on and
consider, the graces and favours God has bestowed on them,
fearing they might fall into vain glory or complacency, but
in this they are undoubtedly deceived ; for as the great
Angelical Doctor says, the true means of coming to the love
of God is the consideration of his favours, as by how much
the more we consider them, by so much the more we shall
love Him ; and as particular favours move us more than
general ones, so they should be more attentively considered.
It is certain nothing can humble us so much before the mercy
of God, as the multitude of His benefits; nor can anything
humble us so much before His justice as the multitude of
our transgressions. We should consider what He has done
for us, as well as what we have done against Him ; and as we
often consider our sins, so let us often consider his graces.
There is no fear that the knowledge of what He has given us
shall make us vain, so that we attend to this truth, that
whatever good is in us is not ours. Tell me, do mules cease
to be dull and peevish beasts because they are loaded with
the precious wares and odours of princes ? What good have
we that we have not received ? And if we have received it,
why do we glory ? (i Cor. iv. 7). On the contrary, the lively
consideration of the favours received makes us humble,
because knowledge engenders gratitude ; but if, on beholding
the beneficence God has employed towards us, any sort of
vanity should come to disquiet us, it will be an infallible
remedy to recur to the consideration of our ingratitude, our
imperfections, and our miseries. If we consider what we did
when God was not with us, we shall see that what we do
when He accompanies us, does not spring from our own
industry. We shall be truly glad, and shall rejoice because
we have some good ; but we shall glorify God above as the
author of it. Thus the Blessed Virgin confessed that God did
Letters of Balmez. 2 2 \
great things in her ; but this was to humble herself and exalt
God : — ' My soul,' she says, ' doth magnify the Lord,
because He hath done great things in me'" (Luke i., 46, 49). —
St. Francis de Sales In trod, to a Devout Life, part $rdt chap. 5.
There could be no more conclusive testimony in favour of
the doctrine I was explaining. You see there is no talk of
deceiving oneself, but simply of knowing things as they
are. " Then," you will object, "how is it great saints say
roundly they are the greatest sinners in the world, that they
are unworthy the earth should sustain them, and are the most
ungrateful among men ?" Understand the true sense of
these words ; recollect they are accompanied by a sentiment
of profound compunction ; that they are pronounced in
moments in which the soul annihilates itself in presence of its
Creator ; and you shall see they are susceptible of a very
rational interpretation. I shall simplify it by an example.
When St. Teresa of Jesus said she was the greatest sinner on
earth, can we imagine she believed she was guilty of the
crimes of other women, when she knew well the purity of her
body and soul, and the ineffable favours with which God had
enriched her ? Clearly we cannot. Nay more ; can we
suppose she believed she had one single mortal sin on her
soul ? Certainly not, for othenvise she would not have dared
to receive the august Sacrament of the Altar, which she
nevertheless received so frequently, and with such ecstasies of
gratitude and love. Well now : the saint was not ignorant
that in the world there were many persons guilty of grievous
and very grievous sins in the sight of God ; for she herself
was the first to deplore it, and to pray heaven to look on those
wretches with eyes of mercy ; and therefore, when she said
she was the greatest sinner on earth, she could not under-
stand it in the rigorous sense in which you appear desirous
of interpreting it. What then did it signify ? Here it is, very
simply. Let us assist at one of the scenes represented in her
mind, and we shall perfectly comprehend the sense of the
words which are a stumbling block to you. Placed in the
presence of God, with lively faith, with ardent charity, with a
contrite and humble heart, she examines the hidden folds of
her conscience, and observes, now and then, some slight
imperfections as yet unconsumed by the fire of divine love ;
and she also recollects times past, when, notwithstanding that
she was very virtuous, she had not fully entered on the
sublime path which led her to that height of sanctity which
constituted her an angel on earth. The light faults into
which she had fallen, her want of promptness in following the
inspirations of heaven, occur to her ; and comparing all with
232 L etters of Balmez.
the natural and supernatural favours heaped on her by God,
and measuring it with her lively faith, her ineffable charity,
and that intimate presence of God, which raised her above
this mortal life and placed her in superior regions, she sees in
all its blackness, the foulness of even venial sins ; she con-
siders the ingratitude of which she was guilty by not attend-
ing at once, with much more ardour than she did, to the calls
of the Lord ; and then comparing the sanctity of her soul
with the divine sanctity, her ingratitude with the favours of
God, her love with the love manifested for her by God, she
annihilates herself in presence of the Most High — she loses
sight of all the good she possesses, and with her eyes fixed
on her weakness and misery alone, she exclaims she is the
greatest sinner among women, the most ungrateful among
God's creatures. Do you find anything irrational or false in
this ? Can you presume to condemn the expansion of an
humble heart, which, annihilated in the presence of the Lord,
acknowledges its defects, and in its lively consideration of
them exclaims they are the greatest sins of the world ? Do
you not discover in this the expression of an ardent charity
rather than words of deceit ?
I may tell you, Christian humility is most suited for forming
true philosophers, if true philosophy consists in making us
see things as they are in themselves, without adding or sub-
tracting anything. Humility does not cramp us, for it does
not prohibit the knowledge of the good qualities we may
possess : it only obliges us to recollect we have received them
from God ; and this recollection, far from depressing our
mind, encourages it : far from debilitating our strength,
increases it ; because, by keeping the source from which all
good has come to us ever present to our mind, we know that
by recurring to the same spring with lively faith and recti-
tude of intention, copious floods shall flow again to satisfy all
our necessities. Humility lets us know the good we possess,
but does not allow us to forget our evils, our weaknesses,
and our miseries : it allows us to know the grandeur, the
dignity of our nature, and the favours of grace ; but it does
not permit us to exaggerate, nor allow us to attribute to our-
selves what we do not possess ; or if we possess it, to forget
from whom we have received it. Humility, then, inspires us,
with regard to God, with acknowledgment and gratitude, and
makes us feel our nothingness in presence of the Infinite
Being.
With respect to our neighbours, humility does not allow us
to exalt ourselves above them by aiming at any pre-eminence
which does not belong to us. It renders us affable in our
Letters of Balmce. 223
daily intercourse with them, for it makes us feel our own
weaknesses, and, consequently, tolerant of those to others ;
and by excluding envy from the heart, which always accom-
panies pride, it compels us to respect merit wherever we meet
it, and frankly acknowledge it by offering it due homage,
without dreading its prejudicial effect on our own glory.
As I have just pronounced the word glory, I would like to
know whether you take it ill that humility does not allow us to
take pleasure in the praises of men, but inspires us with sen-
timents superior to that smoke which turns the heads of so
many. If you do — and I have no doubt of it — a single
reflection will suffice to convince you of your error. Do you
think everything is good which makes man great ? I believe
you will not hesitate to say yes. Very well ; the world re-
gards him as a hero, who, after performing actions worthy of
praise, pays no attention to it, but despises it, and on feeling
the fragrant aroma, passes quietly on, his head full of elevated
thoughts, his heart swollen with generous sentiments. The
world then does justice to the despisers of human vanity —
that is, to those who practise acts of true humility : do not be
less just than the world. Do you want a counter-proof of
this ? Here it is : those who are not humble seek after praise ;
and do you know what they acquire as soon as their eagerness
becomes apparent ? Ridicule and mockery. When we wish
to appear well in the eyes of the world, if we are not humble,
we pretend to be so, and exteriorly allow it to be understood
we make no account of praise, and if offered to us, we resist
it, and say it is undeserved. See, my esteemed friend, how
wise, how noble, how sublime is the Christian religion, for in
the very virtue which apparently brings so much debasement
with it, is concealed the means of acquiring solid glory even
among men, who offer it willingly to whoever deserves, but
does not seek it, but ridicule and despise him who solicits it.
Such is the state of things, that pride itself, to quench its
thirst of glory, is compelled to deny itself, and assume the
mantle of humility. And thus is verified, even on earth, that
sentence of the Sacred Scripture : — " He who exalts himself
shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be
exalted."
But enough to-day on humility. I think you are now con-
vinced, that to be truly humble, conformably to the spirit of
the Christian religion, you do not require to run through the
streets as a madman, or to look on yourself as deserving im-
prisonment or the block, or to think your acquaintance with the
sciences or literature is as contracted as that of those who do
not know how to read. If at any time you meet in the lives
224 The "Leabhar na-Huidhri"
of the saints some fact you cannot explain by the foregoing
rules, remember we have no difficulty in saying there are
many things rather to be admired than imitated ; and besides,
you should not attempt to judge by mundane considerations
what marches by paths unknown to the generality of men.
These are what we call mysteries and prodigies of grace, and
what you, philosophers, will regard as the excitement and
exaggeration of religious feeling
I remain your ever fond and affectionate friend,
J.B.
THE "LEABHAR NA-HUIDHRI."
1 HE Royal Irish Academy has rendered good service to the
causeof Celtic Literature by publishing, inastylethat approaches
as near as possible to fac-simile, the oldest of the now extant
" Ancient Books of Erin," written in the native language.
This volume has long been known to Irish scholars as the
LEABHAR NA-HUIDHRI, i.e., "The Book of the Dun Cow,"
although it only borrowed thisdesignation fromanother far more
ancient MS. of Clonmacnoise, from which the greater part of its
contents were copied : for it is related in the Life of St. Kiaran
of Clonmacnoise, that, when he left his father's house to
pursue the paths of a religious life in the solitude of the
cloister, he was followed by a pet dun cow, the hide of which
was subsequently used by that Saint and the Religious of the
Monastery when recording the early history and traditions of
our country.
The present MS., called "Leabhar na-Huidhri," as appears
from a memorandum inserted at page 37, was written by
Maelmuire, the son of Ceilechar, who wasthe^son of Conn-
na-mbocht, i.e., " Con of the Poor," a surname given to him
on account of his boundless charities. This remarkable man
possessed a rich patrimony in Ulster, but, renouncing the
world, retired to the hallowed precincts of Clonmacnoise, and
there spent his life in deeds of devotion and charity. He died
in the year 1031, and his sons and grandsons are famed in our
annals for the high literary eminence they attained in the
schools of that great monastery.
The following is the entry at page 37, to which we have
referred : — " Pray for Maelmuire, the son of Ceilechar, that is,
the son of the son of Conn-na-mbocht, who wrote and
collected this book from various books. Pray for Domnall,
the son of Muirchertach, son of Domnall, son of Tadhg, son
The " Leabhar na-Huidhri." 225
of Brian, son of Aidrias, son of Brian Luighnech, son of
Toirrdealbach Mor O'Conor. It was this Domnall that
directed the renewal of the name of the person who wrote
this beautiful book, by Sigraid O'Cuirrndin ; and is it not as
well for us to leave our blessing with the owner of this book
as to send it to him by the mouth of another person. And It
is a week from this day to Easter Saturday, and a week from
yesterday to the Friday of the Crucifixion, and there will be
two golden Fridays on that Friday, that is — the Friday of the
Festival of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Friday of the
Crucifixion, and this is greatly wondered at by some learned
persons." All the data here given accord with the vigil of
Palm Sunday in 1345, on which day the decaying name of the
original writer was happily restored by Sigraid O'Cuirrndin,
who, as we learn from the Annals of the Four Masters, was a
learned poet of Breffny, and died in the year 1347.
Of Maelmuire (whose name literally means devoted to the
Blessed Virgin Mary), the compiler and scribe of the valuable
MS. of which we treat, nothing more is known than what is
thus briefly registered in the Annals of the Four Masters :
"In the year 1106, Maelmuire, son of the son of Conn-na-
mbocht, was killed in the middle of the Daimhliag of Cluain-
micnois, by a party of robbers."
In compiling this work he availed himself of other books now
lost, besides the ancient Leabltar na-Huidhri already referred to.
Thus some of his tracts are cited from " The Yellow Book of
Slane," " The Books of Eochad O'Flannagan," " The Books of
Monaster," " The Books of Drom Sneachta," " The Leabhar
Gt-arr, or the Short Book," "The Yel|ow Book," and Nennius.
The contents, as they now stand, are for the most part
historical and romantic tales, with a few very valuable religious
tracts. It is to be lamented, however, that the greater part
of the original MS. has long since been lost, and the frag-
ment that now remains to us consists of only sixty-seven folios.
In a philological point of view the present publication is
invaluable, as some of its poems are reckoned among the
most ancient compositions in the Celtic language, which even
in the 1 2th century required glosses and explanatory notes
to render them intelligible to Irish readers. Some of the
romantic tales are also important as detailing to us the daily
life and usages of our fathers long before the light of Christian
faith shone upon the nation. They chiefly regard Cuchulain,
and the celebrated palace called the " Royal Branch," which
was the chief monarch's residence in the royal Emania till
that city was destroyed by the Collas, three chieftains of the
Heremonian race, one hundred years before the mission of
Vul.. VII. 15
226 The "ItfaWtar na-Huidhri?
St. Patrick to our island. Cuchulain was a native prince
of Ulster, and inheritor of the districts of Cuailgne and Muir-
thenme, lying between the present town of Dundalk and
Drogheda, and comprising the greater part of the present
county Louth. His chief residence was Dun-delga, the modern
Dundalk. He was also one of the most distinguished of
that band of Ulster heroes, who, by our ancient writers, were
styled " the champions of the Royal Branch," and as such he
was entitled to reside in the chief monarch's palace. In the
famous poem called Tain-bo-cuailgne, i. e., "the Cattle-spoil
of Cuailgne," the following description is given of the war
chariot of Cuchulain : — " Then the valiant champion mounted
his armed battle-chariot, with its thin swords, with its hooks and
hard spikes, with its champion-slaying spears, with its opening
machinery, with its galling sharp nails, which were disposed
on the axles, and straps, and shafts, and ropes of that chariot.
Such was that chariot, with its narrow dry entrance to its body,
high-mounted, straight-shouldered, champion-like, in which
would fit the arms of seven chiefs; with the fleetnessof the swal-
low, or of the wind, or of a fox coursing over the plain. That
chariot was yoked upon two fleet, bounding, furious steeds, with
small heads, small tufts, small legs, sagacious, broad-hoofed,
red-breasted, switch-tailed, streaked, easy yoked, easy of
motion, under the splendid timbers of the car." The great
value of such a chariot appears from a subsequent passage, in
which Meave, Queen of Connaught, offers as a prize a chariot
•worth four times seven cumhals, i. e., worth eighty-four cows.
Of the same queen it is also added, that when setting out on
her expedition to plunder the herds of Cuailgne she had nine
chariots appropriated to herself alone — " two chariots before
her, and two chariots after her, and two chariots at each side,
and her own chariot in the middle of them. And the reason
that Meave went forth in this order was, that the sods thrown
up by the hoofs of the horses, and the foam of their bridle-
bits, and the dust of the great army, should not tarnish the
queen's golden diadem." (Leabhar iia-Huidhri, p. 55, seqq.)
It is principally, however, with the religious tracts of the
Leabhar na-HuidJiri that we are interested, and we are happy
to be able to enrich our pages with a few extracts from them.
At page 5, commences the historical introduction to the
famous elegy of the poet Dallon Forgaill on the death of
St. Columbkille, known as the Amhra Cohiimcille, which was
composed before the close of the sixth century. The following
is a brief account of the origin of this poem : —
About A.D. 575, a dispute arose between Aedh, son of
Ainmire, King of Ireland, and Aedan, son of Galbran, King
The " Leabhar na-Huidkri." 227
of the Scottish Dalriads, on the question to which of them
the Dalriads of Scotland should be subject. To arrange this
and other matters of controversy, a convention of the states
of Ireland was held at Druim-ccta, in the diocese of Derry,
to which the king of the Scottish Dalriads was invited. He
accordingly came to the convention, and St. Columba also
hastened to it from his great monastery in lona. The mat-
ter in dispute between the two kings was referred to the
arbitration of a wise and holy man of the Dalriads of Ireland,
by name Colman, son of Comgellan ; and he decided that
the valour and military prowess of the Dalriads should be
always with the men of Ireland in their hostings and war-
like expeditions, but that their rents and tributes should be
with the men of Alba, or Scotland. Another weighty matter
to be arranged at their meeting was the case of the poets
and literary men of Ireland, who at this time had become
so numerous and burdensome that many of the chiefs were
anxious to banish them altogether out of the country. St.
Columba, however, himself skilled in poetry, pleaded in their
favour, and it was agreed that for three years they should
continue to be maintained, but with the condition that the
hitherto extravagant number of their attendants should be
reduced to a certain standard. These and other matters
having been arranged, all the poets who had assembled m the
vicinity of the place of meeting, came in a body to the
presence of Columba, and sang a laudatory poem which they
had composed for him, set to a peculiarly noble and melodious
air. Among the rest came the chief poet of Ireland, Dallon
Forgaill, /. t., " the blind Forgaill," who repeated the introduc-
tion to a poem he was about to extemporize on the spot in
praise of Columba ; but the saint prevented him, saying, that
such elegies should not be composed till after death. He,
however, promised the poet to make his death known to him
no matter when or where it should happen ; and he also
promised him, in reward of his piety, that his sight should
be restored to him whilst composing this poem, all which was
verified at the death of Columbkille. .
At page 17 there is a curious tract, but imperfect, describ-
ing the condition of Enoch and Elias in heaven, and their
future conflict with Antichrist, which will precede the day of
judgment. Two other more perfect copies of it are preserved
in Trinity College Library, numbered H. 2. 16. and H. 2. 18.,
in which it receives the title : " The Two Sorrows of the
Kingdom of Heaven." Its language is very ancient, and
brings us back, at least, two or three centuries before the
Leabhar na-Huidhri was compiled. It thus begins imperfectly
\n\\\eLtabharna-Huidhri: — " . . . Elias, so that he is
228 The " Leabhar ua-Huidhri."
beneath the Tree of Life in Paradise, and a Gospel in his
hand for preaching to those birds. There the birds go till
they are eating the berries of the tree. Large berries, indeed,
are these. They are sweeter than all honey, and they are
more intoxicating than all wine. They then continue to eat
the berries. After that Elias opens the Gospel ; at this the
birds press their wings to themselves and their feet, without
moving wing or foot until the preaching is ended. It is on
the day of judgment that he preaches to them — that is, all
that will be given of punishment to the souls of men on the
day of judgment, namely, the four rivers around Mount Zion
shall be a-burning the souls for ten thousand years, and ten
hundred years in each thousand. That is a long trial to any
one who shall have sins ; it is good, however, to anyone who
shall have a good-deserving at last, even in that day, though
it were no more than that It were good that no one should
sleep on the meditation of this while he is alive. In addition
(he preaches), the coming of Christ with the nine orders of
heaven, and with the men of earth, all that have been born,
and shall be born till judgment, and the family of hell. It is
how, again, the same Jesus Christ will come to them — that is,
his red cross upon his shoulders, to avenge his crucifixion
upon the wicked, and to protect the just from the mouth of
Satan. Immense is the host that will be there. It is in the
presence of this host every one shall declare his works, both
good and bad ; each one in his turn shall declare unasked
what his eyes have seen, and what his lips and tongue have
spoken, and what his hands have done, and what his feet
have gone over. Christ, the Son of God, and the angels of
heaven, and the men of earth, and the men of hell, listening
to each one till he has finished his declaration, his guardian
demon reminding him of every evil he had done ; for he will
be continually on his left hand a-vvatching him ; but his
guardian angel on his right hand reminding him of whatever
he had done of good."
At page 34 a tract begins, entitled, Scela na Esergi — i.e.
" Tidings of the Resurrection." The following passages will
give an idea of this work : —
" Let every one bear in mind that judgment will come. It
is then all men shall arise through the proclamation of the
Son of God. In that day, that is, in the day of judgment,
heaven and earth shall be confounded, and all the creatures
that are in them : they shall be dissolved, and shall melt with
the heat of the fire of judgment : but all these shall be put
into a form which will be more beautiful and more lovely by
far than the form in which they were, after their being burned
The " Leabhar na-huidkri" 229
and their being purified through the fire of judgment. It is
then that fire of the day of judgment shall possess vigour and
strength like unto the fire into which were put the three
children by order of Nebuchadonosor. That fire burned not
the holy children, but it burned the impious servants who
were around the furnace of fire. It is in that manner the
glowing fire of judgment shall burn all the sinners and all
the impious, but shall do no harm to the bodies of the
righteous ; for that fire shall be like a soothing drop to the
saints, but it shall burn the sinners. . . .
" Now, it is asked, which is the particular place from which
the resurrection of each one shall be. Even from their graves
for a certainty, after the example of the body of the Lord,
which arose from its own tomb. That portion, however, who
have been devoured by beasts, and who have been dispersed
in different places, these shall arise according to the will of
the Lord, who shall gather them and renew them, from the
place which he wishes ; yet it seems more likely in this case
that it is there they shall arise, where they were drowned and
where they were dispersed, for that is what is regarded as
their tomb. . . ^
" The Church, however, holds the opinion that the bodies
of the holy martyrs shall, after resurrection, bear the marks of
the wounds which they suffered for Christ, without having any
defect or diminution of figure or beauty, for the manifestation
of their victory and their triumph, and also for the manifesta-
tion of the great reward to which they are entitled from the
Lord for their martyrdom ; according to that example of the
body of the Lord, which bears in it, after resurrection, the
marks of the wounds which he suffered from Jews, for the
manifestation of his perfect submission to the Heavenly
Father, and also for an increase of pain and punishment to
the Jews, from whom he suffered these wounds."
Another tract, in some respects similar to the preceding
one, is given at page 31. It is headed: " Scela lai Bratha"
i.e. 'tidings of the Judgment Day,' and is described by
Eugene Curry as " a very interesting ancient sermon on the
day of Judgment." We give the following passages from
this valuable Tract, the more interesting as few Sermons
of our ancient Church have been preserved to us : —
" May God bless the hearers. Let every one of you
separately give his mind, and his contemplation fervently to
the truths of the day of judgment, that is, how the Lord will
give welcome to the saints and to the just to the possession
of the heavenly kingdom ; how on the other hand he will
230 The " Leabhar na- Huidhri."
give condemnation to the sinners and to the unjust when
banishing them into hell. Jesus Christ, the Son of the
living God, the Saviour of the whole world, one of the three
persons of the noble Deity, who is co-eternal and co-powerful
with the Father and the Holy Ghost, it is he who spoke these
truths a little while before his suffering, in order to declare
the glory he shall have himself on the day of judgment with
his saints and with his just, and to strengthen his apostles
and his disciples, so that sadness should not seize upon them
for his suffering ; for he knew that the time of his suffering
was drawing nigh.
" Matthew, son of Alpheus, a Hebrew sage, one of the twelve
men whom Jesus chose into his communion, one of the four
men who wrote the Dominical Gospel — it is he who wrote
and furnished these truths of the day of judgment, as he
heard them from the lips of his Master, that is, Jesus, so that
he left them in remembrance with the Church, and spoke in
the following manner : ' When the Son of God and of man
in one person will come with honour and with dignity, and
all his angels with him, he will then sit on his royal chair and
on the seat of his dignity, and then all men will be gathered
into his presence, and he will then make a separation and a
check of them afterwards,'
" It is certain also that four divisions will be made of the
human race in the day of judgment. One division of them
indeed will be made to submit to judgment, and after their
being judged they will go to pain and punishment. It is to
these the Lord will say this terrible saying when banishing
them from him : ' Depart from me, O cursed, into the ever-
lasting fire which has been prepared for the Devil and his
wicked family.' Those are they who fulfil not in act the good
they promise with their lips. The name of this class is in the
Scriptures malinon valde, that is, bad, whose evil is Hot intense.
" There is another division of them that will not be made to
submit to judgment, but will go at once without any judgment
at all to hell, and will be pained there for ever and ever, without
the mercy of God to relieve them (for they impose neither
restraint, nor law, nor rule on the commission of their sin and
their vices here, but every bad thing they are most capable
of, it is that they do) : the name of that division is malt valde,
that is, the worst of the human race.
" Another division of them will be made to submit to judg-
ment, and after their judgment will go to reward, Those are
they who through compunction of heart do fervent penance
here, and correct their previous evils through virtues and good
works, and also give alms of food and lodging; to the poor in
The " Lcabhar na-Huidhri" 231
the name of the Lord, so that these cover the sins which they
committed before, and that the Lord does not remember to
them beyond the evils they committed here. It is to these
the Lord will say in the day of judgment, while calling them
to him into heaven : " Come ye now, O blessed, to the posses-
sion of the heavenly kingdom." The name again of this
division in the sacred Scriptures is, boni non valdt, that is,
good whose good is not intense.
" Another division of them that are not made to submit to
judgment, but will go at once, without being judged at all,
to heaven and a glorious reward — it is those that think it not
enough of good to fulfil what the divine Scripture enjoins on
them to do, but abound through their virtues and their own
benevolence, and until they do more of good than is enjoined
upon them in the divine commandments. . It is to these Jesus
promises and prophesies this great good which is related in
the Gospel, so that he says to them when seeing them com-
ing towards them in the great convention of the day of
judgment: 'Since ye have forsaken,' says Jesus, 'every
good thing ye had in the world for the sake of my familyship
and companionship, come ye now to me, that ye may be with
me on twelve thrones, without undergoing judgment.' "...
The chief monster of hell, and its abode, are thus de-
scribed : — A A hundred necks on it, and a hundred heads
on each neck, and five hundred teeth in each head. A
hundred hands on it, and a hundred palms on each hand,
and a hundred nails on each palm — a place in which exis-
tence will be without companions or friends, in thirst, in
hunger, in great cold, in great heat, and in the want of
every goodness, and in the completion of every evil ; in
the disunited union of demons and of the family of hell.
There will also be there woe and shouting, crying and com-
plaints, groaning and anguish on every mouth ; and cursing
without ceasing from the sinners on their tempter, that is,
on the Devil, for it is he that brings them to suffer punish-
ment— every evil they committed through his temptation :
and cursing from him on his children around him, that is, on
the sinners, for his own pain is the greater for every evil they
committed through his persuasion to them while persuading
them of every evil. Very terrible, however, and ugly is the
prison which the Lord made for the Devil and his demons,
that is, hell. Low and deep is its position, for though a
mill-stone were dropped into the mouth of hell, not more than
at the end of a thousand years would it have reached its
bottom. The journey of a soul, too, after leaving its body is
for a space of thirty years from its top to its bottom, as is the
opinion of some." . ...
232 The " Leabhar na-Huidhri?
"In one word, were a person sent into seven ages, and that a
thousand years were in each age of them, not more than the
one twenty-first part of the ills of hell could he relate. These,
however, are the chief informations regarding hell and its
pains. No joy upon earth is it, though the chief sovereignty
of the world were in the possession of him to whom is to be
as an habitation that habitation, and to whom will be destined
the residence of that prison. The saints, however, and the
just, who fulfilled the commandments of the Lord and his
doctrine, will be invited with great dignity, with honour, with
reverence into the everlasting life on the right of God for ever
and ever ; that is, the band of meekness and of gentleness,
of charity and of mercy, and of every other benevolence ; the
band of virginity and of penance, and widows faithful to
God." . I . . . . . wi/« vil .
" Ineffable, however, is the extent and the breadth of the
heavenly kingdom ; for the bird of quickest flight in the
world could not arrive at the circumference of heaven from
the beginning of the world to its end. Immense also is the
fertility and the brightness, the beauty and the firmness of
that city ; its ease and its great sweetness, its position, its
splendour, its smoothness, and its gleaming"; its purity, its
lovingness ; its whiteness, its melodiousness, its sanctity, its
saint-purity, its loveliness, its gentleness, its height, its splen-
dour, its dignity, its reverence, its full peace, its full union.
Now, no creature is able to relate the hundredth part of
the goodness of that city, but only it is better to relate
this small portion of it than to be silent. Blessed, how-
ever, is he who will be with good deserving and with good
works, and who will be brought to the possession of that
city in the day of judgment, for he will be for ever without
end or limit in the union of the church of heaven and of
earth, in the union of noble fathers (patriarchs)- and of
prophets, of the Apostles and disciples of Jesus Christ ; of the
saints and holy virgins of the world; of the angels and
archangels of the Lord, in the union which is nobler than all
union, in the union of the holy, noble Trinity, of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."
There is only one other tract to which, for the present,
we need call attention. It is the " Vision of St. Adamnan,"
(p. 27.), in which the writer vividly describes the joys of
heaven and the pains of hell, as seen in vision by St.
Adamnan, and as described by that saint in his sermons to
the faithful. It thus begins : —
"The Lord of the elements is noble and is admirable, and
his strength and his power are great and are wonderful. He
Tht " Leabliar na-HuiJhri." 233
is gentle and he is mild, he is merciful and .he is charitable ;
for he unites in heaven, to himself, the flock of charity and
of mercy, of gentleness and forbearance ; but he brings and
prostrates into hell the impious, unprofitable congregation of
the sons of malediction ; for he prepares the various secrets
and rewards of heaven for the blessed, but brings a multitude
of various pains to the sons of death.
" Now there are many of the saints and of the just of
the Lord of the elements, and of the apostles and disciples of
Jesus Christ, to whom were manifested the mysteries and
secrets of the kingdom of heaven after that manner, and the
all-glorious rewards of the just, and also to whom were mani-
fested the various pains of hell, together with the beings
that are in them. To Peter the apostle, indeed, was manifested
the four-cornered vessel which was let down from heaven, and
four ropes out of it. Sweeter to listen to it than to all music.
Paul the apostle, too, was taken up to the third heaven, so that
he heard the unspeakable words of the angels, and the ad-
mirable conversation of the family of heaven. Further, also,
on the day of the death of Mary all the apostles were brought
so that they witnessed the miserable pains and punishments
of the unhappy when the Lord enjoined upon the angels
of the west to open the earth before the apostles, that they
might view and contemplate hell with its many pains,
according as he himself had promised this to them a long
time before his passion. And lastly to Adamnan ua Thinne,
the chief sage of the west of the world, was revealed what is
related here when his soul went forth from his body on the
festival of John the Baptist, and when it was brought to
heaven with the angels of heaven, and to hell with its vile host.
" Now, when the soul went out from the body, her
guardian angel while she was in the flesh, immediately ap-
peared to her, and led her with him firstly, to view the king-
dom of heaven. And the first land to which they came is
the land of the saints. A land rich and bright then is that
land. Various and wonderful assemblies are there with casnltis
of white linen about them, and fine white cncullas over their
heads. The saints of the east of the world are in their
assembly apart in the east of the land of the saints : the
saints of the west of the world again in the west of the same
land ; the saints of the north of the world again, and of the
south of it, in their two very large assemblies, south and north.
" There is also a circle of fire about that land, quite all
round, and every one (goes) into it and out of it, and it does
no harm. Meantime the twelve apostles and Mary the per-
fect virgin are in her assembly apart about the powerful
234 The " Leabhar na-Hui<thri"
Lord : patriarchs and prophets, and the disciples of Jesus
are near the apostles. There are also other holy virgins to
the right of Mary, and but a short space between them ;
children and young persons about them on every side, and
the music of the birds of the family of heaven delighting
them. Bright troops of the angel guardians of the souls are
attending and ministering among those assemblies in the
presence of the king continually. .
" Now such of the people of the world as reach not
that city from their life, and to whom is destined its pos-
session after the trial of judgment, it is where they throng
unsteadily and restlessly, in forts and in hills, in morasses
and in caverns, their habitations until the day of judgment
comes for them. And it is thus these hosts and assemblies
are, namely, the guardian angel of every individual soul
among them, serving and ministering to it.
" When now the guardian angel had manifested to the
soul of Adamnan these visions of the kingdom of heaven,
and the first adventures of every soul after leaving its body,
he led it with him afterwards to visit hell beneath, with the
multitude of its pains and its tortures, and its punishments.
The first region they came to is a dark, black region, and it
bare, burned, and no pain in it at all. On the further side
by it, is a valley full of fire, and an immense flame in it, so
that it passes over its borders on every side ; its lower part
is black, its middle and upper part red. There are eight mon-
sters there, their eyes like masses of fire. There is also an
immense bridge over the valley ; it extends from one brink to
the other. Its middle part is high, but its two extremities
low. Three hosts are attempting to pass it, and it is not all
that get quite through. For one host of them the bridge is
wide from beginning to end, so that they pass quite safe with-
out fear and without terror over the fiery valley. -Another
host also is trying it ; it is narrow for them at first, but wide
finally, so that in consequence they pass, after great danger,
over the same valley. As for the last host, however, the
bridge is wide for them at first, narrow and confined finally,
so that they drop from the middle of it into the same dan-
gerous valley into the throats of the eight fiery monsters
which keep their residence in the valley. The class for whom
that way was easy are the virgins, devout penitents, red mar-
tyrs devoted to God. The party, again, for whom the way
was confined at first, and for whom afterwards it became
finally wide, are, the throng who are by compulsion pressed
into doing the will of God, and afterwards turn from their
compulsion to pleasure in serving God. They, however, to whom
The " Leabhar na-Huidhri." 235
the bridge was wide at first, and to whom it was confined
finally, are the sinners who listen to the teachingof the word of
God, and after hearing it do not fulfil it
" This, therefore, is the teaching which Adamnan was wont
to use towards the multitudes thc-nceforth while he lived. It
is it also he kept proclaiming in the great convention of the
men of Erin, when the law of Adamnan was imposed upon
the Goedhcls, and when the women were freed by Adamnan
and by Finnachta Fledach, king of Erin, and by the chiefs of
Erin besides. The first announcement, also, which Patric, the
son of Calpuirn, was wont to make, is to relate the rewards
of heaven and the pains of hell to those persons who used to
believe in the Lord through his teaching, and who, at the
promulgation of the gospel, used to commit their soul-friend-
ship to him. It is also the teaching which Peter and Paul
and the rest of the Apostles most frequently practised, that
is to relate pains and rewards which were manifested to them
after the same manner. It is it, also, Sylvester, Pope of
Rome, employed towards Constantine, son of Helen, monarch
of the world, in the great convention, when he bestowed Rome
on Paul and on Peter. It is thus, also, Fabian, the successor
of Peter, employed towards Gordian, king of the Romans,
when he believed in the Lord, and when many thousands
more believed at that time. This is the first king of the
Romans who believed in the Saviour Jesus Christ."
There is one special feature of these extracts to which,
before concluding, we wish to call the attention of the
reader: it is, that like every other document handed down to
us from the early ages of Celtic piety, they contribute to es-
tablish in the clearest manner the oneness of faith of the
Catholic Church of the present day with the ancient Church
of our fathers, Thus, they teach us that virginity was es-
teemed a holy state, meriting for " the virgin-saints" a par-
ticular rank in proximity with the all-perfect Queen of
Virgins in the heavenly kingdom. Again, they prove how
fully the Catholic doctrine of the angels-guardian was
cherished by our ancient pastors and people, and it is clearly
taught that this guardianship over each one's soul does not
cease till the irrevocable sentence has been pronounced by
the divine Judge, decreeing eternal life or eternal torments.
At the same time they also show that for some imperfect
souls there is a temporary punishment after death, a punish-
ment, however, which, after a time, will be exchanged for the
enjoyments of Paradise. Such was the teaching of St.
Adamnan, St. Columbkille, and the other great fathers of the
Irish church— such still is the faith that quickens the heart of
their spiritual children.
236
DOCUMENT.
ADDRESS OF THE CLERGY AND PEOPLE OF ST.
LOUIS, UNITED STATES, TO ARCHBISHOP
KENRICK, AND THE REPLY OF HIS GRACE.
" MOST REVEREND AND MOST BELOVED FATHER —
" May it please your Grace — We, your children of the
clergy and laity of this diocese, full of joy and gratitude to
God, on beholding you again in your old and honoured place
at the head of this Christian family, gather round you in filial
love and reverence, to offer to you our most earnest and heart-
felt welcome.
" But we are not here to-day merely to comply with a custom
however venerable, or to perform certain formalities however
appropriate. No ; our presence in such numbers has a signi-
ficance which we desire to be distinctly understood. It is
the heartfelt expression of our unbounded confidence in your
Grace as a father and spiritual guide, whom we love and trust,
and of our deep veneration for you as a prelate of whom we
.are justly proud. We wish this also to be an occasion of
testifying to you our sincere gratitude for the years of labour
you have spent in our service, and for the great blessings
conferred upon us during that time, by your most wise and
active administration. Ingrates indeed should we be if
twenty-nine years of disinterested devotion to our welfare
could be by us forgotten or unappreciated. Time has but
served to intensify our devotion to you, for each year brought
forth new proofs of your self-sacrificing zeal for our interests.
We have seen you during these long years, leading a life of
apostolic poverty in order to afford the more to the poor and
suffering of your flock. We have seen you founding and
fostering vast religious and charitable institutions — the special
glory of your episcopate — until now we behold within their
walls more than four hundred Religious of various orders
employed in maintaining over three thousand inmates, includ-
ing widows, orphans, foundlings, penitent women, the sick, the
aged and the insane. Within sight of this very edifice is one
such institution that has within its precincts nearly three
hundred inmates. Your words and example enkindled the
flame of charity in the breasts of others, who came forward to
aid you in these noble works. Under your auspices we have
seen numerous churches, which never would have been erected
without your generous aid, and splendid educational institu-
tions arise and flourish, until now we behold St. Louis unsur-
passed in these particulars by any of her sister cities inthis Union.
Document. 237
" Pardon us if we pain your modesty by reference to these
meritorious works. But if we were silent, these monuments
themselves must speak aloud. For now, as you re-enter your
city comforted and beautified by them, these ' works praise
you in the gates/ and you have to permit your children,
within as well as without their walls, to fulfil the words of
Scripture, and ' rise up and call you blessed.'
" And, independently of all your Grace has done for churches
and charitable and educational institutions, we come to speak
our gratitude for the exalted position which your personal
character and official action as our representative has given to
religion in this city.
" We can never forget your dignified firmness on many an
important and trying occasion. When political storms raged
around your flock, you were ever found the fearless shepherd
of your people. We have never known you to yield one iota
of principle to the most pressing demands of temporary
expediency. You have ever held and acted out the true
doctrine, that in permanent institutions, such as the Catholic
Church is by excellence, that any timid sacrifice of principle,
though it may afford safety for the time to individuals, must
finally prove prejudicial to the general interests of the entire
body. Hence,' during the test-oath agitation and persecution,
when you beheld your priests and Sisters of Charity and of St.
Joseph arrested and imprisoned, and still more persecution
threatened, if you did not succumb, you, Most Rev. Father,
were found alone amongst the presiding churchmen of this
state, in boldly denouncing the iniquitous enactments against
the Christian liberty of the people, and denouncing it with a
courage, a dignity, and a promptitude worthy the character of
Thomas a Becket.
" These, and innumerable other benefits, we shall never for-
get ; and, on a great public occasion like the present, so rarely
afforded us, their remembrance wells up from the grateful
hearts of your children, and we cannot but speak ' the things
we have seen and heard,' even though we feel you would much
prefer our silence.
14 We need not say how earnestly we watched your course,
as far as we could ascertain it, in that great assembly of your
peers — the Council of the Vatican. We knew enough of your
character to feel unlimited confidence that there, as here, you
would be influenced by the ruling purpose of your life, the
glory of God, and of His spouse, the Catholic Church.
Though we beheld you stand with the minority, we saw
around you great and holy men, who shared your sentiments,
and many of whom looked up to you for counsel. \Ve felt,
238
in the reported words of the Sovereign Pontiff to a French
prelate, who shared your Grace's views, that you were bound
to act according to your convictions and your conscience,
until a new reason should arise to influence both — namely,
the supreme deciding voice of church authority, which, to the
Catholic, is the commanding voice of God.
" We know, from the reiterated teaching of the same
Pontiff, that the Catholic Church is the guardian, not the
destroyer, of the dignity of the human reason, and that she
asks it to pay ' the homage of the understanding ' to God
alone. Far dearer to you and to every true man, than was Isaac
to Abraham, is that reason, the distinguishing gift of the
Supreme Being that elevates man above the brute creation.
This reason can never be offered up except on ' the mountain
of God,' and in obedience to the divine behest most certainly
ascertained. And even then, like the only son of the
patriarch, it is offered, but never slain, for God preserves it
by affording the very highest rational arguments, founded on
His own divine veracity, and thus reason triumphs in her own
submission to essential truth. Thus we behold in act that
wonderful principle of Catholic unity, that perfect compati-
bility of intellectual liberty, with simple docile obedience,
which can exist in an infallible church alone. With heartfelt
gratitude we hail your submission to this church authority.
By us it was of course expected, for we knew too well that
your great learning and exalted position had in nothing
diminished your humility. By those outside the Church who
know you personally, or by character, this submission must
be productive of most serious thoughts and salutary effect.
No man has ever dared to accuse you of moral cowardice.
No one can think that, after having sacrificed personal
interests, and perhaps somewhat pained life-long friends by
your course, after a life, too, of such unswerving adherence to
principle, that now, in the evening of your days, you would
belie the record of that life by submission from any other mo-
tive than the deep conviction that God speaks through His
church ; and it is man's greatest glory to obey her voice.
Here must thinking men behold the secret of Catholic unity
— the principle of ecclesiastical authority and the conserving
power of the everlasting church. Finally, most beloved and
venerated Father, we, in the name of 150,000 Catholics of
your diocese, in the name of the poor and helpless whom
you have succoured — in the name of the priests and people,
we beg for them and ourselves your paternal blessing, and
wish you many years of health, and peace, and prosperity."
Document. 239
REPLY OF HIS GRACE THE ARCHBISHOP.
" Words would be insufficient to express my feelings of
thankfulness at the sentiments which have been uttered in
the address just now read. I shall say nothing of that part
of the address which refers to me personally. ' Praise not a
man during life,' says the Scriptures. Death, and death only,
puts the seal on his character, and every human praise given
to his actions is necessarily incomplete without the approval
of God, the judge of the secrets of the heart. With regard
to that portion of the address that refers to my course in the
Vatican Council, I will state briefly the motives of my action,
and the motive of my entire and unreserved submission to
the definition emanating from that authority. Up to the
very period of the assembling of that council I had held as
a theological opinion what that council has decreed to be an
article of Christian faith ; and yet I was opposed — most
strongly opposed to the definition. I knew that the miscon-
ceptions of its real character would be an obstacle in the way
of the diffusion of Catholic truth — at least I thought so. I
feared that in certain parts of Europe, especially, such a defi-
nition might lead to the danger of schism in the church, and
on more closely examining the question itself, in its intrinsic
evidence, I was not convinced of the conclusiveness of the
arguments by which it was sustained, or its compatibility with
certain well ascertained facts of ecclesiastical history, which
rose up strongly before my mind. These were the motives of
my opposition ; the motive of my submission is simply and
singly, the authority of the Catholic Church. That submis-
sion is a most reasonable obedience, because of the necessity
of obeying and following the authority established by God ;
and having the guarantee of our Divine Saviour's perpetual
assistance is in itself evidence that cannot be gainsayed, by
any who profess to recognize Jesus Christ as his Saviour and
his God. Simply and singly on that authority I yield
obedience, full and unreserved submission to the definition,
concerning the character of which there can be no doubt, as it
has emanated from the council and was subsequently
accepted by the greater part even of those who were in the
minority on that occasion. In yielding this submission, I say
to the church in the words of Peter and of Paul : ' To whom,
O Holy Mother, shall we go, but to thee ? thou hast the
words of eternal life, and we have believed and have known
that thou art the pillar and the ground of truth.'"
240
MONASTICON HIBERNICUM,
OR,
A SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE ANCIENT
MONASTERIES OF IRELAND.
[N.B. — Thetextofthe "Monasticon" is taken vtrbatim from Archdall : the notes
marked with numbers are added by the Editors.]
COUNTY OF CORK.
1480. The abbot Nicholas O'Henesa was made bishop
of Waterford in this year.*
26th June, 33rd Queen Elizabeth, a grant was made to Sir
Richard Greneville, Knt., and his heirs, of this monastery,
*War, Bps., p. 536.
Fermoy; The ancient name of the place now called Fermoy was Magh Meine, and
thus it was called till the siege of Drom Damhghaire, which is recorded to have
taken place about the year of our Lord 220. Munster was at that time invaded by
Cormac Mac Airt, who, full of confidence in his Druids and in the valour of his
trotfps, encamped at Drom Damhghaire, in the S.E. of the County Limerick, since
called Cnoc Longa (Knocklong), i.e. hill of the encampment. In this emergency
a famous Druid, named Mogh Ruth, hastened from his residence in Oilcan Dairbre,
now the Island of Valencia, to the aid of the Munster army, and through his skill
and bravery a brilliant victory was achieved. The troops of the monarch, adds the
ancient tale, were pursued by the men of Munster, led by their Druid, Mogh Ruth,
in his chariot drawn by wild oxen, till driven beyond the borders of the province,
and into Magh Raighne, in Ossory. The men of Munster now returned home
in triumph, after having repulsed the invader, and called a convocation of the
states and people of the provinces to give thanks to their frien'l and deliverer.
Mogh Ruth, after which they unanimously agreed to give and confirm to him and
his descendants for ever the possession of the plain and country then called Magh
Meine (or the mineral plain) in reward for his great services
Magh Meine was thus handed over to Mogh Ruth, and hence it was called Fearn
Moga, or the land of Muga, as written in some old MSS. His tribe and family,
who settled down in this territory, took the tribe name of Fer Mugai. i.e. the men
of Mugai, anglicised Fermoy ; and the race of Mogh Ruth continue to inhabit
there even to this day, in the families of O'Dugan, O'Cronin, and others in that
and the neighbouring districts The following ex:ract from an ancient- tract further
illustrates its names : —
" They then sent for the clay of Comlehaille Meic Con, i.e. the Caile (or land) of
Mcne, son of Ere, son of Deaghaidh, which is called Fir Mulghe. i.e. Fermoy,
to-day. The reason it is called Caile Meic N-Eirc is because his sons dwelt there,
namely, Mene, son of Ere, and Uatha, son of Ere, and Ailbhe, son of Ere.
Another name for it was Fir Muighe Mene, so called because of the abundance
of the minerals contained in the mountains around it, and because there are mine-
rals in all the fields around it also. Another name for it was Corr Chaille Meic
Con, because it was the patrimony of the Clann Daiiine, and it is in it Rossach-
na-Righ is, i.t. Ross-na-Righ, the ancient burial place of the kings of Munster.
and it is there Mac Con was till the time of the battle of Ceann Abrath." (See
Forbas Drom Damhghaire, Book of Lismore, and O'CunVs Copy, C.M.D., p. 42,
and O'Curry's Lectures on Manuscript Materials of Irish History, pp. 171-2, and
Second Series, vol. i., pp. 212, 278, &c., &c.)
The hitherto unpublished tract on the Topography of Fermoy. in the same old
MS., is interesting, as preserving the names and boundaries of the political ami
ecclesiastical sub-denominations of this district, and the names of many of the old
County of Cork. 241
containing three acres, with the appurtenances, and a parcel
of land of the following denominations : Garricula, Ardeval-
Icgge, Aghavanister, Kilcroige, Coulevalintcr, Venosige, Kil-
valinter, Venosige, Forraghmore, Downbahenie, Kilcoman,
ecclesiastical foundations of the place, with special references to the most remark-
able families, civil and ecclesiastical, of ancient Fermoy. It runs thus : —
" Crichadh-an-Chaillc1 of valour,
Is there one of you to tell [its history]
It was given to the son of Sonax [i.e. Mogh Ruth]
For his having relieved the Forbas, &c., £c."
"This country was in two Triuchs2 before it was given to Mogh Ruth, and
there were eight Tuaths in each Triuch. and the line of demarcation between
those two Triuchs was, namely, the course of Glaisse Muilinr. Mairteil3 in Sliabh
l ain.* and Loch Luinge8 on the Machaire, and Gleann na n-Dibergachael on Moin
Mor.6 and when being given to Mogh Ruth they were made into one Triuch, in
order to lessen the [political] influence of the race of Mogh Ruth after him, and
securities for preserving that freedom to him, Mogh Corb,7 son of Cormac Cas. and
hi> descendants after him ; and after that it was arranged into ten Tuaths, eight
Tuaths to constitute the [political extent of the] country, and two Tuaths as border
lands.8 .
" The first Tuath of these that is mentioned is the Eoganacht of Gleann Oni-
nach (now Glanworth). for it is the noblest of them, because it is one of the free
Tuaths of Cashel. with its border Tuaths, and Hi Ingaire. which is called Magh
Fece, is the noblest Baile of that Tuath, and Ceapach Inghin Ferchair is opposite
it on the other side ; and Gleann Caintinn, out of which are Hi Caimh (if.
O'Keeffe) and Hi Digi ; and Corr Tuath, out of which are Hei Finghin ; and
I ,i»leithibcl, and Daire Hi Tnuthghaile ; Cathair Droinne,9 out of which are Hi
1 Crichadh an Chaillc, one of the ancient names of the place now called Fermoy.
' Triuch — an ancient sub-denomination of land, supposed by some to be repre-
sented by the modern barony ; but the two Triuchs mentioned here comprised the
baronies of Ferraoy, Condon, and Clongibbon. Tuath, an ancient political sub-
denomination of land. See \V. K. Sullivan's Introduction to O'Curry's Lect.,
Vol i. sGlaisse Muillinn Mairtel, i.e. the stream of Mattel's [or Mortar] mill,
which flows southward through the glen called Leaba Molaga [or St. Molaga's
bed] into the river Fuinshion, north-west of Marshalstown, now called Abham
Carraig na m-Brointe [or the river of the rock of the Querns] ; others suppose this
to be the Sheep River to the west of the above mentioned stream. 4Sliabh Cain,
i.e. the range of mountains extending from the Galtees westward to Buttevnnt.
* Loch Luinge — Probably the lake from which Baile an Locha, south of
Mitchelstown, has its name. The boundary line between the baronies of Fermoy
and Clangibbon passes through this townland. which is marked on Petty's Map of
the County of Cork as Baile de Locha. • Moin Mor — This place probably com-
prised the greater part (if not the whole) of the present Nagle Mountains, and the
coarse land on the northern and southern slopes of this range. This appears from
the fact that the monastery of Baile na Mona. situate four miles south of Mallow,
on the road to Cork, was in Moin Mor, and the glen called Gleann-na n-Diberga-
i-haile was, in all probability, to the east of, or somewhere about, Ballyhooley.
7 Mogh Corb, son of Cormac Cas — There is evidently a mistake in our text here ;
Mogh Corb was son of Oiliall Olum, not of Cormac Cas He is mentioned in the
Annals of the Four Masters, at the year A. n. 195, as one of the seven sons of Oilioll
Olum, who were slain in the battle of Mngh-Muchruimhe by Mac Con and his
forces. Cormac Cas was second son of Oilioll Olum, and ancestor of the Dal-g-
C'as tribes of Munster. 8Two Tuaths of border land — These were the two Tuaths
»f[Uirainn or] mountain land surrounding Fermoy on the north and east sides,
namely, Hi Rossa and Hi Cuccraidhc Sleibhe. ' Cathair Droime, now Caher
J>roinge, situate about midway between Mitchelstown and Kilworth. The site <>f
M«i. rn. 16
242 Ancient Monasteries of Ireland.
lying south of the Blackwater, Ballymabene, Granesheagh,
Ballinegehie, Corrowharden, Carrigincroughere, and Glasi-
ganishe, containing by estimation five hundred and fifty acres,
at the £1$ 1 8s. $., Irish money .M
**Aud. Gen.
Annratham (i.e. O'Hanrahan), DunMaelclaigh, i.e. the chief fortress of the
Eoganacht ; and Achad Loiscthi,10 out of which are Hi Lachtnain,11 Hi Dubh-
thaigh, Hi Leannain, and Hi Draighnein (i.e. O'Drennan, or O'Drynan), i.e.
Ceall Ghallan ;12 and Moin Banba, out of which are Hi Daronaigh and Lis na
Caille, out of which are Hi Dubhghaille and Hi Cleirigh ; and Rath Mor, out of
which are Hi Darnain ; Leath Baile Hi Conchobhair, for O'Conchobhair was
chief of Hi Inghaire, i.e. of Magh Keige, and the [sub] denominations of this place
are — Dun Loibinn. i.e. Teach an Turtain, and Cluain Dallain,13 and Moin Luachra,
and Ceall Garbhain ; and its boundaries are the line of road which leads from
AirgeaUand14 to Cnocan Dun Martain, and which passes down through that
place to Abhann Mor, and the ditch west of Gort an Grain extending by Gort
Droma Airthir to Leiscnen, along the course of Abhan Mor, and Hi Dallain;
are the hereditary occupiers of Cluain Dallain and of Moin Luachra and of Gort
an Grain, the church of Eoganacht Gleann Ommach is the principal church
and a third of the land of Brigh-Gobban belongs to that Tuath, i.e. Carrac-
Cormaic and Ceall-Danain, Cul Domhnann, Cluain Locha, Cluain Lena, Cluain
Cairbreach, Ceall-Bracain, Coirrlis Da Conall, Craes Cru, Tipra-Gruagain,
Tulach Aedha, Ard Catha, Cainn-Innse and Dun Draighnein to the east of Aith
Lis Ceindfaelaidh.
"Since the two Tuaths of O'Cuain, namely Hi Maille Machaire, 'and Hi
Ingardail' were united into one Tuath, the chief Bailie of Hi Ingardial, i.e.
Conbaid (hound drowning), because Finn's hounds were drowned there, and out
of this place came Hi Buadhaigh. The Martra, i.e. Ath Ubhla, out of which
are Hi Aichir, Ceall Achid, out of which are Hi Lomthuile. The Creg, out of
which are Hi Riagain, Leitir, out of which are Hi Corcrain. The Recles, out of
which are Maeilluaigh, Cill Conaim is the chieftain of Hi Cain, and before they
were united into one Tuath O'Riagain was of Hi Ingardail.
" Hi Maille Machaire, i.e. Leac Glas and Cul Baedain out of which are Hi
Taimhainigh and Hi Fogartaigh, Leathnocht. in which are twelve tribe names,
viz. : O'Conbhaidhe from Cathair Meic Maille, Hi Gonnachain, from Lis
Dormchada, Hi Uallachain, from Cuirr Hi Uallachain, Hi Lachtnain from
Fidhrus ; Meic Cuirc, from Cill Feichin, Hi Ceithernaighe, from Cnocan
Tulaird, Hi Caelbheannaighe, from Cuirr Hi Cacilbheannaighe. Hi Cuicneachain,
from Greallach, Hi Cuicneachain, Cill Cromglaisse, out of which are Hi Cuain,
Laiche Hi Fiaich, out of which are Hi Finneachta ; Ard Fleada, out pf which are
Hi Finneachta; Ard Fleada, out of which are Hi Cinnfhaelaidh, Manann, out of
which are Hi Britain, Garran O'Ceamaighe, out of which are Hi Ciannaighe.
Cill Cruimtir, is the Church of this Tuath.
"And one third of Ternmn Brigh Gobun, belongs to Hi Cain, i.e., the two
Ceannacans and Cul Lugdach. Moin Mucrinde, Ceall Droma, the Marbhthir, the
Lianans, Cnocan Hi Chrbinghilla and Beallach na Ko.s.
•• Tualh O'Cuscraidhe, i.e. Liathmuine and Cul na n-Aracul, out of which are
Hi Liglula Cluain Meic Carthaind out of which are Hi Artuir, Li> an Cnuic,
out of which are Hi Donnchada, Cill Mochuille, out of which are Hi Heachagain,
this Cathair [or fortress] is now marked by the ruins of an old castle, which com-
mands a good view of the country many miles around, and which is marked on the
Ordnance Map of the Countv of Cork, sheet 19. 10 Achadh Loischi, now St.Nath-
alis, north of Glanworth. *l Hi Lachtnain, now O'Lachtnan. sometimes written
< fl.aughnane, and Laughnane. 12 Ceall Gallain— The old church which
name to the parish of Kill Gullain. north-west ot Mitchelstown. See Ordnance
Map of County Cork. 13 Cluain Dallain, now Clandillane, east of the town of
Fcrmoy. u Airgeatlaind, now Araglin.
County of Cork. 243
The church of the abbey, now the parish church, was a mean
Gothic building.*
Glandy, is said to be in the diocese of Cork, where the abbey
of the Vale of God was built, and which abbey, continues our
author, was a daughter of the abbey of Jerpoint, in county of
Kilkenny.b
Glanore, or Glanworth ;bb has its situation on the river
Puncheon, in the barony of Fermoy. The family of Roche
founded a monastery here in the year 1227,° for friars of the
order of St. Dominick ;d but Bourke says, this foundation
(dedicated to the Holy Cross) was at some later period.8
Grange ; formerly called Grany, is seated on the river
Bride, in the barony of Muskerry, and a mile east of Kilcrea.
* Tour through Ireland, p. 131. *Allemande. ^i-e.The Golden Vale. "Smith,
vol. I.,/. 351. AWar. Mon..*Bourke, p. 33^.
Hi Dunadhaighe, Hi Riagain, Daire Faible, out of which are Hi Adnachain,
Loch Arda O'Cullin, out of which are III Cuinn Leath, Bailie, Hi Finn, out of
which arc Hi Finn, and its other half Bally, the Arda in Terman, Brigh
Ghobunn, Liagan Lig Uanach, out of which are Hi Ithfearnan, Durmach, out of
which are Hi Dunadaighe, and the church of this Tuath is Ath Cros Molaga, out
of which are Hi Corrcrain, Hi Ceamsain, Hi Aengnsa, Hi Muircheartaigh, and
Hi Duibheidigh, and a third of Termann Brugh Ghobunn belongs to this Tuath,
i.e. the Baileof Brigh Ghobunn itself, Cluain Aei, Carraic on Furnaidhe Garran
Hi Adhnachain, Baile Hi Mhasilmordha, Baile Hi Chuind, Cnocan Muighe
Ginne, Cluain Garbhain, Cul Aithlis Cindfhaclaidh Gort na Fuinnsion, (Jill
Seanaidhe and they are the family names which belong to this church, i.e.
O'Machnorda are its Comarbs, and O'Finghin, its Aisdre O'Brian, O'Deargain
O'Mulalaidh, O'Flannagain and Meic Brcathnuighe and .Hi Artuir, are the
chieftains of thisTuath.
" Tuath O'Conail, from Gleann Cubhra to Lebglaise and Hi Dubhlaidh are the
chieftains of that Tuath, and Liattruim, from Airgeadlonm, eastward to Lebglaisc,
is the patrimony of O'Dubhlaidhe, and that is O'Xaibelain, Baile Idir da
Abhainn, i.e. Ard Meic Cuillair, and Uamh Croine, and from that eastward to
Dun O n-Gennli these are one Baile, and out of it are Hi Aengusa Magh Drisen,
on the south side of the river and on the north, these arc one Baile. and out of it
are Hi Manog, Feic-Beg is a half Baile, out of it are Hi Riain and Hi Fean;u-a.
Rath Siadhail and the Corran are its other half Baile, and out of it are Hi Cuain,
Cil Uird is the church of this Tuath, and out of it are Hi Mongain ami Hi
Cuillinnain and Hi Brocain.
" Hi Cuscraidh Sleibhteis the borderland of this Tuath we have mentioned, i.e.
Cill Mithne Gort Aicde, Maelrach, Lurga, Daire Leith Re Meic Meada, Gleann
Domhainn, Ceapachna Fian, Gort Ruadh, Ceapach Hi Mcadhra Daire Leathan ;
Eidhnen Molaga, \\ith its Terman, is the church -of this Tualh ; the Comarb of
that church is Mag Floinn, and the clerk of its crozier is O'Coscrain.
" The most noble of the Tuaths of the other half of that country is Tuath Muighe
Tiim in which Cathair Dul.haghain is, out of which are Hi Dubhaghain, and the
breadth of this Tuath is from the middle of Relig na m-hanleagh eastward to Ab-
hann na Carcrach. Hi Daerghala are its her.-ditary people. Maistre-Meic na gam-
. hnaighe. Daire Hi Diarmata, i.e.. Hi Di.irmada ami Hi Cochlain are its heri'di-
tary occupiers. Dun Tulcha Cill Cumain , Croch, out of which are Hi D.uhail of
C'roch. Ard Ceanannai.i and Dun ar aill are one Baile, ami out of it are Hi
Faclain and Hi Uirisi. Cill Fadais the burial cemetery of that Tuath, and it was
Mac ConGairbh, i.e., Mac Coemoc, that consecrated that church. Hi Macil Bile
are its Coin irbs. Hi Amhradlia and Hi Labhra and Hi Eire are its hereditary
people, and the Hi Duibh, of Trochin.iel. were chiefs over them.
244 Ancient Monasteries of Ireland.
From Colgan we learn, that St. Cera, who died A.D. 679,
built a nunnery at Kilcrea,* but in the records it is said to be
at Grany.*
*Act. SS. p. 15. *Smith, Vol. I, /. 21 1.
" I have another Tuath yet to describe, i.e. Madh O'Cathail, i e., Messignighe and
Carraigh Leme-Laeghaire, out of these are Hi Domh-naill, chiefs of Magh Cill
Guile, out of which are Hi Fearghala ; Baile Hi Fiachain, out of which are Hi
Fiachin Cluain Caisil and Daire na Teide, the chief Baile of Hi Annadha, out of
which are Hi Annadha, Garran O'n-Gnima ; Cuil-Baile Hi Einn, out of which are
Hi Finn, Claen Uir is their burying place. The Comarbship of that church is the
hereditary privilege of the Hi Annadha, and Hi Cennagain are its Mac Cleircach ;
the Hi Brain from Clettigh are in this Trian, and the Meic Cairtin, and they are
of the people of Rathan, and this Trian is the hereditary lordship of Hi Domhnaile
(O'Donnell), and he is also entitled to the other two Trians when they have not a
chief of themselves.
"The third Trian of them which I have not described, i.e., Magh Nale, with its
subdenominations, out of which are Hi gormain ; the Brugh and Flaithneim, out
of which are Hi Ardghala ; Tulach-Finnleithid, out of which are Hi Cuilean ;
Magh Lis an Ibhair, out of which are Hi Donnagain ; Baile Hi Mulghuala, out of
which are Hi Macilghnala and out of it also are hi Macilmuala ; Cil O'n-Gerbhin-
nain, out of which are Hi n-Geibt-nnain and Hi Claen. Clacnuir is the burial
place of those two [families] and of O n-Gormain ; and Rathan is the burial place
of all the other families of this Trian after them, and the Meic Finnen are the
Comarbs of Rathan. The other family names are Hi Crainchi, Hi Conaill, Hi
Conaic, Hi Brain Meic Coirtein, and O'Hardgala is the hereditary chief of this
Tuath.
" Hi Bece Abha, i e. Dun Cniadha, out of which are I Laeghnire ; the Rindi,
around the river, out of which are Hi Cairbre and Hi Cathail, Cill Laisre, at both
sides, out of which are Hi Cleirigh ; Moin Ainmneat both sides, out of which are Hi
Kogum ; Ath an Crainn, at both sides, out of which are Hi Buachalla ; Cill Cuain,
out of which are Hi Fiadhain [or Uan], and Hi Lacghaire are their chieftains.
" The other half of that Tuath is Hi Bece upper, i.e., Sonnach Gobann and
Cluain Lochluinn near Abha Bee east and west, out of which are Hi Gobunn ;
Baile Hi Grigin, on the same river, out of which are Igrigin ; Gleann Tuircin to
the west and east on the river ; Daire Hi Ceinneidigh, out of which are Hi Cein-
neidigh, Ceall Ossain Luimneach Beg, extending west of Taedan, and from that
eastward to Lochluingi, with its other patronymics. O'Gobunn is hereditary
chief over them, and he is entitled to the other half of Ibh Bece when there is not
a chief of the Ui Lacghaire. Cill Commuir is the burial place of Hi Bece on
either side, and Hi Dathail are comarbs of that church, and Hi Cochlain are its
Mac Cleireachs.
'• Tuath O Fiannaidh, from Baile Hi Gormain, west to the road in Druim Raite.
and to Ath na Ceoll, and from Abhan mor to the limit of Magh Finne, and the
chief of that Tuath is Ma-g Fiannadhnighe, and its patronymics are Hi Etromain,
and Hi Annratham, and Hi Fireidhin, and Hi Brain Fhinn, and Hi Dubhain. Cill
Cluaise 15 the burial place of that Tuath.
•• Tuath O'n-Dunnin, and its length is from the summit of Sliabh Cain to Each-
lascaib Molaga, and its breadth is from Glaise Muibim Mairteil to Beam Mic
Imhair, O'Lannainis chief of this Tuath ; Hi Cineadha, and Hi Leansain, and Hi
Dungasa, and Hi Dungaile are its patronymics, and Cill Maincheas is their burial
place.
"The borderland of one half [side] of that country is Rossach na Righ and
< 'athair-Gobhunn, and Cluas Droighe, and the Carcuir, and the burial place of
this Tuath is Cill Colmain Grec. and its proper name is Hi Rossa, and its length is
from the summit of Sliabh Cain to Abha Beag et reliqua."
( To be continued.)
[NEW SERIES.]
THE IRISH
ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD.
MARCH, 1871.
OLD CASTLEKNOCK.
AN HISTORICAL SKETCH.
" Hail to thy pile, more honoured in thy fall
Than modern mansions in their pillar'd state :
Proudly majestic frowns thy massive wall,
Scowling defiance on the blasts of fate." — BYRON.
HE fortress of Castleknock, situate about four miles west of
Dublin, is, in many respects, one of the most interesting ruins
in this part of the country. The name Cnucha frequently
occurs in our ancient annals. It is described as a hill near
the Liflfey, in the territory of Magh-Breagh,1 and all our anti-
quarians are now agreed that this place, so famous in former
days, is no other than Caislean-Cnucha, now Castleknock.2
According to the Four Masters, a battle was fought at
Castleknock by King Conmael at so remote a period as 400
years before Christ. We know nothing of the particulars of
this event ; it is simply recorded under the date A.M. 3579.
Another battle, much more remarkable, was fought at Castle-
knock in the second century, a long account of which is given
in an ancient Irish poem, entitled " The Battle of Cnucha,"
which is preserved in some old and valuable manuscripts
of the R.I.A. The Book of Ballymote also makes men-
tion of this battle. From these it appears that at Castle-
knock, in the second century, was fought a memorable engage-
ment, when Cumhal, or Coohal, father of the celebrated Fin-
mac-Coohal, contending for the crown of Leinster, was aided
1 Magh-Breagh, the ancient inheritance of the monarchs, included the northern
part of the county Dublin, and the county Meath. From its great fertility it was
called " the land of the beautiful face." Tara and Cnucha were in Magh-Breagh.
1 See Four Masters, vol. i., 325 and 597.
VOL. VII. 17
246 Old Castleknock.
by Mogh Neid or Eogan More, King of Munster ; whilst on
the other side were arrayed Conn of the Hundred Battles,
Goll, leader of the renowned Clanna Morna, and a number
of other heroes remarkable in the legendary history of Ireland.
The great event of the day was the death of Coohal ; it decided
the fate of the battle in favour of his great rival, Conn. He
fell by the spear of the valiant Goll, son of Morni, and, for
centuries after, the death of Coohal furnished the favourite
theme of the bards —
" Coohal of the Hosts was slain
Upon the ensanguin'd field,
By Morni's son, who ne'er in vain
Upraised the golden shield."1
The large green mound which stands at a little distance
from the present castle is supposed to be the tomb of Coohal,
and the hill upon which stand the venerable ruins of the
Castle, so famous in later history, was probably occupied at
this time by a rath, or fort, such as has been often described
in books of Irish antiquities.2 From the above facts it would
seem that Castleknock was a place of celebrity before the
light of Christianity appeared amongst us, and that it was
cotemporary with the ancient Tara and Emania. Often,
may we suppose, did the chieftains set out from the old fort
to join the Taltine games, and take part in the festivities of
ancient Temora ; often did they listen to the Seanachies as
they recounted the exploits of that bloody day, and mourn
over the death of Coohal, the father of Finn, the father of
Ossian, the father of Osgar, who fell by the hand of Carbre.
These memories throw a halo of antiquity round our ancient
history. They were days of rough chivalry, but brighter "days
were yet to come. The Lord looked down upon this Isle, and
saw here men of unselfish hearts — men who required but a
noble cause to achieve noble deeds ; and He blessed the land,
and it fructified, and its fruits were scattered over the nations.
Years rolled by, and things went on in the old way in old
Erin, till the arrival of our national Apostle. There is a tra-
dition which connects his name with Castleknock, which it may
be interesting here to mention. Whilst sojourning in Dublin,
1 See Miss Brooke's Relics of Ancient Irish Poetry. Keating, in describing the
actions of Lugaidh-mac-Con, A.D. 182, refers to another very ancient poem, which
begins with these words : —
" Cnucha cnoc os cion Liffe."
Cnucha's hill o'er Liffey's stream.
* Both these hills are within the demesne of St. Vincent's College.
Old Castlcknock. 247
he visited, they say, the old fort, and there preached to the
prince and his people; but the prince, Morinus by name, slept
during the discourse, and dying soon after, they attributed his
death to a curse which they supposed the saint must have
pronounced, that as he preferred to sleep rather than listen to
the word of God, he might never rise from that sleep till the
day of judgment. So they took him and carried him fast
asleep as he was and laid him in the cave beneath the hill,
where, say they, he has little chance of waking till the time
appointed by the holy man.1 Whatever we may think of some
of the circumstances of the story, the fact of his visit is sup-
ported by grave authority. St. Evin, bishop of Ross, in Ferns,
who lived towards the close of the sixth century, relates that
St. Patrick visited Castleknock, with the hope of converting
Morinus, or, as Colgan reads it, Fullenus, but the prince
refused to see him, and sent him word that he was going to
sleep.2 What success the Saint had amongst the inhabitants
of the district, we are not told ; probably, like the people of
Dublin, they embraced the faith about that time.
After this followed three centuries, the brightest in our his-
tory. Every ship that left our shores carried with her the
learned and holy from the Island of Saints, to preach the faith
in distant lands, whilst Saxons, Gauls, Italians, Egyptians, and
Greeks, thronged to our schools.3 These were the days of
Bancor and Clonard, Armagh and Lismore, when the sons of
Erin taught and preached in sunny Italy, and on the banks
of the Rhine, and kings longed to lay their bones amongst
the saints of lona. During this period our modern historians
take little notice of princes or heroes, for the glory of the
lance was eclipsed by the glory of the cross, and the achieve-
ments of the warrior forgotten for the triumphs of the mis-
sioner. Still, the chieftains were to the good, and one of them,
Congalach by name, seems to have been remarkable amongst
the princes of his time. Four of our ancient annalists record
his death.
" In the year 726," say the Four Masters, " died Congalach
of Cnucha." In the old translation of the annals of Clon-
1 According to tradition there is a cave beneath the hill, which communicates
with the Liffey, about a Quarter of a mile distant
A well in the Phoenix Park, on the road leading to Knockmaroon, is called St.
Patrick's well. Pilgrims formerly resorted thereto.
1 See Lynch's Life of St. Patrick.
3 St. Aengus, in his Martyrology, amongst the saints who lived and died in Erin,
enumerates Gauls, Italians, and Egyptians. There is sometimes mention of Greeks
in our ancient annals ; there was a Greek Church in Me.ith, and the Irish mis-
Moners on the Continent were so famous for their knowledge of Greek, that
Ledwidge thinks it a proof that Ireland received the faith from the East.
248 Old Castleknock.
macnoisc, he is called " Konolagh of Castleknock."1 In the
Annals of Ulster we read — " Congalach Cnucho moritur ;"
and in the Annals of Tigernach — " Congalach Cnuchaensis
moritur." We know nothing respecting Congalach, but that
he died at his fort, Cnucha, towards the beginning of the
eighth century.
During these early centuries, the Irish princes exhibit a
strange contrast of deep religious feeling and strong warlike
propensities. Sometimes we find them waging a fierce war
against their neighbours, and at other times seeking to atone
for the slaughter of the battlefield by donations to the monas-
teries, and contributions to the support of the strangers. Yet
they did good service in the end. When the Northmen
landed on our shores, they found there no despicable foe,
but men like themselves, of daring courage and ever ready
for battle. For two hundred years the strife continued with
various success ; sometimes victors and sometimes vanquished,
the old inhabitants still held out, while the land was laid
waste with a long and weary war. During this period, Cas-
tleknock continued a royal residence, and Niall,2 monarch of
Ireland, and one of the greatest princes of his time, dwelt
there. This king revived the Taltine games, which had been
for some time discontinued, and checked the power of the
Danes. Unlike most of his cotemporaries, he never sullied
his glory by alliances with the enemies of his country, and was
slain in a great battle near Rathfarnham, where the Danish
generals, Imar and Sitric, defeated the Irish, leaving the
monarch Niall and many of the princes and people, dead upon
the field.3 This battle, which was long remembered by the
people, was fought on the i/th of October, A.D. 917. An
ancient poem, composed on the occasion, is preserved in the
Annals of the Four Masters, from which the following is an
extract : —
" This is a pity, O beloved Magh Breagh,
Country of the beautiful face ;
Thou hast parted with thy lordly king ;
Thou has lost Niall, the wounding hero;
1 See the MS. translation of the Annals of Clonmacnoise, made by Connel
Mageoghegan more than two hundred years ago, and at present preserved in
Trinity College, Dublin.
8 Surnamed Glundubh. From him the ancient and royal family of the Hy Neills
of Ulster derive their pedigree.
3 " Celedabhaill, confessor of Niall, was he who had requested Niall to come to
this battle, and it was he that gave the Viaticum to Niall." — Annals of Four
Old Castlcknock. 249
Where is the chief of the western world ?
Where the sun of every clash of arms?
The place of great Niall of Cmicha1
Has been changed ; O, ye wretches !"
Thus died, at a premature age, one of the greatest of the
monarchs of Erin. Niall, however, did not die without a suc-
cessor. His son, Murkertach, afterwards Roydamna, or heir-
apparent, inherited the virtues and valour of his father. He
is described by historians as one of the greatest heroes and
most spotless characters in Irish history, and spent his youth,
in all probability, at the residence of his royal father, "green-
banked Cnucha." Murkertach defeated the Northmen in
many battles, "and died, as for the greater part of his life he
had lived, in fierce conflict with the Danes, leaving, as a
poet of that day strongly expressed it, all his countrymen
orphans"*
It was, probably, on the death of Niall that Castleknock
became a Danish stronghold, for that it was once in the hands
of these invaders, seems generally admitted. Moreover, the
two last lines of the stanza quoted above, seem to refer to this
change and the Danes who caused it. It was a great change.
The sign of salvation was replaced by the raven standard, and
that spot believed to have been hallowed by the footsteps of
the blessed Patrick, was profaned by the rites of Woden.
But the day of retribution quickly came. The monarch
Brian appeared at the head of the national forces, and
crushed the power of the invader for ever, A.D. 1014.
The tempest from the north had now passed by, but the
effects remained. That Church of Ireland, once the fairest
olive in the garden of the Lord, stood broken and dismantled,
a leafless, though not a lifeless stock. The churches were
levelled, the people ignorant, and the monasteries, once busy
with the hum of many nations, were silent and in ruins.
Zealous workmen came into the field and wrought hard ; the
devoted monks gathered round the desecrated shrine, and'
again peopled the deserted cloisters. But the time was short
till another hurricane burst upon the land. A band of adven-
turers landed on our coast, and their ranks were quickly filled
by traitor princes (1169). There was then no Brian, no
Malachy.'no Murkertach the Roydamna, to train the men and
lead the troops to battle ; but the people came forth a motley
1 Tara was deserted in the sixth century, in consequence of a curse pronounced!
upon it by an abbot of a neighbouring monastery, for a murder committed by the
order of the monarch, From that time the monarchs had no fixed residence.
' From that day no monarch sat on Tara."
1 Moore, vol. iL, 79.
250 Old Castlcknock.
group, more like an army in rout than soldiers prepared for war.
Well may we apply to this period what the chronicler wrote
of another time. " Without law to guide her, with rulers
treacherous, false, and factious, the realm of Erin hath sunk
into darkness." There was, however, one effort made to save
the country. The great St. Laurence went around, and at
length succeeded in bringing many of the princes to unite for
the safety of their native land. A large army was collected,
and the command given to Roderic O'Connor, monarch of
Ireland.
The hopes of the nation beat high as the national army
advanced. Dublin was besieged in form, and when Roderic
had appointed to each of the princes his respective position,
he took up his residence at Castleknock (ii/i).1
There he held his court, and consulted with the prelates and
princes, and there did the good St. Laurence often raise his
voice to urge more vigorous counsels. But when hope shone
brightest, sudden disaster fell upon them. Strongbow and his
followers, reduced to extremity, resolved to make one des-
perate effort. They sallied out from the gates, routed the
troops under Roderick, and spread such panic through the
entire army, that they retired in despair from the city.2
After the departure of Roderic, Strongbow remained in
quiet possession of Dublin and the surrounding district, and
for greater security placed his trusty friend Hugh Tyrrell in
Castleknock. At that time the old fort underwent many
changes. Tyrrell strengthened his fortress with all the im-
provements of modern warfare, and in a short time the Nor-
man castle stood aloft in grim defiance, with its heavy battle-
ments and deep double ditch. The battering ram could not ap-
proach it, and the missiles thrown against it fell harmless to
the ground "as hailstones from the rounded shield."
The Baron of Castleknock had now completed his castle,
and obtained peaceful possession of his wide domains, but
his warlike spirit was not at rest. Philip of Worcester, the
Lord-Deputy, was about to set out on a plundering expedi-
tion, and Tyrrell, ever ready for adventures, joined the party.
They arrived at Armagh about mid-lent, "and for three days,"
1 Leland, book i., c. 2., Haverty.
At this time the Governor of Dublin was Hasculf, the Dane, says Cambrensis ;
but the Danes were no longer the enemies of the Irish, but obedient subjects and
faithful allies.
It is stated by some that when Roderic O'Connor arrived at Dublin, Castle-
knock was occupied by a Danish garrison, which willingly entered his sen-ice.
* This attack was directed against Finglas, where the principal stores were col-
lected, and thence continued along the line to Castleknock. Maurice Regan,
who was interpreter to M'Murrough, expressly states in his "Fragment" that
Roderic resided at Castleknock.
Old Ca stick nock. 251
says Geraldus Cambrensis, " Philip of Worcester and Hugh
Tyrrell, his fellow scraper, plundered the town and priests of
Armagh, and Tyrrell, among the other spoils which he took,
had a great brewing furnace or pan which served the whole
house, for which his doing the priests cursed him." On arriving
at Down, Tyrrell collected his booty into one house, but at
night the premises took fire, and all the spoils, with the horses
which carried them, were burned. This was regarded by
Tyrrell as a judgment on his sacrilegious conduct, and next
day he sent back to the priests of Armagh their brewing vessel,
and so returned to Castleknock down-hearted and empty-
handed, without even the great pan which he hoped to place
among the trophies of the castle.
But the lords of Castleknock were not always enemies ; they
soon became thoroughly Irish, and loved the land of their
birth as though it were the land of their fathers ; the wander-
ing minstrel was ever welcome to their hospitable halls, and
when night set in and the wind howled among the battle-
ments, and whistled through the rude casement, the light was
placed in the window as in days of yore, a welcome beacon
to the benighted traveller.1
Amongst the lords of Castleknock there was one more godly-
given than his fellows, and he, Lord Richard, to the greater
glory of God, and his servant Brigid, founded a monastery
hard by the Castle, and brought thereto the friars of St. Austin.
There, in the silent chapel, was he often seen at the hour of
prayer, and there too the garrison of the Castle attended on
Sabbath and festive days.2
Thus things went smoothly on, though the land was sorely
rent with wars and civil strife, till the Bruces advanced on
Dublin (1316).
A short time before, Edward Bruce had been crowned King
of Ireland at Dundalk, and thinking the time had come for
1 The famous window of Castleknock was considered by English writers as one
of the great curiosities of Ireland. Holinshed, who wrote in 1580, while the
Castle was yet flourishing, thus describes it : —
"There is in Castleknock, a village not far from Dublin, a window not glazed
or latized, but open; and let the weather be stormie and the wind bluster bolster-
ouslie on everie side of the house, and yet place a candle there and it will burn as
quictlie as if no puff of wind blew. This maie be tried at this daie, who so shall
be willing to put it in practice."
* The Abbey of St. Brigid was founded where the Protestant church
now stands, by Richard Tyrrell, A.D. 1184, and continued to flourish till the
suppression of the monasteries, when it was demolished, and a Protestant church
built on the site. In ancient times Ca>tleknock furnished two canons to the
Cathedral of St. Patrick, and even still, though that venerable Cathedral and its
revenues are usurped by others, two Prebends of St. Patrick's derive their titles
from Castrum Noc ex parte diaconi, et Ca-strum Noc ex parte praecentoris.
A well in the town of Castleknock is called " Tipper Bride" — Brigid 's Well.
252 Old Cats tick nock.
the expulsion of the English, he invited his brother Robert
to his assistance. The King of Scotland landed in Ireland
with a select body of troops, and, being joined by his brother,
marched to besiege Dublin with 20,000 men. The first exploit
on approaching the city was the taking of Castleknock.1 It
could not be expected that the old fortress, long deemed
impregnable, could long hold out against the hero of Bannock-
burn. Bruce entered, making Hugh Tyrrell prisoner, and
fixed there his head-quarters.
It was now believed that the liberation of Ireland was at
hand. There was feasting and rejoicing in the Castle. The
Irish and Scottish chieftains met at the same board, and
plaids and bonnets mingled, with garments of saffron hue.2
But joy quickly gave place to gloom. Bruce soon perceived
that Dublin was fully prepared for a siege, and well provided
with provisions from the sea. Moreover, the ardour of the
citizens caused him to relinquish all hope. After remaining
a few days in the Castle, he released Tyrrell on payment of
a ransom, and retired from the city.3 But he had scarcely
commenced his march, when he seemed to repent of his resolu-
tion, and halted again at Leixlip. After a short delay he
recommenced his march towards the south, and soon after left
Ireland, leaving his brother to continue the war.
For three hundred years after the departure of Bruce, the old
Castle rested in peace, though few besides were at peace in
Erin.
At length stormy times came. When the English Parlia-
ment proclaimed war upon King Charles, the Irish adhered
to the Stuarts, and the lords of Castleknock joining the
national movement, planted the royal standard upon their
battlements. From that day their doom was fixed.
General Monk marched from Dublin with a strong force
and siege train, and sat down before the castle (1642). Things
were there in the same state as in the days of the first Tyrrells.
The lofty walls, the deep-set windows, the rooms within low
and dimly lighted, and the heavy oak benches around,
more like machines. of war than articles of luxury. But
the garrison was too weak for the defence. A heavy
cannonade commenced, and when the walls were shaken to
their foundations, and eighty of the defenders had fallen, the
1 Moore, vol. iii., 62., Haverty.
"The use of this colour in their garments, continued to be a favourite fashion
with the Irish down to so late a period as the reign of Henry VIII., when it was,
like all other things Irish, made punishable by law." — Moore, vol. ii., 80.
3 It is not certain how long Bruce remained at Castleknock. Camden says he
arrived there on the eve of St. Matthias' day (February 24th), and left after the
festival.
Old Castleknock. 253
signal was given and the place taken by assault. The gar-
rison had acted bravely, but compassion was far from the
hearts of the Republicans. The survivors were tried by
cburt-martial, found guilty of fighting against the state,
and hanged from those walls they had so bravely defended.
Monk, on returning to Dublin, left a strong force in the
Castle, for, though much shattered, it was still a position of
considerable importance. But its days were numbered.
Owen Roe O'Neill marched towards Dublin (1647), and finding
Castleknock in the hands of the English, determined to dis-
lodge them. An effort was made to avert the blow. Colonel
Trevor appeared at the head of a body of cavalry, but these
were quickly routed, and O'Neill commenced another siege.
This was too much for the veteran fortress, already tottering
to its fall ; it surrendered, and breathed its last in the hands
of the Irish hero.
A few years later (1649), the Duke of Ormond, when
threatening to attack Dublin, encamped at Castleknock ; and
this is the last military reminiscence of ancient Cnucha.
Not long after, it was, by order of Government, entirely dis-
mantled ; but it seemed like disturbing the rest of " the mighty
dead," for life had long since departed.
Since then, it has, like many other national monuments,
slept in oblivion. It is now a silent ruin.
" Still we prefer thee to the gilded domes,
Or gew-gaw grottoes of the vainly great ;
Still linger 'mid thy damp and mossy tombs,
Nor breathe a murmur 'gainst the will of fate" — BYRON.
The position of the castle is commanding, and its two deep
ditches,1 and the ruins of its massive walls, bespeak its former
strength. The Castle itself is thickly clad with ivy, and the
entire hill covered with large and spreading trees. The whole
is now reserved ground, enclosed with a strong fence. The
solemn gloom of the place, its dark winding walks, and the
profound silence that reigns around, make it a delightful
solitude. The green plot of ground enclosed within the old
walls is used as a burial place for the priests of St. Vincent
de Paul, and many zealous missioners, cut off in the bloom of
life, are there interred. It was a happy thought. That spot,
purpled with the blood of many a hero, and containing within
its bosom the relics of the " departed brave," is now a con-
1 These ditches are very formidable, being in some places thirty feet deep. In
them fragments of human bones and cannon balls have been found from time to
time. Some of these are preserved in the Museum of St. Vincent's College.
254 Old Castleknock.
secrated cemetery. Here rest side by side the soldier and the
priest of Erin. The one fought for Ireland's temporal interests,
the other for her spiritual welfare.
" Now rest they both beneath this verdant sod,
And ever joyous may they rest with God."
APPENDIX, No. i.
" COURAGEOUS CONDUCT OF AN IRISH LADY AT THE
TAKING OF CASTLEKNOCK."
A small pamphlet entitled " Courageuse Resolution d'une
dame Irlandaise a la prise de Chateau-knock," was lately
found by accident in the Bibliotheque Imperiale of Paris.
It occupies only six pages I2mo., and seems to have been a
letter written by an Irish officer to some friends in France,
very soon after the event took place. It was found at the
time so interesting that it was immediately published and
circulated through Paris. No name is given, but its date is
1642. It is entered in the Bibliotheque Imperiale, 8vo. No.
955, A. a. It thus commences : —
" The Earl of Ormond, a Protestant, went forth from the city
of Dublin on the 28th of last month at the head of 4,000 foot
and 500 horse towards the county Meath.
"The next day he besieged with his army Castleknock,
belonging to the Lady de Lacy, aunt of the Earl of Fingal.
The husband of this lady was engaged in the army of the
Catholics of Ireland. He left his wife in the Castle to
keep it with fifty men only, being well assured that her
courage was above her sex, in which he was not deceived ; for
this lady, by the orders which she gave, caused 400 soldiers
of the besiegers to be slain during the four days the siege
lasted, and the number of dead would have been greater still,
had not the ammunition failed, which this lady having per-
ceived, she caused to be put in one heap all her clothes,
money, jewels, and precious moveables, in a word, all that
was found of any value within the enclosure of the Castle ;
she then set fire thereto, so that there should remain no
booty for the enemy. She also rendered useless all the arms
which were in the place, having caused them to be broken,
with the exception of those with which her soldiers were
equipped, and in the light of the fire she harangued her
soldiers thus : —
" My faithful servants, you can well judge by th« action I am
Old Castlcknock. 255
after performing, what hope there is of favour from our enemies,
and how little clemency I expect at their hands. I tell
you, moreover, that you should not expect quarter from them,
but remember the sentence which says, ' let the vanquished
hope for nothing from their enemies.' Take courage, then,
and combat to death for the faith of your Redeemer ; you
can never find a more glorious end, and the sooner to find
it, go valiantly to attack the enemy of the Cross, lest, being
made prisoners, any of you should, by bad treatment or the
violence of torments, fail in the good resolution you have
taken of dying to-day for the Catholic Faith ; in which I
desire to set you the example by marching at your head.'
"This done, the besieged set fire to the Castle, and went
down, sword in hand, with such resolution that, after a great
carnage of their enemies, all that went forth remained dead
on the field, with the exception of the lady, who was made
prisoner by the Earl of Ormond.
"After this the Earl sent to Dublin for reinforcements, and
pursued his march."
Thus terminates this interesting narrative. After this follow
a few pages regarding the march of Ormond and the san-
guinary nature of the war in which they were engaged.
No. 2.
In the year 1861, an ancient Cromlech, or Druid's altar,
was discovered in the interior of the old Castle when digging
the grave of the Rev. Thomas Plunket.
The workmen, coming on a large flat stone, found it too
heavy to remove, and immediately commenced to break it.
They succeeded after great difficulty, but on detaching a
portion, they found, to their surprise, an empty space beneath,
and a human skeleton lying at full length.
The head and larger bones were almost perfect, and with
them were small heaps of dry, whitish dust. The men not
understanding the nature of their discovery, placed the bones
a little aside, and continued their work.
It was not till the grave was filled up, and it was too late to
remedy the evil, that the whole matter came to light.
From the description given by different persons who were
present, there is no doubt that the discovered grave was one of
those ancient Cromlechs, or altar tombs, which were used as
burial places for kings or notables during the Pagan times.
The skeleton in this case was so old that the admission of
air caused a portion of the bones to fall into dust ; this
2 $6 Old Castleknock.
accounts for the small heaps of whitish dust which were
found with the larger bones.
It is to be regretted that the Superiors of the College
were not made aware of the fact before the tomb was de-
stroyed ; the monument could then have been removed, and
erected within the enclosure of the Castle, and the bones
placed in an urn beneath. Such a reminiscence of the
Pagan times would have been a highly interesting object.
It is now, however, lost beyond recovery, but the bones still
lie in their long resting place.
No. 3.
THE LADY OF THE CASTLE ; CTR THE STORY OF
EIBHLEEN O'BRINN.
Of all the facts connected with the history of Castleknock,
there is none that has attracted more interest — at least,
amongst a certain class — than the story of Eibhleen O'Brinn.
Dr. Burton, in his History of the Royal Hospital, Kil-
mainham, has developed it into a tale of considerable length,
and an anonymous writer in the Nation has commemorated
the event in not ungraceful verse. The facts are as follows : —
In the early part of the i6th century, Hugh Tyrrell, the
last of the name, ruled in Castleknock. During his absence,
his brother Roger, by his violence and licentiousness, made
the old castle the terror of the neighbourhood, and a
" stronghold of iniquity." One summer's evening, Roger
carried off Eibhleen, the fair daughter of O'Brinn, or O'Byrne,
a Wicklow chieftain, who dwelt on a hill to the west of the
neighbouring town of Chapelizod, and confined her in the
turret of the castle. At dead of night, the maiden heard
steps ascending the stone staircase that led to her apartment,
and fearing the worst, opened a vein in her neck, by means
of her breast-pin, and bled to death. Next morning the fact
was divulged, and great indignation was expressed against
Tyrrell. Turlogh O'Brinn had taken refuge in the pale from
the horrors of war, and hoped to bring up his family in peace,
under the protection of the viceroy. The affliction which
now befel this peaceful chieftain, excited universal sympathy.
At this time, the site of the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham,
was occupied by the Knights of St. John, and one of them,
who, as procurator of the house, had become acquainted with
the family of O'Brinn, resolved that so public a scandal
should not pass unpunished. He consequently assembled
Old Castlckiwck. 257
his retainers, and marched towards Castleknock. Tyrrell
finding he was to be attacked, declared that he would not
take refuge behind his ramparts, but would meet his enemy
in the open field. A bloody battle ensued, in which Tyrrell
was slain. His tragical end was considered a just punish-
ment for his many crimes ; but the death of the maiden was
long regretted by the people, and often in the winter's even-
ings, when the rustics gathered round the blazing hearth,
many a tear was shed over the sorrows of O'Brinn, and the
fate of his daughter Eibhleen.
It was long a popular belief, that, at the hour of midnight,
a female figure, robed in white, might be seen moving slowly
round the castle. This, they said, was Eibhleen, and they
called her " The Lady of the Castle."
" When distant chimes sound midnight hour,
The spirit pure is seen ;
And moving round the lonely tower,
Looks bright as moonlight beam.
And as the moonbeams tint the walls,
And light the turret's crest,
" 'Twas hence," she says, " my spirit fled,
'Tis here my bones find rest.
And here I wander, year by year,
For such my lot has been,
But soon at end my penance drear,
I'll rest in joy unseen. '
Her act of suicide, though wholly unjustifiable, was be-
lieved to have been palliated by ignorance, and in making
the rounds of the castle, she was supposed to be completing
her purgatory.
The Lady of the Castle has not been seen since the Congre-
gation of St. Vincent got possession of Castleknock ; the
priests, they say, must have " laid the spirit."
No. 4-
It is remarkable that in all the wars of Ireland, most [of
the high families in the barony of Castleknock were engaged
on the side of the patriots, and were consequently involved
in the general confiscations. After the insurrection of 1641,
three thousand acres of land were confiscated in this barony
alone. Amongst the families dispossessed were the Luttrels.
They had dwelt in their noble demesne of Luttrelstown (now
258 Letters of Balmez.
Woodlands, the property of Lord Annaly), for over four hun-
dred years, but were obliged to leave all, and take the road to
Connaught, for not being able to prove " constant good
affection." The scenes of woe which were witnessed at that
time can be better imagined than described. Ancient and
opulent families, whose fathers had taken part in the festivities
of the old castle, were forced to abandon their ancestral homes,
amid the wailing of women and children, and receive in ex-
change miserable hovels in the wildest districts of Connaught,
where most of them died of misery and want.1
Some of these families, however, as the Luttrells and Hoares,
regained their property at the Restoration.
LETTERS OF BALMEZ.
XIV. — THE VICIOUS — THE LUKEWARM— ARGUMENTS AGAINST
RELIGION.
MY ESTEEMED FRIEND, — I am almost inclined to believe
you begin to feel uneasy in your religious scepticism, for you
are apparently ashamed of it, and feel, although you do not
like to confess it, in quite a different state from many others
whom, with good intention no doubt, but yet most unjustly, you
accuse of similar ideas. I could scarcely believe that the con-
duct of many Christians should appear to you so strange as to
make you suppose that they either hypocritically pretend
to be addicted to religion, or else profess without understand-
ing a single word of it. You say you cannot understand how,
when religion teaches doctrines so sublime, transcendental, and
even terrible, men can be found, who, though convinced of their
truth, either practically contradict or make little or no use of
them. You can conceive the religion of a St. Jerome, of a
St. Peter of Alcantara, or of a St. John of the Cross — men
profoundly penetrated with the idea of the nothingness of the
world, of the importance of eternity, and, consequently, dis-
engaged from the things of earth, dead to all that surrounds
them, and only intent on the glory of God and the salvation
of their own and their neighbours' souls ; but you do not
comprehend the religion of the vicious — of men convinced of
the eternity of the pains of hell, and yet labouring as it were
to plunge themselves into them ; or of others, who, though
1 See Prendergast's Cromwellian Settlement.
Letters of Balmes. 259
not sunk in vice, allow their days to pass with indifference,
regardless of what may occur after death ; nor even of those
who, though they may practise virtue, do it with great tepidity,
without showing they are continually possessed of the idea
that in a short time they must meet either a happiness without
end, or torments which shall endure for all eternity. All this
appears to scandalize you, and contribute to keep you away
from religion ; if we confine ourselves to this view there is no
medium between scepticism and the life of an anchorite.
The reflection occurs to me that it is very curious to note
the variety and contradiction of the arguments with which
Sceptics and Indifferentists attack religion, and how discon-
tented they ever appear when dealing with her. Is there any
one truly Christian and very devout, who passes whole days in
prayeij and penance; looks on the things of the world as fleet-
ing and worthless; shows himself profoundly convinced of the
nothingness of earth, and by his words and actions clearly
proves that God and eternity never depart from his thoughts ?
Well, then, it is said, religion is essentially a cramper, that it
compresses the ideas, crushes the heart, makes men misanthropes
and inutilizes them, and consequently is only fit for monks and
nuns. Weareeven sometimes prudently advised that we should
endeavour to display religion under a more jovial and affable
aspect, and thereby prevent many from abandoning her who
would otherwise feel inclined to follow her but cannot consent
to become sad and taciturn, and go about through streets and
churches with eyes cast down and bended heads. And if, on
the other hand, there be others who, though profoundly
religious and penetrated with the terrible truths of faith, and
addicted, perhaps, to the practice of austere virtues, yet display
a serene and joyful countenance, and converse in the most
affable and agreeable manner, without indicating by word or
act that the thought of hell ever enters their mind ; their
conduct is immediatelycriticised andcondemned,andthosewho
a little before were the object of mockery and contempt for
their austerity of manner, are now quoted as examples to be
followed, so that whether religion weeps or laughs you com-
plain ; and if she be calm and serene, you accuse her of
indifference. It is well to note these most unreasonable con-
tradictions, which are incurred either from want of meditation
or an inclination to make charges against religion.
But letus come to the principal point of your objection, and
see if it can be answered satisfactorily. How is it possible
for a man of religious convictions to be vicious ? This, if I
am not mistaken, is the principal difficulty you present ;
and you must allow me to tell you, with all frankness, that the
260 Letters of Baltnez.
man who seriously proposes such an objection displays very
little knowledge of the human heart. The life of the greater
part of men is a web of those contradictions you are unable to
explain. If we were to allow any importance to this difficulty,
we should require all men to regulate their conduct by their
convictions and live in strict conformity with them. But when
and where has such proceeding existed ? Do we not daily
find it verified that man, even prescinding from religious ideas,
sees the good, approves of it, and yet does evil? Video
meliora, proboque, pejora autem sequor. We do not the good
we love, but the evil we abhor: — Non quod volo bonum hoc ago,
sed quod odi malum illud facio. We talk with a gambler, and
the conversation turnson his ruling vice ; well, a preacher in
the pulpit will not express himself with more energy against
the evils which spring from play. " What a dreadful passion,"
you shall hear him say ; " ever restlessness, ever uneasiness
and distress, ever uncertainty and anxiety. Now swimming
in abundance, not knowing what to do with your money ; a
moment after all is lost and you must borrow from your
friends, or mortgage an estate, or part with a piece of furni-
ture, or have recourse to some other disastrous expedient to
supply a small sum at least with which to try your fortune
again. If you lose, you feel yourself in a state of desperation ;
if you win, you find yourself forced to witness the desperation of
others ; to suffocate the sentiments of compassion that spring
up in your breast, and mask and cover them with smart say-
ings and jokes. What cruel moments are yours on emerging
from the play-house, when you recollect you have, perhaps,
wrought the misfortune of your family, and think you went
with the hope of improving your position, but now find your-
self sunk in the narrowest poverty. It is impossible to conceive
how men abandon themselves to such a detestable vice.
The gambler is a madman, who is constantly pursuing an
illusion, though convinced it is an illusion and nothing more,
proved to him a thousand times by his own experience and
what he has witnessed in others. In a young man, on
entering the world for the first time, a slip in this direction
is perhaps not very culpable ; but in a man of some ex-
perience, the vice has no excuse." My dear friend, have
you heard that moralist so judicious, so severe, so inexorable
with gamblers ? Well, you may find, he has scarcely con-
cluded his pious discourse, perhaps while perorating, he
hurriedly pulls out his watch, or asks the bystanders what
o'clock it is, and do you know why ? It is because the hour
of meeting is at hand, the table is waiting, the cloth is
spread, his companions have already taken their respective
/. ctters of BalmfZ. 26 \
seats, and arc shuffling the cards impatiently, and cursing the
lazy laggard ; and his poor heart jumps with joy when he
thinks that in a few moments he will begin operations, and
the heaps of money will go whirling rapidly around, now
before one, now another, soon a third, until in the end, at a
late hour of the night, the game concludes, and the moralist
of course is the conqueror in anticipation, and completely re-
venged for his misfortunes of yesterday. All this he hopes ;
and as soon as he finishes his sermon, he rises, takes his hat,
and goes off, annoyed with himself for his want of punctuality.
What do you think of such a contradiction ? Oh ! I may be
told the man is a hyprocrite, and said what he did not think.
It is false : he spoke with the most profound conviction, and
if the bystanders were not gamblers, they were incapable of
conceivihg all the liveliness with which he felt what he ex-
pressed. In proof of this, suppose he has a son, a younger
brother, a friend, any person at all in whom he takes an
interest : he will advise him not to play, and will do so with
all the truth of his heart. If he have authority, he will
prohibit it with severity ; if not, he will beseech him with all
earnestness, and if he can speak with entire frankness, will
exclaim with accents of sorrow : " Believe a man of experience :
this vice has made and is making my misfortune, woe to me!
and I always fear it will bring me to perdition !" The un-
fortunate wretch is not ignorant of the evil he does himself,
he is aware of his rashness — his madness ; he upbraids himself
with it a thousand times, as well in his moments of calm and
of sound sense, as in those of fury and desperation ; but he
has not sufficient strength of mind to resist the impulse of an
inclination rooted and strengthened by habit, and conform
his actions to his words and profound convictions.
Do you wish for another example ? It would be easy to
quote them ad infinititm. There is a man of respectable for-
tune, and stainless reputation, who enjoys in the bosom of
his family all the happiness he can desire. His enlightenment,
his morality, and even his polite and polished education,
make him contemplate with grief the disorders he sees in
others. He cannot conceive how they can consent to sacrifice
their property to an incontinent passion, stain their honour
for it, and make themselves the object of the contempt and
ridicule of all who know them. However, after some time,
an occasion, a frequent conversation, has involved him in a
dangerous friendship ; and property, character, health, even
life itself — he sacrifices all to his idol. Has he lost, for all
that, his former convictions ? Is his change of conduct the
effect of a change of ideas ? Nothing of the sort ; he thinks
VOL. VII. iS
262 Letters of Babnez.
as formerly, he has not departed a little from his primitive
convictions, but has only laid them aside. To his relatives
and friends who admonish him, who remind him of his own
words, who use the same arguments with him as he used with
others, who exhort him to take the counsels which a little
while ago he was accustomed to give — to all he answers : —
"Yes, true; you are right — immediately — in time — but ."
That is to say, there is no want of light in his under-
standing, but there is disorder in his heart. He is sure the
gilded cup contains poison, but in his feverish ardour he raises
it to his lips, with the risk — the certainty of perishing. Go
through all the vices, fix your attention on all the passions,
and you shall discover this contradiction of which I speak.
Few, very few are ignorant of the evil and harm they entail
on themselves by their conduct, and yet how difficult the
amendment. ? From this you can see it is no way strange
that a person profoundly convinced of the truth of religion
may act contrary to what it prescribes, and his want of prac-
tical conformity is no proof that he does not believe what
he says.
If you had read theological and mystic works, or conversed
with men experienced in the direction of consciences, you
would know the sad and torturing situation in which many
souls often find themselves ; and the patience confessors re-
quire to suffer with and encourage those who purpose leaving
off vice, bitterly bewail their faults, tremble when they think
of the eternal punishments they have deserved, and through
sheer force of counsels, warnings, remedies, and precautions of
all sorts, have strength perhaps to resist their destructive
inclination for some time, and yet fall again, and return to the
feet of the confessor, and at the end of a short time yield
again and suffer mortal anguish, until, better fortified by grace,
they are able to stand firm, and enjoy a peaceful and quiet
life.
If it is not impossible, but on the contrary, often happens
that a member of a pure and severe religious order lives in re-
laxation, neither is it incomprehensible that others, who are
not sunk in such misery, should nevertheless conduct them-~
selves with coldness and tepidity in spite of their strong, solid,
and ardent religious convictions. The causes which can pro-
duce and perpetuate such a state are so numerous that it
would be troublesome to enumerate them. Suffice it to say,
that inconsistencies and contradictions are met with at every
turn in the life of man ; that the present affects him to such a
degree that he generally forgets the past and the future ;
that though he is gifted with intelligence and will, he yet often
Letters of Balmee. 263
suffers from the tyranny of his passions, which hurry him along
the road of perdition, although he is perfectly aware of it.
The foregoing examples, and the considerations which accom-
pany them, will, I think, be sufficient to show your attack
on religion was unfounded, and if your argument had any
force would prove that many men have no moral principles,
because they act contrary to them ; that others are extremely
ignorant in what relates to their health, because by their actions
they constantly impair it ; that he who eats to excess does
not know it will injure him ; and that he who drinks intem-
perately, does not suspect that wine is capable of intoxicating ;
and thus we would be compelled to assert in general terms
that men are ignorant of many things with which we know
they are perfectly acquainted. Let us hold that man is in-
constant and inconsistent ; that the things of the present affect
him too much to allow him to conciliate the pleasure or in-
terest of the moment with future felicity, and everything is
explained most completely and satisfactorily, without sup-
posing him more ignorant than he really is.
You also appear to labour under another important mis-
take on this matter, when you tell me in your letter that you
think religion produces very little effect on the conduct of
men, inasmuch as believers as well as unbelievers are accus-
tomed to live as if they had nothing to hope for or to fear
after death. " Men," you say, " take care of their affairs ;
satisfy their passions or caprices ; are constantly forming
great projects ; in a word, live so distracted, so forgetful of
their last hour, so unmindful of what may come after, that
as regards the morality of the greater number, it might be
said the effect of religion is very insignificant, if any." To
convince you of how false the fact is which you state with
such security, it is enough to remind you of the profound
change wrought in public morality by the propagation of
Christianity ; for the sole recollection of it leaves no doubt
that the teaching of religion is not incapable of modifying the
conduct of men, but, on the contrary, is a very efficacious
means of producing the most happy and abiding results.
Now, as well as then, men take care of their affairs ; and have
passions ; and amuse themselves ; and live distracted and
dissipated ; but what a difference between the morals of the
ancients and moderns ! If the limits of a letter would allow
it, I could adduce a thousand proofs of this, and show with
how much truth it has been said that more crimes were com-
mitted then in one year, than now in half a century. Bring
to mind the doctrines of the first philosophers of antiquity on
infanticide— doctrines which were uttered with a serenity
264 Letters of Balmcz,
inconceivable to us, and which reveal the dreadful state of the
morality of those societies. Recollect the infamous vices so
general at that time, but covered among us by the fear of
censure and infamy; remember what woman was among the
Pagans, and what she is in the nations formed by the Christian
religion ; and then you shall see the infinite benefits Christianity
has dispensed on the world in all that relates to the improve-
ment of morals ; then you shall comprehend the mistake
you made when you said religion has little influence on the
conduct of men.
It often happens that when we sit down to calculate the
good produced by an institution, we attend to the position
and palpable results only, prescind ing from others which might
be called negative, but are not less real or important than the
former. We attend to the good which it does and not to the
evil which it averts ; when in order to calculate its force and
character we should consider both.
As the absence of an evil, which without that institution
would have existed, is of itself a great benefit, we should be
grateful to the institution for having averted it, and reckon
this effect as the production of a good. To make the calcula-
tion properly it would be well to suppose the institution does
not exist, and see what would happen in that case. Thus, if
a person denied the utility of the tribunals of justice, or en-
deavoured to lower their importance, there would be no more
suitable means of convincing him than the one I have indi-
cated. If the tribunals, it might be said to him, appear to
you of slight utility, suppose them removed, and that the
thief, the robber, the assassin, the forger, the incendiary, and
the whole host of evil-doers have nothing to fear but the
resistance or vengeance of their victims, society will be at
once converted into chaos ; one will arm against another ;
criminals will advance much farther in their career of iniquity,
and multiply the irnumbers at a fearful rate. What averts all
this ? The tribunals certainly ; and the absence of such evils
is undoubtedly the production of a great good.
Suppose that religion does not exist ; that from childhood
no one gives us any idea of the other life, or of God' or of
our duties, what would happen ? We would all be profoundly
immoral ; and the individual as well as society would sink
rapidly into the most abject degradation. And yet, accord-
ing to your argument, it might be objected — As we take care
of our affairs and live distracted, thinking little or nothing of
our duties, of the other life, or of God ; what advantage do \\v
derive from having been instructed on these points — from
having received an education in which these truths were
Letters of Balm es, 265
constantly inculcated ? You see when the question is pro-
posed under this aspect, it is not possible to sustain the solu-
tion you wish to give it, and it is cleary our method of arguing
cannot be very strong in others, if it fail in the present
case.
Who told you that man so distracted, so dissipated, does
not think of the religion he professes? Do you think he should
be constantly revealing to you what passes in the inmost
recesses of his heart, when he has before him a bait which
stimulates his passions, and places him in the risk of being
wanting to his duty ? Do you believe he should tell you how
often religious ideas withheld him from committing a crime,
or made him commit less than he otherwise would ?
An evident proof of the many effects religious ideas produce
on the conduct of men, and how present they are to their
mind, even when they appear to have entirely neglected them,
is the instantaneous rapidity with which they occur to them
when they find themselves in danger of death. It might
almost be said the instinct of preservation and religious sen-
timent present themselves at the same moment.
How does the instinct of preservation work on the general
course of the actions of our life ? If we consider it we shall
find we are incessantly concerned for our preservation without
thinking of it ; we are continually doing acts tending to this
end without adverting to them. What is the cause ? It is
the fact that everything intimately connected with the life of
man is unceasingly before his eyes. He does not look at it
but he sees it ; he thinks of it without knowing he does so.
What is said of material life may be applied to the life of the
soul. There is an aggregate of ideas of reason, of justice, of
equity, of decorum, which is constantly flitting through our
minds, and exercises an incessant influence on all our acts.
A lie occurs to us, and conscience says — " this is unworthy of
a man ;" and the word about being pronounced is detained
by this sentiment of morality and decorum. A person with
whom we are at enmity is mentioned in our presence ; the
temptation of lowering his merit, orofrevealingsome of hisfaults
or perhaps of calumniating him presents itself, and conscience
says — " an honest man would not do that; it is a vengeance;"
and we are silent. We have an opportunity of defrauding
without detection, without risk to our honour, and yet we do
not defraud ; who prevents us ? The voice of conscience. We
are tempted to abuse the confidence of a friend by betraying
his secrets, or employing them to our own advantage ; and
nevertheless, the treason is not consummated, even when
our friend, the victim of it, could never suspect it ; who pre-
266 Letters of Balmez.
vents us ? Conscience. These applications, which could be
extended indefinitely, clearly show that man, without adverting
to it, often obeys the voice of conscience, and even when he
does not think, or does not believe he thinks of it, or of God,
those ideas act on his mind and impel him, and detain him,
and make him recede and vary his course, and continually
modify his conduct in all the instants of his life.
If this happens even among unbelievers themselves, what
will be the case with respect to sincerely religious men ? In
the eyes of the world it may appear they completely forget
their convictions ; that faith in great and terrible truths is of
no service to them ; that heaven, hell, and eternity are regar-
ded by them as abstract ideas, without anything practical in
them ; but they know well that eternity, and heaven, and hell
present themselves to their mind in the act of desiring to
commit sin ; that now they separate them from the path of
iniquity ; now detaining them from marching with such pre-
cipitation. They know that when they abandon themselves
to the impulse of their passions, they experience frightful
remorse, which torments and makes them repent their de-
parture from the path of virtue. There is no Christian who
does not experience this influence of religion. If he be really
a Christian, that is, if he believe in religious truths, he repeat-
edly suffers the punishment of his bad works, or enjoys the
reward of his good ones. He feels this punishment or this
reward in the depths of his conscience ; and the recollection of
what he has enjoyed in the one case, or suffered in the other,
often contributes to the prohibition of disorders contrary to
the dictates of duty.
I have no doubt you will be convinced by these reflections,
that what you say regarding the slight influence religion has
on the conduct of man, is an error opposed to reason, history,
and experience. It is true that those who profess it, do not
always conduct themselves as they ought; it istrue you will meet
with men who have faith, and yet are very wicked; but it is no
less true that the conduct of religious people is in general
incomparably better than that of unbelievers. How many
persons have you known, who, though professing no religion,
observe a totally irreprehensible conduct ? And when I say
this I do not refer to the commission of crimes, from which a
certain natural horror, the fear of justice, and the desire of
preserving our reputation restrain us : I do not speak of a
certain filthy and repugnant immorality, from which honour,
decorum, and that delicacy of taste, the fruit of good edu-
cation, recoil. I speak of that severe morality which rules
all the acts of the life of man, and does not allow him to wander
Letters of Balmez. 267
from the path of duty, even when neither honor nor the regard
of society is interested, or other considerations but those in-
spired by sound morals are opposed to it. You will tell me
you know some men who, although they are unbelievers, are
incapable of defrauding, or betraying friendship, and whose
conduct, if it be not as vigorous as I could desire, is yet far
from dissipation or even levity. It is possible you may know
infidels, such as you paint them ; it is possible that from edu-
cation, honour, decorum, and that interior light which God
has given us, and which we cannot extinguish by vain endea-
vours, they may adjust their conduct to the law of duty, when
no powerful motive impelling them to the contrary is at
work ; but do not put those men to the test of a violent
temptation.
Reduce to misery that man whobelieves in nothing — not even
in God — and whom you suppose so straightforward and in-
capable of committing a fraud ; consider him struggling be-
tween the pressure of great necessities, and the temptation of
appropriating a sum which does not belong to him, so that he
could do it without injuring his reputation as an honest man ;
what will he do ? You may believe what you like : I for my
part would not trust my money to him ; and I would venture
to advise you not to do so either.
You, my dear friend, who are placed in an independent
position, without other temptations to do evil but those sug-
gested by the illusions of youth, do not well know what that
probity is which is not based on religion. You know not how
fragile — how brittle is that honesty presented to the eyes of
the world with such an air of firmness and incorruptibility.
You yet require some undeceptions, which you will meet with
in a short time, when, on the rending of that beautiful veil
through which we view the world in the spring-time of life,
you begin to see things and men as they are in themselves ;
when you enter on the age of business, and behold the com-
plication of circumstances which has place in it, and witness
that struggle of passions and interests, which often places a
manin criticaland even torturing situations, in which the compli-
ance with a duty is a sacrifice, nay, even sometimes an act of
heroism ; then you will comprehend the necessity of a power-
ful curb— of a curb which must arise from something more
than purely mundane considerations.
In the meantime, I remain your most affectionate friend,
J. B.
208
IRISH HISTORICAL STUDIES IN THE SEVEN-
TEENTH CENTURY.
IV. — THE FOUR ' MASTERS.
Tlie names of " The Four Masters :" — The OClery's : — The
Annals of the Four Masters : — Poem on the Household of St.
Patrick : — TJie OGara of Coolavin : — The Franciscan Con-
Tent of Donegal : — The " Succession of the Kings" and the
" Genealogies of the Saints' of Ireland : — Why this work was
undertaken by the Four Masters: — The " LcabharGabhala" —
Works composed by Cucogry O'Clery : — Brother Michael
OClery, O.S.F. :—His Glossary :— The " Marty rology of
Donegal :" — OClery 's merits in the matter of Irish History.
r OUR distinguished antiquarians of this island in the
seventeenth century, named Michael O'Clery, Fearfeasa
O'Maolchonaire, Cucogry O'Clery, and Cucogry O'Duigenan,
first received from Colgan,the designation of The Four Masters,
and this distinctive title has been sanctioned by the general
consent of later Irish writers.
Two of this literary band belonged to the sept of the
O'Clery's, the hereditary chroniclers of Tirconnell. Being
descended from Guaire, surnamed " The Hospitable," king of
Connaught, in the seventh century, this family originally
occupied Tireragh, in the county Galway, to which territory
they furnished several chieftains famous in our ann-als.
"There passed, after some time," says an old chronicler,
" from Tirawley into Tirconnell a wise man of the O'Clery's,
whose name was Cormac MacDermot O'Clery, and who was
a learned proficient in the two laws, civil and canon. The
monks and ecclesiastics of the abbey of St. Bernard, called
the abbey of Assaroe, loved him for his learning and good
morals, for his wisdom and intellect, and detained him amongst
them for some time. At this period O'Sgingin was the his-
torical ollamh of O'Donnell, but there lived not of his chil-
dren, nor even of his tribe in that country, save one fair
daughter, whom now he gave as wife to this Cormac, and
what he required as her dower was that their first-born son
should be trained up in the study of history. This condition
was accepted, and truly was the promise fulfilled." Their
eldest son, accordingly, became chronicler to O'Donnell, and
his grandson, surnamed " of the three schools" because he
kept schools for general literature, history, and poetry, became
Irish Historical Stitdics in the Seventeenth Century. 269
so distinguished that Nial O'Donncll bestowed on him the
lands of Creevagh, in the parish of Kilbarran.1 A noble
castle was soon erected there, and its ruins arc still standing
on a rock overhanging the Atlantic, at a little distance from
Ballyshannon. " From the singularity of its situation, seated
on a lofty, precipitous, and nearly insulated cliff, exposed to
the storms and billows of the western ocean," writes Dr.
Petrie, " the reader will naturally conclude that this now
sadly dilapidated and time-worn ruin must have owed its
origin to some rude and daring chief of old, whose occupation
was war and rapine, and whose thoughts were as wild and
turbulent as the waves that washed his sea-girt eagle dwel-
ling ; and such, in their ignorance of its unpublished history,
has been the conclusion formed by modern topographers,
who tell us that it is supposed to have been the habitation
of freebooters. But it was not so. This lonely insulated
fortress was erected as an abode for peaceful men — a safe
and quiet retreat, in troubled times, for the laborious inves-
tigators and preservers of the history, poetry, and antiquities
of their country. This castle was the residence of the ollamhs,
bards, and antiquarians of the people of Tirconnell, the illus-
trious family of the O'Clery's. The lands annexed would,
at the present day, produce a rental of little short of two
thousand pounds a-year. Alas ! it will be long till learning
in the history and antiquities of our country be again thus
nobly recompensed."
The chief work which merited an undying fame for the
"Four Masters" is the Annals of Ireland, now generally known
as the Annals of the Four Masters. This invaluable work,
translated and copiously illustrated in our own times by
O'Donovan, has rendered the greatest service to the history
of this country, and even when only imperfectly known through
the translation of a part of it in the " Rerum Hibcrnicarmn
Scriptores" merited the following eulogy from Sir James
Mackintosh — "The chronicles of Ireland, written in the Irish
language, from the second century to the landing of Henry
Plantagenet, have been recently published with the fullest
evidence of their genuineness and exactness. The Irish nation,
though they are robbed of their legends, by this authentic
publication, are, yet, by it enabled to boast that they possess
genuine history several centuries more ancient than any
other European nation possesses, in its present spoken lan-
guage. They have exchanged their legendary antiquity
for historical fame. Indeed, no other nation possesses
any monument of its literature, in its present spoken
published by O'Donovan, for I. A. S., in 1844, page 75, seqq.
270 7mA Historical Studies
language which goes back within several centuries of these
chronicles."1
The annals commence with the earliest colonies in our
island, and register the traditional narratives of the Spanish
warriors, who, " wafted by the mighty ocean waves," became
the first settlers in this land of the West : —
" They came from a land beyond the sea,
And now o'er the western main,
Set sail, in their good ships, gallantly,
From the sunny land of Spain.
" Oh, where's the Isle we've seen in dreams,
Our destined home or grave ?"
Thus sung they as, by the morning's beams,
They swept the Atlantic wave.
"And, lo, where afar o'er ocean shines
A sparkle of radiant green ;
As though in that deep lay emerald mines,
Whose light through the wave was seen,
" Tis Inisfail— 'tis Inisfail ! "
Rings, o'er the echoing sea ;
While bending to heaven, the warriors hail
That home of the brave and free."
With the Christian Era, the annals become still more in-
teresting, and at every page fragments of ancient poems
and other tracts are introduced in the oldest Celtic dialect,
bringing us back almost to the very age of the events which
are chronicled. It is not necessary to enter more fully into
the contents of this great work, for — thanks to the zeal and
labours of Dr. O'Donovan — it is now easily accessible to all
students in our history. We cannot forbear, however, enrich-
ing these pages with one short and very ancient poem, which
gives the names of the saints who were associated with our
Apostle in the conversion of this country. It is inserted in
the annals at the year 448 : —
" The family of Patrick of Prayers, who had good Latin,
I remember, not feeble was the court, their order, and their
names :
Sechnall, Patrick's Bishop without fault ; Mochta, after him,
his priest ;
Bishop Ere, his sweet-spoken judge ; Bishop M'Carthan, his
champion ;
Benen, his psalmist ; Colman, his chamberlain ;
Sinell, his bell-ringer ; and Aithcen, his true cook ;
The priest, Mescan, without evil, his friend, and his brewer ;
1 Mackintosh, " History of England," vol. I., chap. 2.
In tJu Seventeenth Century. 271
The priest, Bescna, sweet his verses, the chaplain of Mac
Alpraind ;
His three smiths expert at shaping, Macecht, Laebhan, and
Fortchern ;
His three artificers, of great endowment, Aesbuite, Tairhill,
and Tasach ;
His three embroiderers, not despicable, Lupita, Ergnata, and
Cruimthiris ;
Odhran, his charioteer without blemish ; Rodan, the son of
Braga, his shepherd ;
Ippis, Tigris, and Erca, and Liamhain, with Eibeachta (his
sisters ;)
For them, Patrick excelled in wonders, for them he was truly
miraculous :
Carniuch was the priest that baptized him ; German, his
tutor, without blemish ;
The priest, Manach, of great endowment, 'twas he that sup-
plied the wood ;
His sister's son was Banban, of fame ; Martin, his mother's
brother;
Most sapient was the young Mochonnoc, his hospitaller ;
Cribri and Lasra, of mantles, beautiful daughters of Gleag-
hrann ;
Macraith, the wise ; and Ere — he prophesied in his three wills :
Brogan, the scribe of his school ; the priest, Logha, his
helmsman ;
It is not a thing unsung, and Mochai his true fosterson.
Good the man whose great Family they were, to him God
gave a crozier without sorrow ;
Chiefs, with whom the bells are heard, a good Family was
the Family of Patrick ;
May the Trinity, which is powerful over all, distribute to us
the boon of great love ;
The King who moved by soft Latin, redeemed through the
prayer of Patrick."
It was in the Franciscan Convent of Donegal, that the
annals were transcribed ; and in addition to the Four Masters,1
other learned antiquarians assisted, for a time, at least, in their
compilation. The annals being completed in 1635, the
superiors of the convent gave the following attestation, which
has preserved to us many interesting details connected with
that great work : —
" The Fathers of the Franciscan order who put their hands
on this, bear witness that it was Fearghal O'Gara, that pre-
1 It is singular that O'Donovan has mistaken the names of the Four Masters.
He reckons Conaire O'Clery as one of their number, contrary to the express
statement of Colgan. See his Introduction, page xix.
272 Irish Historical Studies
vailed on Brother Michael O'Clerigh to bring together the
chroniclers and learned men, by whom were transcribed the
books of History and Annals of Ireland, as much of them as
it was possible to find to be transcribed, and that it was the
same FearghalO'Gara thatgave them a reward for their writing.
" The book is divided into two parts. The place at which
it was transcribed from beginning to end, was the Convent of
the Friars of Dun-na-ngall, by whom were supplied food
and attendance.
" The first book was begun and transcribed in the same
convent this year, 1632, when Father Bernardine O'Clery was
Guardian.
" The chroniclers and learned men who were engaged in
extracting and transcribing this book from various books
were, Brother Michael O'Clerigh ; Maurice, the son of Torna
O'Maelchonaire, for one month ; Ferfeasa, the son of Loch-
lainn O'Maelchonaire, both of the county of Roscommon ;
Cucogry O'Clerigh, of the county of Donegal ; Cucogry,
O'Duibhghennain, of the county of Leitrim, and Conair6
O'Clerigh, of the county of Donegal.
" These are the old books they had : the book of Cluain
mac Nois, a name here blessed by St. Ciaran Mac an Tsaer,
the book of the Island of Saints, in Loch Ribh ; the book of
Seanadh Mic Maghnusa, in Loch Erne : the book of Clann
Mac Maelchonaire ; the book of the O'Duigenans, of Kil-
ronan ; the historical book of Lecan Mic Firbisigh, which was
procured for them after the transcription of the greater
part of the work, and from which they transcribed all the
important matter they found which they deemed necessary,
and which was not in the first books they had, for neither the
book of Cluain nor the book of the Island were continued
beyond the year of the age of our Lord 1227.
"The second which begins with the year 1208, was com-
menced this year of the age of Christ 1635, in which Father
Christopher Ulltach O'Donlevy was guardian.
" These are the books from which was transcribed the
greatest part of this work ; the same book of the O'Mulconry,
as far as the year 1505, and this was the last year which it
contained ; the book of the O'Duigenans, of which we have
spoken, from the year 900 to 1563 ; the book of Seanadh Mic
Maghnusa, which extended to 1532 ; a portion of the book of
Cucogry, the son of Dermot, son of Tadhg Cam O'Clerigh,
from the year 1281 to 1537; the book of Mac Bruaideadha
(Maolin og), from the year 1588 to 1603; the book of
Lughaidh O'Clerigh from 1586 to 1602. We have seen all
these books with the learned men of whom we have spoken
In the Seventeenth Centuty. 273
before, besides other historical books. In proof of everything
which has been written above, the following persons put their
hands to this in the convent of Donegal, the tenth day of
August, the age of Christ being one thousand six hundred
and thirty six.
" Brother Bernardine O'Clery, Guardian of Donegal.
" Brother Maurice Ulltach.
" Brother Maurice Ulltach.
" Brother Bonaventura O'Donnell, Lector Jubilatus."
The O'Gara, whose patronage and encouragement, as ap-
pears from this attestation, enabled the Four Masters to
achieve their great compilation of the Annals of Ireland, was
the chief of Magh O'Gara and Coolavin, and represented
the county of Sligo in the Dublin Parliament in 1634. The
Annals were gratefully dedicated to him, and in " I he dedi-
catory epistle," Michael O'C lery thus addresses him: — "It
was you that gave the reward of their labours to the
Chroniclers by whom this work was written ; and it was the
friars of Donegal that supplied them with food and attend-
ance in like manner. For every good that will result from
this book, in giving light to all in general, it is to you that
thanks should be given, and there should exist no wonder
or surprise, jealousy or envy at any good that you do, for
you are of the race of Heber, the son of Milesius, from whom
descended thirty of the kings of Ireland, and sixty-one
saints."
Under the year 1505, the " Four Masters" give the following
entry : —
" O'Donnell, Hugh Roe, the son of Niall Garv, Lord of
Tirconnell, Inishowen, Kinel-Moen, and Lower Connaught,
died. . . . This O'Donnell was the full moon of the hospitality
and nobility of the north, the most jovial and valiant, the
most prudent in war and peace, and of the best jurisdiction,
law, and rule, of all the Gaels in Ireland in his time ; for there-
was no defence made of the houses in Tirconnell during his
time, except to close the door against the wind only ; the
best protector of the Church and the learned ; a man who
had given great alms in honour of the Lord of the elements ;
the man by whom a castle was first raised and erected at
Donegal that it might serve as a sustaining bulwark for his
descendents ; and a monastery for the friars of strict obser-
vance in Tirconnell, namely, the monastery of Donegal ; a
man who had made many predatory excursions throughout
Ireland; and a man who may be justly styled the Augustus
of the north-west of Europe. He died after having gained
274 Irish Historical Studies
the victory over the devil and the world, and after
Extreme Unction and good penance, at his own fortress in
Donegal, on Friday, the fifth of the Ides of July, in the 78th
year of his age, and 44th of his reign, and was interred in the
monastery of Donegal."1
The O'Donnell, whose munificence is thus celebrated, was
the founder of the Franciscan convent of Donegal ; he made
many grants to it, and his successors in the princedom of
Tirconnell continued to enrich it with their gifts. The ruins
are still to be seen at a short distance from the town of
Donegal, and its arches and pillars, and its corridors covered
with stone, bespeak the solidity and magnificence of the former
building. The site, moreover, was a lovely one, and no spot
could have been chosen better suited for meditation and
study. The crested waves of the Atlantic that occasionally
dash against the rocky headlands close by, form a striking
contrast with the peace and calm that reign within the hallowed
precincts of this venerable ruin. " Its situation (writes the
esteemed author of The Donegal HigJilands, page 70) at the
head of the bay is exquisitely beautiful. The long narrow
harbour, placid as a lake, flanked on either side by grassy
slopes, diversified with many-tinted woods, and here and
there a steep incline, green to the water's edge, all make up
a landscape of surpassing loveliness Of the cloisters,
there is left a memorial of thirteen arches, which, with their
supporting couplets of pillars, yet retain evidences of great
beauty and variety of design, and admirable execution. They
are of the small size common in examples of Irish mo-
nastic architecture. But though the material lineaments
of this building are so sadly effaced, it has left an impress on
Irish history indelible as that history itself." The MS. history
of the Franciscans, by Mooney, gives many details regarding this
convent, and especially dwell on its destruction in 1601 — " In
the year 1600 we were forty religious in community in the con-
vent of Donegal, and all the divine office for day or night was
performed with chaunt and great solemnity. I myself had
charge of the sacristy, in which there were forty complete
sets of vestments, many of them being of cloth of silver and
gold ; some, too, were interwoven and worked with gold ;
and all the remainder were of silk. There were also sixteen
1 This entry would of itself suffice to refute the statement of Mr. Richey in his
"Lectures on Irish History" (second serifs, p. II.), that in the "Annals of the
Four Masters," from 1500 to 1534 " there is no allusion to the enactment of any
law, the judicial decision of any controversy, the founding of any town, monastery,
or church ; and all this is recorded by the Annalist without the slightest expres-
sion of regret or astonishment as if such were the ordinary course of life in
a Christian nation !" See, also, the entries in "Four Masters," at 1508, 1525, &c.
In the Seventeenth Century. 27 5
large silver chalices, of which two only were not gilt; and
there were two pixes for the Most Holy Sacrament In every-
thing else it was befittingly furnished ; not even a pane of
glass was wanting in the church. But in the course of the war
the English arms beginning to prevail, and Prince O'Donnell
being engaged elsewhere, the enemy's troops occupied the
town of Donegal, and on the feast of St. Lawrence (roth
August), 1 60 1, placed a garrison in our convent. Some of
the friars having notice of this intended occupation fled
away to the wooded country not far distant, having sent
by sea the goods of the convent to a safe place. I was one
of the last to leave the convent, and I accompanied the goods
by sea. The convent, now garrisoned by the enemy's troops,
was soon after besieged by O'Donnell, and its garrison was
hemmed in on every side. The following event then happened,
wonderful to relate. At one and the same time, fire fell upon
the building, it is thought from Heaven, burning to death
many of the soldiers, destroying the convent and church, and
a ship that was entering the port to succour them was sunk
upon a rock. Was this mere accident ? The English sur-
vivors confined themselves within the trenches which they had
thrown up, and were arranging the terms and conditions of
surrender, when the news reached O'Donnell that Don Juan
d'Aquila with the Spanish auxiliaries had landed at Kinsale,
in Munster, and were now besieged there by the heretical
troops ; he judged it necessary to delay no longer at Donegal,
and hence, without reaping the fruit of the siege, hastened
towards Munster to unite his forces with O'Neil to aid the
Spanish army. New misfortunes awaited them at Kinsale,
and the Spaniards were forced to surrender. The Catholic
cause being thus lost, Prince O'Donnell set off for Spain, and
in the following year, 1602, all his territory was seized on
by the enemy : and among other losses, all the sacred orna-
ments of the Convent of Donegal fell a prey to Oliver Lam-
bert, the heretical governor of Connaught, who made drink-
ing cups of the chalices, and caused the sacred vestments to
be torn up for profane uses, and thus both the convent and
its goods were lost. Nevertheless, the friars, even to the
present day, have continued to reside as near to the old
convent as they can with safety, and they always have had
their Guardian, and at least twelve Religious. Peace being
soon after concluded, and Prince O'Donnell having exchanged
this world for a better life, his brother Roderick was allowed
the greater part of his territory, with the title of Earl, far less
noble than that of his ancestors. He set about rebuilding the
convent of Donegal, but learning that the English were plot-
ting against his life, his only hope was in flight, so he sped
276 Irish Historical Studies
his way with O'Neil to Flanders, and thence to Rome, where
they both died ; and thus the friars were left without a convent
or a protector. At the present day (1618) the English heretics
are in possession of the whole country, and only tolerate the
old religious to pass the residue of their years in the less fre-
quented districts, knowing that they must all die out very
soon ; but they do not permit any novices to be received.
Such is the actual condition of that community." Thus, it
was not in the great original monastery, as is sometimes
supposed, but in some obscure hut or cottage, perhaps, within
sight of its loved ruins, that the Annals of the Four Masters
were compiled. That humble hut, however, still retained the
name of the original convent, and it rivalled at home the Con-
tinental mission of St. Anthony's at Louvain, being the centre
of the intellectual activity of the Order, and the repository of
the few surviving records of our early history. Its library is
spoken of by Ware as possessing many .precious works, and
most of the ancient Irish MSS. now preserved in Brussels
and Rome, still bear inscribed on them : — " Ex libris con-
I'entus de Dunnegall?
The " Annals of Ireland" is not, however, the only work
for which we are indebted to Michael O'Clery and his brother
antiquarians. The " Succession of the Kings," and " The
Genealogies of the Saints of Ireland" which they completed in
the year 1630, are dedicated to Torloch Mac Cochlain. The
original MS. of these two Tracts, which, however, are both
parts of the one great work,1 is preserved in St. Isidore's, Rome,
and bears on the first page the following title : —
"The History of the Kings of Erin, according to their
1 O'Curry was betrayed into some errors by an imperfect copy of this work,
which thus begins : " On the 3rd day of the month of September, Anno Christi,
1644, this book was commenced to be written in the house of Conall, son of Niall,
son of Rossa Mageoghegan, of Lias Maighne in Cenel Fhiachach (in Westmeath), one
by whom are prized and preserved the ancient monuments of our ancestors ; one
who is the industrious collecting Bee of everything that belongs to the honour and
history of the descendants of Milesius, and of Lugaidh, son of Ith, both lay and
ecclesiastical, as far as he could find them. And what is written in this book is the
Succession of the Kings, and the History of the Saints of Erin, which are now cor-
rected and amended by these persons following, viz. : the friar, Michael O'Clery,
Fearfeasa O'Mulconry, and Cucogry O'Duigenan, all of these persons learned in
the Irish language. And it is taken from the principal ancient books of Erin, in
the Convent of Athlone, as we have before stated, as well as from the historical
poem written by Gilla Caomhain O'Cuirnin, which begins: 'Virgin Erin,
Island of Saints ;' and another poem written by &HgMS Mac an Ghobhaiit, which
begins : ' Naomhsheanchus,' &e, (i.e., ' The Sacred History of the Saints of Innis-
fail ;') and another poem which begins : 'Father of all, Ruler of Heaven.' This
book contains also the Book of Rights, &c."
These words, supposed by O'Curry to be those of Michael O'Clery, are not in
the original MS., and, as appears from the ojpening date, were only written in
September, 1644, that is to say, some months after O'Clery's death. The "Book
of Rights" forms no part of the work of our Four Masters, and neither should be
imputed to them the error of ascribing the Naomhshcattfhvs to St. ,/fSngus.
In the Seventeenth CeHhiry. 277
succession, from their origin-stem, and the time each king of
them spent inthe headship and pcnverof Erin, in his sovereignty :
" The Genealogies of the Irish Saints, as found in the books
of the old authors, set down according to their respective
families in the order of the alphabet :
" For the glory of God, the honor of the Saints, and of the
kingdom, and for the giving of knowledge and skill on the
things aforesaid, and on the authors who have preserved the
History of Erin, before and after the Christian Faith.
" Finished in the Convent of the Brothers of Observance of
the Monastery of Ath Luain (i.e., Athlone), in the bishopric of
Cluain Mac Nois, A.D. 1630."
In the dedication to Torloch Mac Cochlain, Michael
O'Clery and his companions thus write : —
"After the poor Friar, Michael O'Clery, had been four
years at the command of his Superiors, engaged in collecting
and bringing together all that he could find of the History of
the Saints of Ireland, and of the kings to whom their pedi-
grees are carried up, he thought with himself that it would
not be unfitting to put that collection into other languages,
submitting it to the authority, proof, and inspection of other
skilful historians. He also considered that the aforesaid
work could not be finished without expense. But such was
the poverty of the order to which he belonged, on account
of their vow, and the oppressions of the time, that he was
obliged to complain of it to gentlemen who were not bound
to poverty by vow. And among those to whom he made his
complaint, he found no one to relieve his anxiety towards
bringing this work to completion, but one person, who was
willing to assist in the promotion of the glory of God, the
honour of the saints, and of the kingdom and the good of
his own soul. And that one person is Torloch MacCochlain
[here follows the pedigree of the MacCochlains]. And it
was this Torloch MacCochlain that forwarded this work, and
that kept together the company that were engaged in com-
pleting it, along with the private .assistance given by the
aforesaid convent every day. On the 4th day of October,
therefore, this book was commenced, and on the 4th day of
November it was finished, in the convent of the friars before
mentioned, in the fifth year of King Charles of England,
A.D. 1630.
"Your loving friends,
"MICHAEL O'CLERY,
"FEARFEASA O'MAOLCIIONAIRE,
"CucoGRY O'CLERY,
" CUCOGRY O'DUIGENAN."
VOL. VII. 19
278 Irish Historical Studies
This is followed by an address to the reader which sets
forth the nature of the work and the motives which impelled
the writers to undertake the task :
" What true children are there that would not feel pity and
distress, at seeing or hearing of their excellent mother and
nurse being placed in a condition of indignity and contempt, of
dishonor and contumely, without making a visit to her to bring
her solace and happiness, and to give her assistance and relief?
" Upon its having been observed by certain parties of this
nation, of the Order of St. Francis, that the holiness and
righteousness of their mother and nurse Erinn had percep-
tibly diminished, for not having the lives, wonders, and
miracles of her saints disseminated within her, nor yet made
known in other kingdoms ; the counsel they adopted was, to
send into Erinn a poor Friar Minor of their own Order of
Observance, Michael O'Clery, a chronicler by descent and
education, in order to collect and bring to one place all the
books of authority in which he could discover anything that
related to the holiness of her saints, with their pedigrees and
genealogies.
"Upon the arrival of the aforesaid friar he sought and
searched through every part of Erinn, in which he had heard
there was a good or even a bad book, (i.e. Gaedhlic MS.) ; so
that he spent four full years in transcribing and procuring
every thing that referred to the saints of Erinn. Nevertheless,
though great his labour and his hardships, he was able to find
but a few out of the many of them, because strangers had
carried off the principal books of Erinn into remote and
unknown foreign territories and nations, so that they have
not left anything which is worthy to be enumerated of her
books in her.
" And when all that the aforesaid friar could find had been
gathered into one place, what he contemplated and decided
on doing was this — viz., to bring together and assemble in one
place three persons whom he should consider most befitting
and most suitable to finish the work which he had under-
taken, with the consent of his superiors, for the purpose of
examining all the collections that he had made. These were,
Ferfeasa O'Mulconry from Bally Mulconry, in the county of
Roscommon ; Cucoigriche O'Clery, from Bally Clery, in the
county of Donegal, and Cucoigriche O'Duigenann from
Baile, Coillefoghair (now Castlefore), in the county of Leitrim.
These persons then came to one place ; and, having come,
the four of them decided to write the Roll of the Monarchs of
Erinn, at the beginning of the book. They determined on
this for two reasons. The first reason, because the pedigrees
of the saints could not have been brought to their origin,
//; t/te Seventeenth Century. 279
without having the pedigrees of the early kings placed first,
because it was from these kings that they are descended.
The second reason, in order that the duty and devotion of
the noble people to their saints, their comharbs, and their
churches, should be the greater, by their having a knowledge
of their relation and friendship with their blessed patrons,
and of the descent of the family saints from the stem from
which each branch of them has sprung, and the number of
the saints of the same branch.
" For every tribe of the saints of Erinn, so many as have
been found of them, according to the order of their history,
is here set forth one after another, without commingling of
families ; but as they branched off and separated from their
original stems.
" Whoever thou art, then, O reader, we leave it to thyself
to perceive that thou wilt find profit, effect, knowledge, and
brevity, in this work. For the succession of the kings, with
their pedigrees to their origin, will be found in it, in the
order in which they obtained the sovereignty together with
the number of their years, the age of the world at the end of
each king's reign, and the age of our Lord Jesus Christ, from
his Incarnation to the death of each king, down to the death
of Malachy the Great (A.D. 1022). And the saints are given
according to their alphabetical order, and their origin, as we
have already said. Glory unto God.
"Your loving friends,
"Fr. MICHAEL O'CLERY,
" FEARFEASA O'MULCONRY,
"CUCOGRY O'CLERY,
" CUCOGRY O'DUIGENAN."
To this the following attestations are added : —
" I, the Brother Seoirse Diolmain, Guardian of Ath Luain,
confess and make testimony that this work, which is called
the Course of the Kings of Erin, and the History of the
Saints, was ended and finished after spending a month com-
pletely with it of days and of nights with striving and study,
for the increasing of the glory of God, and of the saints, and of
the honor of the kingdom. The persons by whom this labor
was finished are — the poor brother Michael O'Clerigh, Fear-
feasa O'Maolchonaire, Cu-coicriche O'Clerigh, and Cu-
coicriche O'Duibhgeannain ; persons skilful, learned in the
history of Erin, in the convent of the Brothers of Observance
of Ath Luain ; and for testimony on the things we have said,
I am putting my hand on this the 4th November, 1630.
" Brother SEOIRSE DIOLMAIN,
Guardian of Ath Luain."
28o • Irish Historical Studies
" I, Conall Mac Neill Mageocagain, from Liss Margne, in
Cenel Fiachach, in the county of West Meath, gentleman,
hereby declare that I saw the books of proof which this book
had; and for testimony thereof, I have here put my signa-
ture, the 4th day of the month of November, A.D. 1630.
" CONALL MAGEOCAGAIX."'
The Lcabhar Gabhala, or "Book of Invasions," is, as regards
the early secular history of Ireland, perhaps the most important
work preserved to us by the untiring industry of the " Four
Masters." This chronicle, containing an ample record of the
successive colonisation of Ireland from the earliest times, was
much older than the sixteenth century, and the labour of
O'Clery and his learned associates was limited in this instance
" to purge of error, rectify and transcribe the old chronicles.'*
It was under the patronage of Brian Ruadh Maguire, first
Lord of Inis-Cethlionn (i.e., Enniskillen) that this work was
undertaken, and in addition to Fearfeasa O'Mulconry, Cucogry
O'Clery, and Cucogry O'Duigenan, Brother Michael O'Clery,
here summoned to his aid Gillapatrick O'Luiniu (from Ard
1 The following Episcopal letters are added in the Roman MS. : —
" I. Visis testimoniis et approbationibus eorum qui praecipui sunt nostrarum
rerum in hoc regno antiquarii, et linguae ac historiae peritissimi ac expertissimi
de fide et integritate fratris Michaelis Cleri in opere, quod vocatur genealogia sanc-
torum ac de ortu, serie ac successione regum Hiberniae, colligendo, castigando,
illustrando, ac cum quibusvis vetustis codicibus conferendo, Nos Malachias Dei
et Apostolicae sedis gratia Archiepiscopus Tuamensis et Conaciae Primas opus
approbamus ac praelo dignum censemus. Datum, Galviae, 15 Kalendar,
Decemb. 1636.
"MALACHIAS, Archiepiscopus, Tuamen."
" II. Visis testimoniis et authenticis peritorum approbationibus de hoc opere per
fratrem Michaelem Clery, ordinis seraphici laicum fratrem, collecto, libenter illud
approbamus ut in publicam lucem edatur.
"Datum Rossirta, 27 Novembris, 1636.
"Fr. BOETIUS ELPHYNEXSIS, Episcopus."
"III. Genealogias regum et sanctorum Hyberniae singulari industria collegit
frater Michael Clery laicus ordinis sancti Francisci de observantia prout fidem
faciunt nostrates antiquarii, quorum authoritate freti opus tain insigne dignum
quod edatur juclicamus, Actum Dublinii, 6 Februarii, 1636.
" Fr. THOMAS FLEMING, Archiepiscopus Dublinensis,
Hiberniae Primas."
" IV. De hoc libro, qui vocatur genealogia sanctorum ac de ortu, serie ac suc-
cessione regum Hiberniae, quern Fr. Michael Clery, ordinis S. Francisci, ad
gloriam sanctorum et communem patriae utilitatem collegit non aliter censemus
quam censores a Reverendo Administratorc Patre Provinciali ejusdem fratris,
R. D. Florentius Keegan et D. Cornelias Bruodyn pro eodem libro inspiciendo
examinando et approbando vel reprobando assignati judicaverunt et decreverunt.
Nos enim eosdem tamquam peritissimos linguae Hibernicae et in omnibus historiis
et patriae chronologiis versatissimos existimanus. Quapropter et illorum censurae
et judicio de praesenti genealogia etc, in omnibus conformamur. In quorum fidem
his manu propria subscripsimus. Datum in loco nostrae mansionis die 8 Januarii
anno Domino 1637.
FR. ROCHUS", Kildarensis."
/// the Seventeenth Century. 281
Ui Lninin\ the chief chronicler of Fermanagh. They all
assembled together "a fortnight before All-Hallow-tide" in
the Franciscan convent of Lisgoole, in the diocese of Cloghcr;
and the work was happily completed "three days before
Christmas, in 1631."
The following passages from the introduction written by
O'Clcry, will be read with deep interest by every lover of
Irish studies: —
" I was aware that men learned in Latin and in English
had commenced to translate this chronicle of Erin from the
Gaehdlic into these languages, and that they had not so pro-
found a knowledge of the Gaehdlic as that they could put the
difficult and the easy parts of the said book together with-
out ignorance or error ; and I felt that the translation which
they would make must become an eternal reproach and dis-
grace to all Erin, and particularly so to her chroniclers. It
was for these reasons that I undertook, with the permission
of my superiors, to purify and compile this book, and to col-
lect for it, from other books, all that was wanting to it in
history and in other learning, as much as we could, according
to the space of time which we had to write it It is
right that you should know that it was ancient writers of
remote times, and commemorating elders of great age, that
preserved the history of Erin in chronicles and books in suc-
cession, from the period of the deluge to the time of St.
Patrick, who came in the fourth year of the reign of Laeg-
haire Mac Neill, monarch of Erin, to plant religion and
devotion in her; when he blessed Erin, men and boys,
women and girls, and built numerous churches and towns
throughout the land. St. Patrick, after all this, invited unto
him the most illustrious authors of Erin at that period to pre-
serve the chronicles, synchronisms, and genealogies of every
colony that had taken possession of Erin, down to that
period. Those that he invited unto him, at that time, were
Ross and Dubhthach, the son of Ua Luaghair, and Fergus and
others. These wore the sustaining pillars of the history of
Erin in the time of St. Patrick.
"St. Columbkille, St. Finnian of Clonard, and St. Comgall
of Bangor, and the other saints of Erin, induced the authors
of their time to perpetuate and set forth the history and syn-
chronisms existing in their day. It was so done at their
request. The authors of the period of these saints, as is
manifest in the latter part of Eochaidh O'Flinn's poem, were
Fiontain, the son of Bochna ; Tnan, the son of Cairell, son of
Muiredbach Muinderg, of the Dal-Fiatach ; and Dalian
Forgaill, the illustrious author and saint.
282 Irish Historical Studies
" The histories and synchronisms of Erin were written and
tested in the presence of these illustrious saints, as is manifest
in the great books which were named after the saints them-
selves, and from their great churches ; for there was not an
illustrious church in Erin that had not a great book of history
named from it, or from the saint who sanctified it. It would
be easy, too, to know, from the books which the saints wrote,
and the songs of praise which they composed in Gaedhlic, that
they themselves, and their churches, were the centres of the
true knowledge, and the archives and homes of the manuscripts
of the authors of Erin, in the olden times. Sad evil! short
was the time until dispersion and decay overtook the churches
of the saints, their relics, and their books ; for there is not to
be found of them now but a small remnant, that has not been,
carried away into distant countries and foreign nations — carried
away so that their fate is not known from that time hither."
As regards the "Four Masters" themselves, little is known
of the history of two of them, i.e., Fearfeasa O'Maolchonaire
and Cucogry O'Duibhgenain. They were famed, however,
throughout our island for their knowledge of the ancient books
of Erin, and were the hereditary antiquarians of Roscommon
and Kilronan. Of Cucogry (i.e., Pcrcgrimis) O'Clery, we
have fuller details. He wrote in Irish a life of the celebrated
Hugh Roe O'Donnell, who died in Spain in 1602, which was
transcribed, many times verbatim, into the Annals. He
also composed some Irish poems, two of which are published
by O'Curry in his Manuscript Materials, &c., p. 562-9. The
first is addressed to Callbach Roc O'Donnell, who, driven
from his hereditary possessions, had been forced to seek a
new home near Cruachain, in the county Roscommon. He
commends to the protection of this young chieftain his own,
learned tutors, the Mulconry's of Cruachain : —
" Good is the search that thou hast made
To go seek the knowledge of history —
To visit me first would havebeen an idle journey:
To the home of the learning of Erin.
" An old saying, wise and venerable it is,
'The learning of Erin at Cruachain/
To its learning thou hast given will, above all,
Not without reason was your choice.
" They are in this land a long time,
Around the Cruachain of Conn of the hundred battles,
The O ' Maolchonaires without fault,
In chosen esteem with chieftains.
In tJu Seventeenth Century. 283
" Thou hast, too, joined other knowledge,
With the comely Clann Moakhonaire,
The cause of our invitation from thee
Through the career of my learning from my tutors.
" Let it not molest thee, thou of the race of Finn,
The evil hearts, the malignity,
Of those who envy thy bright brow ;
Their gaze is the omen of secret peace.
"My last words to thy noble mien :
Be not the first to fly from friendship;
Without cause break not thy affection with man.
But share with him thy brightest love."
»
The second poem is addressed to Turlough, the son of
Caflfar O'Donnell. In it he condoles with this aged chieftain
on the fallen fortunes of his house ; extols him for the pro-
tection he had shown his followers after the Plantation of
Ulster, and for the bravery with which he arrayed them for
the battles of religion during the Confederate war of 1641 ;
and in fine, exhorts him to be resigned in his present trials,
and to prepare for that glory which is eternal. It thus
begins : —
" My curse upon thee, O, world !
Woe is he who understands not thy great dangers,
For thou thyself makest us sensible,
That thy fortunes are not an object to be loved.
" Tho' many a king who had been esteemed,
Received from thee reign and sovereignty ;
And to whom thou gavest mirth, feast, and banquet ;
Behold their fate at the end !
" No person has arisen, west or east,
On the back of thy wheel, O, world !
Whose end is not, after all happiness,
To be buried under that wheel in sorrow.
" The poor of the earth all around,
To thee they have cause to be thankful ;
Thou givest them nothing of thy wealth,
And thou deprivest them not of thy gifts."
From an inquisition held at Lifford on the 25th of May,
1632, it appears that our annalist Cucogry had for a short
time held a portion of land at Monargane, in the county
284 Irish Historical Studies
Donegal, for which he paid £S per annum to the assignee of
the Earl of Annandale; but, as the inquisition states, "being
a meere Irishman, and not of English or British descent or
sirname," he was dispossessed, and his holding forfeited to the
king. Shortly after he removed, with many other families of
Tirconnell, to Ballycroy, in the south of the barony of Erris,
in the county Mayo, bringing with him his books, which were
his only treasure. His will, drawn up a little before his death
in 1664, thus begins : " In the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost, I bequeath my soul to God
Almighty, and I charge my body to be buried in the monas-
tery of Burgheis- UmJiail (i.e. Borrisoole), or in whatever other
consecrated church it will appear best to bury me. I leave
the property most dear to me that is in my possession in the
world, namely, my books, to my two sons Diarmaid and
Seaan. Let them take their profit out of them without
injuring them, and according to their necessities; and let them
give the use of them, and constant access to them, to CairbrJs
children, even as to themselves. I am charging them to be
loving, friendly, respectful (to these) as they would be to their
own children, if they wish that God should be propitious to
themselves, and give them prosperity in the world here, and
their share in the kingdom of heaven to them in the other
world." (Curry's Lectures, p. 561.)
Of Michael O'Clery much might be written. Born about
the year 1575, he was generally known to his contem-
poraries as Teige na-Sleibhe, i.e. " Teighe of the Mountain,"
but no explanation of this name has been handed down
to us. Admitted among the Franciscans of St. Anthony's,
at Louvain, in 1623, he received the name of Michael, but he
never would consent to be promoted to holy orders, and he
remained till death in the humble ranks of the lay brothers of
St. Francis. In the last chapter (p. 199), we have seen how
Father Patrick Fleming wrote to Ward on 27th July, 1624.: —
" Make sure to carry out your purpose of sending
brother Clery to Ireland to collect the MSS. there,"
and probably before the close of that year, if not before
the receipt of Fleming's letter, the humble lay-brother was
entrusted with this literary mission, destined to be so
happy in its bearings on the history of our country.
Michael O'Clery travelled from convent to convent, and
from province to province, collecting everywhere the
few surviving fragments of our literature. The learned Bishop
of Ossory, Dr. Rothe, writing in 1828, states that already he
had collected more than three or four hundred lives of the
Irish Saints : he adds, " I gave him the few lives which I
In the Seventeenth Century. 285
had collected, and sent him to Ormond, part of my diocese,
to transcribe there for awhile, from whence he promised to
come to Thomond, where I undertook to get many things
for him, but he came not since ; soon I expect him to come,
and he shall be welcome truly to me." From the dedicatory
letter prefixed to the "Annals of the Four Masters," we learn
that O'Clery devoted several years to the arduous work of
collecting such materials, before he ventured, even with the
aid of other antiquarians, to compile those learned works which
have endeared his name to all students of our history.
Several of the volumes transcribed by O'Clery are still extant
in Brussels,1 and are described by O'Curry in his " Lectures,"
(pp. 173-4). First of the published works bearing the in-
dividual name of Michael O'Clery is his Glossary, which was
printed at Louvain, a few weeks before his demise. Its title is
thus translated by O'Curry : — " A new Vocabulary or Glossary,
in which are explained some part of the difficult words of the
Gacdhlic, written in alphabetical order by the poor rude friar,
Michael O'Clery ', of the Order of St. Francis, in the College of the
Irish Friars at Louvain, and printed byautlwrity in tiieyear 1 62 3."
This work, which is reckoned of special value by our modern
philologists, was composed by O'Clery, as he tells us in the
preface, for the purpose of keeping alive a knowledge of the
early Celtic language. The inroads now made on the Irish
tongue, and the attacks levelled against it by the English foe,
only served to tender it more dear to the natives :
" Unlike the jargon of our foreign foe,
On raptured ear it pours its copious flow ;
Most feeling, mild, polite, and polished tongue,
That learned sage e'er spoke or poet sung.
In the " Address to the Reader," O'Clery thus writes : —
" Let the reader who desires to read this little work, know
four things, the first is, that we have not set down any word
of explanation or gloss of the hard words of our mother
tongue, but the words which we found with other persons, as
explained by the most competent and learned masters in the
knowledge of the difficult words of the Gaedhlic in our own
days. Among these more particularly, were Boetius Ruadh
MacEgan, Torna O'Mulconry, Lughaidh O'Clery, and
1One of these is the celebrated tract called "The Wars of the Danes," which
has been published by Dr. Todd in the London Series, under the Master of the
Rolls, in 1867. The l!ruvsd> MS. has the following note : "Out of the Book of
Cuconnacht O'Daly, the poor Friar Michael O'Clery wrote the copy from which
this was written in the Convent of the Friars in Baile Tighe Farannaim (i.e., Multy-
farnham, in the County Westmeath), in the month of March of this year, 1628;
and this copy was written by the same friar in the Convent of Donegal, in the month
of November of this year, 1635."
286 Irish Historical Studies
Maelseachlainn O'Mulconry : and though each of these was an
accomplished adept, it is Boetius Roe that we have followed
the most, because it was from him we ourselves received, and
we have found written with others, the explanations of the
words of which we treat. And besides, because he is an illus-
trious and accomplished in this (the antiquarian) profession, as
is manifest in the character which the other scholar before
mentioned, Lugdaidh O'Clery, gave of him after his death, as
may be found in the verses which thus begin : —
" Athairne', the father of learning,
Dalian Forgaill, the prime scholar,
To compare with him in intelligence would be unjust,
Nor Neide, the profound in just laws.
" Obscure history, the laws of the ancients,
The occult language of the poets ;
He, in a word, to our knowledge,
Had the power to explain and analyse, etc.
" We have known able professors of this science, and even
in the latter times, such as the late John O'Mulconry (of
Ardchoill, in the county of Clare), the chief teacher in history
of those we have already named, and indeed of all the men of
Erinn likewise, in his own time ; and Flann, the son of
Cairbrey, MacEgan (of Lower Ormond, in Tipperary), who still
lives, and many more that we do not enumerate. But because
we do not happen to have at this side of the sea, where we are
in exile, the ancient books which they glossed, except a few,
we could not follow their explanation but to a small extent.
"In the second place, be it known to you, O reader! that
the difficult ancient books, to which the ancient authors put
glosses, and from which we have taken the following words,
with the farther explanations of the parties mentioned above,
who taught in these latter times, were the Amhra or (Elegy),
on the death of Saint Colum Cille, the Agallamh, or Dialogue
of the two sages, the Felire, or Festology of the Saints, the
Martyrology of Marianus O'Gorman, the Liber Hymnorum,
or Book of Hymns ; the Glossary of the (Tripartite) Life of
Saint Patrick : an ancient Scripture on vellum, and a certain
old paper book, in which many hard words were found, with
their explanations ; the glossary called Forus Focail (or The
True Knowledge of Words), and the other glossary, called
Deirbshuir don eagna an Eigse (or Poetry is the sister of
Wisdom). And for the greater part of the book from that out
we received the explanation from the above-mentioned Boetius.
" Be it known to the reader, thirdly, that we have only
desired, when proposing to write this little work, to give but
In the Seventeenth Century. 287
a little light to the young and the ignorant, and to stimulate
and excite the professors and men of knowledge to produce
a work similar to this, but on a better and larger scale.—
And the reason why we have not followed at length many of
the various meanings which poets and professors give to many
of these words, is because that it is to the professors them-
selves it more particularly belongs, and the people in general
are not in as great need of it, as they are in need of assistance
to read and understand the ancient books."
The work is dedicated to the Bishop of Elphin, Boetius
M'Egan,a name illustrious in our annals for thedevotednesswith
which this holy Bishop discharged his sacred duties through-
out this whole eventful period of the confederation, and for the
heroism with which he confronted death in defence of truth,
the i Qth of April, 1650.
" To MY VERY HONOURED LORD AND FRIEND BOETIUS
M'yEGAN, BISHOP OF ELPHIN — Here is presented to you,
my Lord, a little gleaning of the difficult words of our native
tongue, collected from the many old books of our country,
and expounded -according as they were understood, and in-
terpreted by the principal authors of our country in latter
days, to whom peculiarly belonged the exposition of the
ancient Irish language. I have not seen many of our country-
men to whom the gleaning should be offered before you.
And it is not alone that we are in the same habit, which was
on another occasion a sufficient cause for my being attached
to you in preference to other friends, that moved me to make
you the patron of this book ; but in addition to that, and
more particularly on account of your own affection for, and
the birthright of your kindred to this art, and also because
there is a man of your name and surname — Boetius Ruadh
M'^Egan — among the principal persons whom I follow in the
exposition of the words which are treated of in this book.
"Accept, then, from a good will, this little offering, in which I
have only desired to give the ignorant a little knowledge of their
ancient mother tongue; and to excitethe more learned to supply
such another work in a better manner and at greater length.
" Your own poor devoted servant.
Fr. MICHAEL O'CLERY.
" Given at Louvain, the 28th October, 1643."
The following commendatory letter from the Superior of the
Irish Franciscans in Belgium and Germany is also prefixed to
the work : —
" Quia obsoletarum diffici- "As the explanation of the
liorumque dictionum vetusti obsolete and most difficult
nostri idiomatis Hibernici words of our ancient Irish
Irish Historical Studies
idiom must be of considerable
use and assistance for illustra-
ting the history and various
antiquities of our country, we
grant permission to our be-
loved brother Fr. Michael
O'Clery, skilled in our ancient
monuments and in the inter-
pretation of the more unusual
meanings of words in our
earlier native language, to
publish for the greater glory
of God the Glossary of the
old forms of expression which
he has compiled in alphabeti-
cal order, and explained by
means of the glosses and in-
terpretations of the antiqua-
ries best versed in our ancient
language.
" Given at Louvain, in the
Franciscan Convent of St. An-
thony, the 2/th October, 1643.
" Fr. HUGH DE BURGO,
" Commissary of the Irish
Franciscan Friars of Strict
Observance in Belgium and
Germany."
The Martyrology of Donegal was compiled by O'Clery from
ancient and authentic sources, in 1630. The Colophon which
closes the work gives the origin of its name, "End of tJie Mar-
tyrology, \tyh April, 1630. In the convent of Friars at Done-
gal it was begun and finislied" Dr. Todd published this work
for the I.A.S. in 1864, from the Brussels MS., which is en-
riched with many marginal notes by O'Clery and his cotempo-
rary antiquarians. It is now easily accessible to the public,
and all the scholars of our age have fully confirmed the eulogy
bestowed on it by Flan Mac Egan and Connor Mac Bruodin
in 1636, viz., that " though they had seen many books
relating to the festivals of the Saints, yet they had found none
of them so full and so eminently clear, bright, intelligible and
so worthy of praise," as the the Martyrology of Donegal. A
few of the marginal notes will suffice to awaken the interest
of the reader in this invaluable work. Thus we read : —
" A.D. 1537, O'Conchobhair Failge rose against Henry tlie
explanatio ad patriae his-
torias aliasque antiquitates
penetrandas haud parum al-
latura videtur lucis et com-
pendii ; hinc facultatem con-
cedimus dilecto nostro fratri
Fr. Michaeli Clery in patriis
antiquitatibus, et abstrusiori-
bus sensibus vetustioris lin-
guae patriae eruendis versato;
ut Vocabularium quod ex
vetustis ejusdem linguae dic-
tionibus ordine Alphabetic©
digestum compilavit, et colla-
tione facta cum peritorum
nostrae linguae antiquario-
rum glossematibus et exposi-
tionibus explanavit, typis
mandetur ad Dei gloriam.
"Datum Lovanii in Collegio
MinorumStrict Obs.S.Antonii
de Padua, die 27 Octob., 1643.
" Fr. HUGO DE BURGO,
"Commissarius fratrum Min.
Hib. Strictioris Obs. in Bel-
gio et Germania."
In the Seventeenth Century. 289
Eighth, in the 2?th year of his reign, for liberty, and destroyed
the troops of the English with immense slaughter, and
drove the Viceroy into great straits, who, when he had filled
a church to the roof with the corpses of the slain by night,
lest the enemy should become more insolent after so great
a slaughter, the bodies were reduced to ashes, but the church
itself, although its roof was of timber, remained uninjured,
and even more beautiful than before."
" The Book of Columcille, i.e., the Book of Burrow, is
in Durrow itself, in Cinel Fiachach, i.e., the country of
MacEochagain, written in Gaidhelic characters, the New
Testament, with a binding of silver and gems. The house of
Columbcille is above in Cenannas (i.e.t Kells), and the station
of crosses and his miraculous book are there. His way to the
church used to be underground. Gormlaith, daughter of
Flann, is interred under a great cross, and she came to meet
Brian-na-m-Barr6g, to ask for a flag to be put over her body.
On the stone in the cemetery is the inscription : ' I place this
stone over thee, O Gormlaith.' "
"Aodh, the son of Brie, son of Cormac son of Crem-
thain son of Fiachach, was born in Killair, in Meath.
His miraculous staff, made of Finubruin, i.e., brass, inlaid
with silver, is in the possession of Peter MacEochagain.
Rath-Aodha, a parish church, remains there still. It was he
himself (i.e., Peter MacEochagain), who found the staff:
it works wondrous miracles against perjurers, and Killair
is still the church of Aodh. Patrick foretold his birth
from Fiachach, when this chieftain gave him fifteen townlands
around Killair, after uttering his malediction on the stones of
Uisnech that they should not take hold together."
Dr. Todd mentions a shorter Martyrology also preserved in
Brussels, compiled by O'Clery, and said to have been trans-
cribed at Douay, in 1629. This is probably the Martyrologhuii
Hibernicum commune of which mention is sometimes made in
Colgan's notes, as distinct from the Martyrology of Donegal.
I have given but a faint outline of the many valuable
works with which Michael O'Clery enriched our literature.
If O'Donovan merited the eulogy of the learned world for
translating and editing the " Annals of the Four Masters,"
should not a due meed of praise be awarded to the man who
was the chief originator of that invaluable work ? And yet
the 'Annals' was only one of the many great literary works
achieved by the genius and untiring industry of this humble
lay-brother of the Order of St. Francis.
2QO
MONASTICON HIBERNICUM,
OR,
A SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE ANCIENT
MONASTERIES OF IRELAND.
[N.B. — Thetextofthe "Monasticon" is taken verbatim from Archdall r the notes
marked with numbers are added by the Editors.]
COUNTY OF CORK.
The Great Isle ;^18 in the barony of Barrymore, and form-
ing one side of the harbour of Cork, is four miles in length,
seven in breadth, and contains the village of Cove, opposite
to which his Majesty's largest ships may ride, and the vessels
trading to Cork generally anchor there.*8* The festival of St.
Saran, the son of Archuir, is observed here on the 1 5th of May.h
Inchrie ; there was a Cistertian abbey here, dedicated to the
Virgin Mary ; it was a cell of the abbey of Maure in this
county,1 and is now unknown.
Iniscarra ;*ig five miles from Cork, on the river Lee, in the
«* Called anciently Inismore, in Ibhmaccailet or Imokilly. Vard. vita Rum.
*«* Smith, vol. \.p. 169. *Vard. vit. Rumoldi. ^IVar. Man. Harris's tab. *Was
called anciently Tuaimnava, Act. SS. p. 140.
Glanore, or Glanworth; Inquisition 3rd of Saint Hilary, 3 1st Elizabeth, finds
that a grant was made of this priory and the possessions thereof to Maurice Viscount
Fermoy, at the annual rent of 15^. Irish ; but that the same was forfeited by the
non-payment of the rent. — Ordnance Survey of Cork, R.I.A., vol. iv., p. 73.
18 The Great Island. St. Sarann, of Inismor (Great Island), is thus commemorated
in the Festology of Aengus Cele De at igth May. "Sarann, son of Archurr, from
Inismor, in Uibh Mac Caille, in Uibh Liathain in Munster ;" and the Irish life of
St. Findbarr states that St. Sarann settled in Drom Eighneach, in the territory of
Ua Lugdach, that he resigned his own church to God and to St. Barra (Findbarr),
and that Barra gave him a new monastery with its Religious. — Life of St. Findbarr
G" Curry, MS. C.U.I.
I9lniscarra; The Irish lives of St. Senan of Inis Cathaigh, relate that on his
return home from his great preceptor, St. David of Kilmony, in Alba, he came into
this part of Munster; and having settled down in the place then called Oilean arda
Crick Liathain, now Barrymore Island, he remained there forty days, till admon-
ished by an angel to go forth, and to found a church for himself, wherein to serve
God, with his followers. St. Senan went forward, we are told, directed by the
angel, till he came to a place then called Tuaim-na-mba, on the side of the river
Linne (now the Lee), where he founded his church, and fixed his ecclesiastical resi-
dence. When the petty prince of this place came to hear that St. Senan had occu-
pied his land without permission, he sent messengers to warn him off, and to de-
mand rent and restitution. Subsequently he sent his own favorite steed to be
maintained at the expense of the monastery, but the steed fell into the stream at
the church, where she was drowned, so that no part of her remained to be seen
but her carra, i*., her quarters, and hence the place was called Inis Carra,
Tuaim na-mba was its name till then. St. Senan thus maintained his position
here, and left eight of his disciples in the Church of Inis Carra, with St. Gillian,
under the protection of Fechen, son of Faighe, king of Muscraighe, who was also a
disciple of St. Senan. — Life of St. Senan, chap. 3, pp. 15-16.
Ancient Monasteries of Ireland. 291
barony of Barrets. St. Senan of Iniscathay, built an abbey
here, and placed eight of his disciples therein.1 This is now
a parish church in the diocese of Cloyne.m
Inishircan ;n *° an island between Cape Clear and the main-
land. In the year.i46o, Florence O'Driscol, the Great, founded
a small monastery here for Franciscan friars of the strict
observance ;° other writers say, that Dermot O'Driscol was
the founder in I47O.P In 1537 the citizens of Waterford
destroyed all the villages on this island, with the mill, castle,
and friary .*»
This monastery was built near the castle, on the plan of
that at Kilcrea, but much smaller ; the steeple is a low square
tower, from whence runs the nave, with an arcaded wing, to
the south/
Inispict, or Inispuinc;^ near Inishircan, in the barony of
Muskerry. St. Carthagmochuda built a monastery here
about the close of the 6th century, and placed therein the
three brothers, St. Cobban, St. Stephen, and St. Lafren, with
the bishop St. Domangen, and twelve others of his disciples ;
but they did not continue here, for we find that St. Doman-
gen was honoured in Tuaimmuscraighe.6 This place is now
unknown.
Kilbcacan ; on the north side of Mount Crotte, in Muscry-
ciure, and Keating says, it bears the same name at this day.
St. Abban, who died at a great age A.D. 650, built an
I War. Man. Harris's tab. m Visitation Book. " Was called anciently Iniskitran.
°War. MSS. iwl. 34, /. 162. War. Mon. *War. Man. <>SmiM, vol. \,p. 141.
TJd. p. 290. *Act. SS.f. 631.
™ Inishircan; Inquisition 2nd March, 5th James, finds that, 3rd March, 33rd
Elizabeth, a grant for a term of years was made of this priory to John Bealinge, at
the annual rent of 26s. &/., Irish money.
n Jnis Put. The Irish "Life of Saint Carthach, or Mochuada, Bishop of
Rahen and Lismore," contains the following account of this place : —
II A certain time the King of Munster, namely Cathal, son of Aodh, was in the
land of Cuircne afflicted with various diseases, so that he was deaf, dumb, and
blind; and Mochuada came to where he was, and the King and his friends prayed
him to cure him. Mochuada prayed to God for him, and he put the sign of the
cross on his eyes, and on his ears, and on his mouth, and he was cured of all
diseases and blemishes. And Cathal gave extensive lands to God, and to
Mochuada for ever, namely — Cathal Island, and Rossbeg, and Rossmore, and
Pick Island, now Spike Island. And Mochuada sent holy brothers to build a
church in Rossbeg in honour of God. And Mochuada himself commenced
building a monastery in Pick Island, and he remained a full year in it. Mochuada
then placed three of his disciples, namely — the three sons of Nascann, i.e., Bishop
Goban, and Sraphan the priest, and Laisrcn the saint, in these churches; and it
was the holy bishop of Ardomain that gave holy orders to those three persons, in
the presence of Mochuada, and it is he that was appointed to direct and to preserve
them in the way of righteousness, and he left two score more of his brethren in the
monastery of Pick Island, in place of himself. And Mochuada then returned to
Rahen; and that Island which we have mentioned, i.e., Pick Island, is a most holy
place, and most pious people reside in it perpetually. — & Curry M.S., C. U.I.
Ancient Monasteries of Ireland.
extensive monastery here, and placed over it St. Beacan, alias
Mobecoc.w
KUchuilinn^ is supposed to be in the barony of Bantry ;
here we find a nunnery, of which St. Cannera was abbess,
where she was also honoured.*
''Act. SS., p. 615, 622, 751. */</., /. 155.
"St. Cannera was the holy virgin commemorated by Moore in the following lines
of his song of Saint Senanus and the Lady.
ST. SENANUS.
" Oh ! haste and leave this sacred Isle,
Unholy bark, ere morning smile ;
For on thy deck, though dark it be,
A female form I see ;
And I have sworn this sainted sod
Shall ne'er by woman's feet be trod."
THE LADY.
" Oh ! Father, send not hence my bark,
Through wintry winds and billows dark ;
I come with humble heart to share
Thy morn and evening prayer ;
Nor mine the feet, Oh ! holy Saint,
The brightness of thy sod to taint."
The legend of St. Cannera's visit to fais- Cathaigh and her interview with St.
Senanus is thus preserved in the Irish lives of St. Senanus.
" The pious Cannera, a virgin saint, of Beantraige (Bantry), in the south-west of
Erin, who established a Disert in her own country. A certain night after vespers,
as she was at her prayers, she saw all the churches of Ireland, and a tower
of fire rising out of every one of them up to heaven. The fire which rose out
of Innis Cathaigh was the largest, the highest, and most brilliant of all, and rose
most directly heavenward. On beholding this the holy virgin exclaimed, that is a
beautiful Recles (church) said she, and it is to it I will go, that my resurrection may
be out of it. — O heavenly spouse, said she, whatever church or holy place that is,
it is there I wish my resurrection to be : and she then prayed God that she might
not lose sight of that tower of light, but like the tower of fire that led the children
of Israel through the wilderness, so it might lead her into the place ; and God
granted her prayer. She set out forthwith, having no guide but the blazing tower of
fire which continued to burn without ceasing, both day and night, till she reached
it. When she reached the water at Luimneach (Limerick) she went on foot over
the water as if she walked on the dry ground, and reached the shore at Inis
Cathaigh, at early dawn next morning. St. Senan, knowing this, came to the
shore to meet her and bade her welcome. It is for that I came said Cannera,
and blessed are they who come in the name of the Lord. Go, said Senan, to
my mother and my sister who abide in that island on the east, and you will be en-
tertained by them there. That is not what I come for, said Cannera, but to be
received by yourself into this island, and to remain here in communion of prayer
with you. Women do not abide in this island, said Senan. What is your reason
ior that ? said Cannera: Christ did not come less to redeem women than to redeem
men. Christ was crucified not less for women than for men. Women were serv-
ing and attending Him and his apostles, and women do not go less to
heaven than men. You are speaking in vain, said Senan to the holy virgin, there
is no distinction between their souls, but not so with their bodies, and so women
shall not reside in this island as long as I live, said Senan. And will you give me
a place of interment and resurrection in your island, and communion and sacrament
(To be continued.)
[NEW SERIES]
THE IRISH
ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD.
APRIL, 1871.
MACCHIAVELLI.
Ti
HE momentous events which have occurred in Europe
during the last century, and the changes which they indicate
as having taken place in the code of political morality, are
such as must command the serious attention of every thinking
mind. Indeed we must plead guilty to the charge of inaccu-
racy, when we describe this change as having occurred within
the last century or so, for it dates its origin from a more
remote period. Dishonesty and injustice, ambition and
intrigue, are coeval with the world ; yet it was reserved for
the fifteenth century to legalize, as it were, political treachery,
and sow those seeds of social immorality which, in later days,
have produced the Cavours, the Palmerstons, and theBismarcks,
who have contributed all within their power to destroy truth,
ignore honour, repudiate honesty, and stamp as legitimate
every vile means which could be made useful, either for the
acquisition of fresh power, or the retention of that which was
already within their grasp.
Casting even a cursory glance over the history of the last
century, and witnessing the state of utter degradation to
which the very primary principles of international and social
morality have been reduced, it may not be altogether uninter-
resting to trace the origin of this system, to discuss its merits,
or rather demerits, and, finally, to inquire what principles
ought to regulate the conduct of statesmen, in order to re-
establish a healthy tone of public political morality, and render
impossible in the future such flagrant exhibitions of injustice
as were lately witnessed in the formation of the kingdom of
Italy and the creation of the Germanic Empire.
The system of which we write has long been known as
VOL. VII. * 20
294 Macc/i iircell i.
" the MaccJiiavellian" and the name suggests that we should
trace back its origin to the days of the famous Florentine
diplomatist whose name heads this paper, and who, in his
celebrated treatise, " II Principe," lays down so iniquitous a
code of public policy, that it would seem to have been inspired
by no less a proficient in evil than the Spirit of Darkness.
Lord Macaulay, though to some extent the panegyrist of
Macchiavelli, thus describes the evil odour in which that work
has ever been held. The terms in which Macchiavelli has
been commonly described since this work was published,
" would seem," says Lord Macaulay,1 " to import that he was
the tempter, the evil principle, the discoverer of ambition and
revenge, the original inventor of perjury, and that before
the publication of his fatal Prince, there had never been a
hypocrite, a tyrant, or a traitor, a simulated virtue, or a con-
venient crime The Church of Rome has pro-
nounced his works accursed things, nor have our own country-
men been backward in testifying their opinion of his merits.
Out of his sirname they have coined an epithet for a
knave, and out of his Christian name a synonyme for the
devil."2
In the present paper we shall content ourselves with treating
of the personal and public history of Macchiavelli. In one
or two future papers we purpose giving a summary of his
political code, as contained in his writings, showing at the
same time how entirely his views are opposed to the dictates
of natural justice, as well as to the very primary principles of
the Christian law.
Nicolo Macchiavelli was born at Florence, on the $th of
May, 1469, of Bernardo Macchiavelli and Bartholomea Nelli.
His father was a Jurisconsult, and descended from the Mar-
quesses of Tuscany ; through his mother he inherited the
blood of the ancient Counts of Borgo Nuovo, of Fucecchio,
who traced their ancestry back to the tenth century. It will
thus be seen that on the side of both .parents, Nicolo was of
good birth ; but, as Italian nobles, then and now, though well
descended, possessed, sometimes, rather limited means, the
family of young Macchiavelli had resigned the empty
honours of residing in a baronial hall, for the more
substantial and remunerative ones which were the reward of
1 See Macaulay, Critical and Historical Essays, vol. i.
• " Nick Macchiavel had ne'er a trick,
Though he gave his name to our old Nick. "
Ihtdibras, part ii. , canto I .
" But we believe there is a schism on this subject among the antiquaries." —
Macaulay, l<v. fit.
Macchiiirclli. 295
energy and talent in the Florentine Republic under the
administration of the Medici.
During the early years of Macchiavelli, Florence was in a
state of disorder bordering on complete anarchy. This was
occasioned by the intrigues of those who, favouring the preten-
sions of the house of Pazzi to the chief post in the Florentine
Republic, sought to prevent the succession of Giuliano de'
Medici to a dignitywhich his ancestors had long and honourably
enjoyed. These tumults were, however, ended by the failure
of the conspiracy which had been hatched by the adherents of
the Pazzi family against the house of Medici.1 At the period
when the murder of Giuliano de' Medici occurred, Macchiavelli
had scarcely reached his tenth year. Lorenzo de' Medici next
held the reins of power, but after a most brilliant career, his
death produced, afresh, internal convulsions in Florence. It
will thus be seen that the very circumstances which were daily
taking place around him were calculated to direct the mind
of young Macchiavelli towards politics, as the arena in
which he should distinguish himself in after years.
Though we have received no details of Macchiavelli's early
education, yet we must conclude from the ability which he
displayed in after life, and from his writings, which bear testi-
mony to a well-trained mind, that it must have been liberal.
Having completed his studies, he was placed as secretary in
the office of Marcello di Virgilio de' Adriani, one of the chief
officers of the court of Chancery in Florence, and after five
years spent in the discharge of these duties, he was, on the
appointment of his employer, Marcello, to the office of High
Chancellor, elected from amongst four other competitors to
the position of Chancellor of the Second Court.
Circumstances favoured in no slight degree the develop-
ment of Macchiavelli's political talents. At the time of which
we write there existed in Florence a body designated the
Council of Ten, which had charge of all diplomatic negoci-
ations, and corresponded in some measure to the " Secretary
for Foreign Affairs," in modern -Governments. To this
Council of Ten, Macchiavelli was appointed Secretary, before
a month had elapsed since his election to the office of Chan-
cellor, and during the fourteen years that he discharged the
duties of this office, he had ample opportunities of becoming
acquainted with the political systems of his time, and of com-
mending himself to the favourable notice of his superiors, by
the display of those powers of acuteness and penetration
which he unquestionably possessed in no mean degree. That
1 For an account of this conspiracy and its tragical end, see Koscoc, Life of Leo
X., chap. i\ .
296 Macchiavelli.
he did succeed in making himself favourably noticed is suffi-
ciently attested by the fact, that we find him employed by his
government as ambassador in several missions of great im-
portance, which demanded the skill of an experienced diplo-
matist.
In 1498 he is sent to Giacomo Appiani, lord of Piombino,
to solicit his aid against the Venetians, who, in league with
some supporters of the banished Medici,1 were threatening the
Florentine territory. In the following year we find him
treating with Catharine Sforza, Countess of Forli, for the pur-
pose of engaging her son, Ottaviano, as Condottiero in the
service of the Republic. But one of his most delicate missions
was his embassy as Commissioner to the Florentine camp
at Pisa, in the year 1500. Louis XII. of France, who had
reconquered Lombardy, was at this time in league with the
Florentines to oppose the Venetians and the supporters of
the Medici. Some French and Swiss auxiliary troops, under
General cle Beaumont, were therefore despatched by the
French to aid the Florentines, who were besieging Pisa. A
dispute arose between the allies regarding the pay of the auxi-
liary troops. The Swiss mutinied, and the French abandoned
the attack on Pisa. In consequence of this the King of France
accused the Florentine Government of a breach of faith ; and
Macchiavelli, with Francesco Delia Casa, was sent to appease
him, and secure, if possible, his further assistance. They
failed in the main object of their mission : but to such advan-
tage did Macchiavelli employ those arts of diplomacy, which
he afterwards taught in " The Prince" that by prejudicing the
mind of Louis against Caesar Borgia, he secured that monarch's
assistance in opposing the adventurer when, some months
later, he attempted, at the head of 8,000 men, to invade the
Tuscan territory.
The year 1502, however, was to afford Macchiavelli the
most signal opportunity for the display of his diplomatic
skill. In that year he was sent to treat with Caesar Borgia,
who was then at Imola or Bologna. The cause of this mission
may be very briefly stated. As we said in the preceding
paragraph, Borgia, a man of insatiable ambition, having
attempted to invade the Tuscan territory, was peremptorily
ordered by Louis XII. to desist from doing so, under penalty
of seeing the French arms turned against him should he per-
severe in his aggressive attempts. In order to avert this dis-
aster and appease the anger of Louis, Caesar Borgia resolved
to proceed in person to the King, who was then in Lombard}-,
for the purpose of disposing him unfavourably towards the
1 N 1 ifu i>f I/cu X. . chapter \.
Macchiai'dli. 297
Florentines. During his absence, however, his colleagues at
home — Vitelli, Oliverotto, Baglioni, and the Orsini — entered
into a conspiracy against him, and determined to overthrow
his tyrannical rule. The more effectually to carry out their
intention, they solicited assistance from the Florentines.
The Florentines declined to accede to this request — partly
because they disliked Vitelli and the Orsini on account
of former quarrels ; partly because they dreaded that
France might side with Borgia. This was a difficult posi-
tion for Florence. She wished to remain neutral, and
yet displease neither of the belligerents. It reminds us
forcibly of the position taken by England during the Franco-
Prussian war. The Florentines almost instinctively turned
their eyes to Macchiavelli to rescue them from this dilemma.
His finesse, his duplicity, his penetration, his unscrupulousness
of character, marked him at once as the man fit to treat with
Caesar Borgia, who also possessed these qualities in no mean
degree. The two statesmen met, and a contest in diplomatic
hypocrisy took place, which would have gladdened the
heart of a Talleyrand, a Cavour, or a Von Bismarck. They
hated one the other most intensely, yet the negociations were
opened with declarations of very great mutual esteem. Mac-
chiavelli then, on the part of Florence, promised every assist-
ance to Borgia as soon as circumstances would permit. —
Borgia, on his side, simulating an ardent love for the Floren-
tines, suggested that they should give him a condotta or chief
command in their army, for the two-fold purpose of enabling
him to chastise his rebellious colleagues, and at some future
period contribute his aid to consolidate the power, and ex-
tend the influence of the Florentine Republic. To secure
MacchiavelU's compliance with this request, he put forward
motives of expediency as well as friendship — alluding in no
very measured terms to his own great power ; the vastness of
his resources ; the excellency of his artillery ; the number and
efficiency of his troops ; the alliance between himself and the
King of France ; and other topics of similar import, which
might easily induce a less wily politician than Niccolo Mac-
chiavelli to comply with the demands of Caesar Borgia. But
the Florentine diplomatist possessed great power of penetra-
tion, and could not be easily duped. We shall give his reply
to these proposals in his own words. In the 2 1st of the 52
letters which he wrote to his government concerning that
mission, he says, " I answered, that his excellency the Duke
" must not be compared to the generality of other Italian
" Lords, but that he must be considered as a new potentate in
" Italy, with whom it is more fit and becoming to make a
298
"treaty of alliance than a mere comlotta. And I added,
" that as alliances are maintained by arms, which are the only
" binding security for cither party, your lordships (the members
" of the Florentine Government) could not see what security
"there would be for them if three-fourths or three-fifths of
"your forces were to be in the hands of the Duke." Borgia
on hearing this reply must have felt that Macchiavelli, young
though he was, could prove his equal, if not his superior, in
diplomacy. Negotiations, nevertheless, continued, each party
striving to gain time and defeat the plans of the other.
Meanwhile, Borgia, accompanied by Macchiavelli, marched to
Sinigaglia, where Vitelli, Oliverotto, and the Orsini awaited
him, in order to open negotiations which might lead to the
termination of the feud. No sooner, however, had his
troops entered the city, than, with unparalleled atrocity
and perfidy, he seized the chiefs with whom he had
come to treat, strangled two of them that very night,
and subsequently doomed the Orsini to a like fate, after
having made them endure for some time a most painful
imprisonment.
There is considerable difference of opinion as to the part
played by Macchiavelli in this fearful tragedy. Some would
regard him as innocent, and maintain that he was entirely
ignorant of the design of Caesar Borgia ; others affirm, on the
contrary, that the crime was perpetrated with his entire con-
currence and approval.
Perhaps we will come nearer the truth by steering a middle
course, and adopting on this question the views of that eminent
historian, Roscoe, in the note to the second volume of the
Life of Leo X. This writer had in the first volume of the work
accused Macchiavelli of full and direct complicity in the crime
of Caesar Borgia. In a note, however, to the second volume he
modifies, somewhat, this opinion, though he is far from absolv-
ing him from all guilt in this miserable transaction. We
shall allow Roscoe to state his opinion in his own words : —
" In a former part of this work," he says, " I have charged
Macchiavelli with having had a share in the contrivance of the
atrocious stratagem by which Caesar Borgia destroyed Vitelli,
the Duke of Gravina, and others, at Sinigaglia, in the year
1 502. But the further perusal of the letters of Macchiavelli
has induced me to modify this opinion, and enabled me precisely
to state the part which he had in this black transaction. By
a letter from him to the magistrates of Florence, dated 1st of
January, 1502 (but which should be 1503, the Florent
having, until the year 1750, continued the date of the 25th of
March), it appears that Borgia had communicated his intcn-
299*
tions to Macchiavelli the day before the perpetrating of the
deed ; and that Macchiavelli had not taken any measures to
prevent it, either by expostulating with Borgia, or apprizing
the parties devoted to destruction ; so that, according to
the laws of this country, he stands in the predicament of
what is called an accessory before the fact. It is true
he gives us to understand that he was not apprized of
the whole of the intentions of Borgia, but the manner
in which he speaks of the transaction afterwards, sufficiently
proves that he would not have shrunk from a fuller par-
ticipation of the crime. His words are — ' He sent for me
afterwards in the night, and with the most agreeable air
in the world, rejoiced with me on his success, saying he had
spoken of only part of the design to me the day before, and
had not explained it all, which is true.' In the same letter
he proceeds, according to the desire of Borgia, to congratulate
the Republic on this event, and to represent the advantages
which would arise from this union."1 From this authentic and
dispassionate version of the matter, it is clearly evident that
Macchiavelli was more or less implicated in the horrible
tragedy of Sinigaglia.
Macchiavelli returned to Florence in January, 1503, after
having spent three months in treaty with Caesar Borgia, the
only result of his mission being, that he secured for all citizens
of Florence and their merchandise a free transit through the
Romagna.
For the next eight years (1503-1511) we find Macchiavelli
employed in various missions of greater or less importance.
In the Autumn of 1503, he was sent to Rome to watch the
election of a Pontiff, which finally resulted in the promotion of
Julius II. to the papal chair. In January, 1504, we find him
sent to France, to induce Louis XII. to check the Spaniards
who were advancing from Naples towards Florence and
Milan, thereby endangering the safety of those states. In
1507, he was deputed to wait on the Emperor Maximilian of
Germany, and protest in the name of the Florentines against
the " requisitions" (a word which modern Germans have made
too painfully familiar to the French) of his imperial majesty,
who had ordered the Florentines to defray the expenses of
his coronation. In 1510 and 1511, we find him engaged in
missions to France, the main object of which was to weaken,
by the assistance of the French, the ever-increasing power
of Pope Julius II. in Italy. The celebrated battle of Ravenna,
however, fought in 1512, decided this issue in a great
1 Sec " The Life and Pontificate of Leo X.," by \Vm. Roscoe, note 41, to
chap. xxi.. p. 489. (Bogue Ed.)
3OO Macchiavelti.
measure. The French, as the consequence of the battle, lost
Italy, and Julius II., enraged at the aid given to the French
by the Florentines, engaged the Spanish Viceroy of Naples
to march against them and re-establish the power of the
Medici. So prostrate was the government of Florence at the
time, that in September, 1512, the Medici were restored to
supreme power in that city for which they had done so much,
and with which their name must be for ever associated.
Thus fell the government of Florence, which, for the last
fourteen years of its existence, had been sustained mainly
by the skill of Macchiavelli. That his countrymen placed
almost unlimited confidence in him, is evidenced by the fact
that they employed him on so many missions of trust and
importance ; but on the other hand, that he was not generally
successful, at least in the full sense of the word, in his diplo-
matic missions, is, we think, equally evident. Nor could it
be otherwise ; for duplicity and cunning, though they may
aeem for a while triumphant, almost invariably end in failure ;
while, on the other hand, though she may meet with passing
reverses, it is always safe to say, " magna est veritas et prae-
valebit."
It was but natural that the new government should be
anxious to keep Macchiavelli as far removed as possible from
Florence. He had been the mainstay of the late government,
and it was manifest that the Medici could not retain power
in the state if a man of Macchiavelli's influence and unscru-
pulousness chose to plot against them. He was, therefore,
exiled, but the sentence was after a short time commuted to
a simple prohibition against entering the palace. A conspiracy
formed for the purpose of overthrowing the power of the
Medici was discovered in the year 1513, and as Macchiavelli
was implicated in it, he was subjected to imprisonment. The
interest of his friends, however, after some time, procured
his release.
Cn his restoration to freedom, Macchiavelli did not elect
to engage again in politics. He retired to his country house
at San Cassiano, about eight miles from Florence, determined
to devote his time to literary pursuits. It was in this retire-
ment that he composed his celebrated work, // Principe, in
which he puts forward those principles which, in his judgment,
ought to guide a sovereign in ruling his people. A more
infamous work was never, perhaps, penned. We shall say no
more of it at present, as we intend to deal with it to some
extent further on in this paper. We will only observe that
the work was not printed during the author's lifetime, but was
intended merely for the private perusal of Ciuliano and
Macchiavelli. 301
Lorenzo de' Medici, that he might thus ingratiate himself with
them, and obtain some public office at their hands. " I wish,"
he says, in a letter dated December loth, 1513, and addressed
to his friend Vittori, Florentine ambassador at Rome, "that
these Signori Medici would employ me, were it only in rolling
a stone."1 This sentence thoroughly reveals the character of
Macchiavelli. He was insensible to every feeling save that
of ambition. If he could obtain power by aiding the enemies
of the Medici he was prepared to do so ; did he wish to creep
into any public office through the influence of that family,
he could sink to any depth of degradation, stifle every feeling
of honor and self-respect, and become the most obsequious
of flatterers.
Macchiavelli's time, during the period of his retirement,
was divided between recreation and study. His recreations
seem to have been of a somewhat puerile description, for in a
letter to his friend Vittori, he tells us that he amused himself by
snaring thrushes, and playing at cricca with a butcher, a miller,
and two kiln men ; " but," he adds, " when evening comes, I
return home and shut myself up in my study. Before I make
my appearance in it, I take off my rustic garb, soiled with mud
and dirt, and put on a dress adapted for courts or cities.
Thus fitly habited, I enter the antique resorts of the ancients,
where, being kindly received, I feed upon that food which
alone is mine, and for which I was born. For an interval of
four hours I feel no annoyance ; I forget every grief, I neither
fear poverty nor death, but am totally immersed." In the
original Italian the style is natural and easy, but the letter
breathes throughout a contempt for mankind — a feeling of
gloomy despair arising from the reverses of fortune — a cold,
cutting feeling of irony, and all those sad feelings which may
find a seat in a gifted, but never in a great, soul. There was
manifestly some void in the heart of Macchiavelli, which alone,
when supplied, could lift him up from his existing state of
despondency. He had a generous heart, a clear head. One
thing was wanting to him — to be a Christian.
In the year 1576 Macchiavelli wrote his " Discorsi su Tito
Livio," which is a sort of commentary on the First Decade of
Livy, wherein he develops the principles of popular govern-
ment, and shows himself a most warm supporter of what he
is pleased to style " liberty." About the same time he pub-
lished his " Storie Florentine," a history of Florence from
1205 to 1494. The commencement of this work, in which he
describes the origin of the different Italian States, is well
1 This letter wa« not brought to light until 1810.
302 Macchiircclli.
written, and contains much valuable information ; but it lacks
impartiality, as he seeks to flatter his countrymen too much,
while he unduly depreciates the characters of other peoples.
About this time, too, he composed his " Arte della Guerra,"
or Art of War, with various minor poetical effusions ; but we
forbear noticing these until we come to treat of Macchiavelli
as a writer.
The correspondence which Macchiavelli maintained with
his friend Vittori, the Florentine Ambassador at Rome, served
to bring him under the favourable notice of Leo X. The
death of his nephew Lorenzo de' Medici, on the 28th of April,
1519, imposed on the sovereign Pontiff the necessity of
regulating the affairs of Florence, which, though nominally
a Republic, had become virtually entirely dependent on the
Medici family. This was an affair of considerable difficulty.
On the one hand, had Leo so elected, he might have assumed
the sovereignty of Florence ; but then such a proceeding
would have ill-suited his spiritual character as Pontiff, and
would, moreover, be certain to excite the jealousy of other
Catholic powers. On the other hand, if he were to restore the
Florentines to the full enjoyment of their former liberties,
he would thereby surrender all the power and influence
which his family had for so many years enjoyed in that state,
and that too, when it was far from certain that the Florentine
Republic would be equal to the task of preserving its
freedom, did the Pontiff think fit to bestow it. In this press-
ing emergency the Pope had recourse to Macchiavelli, whose
experience in public affairs and intimate acquaintance with
the state of his native city pointed him out as one pre-
eminently fitted to be consulted on such a critical occasion.
Macchiavelli sent Pope Leo a memorial still extant (opere di
Macchiavelli publicate da Baretti iii. i.), in which he gives
him his views on the "situation." In the memorial Macchia-
velli maintains that of the three forms of government —
Republican, Monarchical, and Mixed, the intermediate is the
most dangerous. His reason is this — a Republic can be
dissolved in one way only — viz., by merging into Monarchy.
A Monarchical government, strictly so called, can be destroyed
only by a Republic ; but a mixed goverment, such as
Florence was under the Medici, might be destroyed by either
of two courses — viz., by leaning too much towards Repub-
licism, or by favouring despotism. Macchiavelli, therefore,
advises the Pontiff either to assume absolute sovereignty in
Florence, or else make it a free or perfectly independent
Republic. He proceeds to say that the choice must be
Macchiiivdli. 303
determined by the character of the people to be governed,
and he hesitates not to suggest that a Republican form of
government would be best suited to the Florentines. He
next sketches the outlines of a form of government which he
calls a " Republic," but in which, with his usual sycophancy,
he gives such powers to the Pope and the Cardinal de'
Medici that, at least during their lives, it would be nothing
better than autocracy of the purest type. " If this plan," he
says himself, " be considered without reference to the authority
of your holiness, it will be found in every respect sufficient to
answer the purpose intended ; but during the lifetime of
your Holiness and the Cardinal, it is a Monarchy, because
you command the army, you control the criminal judicature,
you dictate the laws, insomuch that I know not what more
can be required in a state." The system, however, prepared
by Macchiavelli, did not meet with the approval of Leo X.,
and he permitted the Florentines to retain their estab-
lished form of government, merely reserving to himself
such powers as would suffice to repress their internal dis-
sensions, and secure the rights of the Medici family and of the
Holy See.
The next important event in the life of Macchiavelli
occurred in the Pontificate of Clement VII. At this time,
the Emperor Charles V., and the Constable of Bourbon, were
leading the imperial troops to sack Florence and Rome.
Macchiavelli was left at the former city to urge on the work
of fortification, which task he executed with great energy.
Meantime Bourbon did not attack Florence, but pushed on to
the sack of Rome, which city he took by assault, attended
by circumstances of appaling barbarity. The Italian armies
began to advance towards Rome to deliver the sovereign
Pontiff, who was beseiged in Castel San Angelo. Macchia-
velli followed in their train, but hearing that a successful
revolution at Florence, May i6th, 1512, had overthrown the
power of the Medici, he hastened to that city, full of hope that
he would be employed in some capacity by the new govern-
ment. In this, however, he was deceived ; as the Florentines,
disgusted with his political perfidy, refused to repose confi-
dence in a man who had given repeated proof that he sought
power, not to advance the interests of his country, but to
gratify an insatiable ambition. Thus distrusted and despised
by his former friends, Macchiavelli fell ill, and after a sickness of
only two days' duration, died June 22nd, 1 527, in the 59th year
of his age. A letter from one of his sons to Vittori announc-
ing the event, states that he died in the greatest poverty, and
fortified by the last sacraments. Let us hope that the latter
304 Letters of Balmez.
statement is accurate, though we fear it wants confirmation.
He was buried in the church of Santa Croce in Florence,
where a monument was erected to his memory by Earl
Cowper, anno 1787.
Having traced Macchiavelli's personal and political history,
we must next analyze the political maxims which are
identified with his name, but to do so in the present number
would extend too far the limits of this paper.
W. H.
( To be continued.)
LETTERS OF BALMEZ.
XV. — FATE OF CHILDREN WHO DIE WITHOUT BAPTISM.
MY ESTEEMED FRIEND — I confess the difficulty proposed
in your last letter, though not so insurmountable as you
imagine, is, superficially considered, plausible enough. It has,
besides, the peculiar circumstances, of being apparently
founded on a principle of justice. This makes it the more
dangerous ; because the principles and sentiments of justice
are so deeply engraven on his soul, that man, when he can
depend on them, believes himself authorised in attacking
everything.
I admit at once that justice and religion cannot be enemies ;
and that any belief whatever opposed to the eternal principles
of justice, should be rejected as false. Having thus admitted
one of the bases on which your difficulty rests, I cannot
admit the force of the difficulty itself, for the simple reason
that it is founded on purely gratuitous suppositions. I do
not know in what catechism you can have read that the
Catholic dogma teaches that children who die without
bapism are tormented for ever in the fire of hell.
On my part, I must frankly confess, I had no knowledge of
the existence of such a dogma, and, consequently, it has not
produced in me the horror you experienced. I am inclined to
suppose you suffer, like many others, from a great confusion
of ideas on this important and delicate subject, and I feel
the necessity of arranging them in some way for you, as far
as the hurry of discussion to which the incessant shifting of
my adversary condemns me, will permit.
It is absolutely false that the Church teaches as an article
L f tiers of BalmfX. 305
of faith th.it children who die without baptism are condemned
to the punishment of fire, or any other pain of sense. It is
enough to open the works of our theologians to find it acknow-
ledged by them that the pain of sense applied to such children
is no dogma of faith ; but, on the contrary, the great majority
of them defend the opposite opinion. It would be easy to
adduce innumerable texts in support of this assertion ; but I
consider it unnecessary, for you can assure yourself of the
truth of the fact by hurriedly running over the index of any
theological work, and examining the opinions there put
forth.
I am aware there have been some respectable authors who
opined in favor of the pain of sense ; but I repeat they are in
a great minority ; and above all, I insist that the opinion of
those authors is not a dogma of the Church, and I reject the
charges directed on this head against the Catholic faith. No
matter how wise or holy a doctor of the Church may be, his
opinion is not sufficient authority to found a dogma : between
the doctrine of an author and the teaching of the Church there
is the same distance as between the doctrine of man and the
teaching of God.
For Catholics the authority of the Church is infallible,
because it has the assistance of the Holy Ghost assured to it.
We have recourse to it in all our doubts and difficulties, and
in this consists the principal difference between Protestants
and us. They appeal to the private spirit, which in the end
is nothing but the cavillations of weak reason, or the sugges-
tions of pride ; we appeal to the divine spirit, manifested
through the channel established by God himself, which is the
authority of the Church.
You will ask me what the destiny of those children is who
are deprived of glory, and yet not punished with the pain
of sense; and perhaps you may find the difficulty renewed,
though in a less painful form, from the mere fact of their not
attaining eternal happiness. At first sight it appears very
hard to think that children incapable of committing actual sin
should be excluded from glory, because their original sin was
not blotted out by the regenerating waters of baptism ; but
entering more deeply into the question, we discover in this
neither injustice nor harshness, but solely the result of an
order of things established by God, and of which no one has
a right to complain.
Eternal felicity, which according to the Catholic dogma,
consists in the intuitive vision of God, is not natural to man
or to any creature. It is a supernatural state, at which we
cannot arrive but through supernatural aid. GoJ, without
306 Letters of Balmez.
being harsh or unjust, might not have elevated any creature
to the beatific vision, but have established rewards of a purely
naturalor der either in this life or in the next. Hence it
results that the privation of the beatific vision in a certain
number of creatures, does not argue injustice or harshness in
the decrees of God ; on the supposition that it might have
occurred with regard to all created beings, and would have
occurred if the infinite goodness of the Creator had not desired
to raise them to a state superior to their nature.
I foresee you will reply that the state of things is now very
different ; and though it is true the beatific vision would not
have been a pain to creatures who had no knowledge of it,
yet it is a pain now, and a grievous one, to those who
feel themselves excluded from it. I admit that this
privation is a pain of original sin, but not that it is as grievous
as you wish to suppose. To hold this it would be necessary
to determine how far those who suffer it are aware of the
privation, and the disposition they are in to lament the loss
of a good they could have attained through baptism.
St. Thomas very seasonably remarks there is a great
difference between the effect the loss of the beatific vision must
produce on children, and thatwhich the damned experience from
it. The latter had free will, with which, aided by grace, they
could merit eternal glory. The former departed this life
before they came to the use of reason : it was possible for
those to obtain that of which they feel deprived, but not so for
those who, without the concurrence of their will, found them-
selves translated to another world, in which there are no means
of meriting eternal blessedness. Children who die without
baptism are in the same caseas those who are born in an inferior
station, in which they cannot participate in certain social
advantages enjoyed by their more fortunate neighbours. This
difference does not afflict them, and they resign themselves
without difficulty to the state in which they were born.
As regards the knowledge unbaptised children have of their
situation, it is probable they do not even know there is such a
thing as beatific vision, and so cannot be afflicted at their
privation of it. This is the opinion of St. Thomas,- who holds
that these children have a general but not a specific knowledge
of felicity, and consequently do not grieve at having lost it : —
" Cognoscunt quiderrt beatitudinem in gencrali, secundum
communem rationem, non autem in spcciali, ideoque de ejus
amissione non dolent."
" To be for ever separated from God must be a great afflic-
tion to these children ; because, as we cannot suppose them
deprived of all knowledge of their Author, they must have a
Letters of Baltnes. 307
lively desire of seeing Him, and must experience profound
pain on finding themselves excluded from that good for all
eternity." This argument supposes the very fact denied above,
viz., that these children have a knowledge of the supernatural
order. St. Thomas denies it roundly : he says they are per-
petually separated from God by the loss of glory of which
they are ignorant, but not as regards the participation of
natural good which they know : — " Pueri in original! peccato
decedentes sunt quidem separati a Deo perpetuo, quantum ad
amissionem gloriae quam ignorant ; non tamen quantum ad
participationem natnralium bononun, quse cognoscunt."
Some theologians, among whom Ambrose Catherinus is
reckoned, have gone so far as to hold that these children have
a sort of natural blessedness, but do not explain in what it
consists, for the simple reason that in cases like this, one can
argue from conjectures alone. Nevertheless, I will remark
that this doctrine has not been condemned by the Church ;
and it is worthy of note, that St. Thomas himself, so measured
in all his words, says that these children are united to God
by the participation of natural good ; and so can enjoy Him
by a natural knowledge and love: — "Sibi (Deo) conjungentur
per participationem naturalium bonorum ; et ita etiam de
ipso gander e poterunt naturali cognitione ct dilcctione (2 D. 33,
Q. 2 ar. 2 ad. 5).
Now you see the matter is not so terrible as you imagined,
and the Church does not delight in representing the children
who die without baptism as consigned to fearful torments.
St. Thomas very appositely compares the pain of these child-
ren to that of those who, in their absence, are despoiled of
property without their knowledge. In this explanation the
reality of the pain is reconciled with the absence of affliction
in him who suffers it ; and the dogmas of original sin and of
the pain which follows it remain intact, while we are not
compelled to imagine an immense number of children
tormented for all eternity, when on their own part they were
unable to commit any act that could ^deserve it.
I have thus far confined myself to the defence of the
Catholic dogma, and to the exposition of the doctrines of
theologians ; and I think I have shown that as the former
limits itself to the simple privation of the beatific vision through
effect of original sin unremoved by baptism, it is far from
contradicting the principles of justice or involving the harsh-
ness of which you accused it. Naturally, theologians avail
themselves of this latitude to emit various opinions more or
less well founded ; and on which it is difficult to form a fair
judgment, as we require data revelation alone could supply
308 Letters of Balmcs.
us with. However the doctrine of St. Thomas, which says
that these children can have a knowledge and love of God in
the purely natural order, and so rejoice in Him, appears very
rational. As they are free and intelligent creatures, we
cannot suppose them deprived of the exercise of their
faculties ; for then we should be compelled to consider their
minds as inert substances, not by nature, but because their
intellectual and moral powers were smothered. And as, on
the other hand, it is admitted they do not suffer the pain of
sense, nor grieve from that of loss, we must necessarily allow
them the affections which in every being naturally result
from the exercise of its faculties.
I remain your most affectionate friend,
J. B.
XVI.— FATE OF THOSE WHO LIVE OUTSIDE THE PALE OF
THE CHURCH.
MY ESTEEMED FRIEND — I am exceedingly glad my last
letter removed the horror with which you heretofore regarded
what you considered the Catholic dogma in relation to children
who die without baptism, and showed you that you attributed
to the Church a doctrine she never recognised as hers. Your
evident mistake on this point will render it less difficult to
persuade you you are equally mistaken in regard to her doc-
trine about the fate of those who die outside her bosom. You
believe it is a dogma of our religion that all who do not live
in the bosom of the Catholic Church will, for that mere fact,
be condemned to eternal punishment : this is an error we do
not profess, and cannot profess, because it is offensive to
divine justice. In order to proceed with proper order and
clearness, I must briefly explain the Catholic doctrine on this
head.
God is just ; and being so, He cannot and will not chastise
the innocent : where there is no sin, there is not and cannot
be any penalty.
Sin, St. Augustine says, is so voluntary, that if it cease to
be voluntary, it is no longer sin. The will required to render
us culpable in the eyes of God, must be free. To constitute
a fault, the will would not be sufficient, if it were not free.
The exercise of liberty cannot be conceived, if it be not
accompanied by corresponding deliberation ; and this implies
a knowledge of what is done, and of the law which is observed
or infringed. An unknown law cannot be obligatory.
/. t tiers of B( i hncz. 309
o
Ignorance of the law is culpable in some cases ; that is to
say, when he who labours under it could have conquered it,
then the infraction of the law is not excusable through igno-
rance.
The Church, the column and foundation of truth, the depo-
sitory of the august teaching of her Divine Master, does not
admit the error that all religions are indifferent in the eyes of
God, and that a man can be saved in any of them, and so is
not obliged to seek the truth in a matter of such consequence.
The Church most justly condemns these monstrosities, and
cannot do less than condemn them under pain of denying
herself. To say that all religions are indifferent in the sight of
God, is equivalent to saying that all are true, which, in the
end, is no more than to say that all are equally false. A
religion which, while teaching dogmas opposed to those of
other religions, should regard all as equally true, would be the
greatest of absurdities — a living contradiction.
The Catholic Church considers herself the true Church,
founded by Jesus Christ, illumined and vivified by the Holy
Ghost, the depository of dogmas and morals, and charged with
the duty of conducting men by the path of virtue to eternal
blessedness. On this supposition she proclaims the obligation
under which we all stand, of living and dying in her bosom,
professing one faith, receiving grace through her sacraments,
obeying her legitimate pastors, and particularly the Roman
Pontiff, the successor of St. Peter, and Vicar of Jesus Christ
on earth.
This is the teaching of the Church ; and I see nothing solid
that can be objected to it, even examining the question within
the sphere of philosophy. Of the principles enunciated above,
some are known by simple natural reason, others by revelation.
To the first class belong those which refer to divine justice
and the liberty of man ; to the second those which treat of
the authority and infallibility of the Church. These latter,
considered in themselves, contain nothing contrary to the
divine justice and mercy ; because it is evident that God,
without being wanting to any of these attributes, could have
instituted a body as the depository of the truth, and subjected
it to the laws and conditions He should deem fit in the in-
scrutable secrets of His infinite wisdom.
Up to this we have examined the question of right, or doc-
trine, if you will ; let us descend now to the question of fact,
in which your difficulties are founded. We must not lose sight
of the difference between these two questions : doctrines are
one thing, their application another. The former are clear,
explicit, conclusive ; the latter partakes of the obscurity to
3 1 o /- cttcrs of Balmcz.
which facts are subject, the exact appreciation of which de-
pends on many and various circumstances.
We hold it as certain that no man shall be condemned solely
for not belonging to the Catholic Church, if he have been in
invincible ignorance of the truth of religion, and consequently
of the law which obliged him to embrace it. This is so cer-
tain that the following proposition of Baius was condemned :
" Purely negative incredulity is a sin." The doctrine of the
Church on this point is founded on very simple principles :
there is no sin without liberty ; there is no liberty without
knowledge.
When, in relation to this question, does the knowledge
necessary to constitute a true fault in the eyes of God, exist ?
Who are invincible, who in invincible ignorance ? Among
schismatics, among Protestants, among infidels, how far does
invincible ignorance go ? Who are culpable in the eyes of God
for not embracing the true religion, and who innocent ? These
are questions of fact, to which the teaching of the Church does
not descend. She says nothing about these points : she limits
herself to establishing the general doctrine, and leaves its
application to the justice and mercy of God.
Allow me to call your attention to this difference, which is
not always attended to as it should. Infidels shower on us
questions about the fate of those who do not belong to the
Catholic Church, and, as it were, require us to save them all,
under penalty of accusing our dogmas of being offensive to
the justice and mercy of God. With this they spread for us
a net into which the incautious may easily fall, by running
into one of two extremes, either by sending to hell all those
who do not belong to the Church, or by opening the gates of
heaven to men of all religions. The first can spring from
zeal to save our dogma about the necessity of faith for
salvation, the second from a spirit of condescension, and the
desire of defending the Catholic dogma from the imputation
of harshness or injustice. I believe there is no necessity of
running into either of these extremes, and that the Catholic's
position is much less embarrassing than would appear at
first sight. Is he asked about doctrine, or, to use other words,
about the question of right ? He can present the Catholic
dogma with entire security that no one can accuse it of
being contrary to reason. Is he asked about the question
of fact ? He may frankly confess his ignorance, and
can involve in it the infidel himself, who certainly knows
no more about it than the Catholic whom he attacks.
To convince you of how unembarrassed our position is, so
that we know how to take our stand and defend ourselves
Letters of Ijalmt'z. • 311
constantly in it, I shall present you with a dialogue between
an Infidel and a Catholic : —
Infidel — The Catholic dogma is unjust, because it damns
those who do not live in the Church, although there are many
who can have no knowledge of the true religion.
Catholic — That is false ; when there is invincible ignorance
there is no sin, and the Church, far from teaching what you
say, rather teaches the contrary. Those who have invincible
ignorance of the divine origin of the Catholic Church, are not
culpable in the eyes of God for not entering it.
Infidel — But when — in whom is this invincible ignorance
found ? Mark a limit which can separate these two things,
according to the different circumstances in which men and
nations may be placed ?
Catholic — Will you have the goodness to mark it for me ?
Infidel — I do not know it.
Catholic — Nor I, and so we are equal.
Infidel — True ; but you speak of damnation, and I do not.
Catholic — Certainly ; but recollect that we only speak of
damnation with respect to the culpable, and I think no one
will dare deny that sin deserves punishment ; but when you
come to ask me who and how many are culpable, the ignorance
is equal on the side of both. I confine myself to the doctrine :
as to its application, I limit myself to asking who are the
culpable. If you cannot tell, it is unjust of you to require me
to do so.
From this short dialogue we see there are here two things :
on the one hand, the dogma, which, besides being taught by
the Church, is in conformity with sound reason ; on the other,
the ignorance of men, who are not sufficiently acquainted with
the secrets of conscience to be ever able to exactly determine
in what individuals, in what people, in what circumstances,
does ignorance cease to be invincible, and constitute a grave
fault in the eyes of God.
There is nothing more easy than to form conjectures about
the fate of schismatics, of Protestants, and even of infidels :
there is nothing more difficult than to lay these conjectures
on solid foundations. God, who has revealed to us what is
necessary for our sanctification in this life and our happiness
in the future, has not thought fit to satisfy our curiosity by
making us acquainted with things which would be of no service
to us. These shades with which the dogmas of religion are
surrounded, are highly advantageous to us, by exercising our
submission and humility, by placing our ignorance before our
eyes, and by reminding us of the primitive degeneration of
the human race. To ask why God has brought the light of
312 St. Aidan, Bishop and Patron of Ferns.
truth to some nations, and allowed others to continue in dark*
ness, is equivalent to investigating the reason of the secrets of
Providence, and trying to rend the veil which covers the mys
teries of the past and future from our eyes. We know God is
just, and at the same time merciful : we feel our weakness,
and are aware of His omnipotence. In our mode of conceiv-
ing, we often meet with serious difficulties in reconciling justice
with mercy ; and we can scarcely understand how a being
supremely weak is not made the victim of a being infinitely
strong. These difficulties are dissipated before the light of a
severe, profound reflection, exempt from prejudices with which
the inspirations of sentiment blind us. And if, owing to our
weakness, some shadows still remain, let us wait, and they
shall vanish in the other life, when, freed from this mortal body
that weighs down our soul, we shall see God as He is in Him-
self, and witness the friendly embrace of Mercy and Truth,
and the sanctified kiss of Justice and Peace.
I remain your most affectionate,
J. B.
ST. AIDAN, BISHOP AND PATRON OF FERNS.1
S
T. Aidan,2 one of the most illustrious saints who adorned
the Irish Church in the sixth century, was born at Innis-
Breagh-Muigh, a small island in Brackley Lough,8 in the terri-
tory of east Breffny (the north-west of the modern county of
Cavan), about the year 530. His father's name was Sedna,
through whom his lineage went back to the Colla Uais,
1 See on the subject of this article an important and interesting paper of
Miss Stokes, " On two works of ancient Irish Art, known as the Breac Moedog, and
the Soiscd Molaise," communicated to the Society of Antiquaries, London, and
published in the Archaeologia, 1871, vol. xliii.
1 This is the usual Anglicised form of the saint's name. The original Irish
name was Acdh, sometimes written Aodh, which in various Latin works became
Aeda, Aidus, Aiduus, Aedeus, Oedeus, or Edus. The diminutive termination, an
or og, being often added in Irish proper names, we find our saint in some ancient
tracts called Aedhan or Oedhan, and Aedhog, which in Latin was modified into
Afdan, Hedanus, Aidanus, and Edanus. See"J?eeves' Proceedings of the R. I. A.,
Dec. 14, 1863 ;" Colgan, " Acta SS." p. 216. Dr. Todd writes : " His Irish
name was Aedhan, the diminutive of Aedh, or Hugh ; from which he was called
indifferently, Aedan or Aedhog, i.e., ' little Aodh,' a mode adopted by the Irish of
expressing affection." — Martyrology of Christ 's Church, I. A. S.t 1844, p. xlvii.
* Colgan writes : " Insula Brechmuigh est Diaecesis Kilmorensis sita in stagno
qnodam in regiuncula Breffniae, Tellach-ethach vulgo appellata. "«/«•. fit.
S/. Aidan, Bishop and Patron of Ferns. 3 1 3
the ancestor of the most illustrious clans of the Oirghialla ;
whilst through his mother, Ethne, he was connected with the
race of Amhalgaidh, whose descendants gave name to the
territory of Tirawley in the county of Mayo.
The name of Aedh (i.e. fire), which was given to him at
baptism, as well as its endearing form, Moedoc,1 had its origin
in two visions of a heavenly light which a little before his
birth, were seen by his parents, and foreshadowed his future
greatness. Some holy men being asked to explain these visions,
replied — "Asa star led the wise men to worship Christ, so
shall a son be born to you full of the fire of the Holy Ghost."
The spot where the saint was born continued for a long time
illumined with a more than human splendour : also, the flag-
stone on which the water of his Baptism was poured, was
regarded as hallowed in a special manner, — it was jealously
guarded in his church for a thousand years, and popular
tradition preserved the memory of innumerable cures per-
formed at it through the intercession of St. Aidan. The
Martyrology of Donegal also records that Ethne, when giving
birth to our saint, held in her hand a spinster's distaff, which
was a withered hard stickof hazel, but subsequently it put forth
leaves and blossoms, and was covered with goodly fruit ; and
the writer of the martyrology adds, " this hazel is still in
existence as a green tree, without decay or withering, pro-
ducing nuts every year in Innis-Breach-mhaige."2
From his infancy he was remarkable for miracles, and ere
he attained the years of manhood, his fame for sanctity was
widespread throughout all Ireland.8 Two facts connected with
his youth are mentioned in his ancient life, which merit special
mention. On one occasion he had retired to a lonely spot,
where he was engaged in study and prayer. Thither a weary
deer fled, as if seeking his protection from the hounds that
pursued it. Our saint, taking the waxen tablet on which he
wrote, placed it between the horns of the animal, and this
sufficed to save it from its pursuers and render it invisible till the
hounds passed by. Another time, some pious men, directed
1 Moedot is a contraction for Afo-Atdh-og, i.e., "My little Aedh." Colgan thus
writes : " Venerationis et amoris causa solebant nominibus propriis praefigere
syllabam mo; vel ubi incipiebant nomina a vocali sol inn praefigebant litteram m :
ct hinc Aedhoc, Oedhoc, appellahant Maedhoc et Moedhoc." Ibid. Thus, accord-
ing to the ordinary changes, the name became Afaedof, Afafiihocc, and J\fa<>Mi>., : in
Latin Afodofus, Alaulivns, and in Kngli>h, Afaidoc, Afoiioche, AMvck, Madoes,
•it; and Afoeg. — See Alban Butler's "Lives," &c., at January 31 : Reeves,
loc. til.
The Afartyrology of Donegal, edited by DD. Todd and Reeves, for the I. A. S.,
in 1864, p. 33.
1 " Coepit fama sanctitatis ejus multum ubique terrarum Hiberniae vulgari." —
Colgan, Acta SS. p. 208.
314 Sf. Aidan, tiisliop and Patron of Fern*.
by heaven, came to St. Aidan asking him to choose for them
a spot where they might lead a life of penance, and await
their resurrection. St. Aidan asked them had they heard
the bell of any monastery as they travelled along. They
replied that they had not ; then, setting out with them,
he pointed out the place which God had marked for their
resurrection, and there these holy men continued for the re-
mainder of their lives in the practices of piety and penance.
Miss Stokes, in the valuable paper on the shrine of St. Moedoc,
already mentioned, having referred to this fact, adds the fol-
lowing remarks : —
" Among these early Christians it was a favourite custom
to seek the knowledge of the place they should be buried in
from some holy man gifted with the spirit of prophecy, that
in that spot they might erect their church and monastic
establishment, there to live, and there to remain after death,
until the day of the resurrection; and with them the burying-
place was not called grave, or tomb, but 'the place of
resurrection/ as if in the minds of these men the thought of
death and the fear that springs from the contemplation of
it, had been absorbed in the first fresh joy of the hope of the
life eternal."
It was at the school of Clonard that the youthful Aidan
was trained in the higher paths of perfection and of science.
St. Finnian, a little time before, had founded that great
monastery, and so many were the saints who came forth
from his school to adorn our island by their virtues and
learning, that he is styled in our annals " the foster-father of
the saints of Ireland," and his monastery was celebrated as
" a holy city full of wisdom and virtue."1 " Like the sun in the
firmament (thus runs his ancient life), St. Finian enlightened
the world with the rays of his virtues, wholesome doctrine,
and miracles. For the fame of his good works invited many
illustrious men from divers parts of the world to his school,
as to a holy repository of all wisdom, partly to study the
sacred scriptures, and partly to be instructed in ecclesiastical
discipline."2
In this holy school of Clonard, St. Aidan formed a close
friendship with St. Molaise of Devenish, and several facts
mentioned in the ancient lives of both saints prove that that
friendship lasted till death. On one occasion we find St.
Molaise advising a sorrowing woman to turn for assistance to
" Moedoc the most blessed." Her sons had been drowned
'i Annals of the Four Masters, ad. an. 548, and Martyrology of
Donegal, p. 335.
* Ware's Antiquities, p 241., Cogans Diocese of Meath, I, 9. teq.
Sf. Aidan, Bishop and Patron of Finis. 3 1 5
in Lough Erne, and she had sought help of many saints, in
the hope that at least their bodies might be found. St.
Molaise told her to go to the shore of the lake, and there to
await the coming of Moedoc. She hastened to the place, and
straightway Moedoc came to her, and then, weeping bitterly,
she told her sad talc. Moedoc, knowing that his friend St.
Molaise had prophesied the return of her sons to life, and
trusting in his sanctity, boldly entered the waters of the lake,
and drew forth the young men alive, " wherefore their father,
who was a powerful chieftain, offered to the saint one of his
sons, with his children and posterity, as a perpetual gift to
St. Moedoc for the honour of God."1
On another occasion, towards the close of their school-days,
the devoted friends Moedoc and Molaise were seated beneath
the shadow of two trees, and they prayed to God to make
known to them whether they might continue together, or
whether it was His will that they should separate and work
apart. While they thus prayed, the tree which stood over
St. Molaise fell towards the north, while the tree beneath
which St. Moedoc was fell towards the south. Then, filled
with the divine spirit, they said one to another — " This token
for parting is given to us by God, and we shall go as these
trees have fallen ;" so " embracing each other, and weeping,
the two friends parted, and St. Molaise turned towards the
northern region of Ireland where he founded the celebrated
monastery of Devenish in Lough Erne, while St. Moedoc went
southwards, where, in after times, he became the founder of
Ferns, in the province of Leinstcr."
Whilst yet a youth, St. Aidan was led away a hostage with
many more of the territory of the Hiia-Brinn? by Ainmuire,
who subsequently was monarch of all Ireland. Our saint,
when brought before him, appeared beautiful with the come-
liness of God's grace (apparuit gratia Dei in vultu pueri
Moedoc), so that the prince said to his attendants : " This
youth is comely indeed ; should he consent to remain with
me, he must be one of my royal court ; but if he is anxious
to depart, let him be at once set free and restored to his
parents." The blessed Aidan, filled with the Holy Ghost,
replied : " O king, if thou wishest thus to favour me, I pray
thee, through the mercy of that God whom alone I wish to
serve, to set free all those who have been my companions
as hostages under thy charge." Ainmuire granted the request,
only asking in return the prayers of Aidan, foretelling at the
1 / it. S. Maidc*. ap., Colgan, p. 209, Stokes loc. cit.. p. 3.
* The Hua-liriuH were the descendants of Brian, son ol" Eochaidh Majjhniedlnn
and at this time ruled over part of Breffny.
316 St. Aldan, Bishop and Matron of Ferns.
same time that one day he would be a great pillar of the Irish
Church.1
Abiding for awhile in his native district, many resorted to
him for counsel, and wished to become his disciples. Desiring
to shun such honours, he was preparing to depart, but Aedh
Finn, the chieftain of the Hy-Briuin, opposed his project,
being unwilling that his territory should be deprived of the
presence of the saint. " Do not detain me," said the holy man
to Aedh, " and I pray that the blessings of Paradise may be
your eternal portion." No entreaty however could avail, and
it was only by a special manifestation of divine power that St.
Moedoc could at length obtain permission to depart. The
chieftain who thus sought to detain our saint in the district of
Breffny, had been baptized by him, and in Baptism received
the sirname of Finn, i.e. " the white," or " beautiful," whereas
hitherto he had borne the name of Aedh Dubh, i.e. "Aedh
the black." From him the two great families of the O'Reilly's
and the O'Rorke's are descended, both of whom continued for
centuries to honour St. Moedoc as their Patron.
The life of St. Aidan also mentions another instance in
which, at this period of his life, heaven interposed in his
favour. He was journeying along Mount Beatha (famous for
its shrine of St. Dympna,) on the confines of Monaghan and
Fermanagh, wishing to arrive at Ardrinnygh, to visit there a
holy man named Airedum, who enjoyed great fame for
sanctity ;2 but darkness set in, and he could no longer discern
the path to pursue his journey. Betaking himself to prayer, he
found himself borne by the hands of angels to the centre of the
town he sought for, and in memory of this prodigy a cross was
subsequently erected on the spot, which, at the time when the
life was written, was still called " the Cross of St. Moedoc."
The monastery of St. David, at Kilmuine, in Wales, was
at this time a favourite resort for Irish pilgrims. Thither
too went St Aidan, and during the years that he resided
there, such was the odour of his sanctity, and such was the
esteem in which he was held by that great master of virtue,
St. David, that his history became thenceforward interwoven
with the history of Menevia, and his abode in Britain is not
1 Columnam magnam Ecclesiae, Colgan, " Acta SS.," p. 208. Some have-
supposed, from the words of the Life, " Rex Temoriae Anmyreus," that Ainmuire
was already monarch of Ireland when Aidan was led away a hostage by him.
This, however, is wholly inconsistent with the chronology of our saint's life, as we
will see further on. Ainmuire did not become monarch of Ireland till the year
568 ( Reeves' " Adamnan, " p. 32), but the writer of our saint's life, even when
speaking of earlier events, might well style him so, from the dignity to which he
afterwards attained.
* Capgrave in vit. S. Aidi. St. Airedum is mentioned in the Martyrologiv
Tallaght and Marian ( )'Ciorman, on 26th of August.
S/. Ai</<in, Bishop and Patron of Ferns. 317
only related in his own acts but in those of St. David and St.
Cadoc. Among other remarkable facts we find it recorded
that the Anglo Saxons made an inroad at this time into Wales.
The Britains, though taken unawares, rushed to arms, and
sent messengers to St. David, praying him to send St. Aidan
to the field of battle to bless their army. At the bidding of
the abbot, the blessed Aidan hastened thither and prostrated
himself in prayer, whilst the Britains rushed on to battle.
The invaders were at once seized with panic and fled. For
two days the victorious Britains pursued them with great
slaughter, whilst not one of their own men was slain. And
the Life adds: "the Anglo Saxons abstained from further
inroads as long as Moedoc continued in Menevia, for they
were persuaded that the miracle was due to his prayers."
After some years spent in the practice of piety, under the
guidance of St. David, our saint, with the sanction and bless-
ing of the holy Abbot, and accompanied by other Irish reli-
gious of the same monastery, returned to his native land.
As he approached the coast of Hy-Ceinnselach (the modern
county of Wexford), he saw some travellers attacked and
plundered on the shore. He at once sounded his bell, which
being heard by the plunderers, their chief cried out, " This is
the bell of a man of God, who wishes us to desist from our
deeds of plunder." Thereupon they allowed the travellers to
pursue their way unharmed, and themselves hastened to the
sea-shore to welcome the man of God. One of them, named
Dymma, even rushed into the sea, and bore St. Aidan on his
shoulders to dry land. Nor satisfied with this, he devoted
himself and his territory of Ardladhrann, in Hy-Ceinnselagh,
to the service of God and of St. Aidan. Our Saint erected
a church and monastery there, and such was the fame of his
miracles and sanctity, that the faithful from all the surrounding
country soon flocked to him to receive lessons of eternal life.
It is not certain at what time St. Aidan founded the church
of Ferns, but probably this foundation, which was cherished
with special predilection by our saint, must be reckoned
among the first of the thirty churches which, as Colgan assures
us, were erected by St. Aidan in the territory of Wexford.
The Irish name of Fearna is supposed by some to mean "the
Land or Field of the Elder Tree," whilst others, with Colgan
and Ware, derive it from the hero Ferna, son of Carill, King
of the Desies, who was here interred, being slain in battle by
Gall, son of Morna.1 In the " Leabhar Breac" there is a
, "Acta," p. 216 : Wan\ Hi>h<>ps, p. 435. Lynch, in his MS. History,
\\uu->: " Fcrna juius dicta JAv7;<'j<- in (.'omitatus Wexfordiensis ici;i<>nc. dicta
i, sita, nomcn a Kerna heroe Carilli regis Desiarum fil.o soitita cst."
318 6V. Aidant Bishop and Patron of Ferns.
marginal gloss on the Felire of St. y£ngus, which, in two short
verses, thus recounts the happy privileges of Ferns : —
" Plain of Ferna, Plain of Ferna,
Where the chaste Moedoc shall be ;
Plain where are hounds and troops ;
Plain that will be filled with sacred chaunting !
" Moedoc shall sing hymns and the Psalter ;
The desire for constant chaunting is awakened
By that plain of heavenly sounds :
O Lord, who rulest the elements !" x
In the " Irish Life of St. Molaise," of which a copy is pre-
served in the Royal Irish Academy, we read that that saint,
when he had resolved on setting out on a pilgrimage to Rome,*
to bring back thence relics and some clay to hallow his
monastery of Devenish, proceeded first to visit his friend, St.
Moedoc, at Ferns. It was on this occasion that the two saints
entered into a new covenant of friendship, binding themselves
that whosoever should merit the blessing of one, should inherit
the other's blessing also ; and whosoever should incur the dis-
pleasure of one, should incur, at the same time, the other's
displeasure likewise. We are not told how long St. Molaise
sojourned at the shrines of the Eternal City, but his life adds,
that " having accomplished his visit to Rome, he again has-
1 O'Curry, in his MS. Analysis of the Leabhar Brcac in the Library of R.I. A.,
remarks that these verses belong to an historical poem of the eighth or ninth
century, which under the form of a prophetic announcement of Finn, before the
arrival of St. Patrick, describes the intervening events. Six verses of the poem
are given in the Book of Lismore, fol. 120, A. (R.I. A.), the first of which presents
some interesting readings, varying from our text. It is thus translated by O'Curry: —
" Ath-Ferna (i.e., ford of Ferna), Ath-Ferna,
Where yet will be Moedhoc the good
This day though numerous its troops.
More numerous will be its heavenly songs."
* " After many prodigies, Molaise determined to go to Rome, that he might
perfect his life there, and might bring over some of its clay and relics to Erin "
MS. Life, R.I A. The old Latin Life also records the same fact: '• Beatus
Lasrianus divino Spiritu instinctus Sedem Apostolicam visitare proposuit. Iter
igitur aggrediens, collactaneum suum, Sanctum scilicet Edanum, antequam trans-
fretaret, visitavit Cui S. Edanusdixit : si mihi dimidiam partcm tribuas reliquia-
rum, pericula viarum tuarum in humeris meis suscipiam. Illis ergo talia mutuo
promittentibus et invicem benedicentibus, S. Lasriamis prospero navigio ad portum
pervenit desideratum." Hollandns. torn. 3. Januar. p. 734. Another curious fact
connected with St. Molaise of Devenish, is preserved in the Ware Extracts from
the ancient Register of Clogher, in the Library of T.t' I) , viz., that on his
return to Ireland, he received from the Holy See special authority not only in
regard to his own Monastery of Devenish, but for all Ireland : — "Damhynis, vulgo
Devenish, cujus patromis c.>t S. Lasrianus Abba>, mm solinn Krgalliae sed totius
Iliberniae principatum habens tamquam Sedis Apostolicoe LegatUj."
.SV. Aii/aii, Bisliop and Patron of Terns. 319
tened to St. Moedoc, and presented to him a portion of the
relics which he had brought thence," and the names of these
holy relics are then given, viz., relics of SS. Peter and Paul, of
SS. Lawrence and Clement and Stephen, of the Blessed Virgin
Mary and St. Martin, and many other relics.
The Life further adds that St. Molaise, having given these
relics to his friend, St. Moedoc exclaimed, " Is Breac go maitli
nait ntc anossa," i.e., " Now, indeed, I am well speckled by
thee," as if he said, " You have given me such a corselet of
relics, that I am now all over ornamented and protected by
them." And St. Molaise then said, " Breac Moedoig (i.e., the
speckled or variegated shrine of Moedoc) shall be the name of
the reliquary for ever."
This shrine, or " Breac Moedoig," is still happily preserved,
and has been admirably illustrated by Miss Stokes for the
Royal Society of Antiquarians, in the paper already more
than once referred to in the preceding pages. The following
is her account of the manner in which it passed into the
" Petrie Collection," now accessible to the public in the
Museum of the Royal Irish Academy. The Breac Moedoc,
she tells us, " was bought some years ago by Dr. Petrie, from
a jeweller in Dublin, into whose possession it came in the
following manner : — The shrine had been preserved for many
centuries in the Church of St. Moedoc, at Drumlane, where it
had remained in the keeping of the Roman Catholic Parish
Priest. It was occasionally lent for swearing the accused at
trials, and so great was the reverence felt for it, that the people
believed a false oath taken thereon would be surely followed
by some singular judgment. About the year 1846 it was lent
to a person named Magauran, from the parish of Templeport,
he having deposited the usual pledge of a guinea for its safe
restoration ; tempted, however, by the Dublin jeweller's offer
of a larger sum than that which he had given in pledge, he
broke faith with the priest, and sold the sacred relic."1
The following is Miss Stokes's description of this interesting
reliquary of our early Church : — " The Breac Moedoc is in form
a box, the body or foundation of which is of pale bronze,
covered with gilt plates. The height of this reliquary is 7^
inches, length 8^j inches, breadth of the base 3^ inches. For
about one-third of the height the sides of the box are vertical,
they then slope inwards until they meet at a very acute angle,
so as to resemble the roof of a house. Thus, the general form
is much like the c/iasses or shrines of Limoges work of much
later date, of which many examples exist and have been
figured.
1 '• On two Works of Ancient IrLsh Art," &c., p. 5, scq.
320 St. Aidan, Bishop and Patron of Ferns.
" It is not improbable that the form of an early church was
intended to be represented in miniature by these shrines. The
outlines of that under our notice recall such buildings as the
Oratory on MacDara's Island, the Church of St. Benignus on
the Island of Aran, the Oratory of Killaloe, and that of St.
Columba at Kells, all having the simple quadrangular form
which characterizes the primitive churches of Ireland, none of
which were octagonal, circular, or cruciform, nor had they the
couched semicircular apse of the Roman basilica. They are
narrow, with a high-pitched roof, reminding us of a singular
representation in the " Book of Kells" of the Temptation of
our Lord, where He is led to the pinnacle of the Temple, in
which the form of the Temple is exactly similar to that of
these early churches and of the Breac Moedog. And, while on
this point, it may be interesting to remark that the Rev. Mr.
O'Reilly, P.P., of Drumlane, writing of this shrine, in March,
1866, observes : — " It is said, by the people of this parish who
saw it, to resemble very closely in shape the great Church of
Drumlane, now in ruins, of which it is here generally believed
to have been the plan in miniature."
A drawing of St. Mac Dara's Church, and also a sketch of
the Oratory at Killaloe, referred to in this passage, are given
in " Petrie's Round Towers," page 187 and 273; and it appears
from another drawing of the ruins of the Church of St.
Kenanach, in the middle Island of Aran, given in the same
work, page ig6, that it, too, bore precisely the same features,
and thus we have another example to corroborate the state-
ment made by Miss Stokes.
" The front of the Reliquary was covered with figures,
twenty-one in number ; only .eleven in four groups remain
entire, together with the feet only of another group of three
figures . . . The six lower figures on the shrine, are of
pale bronze, while the five upper ones appear to be of the
same metal, though much redder in colour, from the deficiency
of i'm in the alloy. The ends are now robbed of all ornament,
with the exception of one figure, of bronze gilt (representing
the Royal Psalmist), seated, and playing on a harp. The
back (of the Reliquary), was evidently exactly similar to that
of the Shrine of St. Patrick, and, indeed, the design is such
as is usually found on the least important side of all early
reliquaries, namely, a parallelogram of pierced rectangular
crosses. The pierced work, it should be mentioned, is of
bronze ; the border, of which only three fragments remain, has
a ground of red enamel ; the margins, the knots, and squares,
being of bronze gilt ; while the pattern within the squares is
formed by four smaller squares of blue glass, apparently cast
Sf. Aidati, Bishop and Patron of Ferns. 321
in a mould, and disposed alternately with five others of red
and white enamel. Thc/j'/fot in the boss, which still remains
in the centre of the border of one side, is enamelled in blue,
on a gold ground, surrounded by alternate lines of the same
colour."
The front of the Brcac Mocdog is divided into three tiers,
or rows of figures. The lower tier has three compartments,
and each compartment had originally three figures. The
central and right compartments are still entire, but only the
feet of the three figures of the left compartment remain. The
central compartment presents to us our Saviour, with the
Apostles, SS. Peter and Paul. The Redeemer holds in his
right hand the Book of the Law, and in the left a vase,
resembling the ancient Irish Chalices, of which some interest-
ing specimens are preserved in the Royal Irish Academy.
The arcade in which he stands is ornamented with birds,
which, in our early church, were symbolical of the angelic
choirs. Two of these winged beings have human heads, and
seem to typify the cherubim.
St. Paul is at the right of our Saviour, and holds a sword
in his right, and a sceptre in his left hand. St. Peter stands
at the left of the Redeemer, and it must be held in mind that
this position, being to the right of the spectator, was the post
of honour in many ancient monuments : he holds a sceptre in
his right, and a crozier in his left hand. These sceptres of
SS. Peter and Paul, the Princes of the Apostolic Body, " seem
bursting into leaf and fruit, and are not new in the sacred
figures of Irish art. Christ is seen to hold such a one in the
last judgment, as represented on the cross of Clonmacnoise;
while, in the Book of Kells, they are borne in the hands of
angels, at the feet of the Blessed Virgin and Child."1
There seems to me but little room for doubt that the
whole series of the apostles was represented in the figures of
the lower tier. Allowing two figures to the corresponding
part of the shrine at each end, we would have precisely thir-
teen figures, including our blessed Lord. Now the sword and
sceptre sufficiently determine one 'of the princes of the
apostles, the Apostle of nations; the position of the other
figure, his sceptre, and with it the pastoral staff, and indepen-
dent of all this, the baldness and general outline of the
features, mark him out as the apostle Peter, prince and supreme
pastor of Christ's fold. In the three figures that still remain
in the adjoining compartment, St. John is easily recognised
by his youthful appearance, being represented beardless and
bearing a cruciform crozier in his hand. St. Matthew, too,
1 Mi !'-ig« 10.
322 St. Aidan, Bishop and Patron of Ferns.
bears a book clasped in both hands, his usual characteristic
symbol in ancient art. Speaking of this last-mentioned group,
Miss Stokes observes, " the remains of an inscription running
over the heads may be traced, but, unfortunately, it is so much
broken away that no attempt can be made to decipher it. The
borders round the ends of the dresses are of extreme interest,
being formed of designs most characteristic of Scoto-Celtic
art, patterns formed of angular lines and intersected bands.
On one of these figures (i.e. St. John), as also in one of those
of the other group (i.e. St. Paul), the collar brought round the
neck and knotted over the breast, so as to form a triquctra,
at once recalls to mind the figures of the Evangelists in the
Book of Dimma, who wear the triquetra thus as a symbol of
the Trinity."
In the Codef Maelbriglite, in the British Museum, is preserved
an Irish poem on the personal appearance and on the manner
of death of our Saviour and the Apostles. Dr. Reeves, com-
menting on this poem in 185 1, remarked that " it seemed to be
framed according to certain rules which guided the ancient
Scribes in the illumination of their biblical manuscripts, and may
possibly find a partial illustration in the figures which appear
in the Book of Kells, and other manuscripts of that class."
{Proceedings of R.I. A., January 13, 1851, vol. v. 45).
Now the features of the figures on the lower tier of the
Breac Moedog correspond so perfectly with the description
of our Saviour and the apostles in this poem, that we would
almost be led to suppose it was specially composed to record
the artistic details of this ancient reliquary. The following
verses are fully descriptive of the figures still preserved : —
" Despicable all faces but the face of God ;
His was not a face adorned but by one complexion —
An auburn, tripartite head of hair had he,
And a beard red and very long.
" The face of the apostle Peter was most venerable ;
His glossy hair was of shining grey ;
Fair and old was the favored man ;
Short and close was his beard.
" Paul the apostle, brilliant was his face,
With beautiful glossy hair ;
Until his companions had cut it off,
The beard of Paul was very long.
5/. Aidan, Bishop and Patron of Ferns. 323
" John of the bosom, the adopted of the living God ;
Lightly auburn was his hair,
Calm and placid was his countenance ;
I le was very gentle, young, and beardless.
Black curly hair upon the head of Mathew,
\\ithout the sign of a tyrant's beard.
Thomas, choicest of faces was his face ;
Brown and curly was his hair without doubt ;
It was no blemish to my companion
That coarse and short was his clean beard."
The second, or central division is only capable of receiving
two compartments, each with a group of three figures. One
of these groups is still preserved, and presents, in an arcade,
three female figures with hands gracefully clasped upon the
bosom. While there is more or less difference in the dress of
the male figures in this shrine, the dress of these three females
is uniform : their countenances are peculiarly sweet, and there
is something in their attitude so noble and divine that we have
no hesitation in reckoning this group among the most perfect
works of art of our early Church. We probably will not err
in supposing that the central figure is the Blessed Virgin Mary,
Mother of God, and that the figures on cither side are St.
Brigid, the Mary of Erin, and St. Ita, the contemporary of
our Saint Aidan, and celebrated in our annals as the Brigid of
Munster.
" It is curious to notice that the hands are reversed from
their natural form, as if taken from a mould in which they
were correctly represented. The very long faces and low
broad forehead remind one forcibly of the type of female face
which we find in the Book of Kells. The pellet-moulding
round the arch and down the sides is remarkable, as also a
design formed by the geometrical arrangement of a leaf
filling the space between the arches," (page 13.) That the
Blessed Virgin and the Apostles were represented in the
figures of this Reliquary becomes the more probable when we
reflect that their sacred relics wore preserved within the
venerable shrine.
The uppermost tier or division of the Brcac Mocdoig allows
only of two compartments, and as these are smaller than
those of the middle tier, they may possibly have contained
only two figures each. It was perhaps to this tier that the
group with two figures, now loosely appended to the middle
324 <St. A titan, Bishop and Patron of Ferns.
compartment originally belonged. The ornaments of this
group are thus described by Miss Stokes. " In noticing the
details of this group, that which strikes us most is the scroll
running up, at the right side of the first figure. It is a
beautiful example of the divergent spiral, or trumpet pattern.
At the base of this scroll is the triquetra, and this favourite
design, symbolical of the Trinity, is found in another form
between the feet of the two figures Knots of other kinds and
a diaper background complete the ornamental work of this
group. The costume of the figures appears to be merely the
alb, with an embroidered border, and the chasuble, which in
its primitive form was circular, with an aperture in the centre
for the head : it was when worn caught up on the arms, over
which it fell in folds." — Page 13.
In one of the individuals represented in this group, there is
a special expression of pain, or " impassioned sorrow," as Miss
Stokes expresses it, wholly absent from all the other figures.
His right hand, too, is raised towards his head, which is bent
to recline on it. It may safely be affirmed that it was the
desire of the artist in the painful attitude of this figure to
present a characteristic token of the saint whom he repre-
sented. Now a curious passage in the Life of St. Aedh
MacBric, informs us that "a certain man who suffered
exceedingly from headache, went to St. Aedh, saying : O
holy man of God, I am greatly tortured with this headache,
pray for me. The Bishop replied : you cannot be freed from
that pain unless it come upon me, but great will be your
reward if you bear it patiently. He answered : such pain is
beyond my strength. St. Aedh then said : the pain which
now agonizes you shall come into my head. And at once
the headache became the portion of the Bishop, and the poor
man went away free from it, returning thanks to God. Then
the saint of Christ assumed his neighbour's suffering, that
thus through Christ, he might succour him, and for Christ's
sake endure a martyrdom. And since that time many are
freed from headache, by invoking the name of St. Aedh, as
was witnessed in the above event."1 Colgan marks this saint
as " patronum capite dolentinm" and in a Latin poem pub-
lished by Mone, from a MS. of Reichenau, of the eighth
century, the intercession of St. Aedh MacBric is invoked as
a special protector against headache.
Perhaps then in the two figures of this group we may be
allowed to recognise St. Aidan of Ferns, and with him his
synonynm saint, St. Aedh MacBric ; the similarity of name
may the more easily have suggested this combination, as
1 Colgan, Acta, page 420.
Sf. Aidan, Bishop ami Patron of Ferns. 325
St. Acdh Mac Brie, like the great patron of Ferns, was bound
by special ties of friendship with St. Molaise of Devenish.
'Miss Stokes (page 14), thus concludes her remarks on the
ornamental figures of thcjjreac Aloedog: " In the description,
hitherto given by other writers of the drawing of the human
figure in Irish art, whether in metal work, stone, or painting,
no language but that of contempt has been used. One writer,
speaking of the extraordinary rudeness of this art, charac-
terises the features in all the representations of Christ
crucified as utterly expressionless ; while another describes a
miniature belonging to this school, as the purest type to be
found of all that is false and debasing in art, and significant
of an utterly dead school, a school of dead barbarism, whose
work belongs to the Jiopcless work of all ages. But we shall be
grievously disappointed if they who see these four groups
from the shrine of St. Moedoc fail to perceive in them some
elements of nobleness, and some food for reverence. In the
forms and faces of the female figures, there is not only strong
individuality of character, but this character is one of sweet-
ness, benevolence, and simple goodness, carried out not only
in the expression of the faces, but in the mere attitude of
the figures, and the quiet clasping of the hands upon the
breast. The impassioned sorrow of (St. Aedh MacBric),
and the contrast between his earnest tearful gaze, and the
cheerful common sense expressed in his companion's face —
the solemn and severe dignity of the other six holy men who
stand below, the strength of their firmly-closed mouths, and
wistful outstretched gaze — their wild and wavy hair blown in
great masses round the head, the mystic breastplate, and
borders of their robes, all tell of the existence of a dramatic,
as well as a religious element in early Irish art, which
elevates above that which is purely decorative, and is as
much beyond the art of the mere savage or barbarian, as the
faith which teaches of goodness and purity and love trans-
cends the dark superstitions of heathenism."
P. F. M.
( To be continued. )
VOI.. VII. 22
326
DOCUMENT.
BRIEF OF OUR MOST HOLY FATHER PIUS IX.,
ON THE RECENT OUTRAGES AGAINST THE
JESUITS IN ROME.
Venerabili Fratri Nostro Constantino S. R. E. Cardinali
Patrizi Episcopo Ostiensi et Vclilcrno Sacri Cardinalium
Collegii Decano Vicario Nostro Generali in spiritualibus
Romae ej usque D is t rictus.
PIUS PP. IX.
V ENERABILIS Frater Noster, Salutem et Apostolicam
Benedictionem. Ecclesia Dei, tanquam Regina circumdata
varietate, sicuti nobili diversorum Regularium Ordinum orna-
mento decorata fuit, sic sedulam semper opem adhibuit ad
propagandam divini Nominis gloriam, ad christianae reipub-
licae negocia expedienda, et ad inducendum etiam vel pro-
vehendum in populis, doctrinae et caritatis ope, civilis vitae
cultum. Quotquot idcirco fuerunt unquam osores Ecclesiae,
Regulares Ordines maxime sunt insectati, et inter eos primas
odii sui partes tribuere consueverunt Societati Jesu, utpote
quam operosiorem suisque propterea consiliis infestiorem ex-
istimarunt. Id in praesentiarum rursum fieri dolentes con-
spicimus, dum civilis Nostrae ditionis invasores praedae
inhiantcs, exitiosae semper ereptoribus, familiarum omnium
Religiosarum suppressionem a Patribus Societatis Jesu ex-
ordiri velle videntur. Cui quidem facinori ut viam sibi
sternant, invidiam ipsis conflare nituntur apud populum,
eosque simultatis accusant cum praesenti regimine, ac potis-
simum insimulant ejus potentiae apud Nos et gratiae, quae
Nos eidem regimini faciat infensiores, quaque sic occupemur,
ut nonnisisuadentibus ipsis, quidquid agimusperficiamus. Quae
stulta calumnia, si in summum vergit contemptum Nostrum,
qui prorsus hebetes ducimur et inepti cuicumque ineundo
consilio, absurda prorsus evincitur, cum noverint omnes,
Romanum Pontificem, divino implorato lumine et auxilio, id
facere et praecipere, quod rectum et utile judicaverit Ecclesiae :
in gravioribus vero negociis eorum opera uti consuevisse,
cujusvis demum sint gradus, aut conditionis, aut Regularis
Ordinis, quos materiae, de qua agitur, peritiores, sententiam
suam sapientius ac prudentius proferre posse arbitratur.
Profecto Patres etiam e Societate Jesu baud raro adhibemus,
et varia munera, ac illud inprimis sacri ministerii eis corn-
mittimus, qui in hisce obeundis, probatius semper Nobis
faciunt studium illud et zelum, quorum gratia c/ebras et am-
Document. 327
plissimas a Decessoribus Nostris promeruerunt laudes. Verum
aequissima istadilectioNostra etcxistimatio Societatis, egregie
semper de Ecclesia Christi, hac Sancta Sede, et christiano po-
pulo meritae, longe abest a servili illo obsequio, quod com-
miniscuntur ipsius obtrectatores ; quorum calumniama Nobis
et a demissa optimorum Patrum devotione indignanter pro-
pulsamus. Haec vero tibi significanda duximus, Venerabilis
Prater Noster, ut et insidiae Socictati structae compertae fiant,
et sententia Nostra turpiter insipienterque detorta ac subversa
restituatur, et inclytae eidem Societati novum praesto sit pro-
pensissimae voluntatis Nostrae testimonium. Liberet utique
hac occasione nacta, te diutius distinere de aliis quotidie
increbrescentibus doloris Nostri causis ; at cum adeo ampla
sit earum seges, ut epistolae finibus concludi non valent,
unum attingemus commentum concessionum, quas dicunt
guarentigie, ubi nescias, num primas teneat absurditas, an
versutia, an ludibrium, et cui jamdiu operosum et inutile
studium inpendunt Subalpini Gubcrnii moderatores. Coacti
enim a communi catholicorum expostulatione et politica neces-
sitate ad larvam quandam Rcgiae potestatis Nostrae servan-
dam, ne cuiquam obnoxii vidcamur in exercitio supremi regi-
minis Ecclesiae, id assequi se posse censuerunt per conces-
siones. Atqui cum concessio suapte natura postulet potesta-
tem concedentis in eum cui conccditur, eumdemque, saltern
quoad rem concessam, subjiciat illius ditioni et arbitrio ; ne-
cessario fit, ut ipsi operam perdant in adstrucndo summae po-
testatis Nostrae fastigio per ea adminicula, quae ipsum omnino
subruant et deleant. Intima vcro concessionum indoles est
eiusmodi, ut unaquaeque peculiarem servitutem inducat ; quae
durior etiam fit ab invectis deinde emendationibus. Hostile
demum et dolosum ingenium, quod ex iis, licet insidiose vela-
turn, erumpit, sic illustratur a jugi factorum serie, ut neminem
sanae mentis decipere possit, et apertissimam ludificationis
speciem iis conditionibus affingat. Verum si Ecclesia referre
debet imaginem divini auctoris sui ; nonne Nos, qui, licet im-
merentes, Christi vices gerimus in terris, ei gratias agere de-
bebimus, quod irrisoriis regni insighibus et Nos circumdari
sinat ? Profecto sic ipse vicit mundum ; atque ita etiam per
Sponsam suam Ecclesiam rursum de mundo triumphum aget.
Interim copiosa tibi, Venerabilis Prater Noster, adprecamur
caclestia munera ; eorumque auspicem et praecipuae Nostrae
benevolentiae pignus Apostolicam Benedictionem tibi pera-
manter impertimus.
Datum Romae apud S. Petrum die 2 Martii Anno 1871
Pontificatus Nostri Anno Vicesimoquinto.
PIUS PP. IX.
328
CORRESPONDENCE.
DONALDUS, ARCHBISHOP OF DUBLIN.
TO THE EDITOR OF " THE IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD.
SIR, — The question of who was the immediate predecessor
of Matthew De Oviedo, in the See of Dublin, has been much
discussed, some Protestant writers going so far as to deny
the existence of any such in communion with Rome, from
the apostacy of Hugh Curwen, at the accession of Queen
Elizabeth. But there is now no doubt on the subject, from
the many incidental allusions in the state papers in the Record
Office, London, and in Simancas, in Spain. Dr. Moran, in
his "History of the Catholic Archbishops of Dublin," page
84, quoting from the Btill, appointing De Oviedo, May,
1600, shows that the See had become vacant by the
death of Donaldus, of good memory, the late Archbishop.
This fixes the Christian name, and the brief, appointing
Francis Ribera, to be Bishop of Leighlin, dated 14 September,
1587, expressly states, that at that date, there was a Catholic
Archbishop of Dublin, to whom the Pope had written to
favour and protect Ribera, the See of Leighlin being in his
province. (Dr. Brady's Irish Reformation, fifth edition,
pp. 90 and 105.) Dr. Moran conjectured that this Donaldus
was the celebrated Donaldus M'Conghaill, Bishop of Raphoe,
but as he died, according to the Four Masters, 29 Septem-
ber, 1589, and as reference is made to the Archbishop
subsequent to that date, his claim falls to the ground.
The cause of obscurity on this subject arose from the well-
known persecution which awaited Catholic bishops within the
power of the Government, and the almost absolute neces-
sity to conceal their names, places of refuge, and acts. In
the volume of the Carew Calendar, published by Mr. Brewer
in 1869, p. 54, there is given an article under the date 1600,
entitled " An Abstract of several. Treasons committed by
Florence M'Cartie," being what purports to be extracts from
letters. In one of these, reference is made to Owen M'Kegan
usurping the name of Bishop of Rosse. This was Eugene
MacEgan, Vicar-Apostolic and Bishop Elect, who was slain
by the English in 1602. Of course all the Catholic and valid
bishops were styled "usurpers" by writers in English pay.
Another of the charges is, " Florence received .letters from
Correspondence. 329
Thomas Shclton and from Donnaught M'Cragh, usurping the
name of tJie Archbishop of Dublin, whereby it appeared that
the traitors had commended Florence his service to the King
of Spain, and that done upon Florence his own entreaty."
Then follows " Examinations, proving Florence M'Cartye his
treasons. Florence, upon his first coming into Ireland, had
secret conference at Dreshane with James FitzThomas and
Cragh, the usurped Bishop of Corke, and then combined with
them in their rebellion." The Bishop of Cork here alluded
to, was Dermod, otherwise Darby M'Cragh, appointed in
consistory 7th October, 1580, Bishop of Cork and Cloyne, and
who lived into the succeeding century.
Mr. Brewer, in a foot note to this passage, states that
" Corke" has been substituted for " Dublin," by Sir George
Carew. Now this correction being by Carew himself, who,
from his position as President of Munster, and having a
whole posse of spies and traitors in pay, had a complete
knowledge of the country, and his having permitted the
statement respecting Donnaught M'Cragh, to remain un-
changed, indisputably proves that Carew believed M'Cragh
to have been recognised as Archbishop by the Catholics. In
my opinion there can be no doubt he was the Donaldus of
Dr. De Oviedo's Brief; Donaldus and Donadus are simply
Latinized forms of the Irish proper name Domhnall. This
is the only entry I can find in this volume of the Carew
Calendar, nor do I find any ether after a hurried glance in
the Life and Letters of Florence MacCarthy Reagh himself,
published by Daniel MacCarthy (Glas), in 1867 : but I see in
it a note of the death of Michael Walter, Bishop of Kerry,
as occurring about November, 1599. Florence writes he
was born at Limerick, and in Lenihan's History of that
city, a Michael Waters is returned as serving the office
of bailiff, analogous to the present city sheriff, in 1599.
Waters is probably a mistake for Walter, as in 1614, Michael
Walter, perhaps the same, is stated to have served as Mayor
for five months, when he was deposed for not going to church.
I hope some of your correspondents will further investigate
the question of the Archbishop of Dublin.
J. W. HANNA.
330
ROMAN CHRONICLE.
I. Address of the Roman Nobility. — 2. Popes Allocution to the
Lenten Preachers. — 3. Loyalty of the Roman People.—
4. Loyalty of the Bolognesc. — 5. Prince Rospigliosi. —
6. Deputation from Austria. — 7. Seizure of Religious
Houses in Rome. — 8. False Allocution of the Pope. —
9. Appointment of Bishops. — 10. Festival of St. Patrick
in Rome. — II. The Disturbances in the Gfsu, and the
Chaplains Report.
i. The Roman Patriciate have published an Address,
directed to the several Catholic Associations of the world,
which does them immortal honour, and which deserves to be
registered in every Catholic publication. We subjoin it
in full :—
" The strong proofs of attachment you have given to the
Holy Father's sacred person, and the imprescriptible rights
of the Holy See, have profoundly moved the hearts of the
Catholics of Rome, who feel that their own duties are even
more onerous than yours. The immense majority of them
have always remained faithful, and with the help of God are
firmly resolved never to alter their line of conduct. In testi-
mony whereof, they call on the history of the past, and the
facts of the present day, unaltered by calumny and passion.
The clergy, as well as the laity, the nobles as well as the
citizens, the man of science, and the artist, are alike moved by
the voice of conscience, of gratitude, and of honest patriotism.
And, therefore, as in the present state of matters, no other
means than protestations and daily proofs of loyal attach-
ment, in spite of sacrifices and insults, remain to them, they
unite themselves in heart with you, and with one soul raise
their voices in prayers to God to obtain the cessation of this
cruel trial to which God has subjected His Church, and the
City of Rome, chosen by Him as the seat of His Vicar on
Earth. Perseverance in prayer, faith inviolate, and firm hope,
will hasten the hour of His mercy."
Signed —
Sigismond Prince Chigi. Prince Campagnano.
Orinete Marchcse Cavalletti,
Matteo Matthieu Antici Mat-
tei.
Marchese Patrizi.
Prince Aldobrandini.
Prince Rospigliosi.
Tomaso Prince Antici Mattei. ' Pietro Aldobrandino Prince
Don Filippo of the Dukes of Sarsini.
Scotti, Commendatorc Df Rossi.
Roman Chroniclt.
331
Prince Clemente Altieri.
Prince Lancellotti.
Duke Pio Grazioli.
Camillo Prince Massimo.
Prince of Arsoli.
Prince of Orsini.
Marchese Fillipo Mattei An-
tici.
Prince Enrico Barberini.
Maurizio Cavaletti.
Prince Eugenic Ruspoli, K.M.
Annibale Count Moroni.
Prince Giovanni Ruspoli.
Livio Prince Odescalchi.
Carlo Count Cardelli.
Prince Giovanni Chigi.
Marchese Lavaggi.
Commendatore Datti.
Duke Giuseppe Caffarelli.
Count Francesco Sermi.
Professore Gugliardi.
Professore Jacometti.
Barone Visconti.
Padre Angelo Secchi, SJ.
Marchese Luigi Serlupi-Cre-
scenzi.
Marchese Angelo Vittelleschi.
Professore Benzoni.
Marchese Lepri.
Don Alfonso Theodoli.
Prince Borghese.
Prince Viano.
Francesco Marchese Serlupi.
Prince Giustiniani-Bandini.
Giuseppe Macchi Count Cel-
lere.
Prince Baldassare Boncom-
pagni (Piombino).
Duke Salviati,
Fillipo Count Cini.
Pio Marchese Capranica.
Alcssandro Capranica.
Marchese Sacchetti.
Marchese Camillo Sacchetti.
Virginio Count Vespignani.
2. On Thursday, the i6th of February, the Holy Father
delivered his customary Allocution to the parish priests and
Lenten preachers of Rome. The just praise which he accords
to the people of Rome for their loyalty and true Catholic
spirit, is another evidence of the falsehood and shamelessness
of the Italian press. We quote a few extracts : —
" In the days of Pagan Rome, it was said, Facere et pati
fortia, Romamim est! A father of the Church, in one of
those apologies which he addressed to the persecutors of
Christianity (and we have them to-day just the same), applied
those words to the Christians, and wrote — Facere et pati,
Christianorum est ! Now, as we observe the actual conduct
of the Roman people, I feel we can justly speak of them in
the same language. When I say the Roman people, I do
not mean the worshippers of Jupiter and Mercury, but the
true adorers of Jesus Christ, and venerators of most holy
Mary and the saints. Are not we ourselves witnesses of all
that is being done in opposition to evil ? Noble associations
have been formed to write up and defend truth, and succour
the needy. The churches are crowded, the word of God is
sought after with avidity, the sacraments received with great
devotion. I do not go abroad, but you all know how much is
332 Roman Chronicle.
doing at present in Rome to counteract by good works the
efforts of falsehood and vice. Well, then, precisely because
I do not go abroad, let the parish priests and preachers say
that the Pope cannot but bless this people, approving and
encouraging them. Say, moreover, that fathers of families
should not venture to bring their children to the theatres,
where performances are enacted insulting to religion and
morality, and where licentiousness and blasphemy reign
triumphant. Such places are forbidden to a Christian family;
they could not be spectators of representations against God,
their faith, the Church, and every law however sacred. Say,
also, that I am proud of, and thank the Romans for, their
patient endurance of the present trials, especially of such a
number holding official appointments, who, for honour, loyalty,
and conscience sake, prefer every privation to betrayal of their
trust or felony. Tell them that I know it all, and that I mean
to bless them as those who do and suffer like true Romans."
3. These earnest words, pronounced by the most august
authority on earth, are more than a sufficient vindication of
the Roman people from the calumnies circulated against
them by their unscrupulous invaders, but in order to satisfy
the most sceptical mind, we are enabled to furnish exact data,
which establish beyond question the unflinching loyalty of
the immense majority of the Romans to their imprisoned
sovereign. The Tablet of February 25th gives the following
statistics, favoured by a person in Rome who can speak with
certain knowledge.
Out of 46 magistrates, five only have transferred their
allegiance to the new Government. The Piedmontese have
requested the 41 to remain in office till March. In the
" Finance Department" out of 1439, 344 only have gone over
to the Italian Government, 1135 have preferred to give up
office, and are now without any income or means of livelihood.
In the " Internal Department" out of 53, only 17 remained in
office. " The Military" — out of 586 officers, only 58 have
retained their position. The others, 528, have preferred to
quit the army, though they were offered the same rank in the
Italian Army, They too are now without means of support.
" The Schools" — The schools under ecclesiastical management
(limited to the Departments of Literature and Philosophy),
included a total of 1783 scholars; viz., " La Pace" 93;
" The Apollinarf" 700 ; the Roman College, 985. The
Piedmontese have taken away this last frem the Jesuits, and
to the Government Lyceum, established instead, has been
added a department, called the Technical, or " commercial" for
boys who, under ecclesiastical management, were elsewhere
Roman Chronic It. 333
provided for. Now, observe, even with the bringing in of
these " commercials" by the report just published by Brioschi,
it is shown that only 656 scholars attended the new Lyceum,
of these 250 are Jews, hitherto not admitted to these schools:
of the remaining 406, the " commercials" viz., 280, should be
substracted, and there will remain 126 to be compared with
1783, under the Pontifical "regime" Finally, observe that
with the new government a great number of officials have
come to Rome, with their families, and of course they send
their children to the schools set up by the new government.
The failure in not attracting scholars to the new Lyceum
schools, is the more remarkable, as, by a special enactment,
attendance at the Lyceum schools has been made a necessary
condition for eligibility to public offices of any kind.
The Journals — The Catholic Roman Journals opposed to
the Piedmontese Government are 10, viz., the Osservatore ;
L' Intparziale ; II Biionscnso ; La Frusta; La Stella; La
Metropoli ; II Vcridico ; II Sahatore ; La Verging ; and La
Famiglia. The new Government and Democratic Journals
are 7, viz. : La Gazetta Ufficialc, II Tempo, La Nuova Roma,
La Capitate, II Tribuno, and La Liberta, of these last, 3 are
paid by government, 2 by Mazzini, and I by the moderate
party. The Catholic journals are all self-supporting. The
number of subscribers to the Cathode journals is much
greater than to the others, e.g., the two popular papers are the
frusta and Tribuno \ the former (Catholic) prints 6000
copies, the latter (revolutionary) only 1400.
The Aristocracy — The splendid address which commences
this Chronicle, is proof positive as to how the Roman aristo-
cracy feel. The names of the few noble families who support
the invasion can soon be quoted. They are as follows : —
Prince and Princess Pallavicini (Ne'e Piombino).
Duke and Duchess di Teano (N& Piombino).
Duke and Duchess di Piombino.
Prince Doria, the father only.
Duke and Duchess di Regnano (Ne'e Doria).
Duke and Duchess di Sermoneta, Duke and Duchess di
Teano (N& Wilbraham), father and son.
Duke and Duchess Cesarini Sforza (NSe Colonna) ; Duke and
Duchess di St. Fiore (Nt'c Santa Croce), two brothers.
Count and Countess Locatelli (Ne'e Gaetani), daughter to
Sermoneta.
Count and Countess Carlo Locatelli.
Marchesa Lavaggi, her husband is on the Pope's side.
Countess dc Cclere, her husband is on the Pope's side.
Marquis and Marchesa Calabrini.
334 Roman Chronicle.
All the other Roman nobles, and they form a great majority,
are with the Pontifical Government. On November 3, 1870,
an address was presented to His Holiness, signed by two
hundred and forty Roman ladies of rank. The signatures
represent about one hundred and fifty Roman Patrician
families. The address with the names has been printed ;
about 5,000 of the Bourgeoisie united with the Patricians in
expressing their sympathy. The only families who have
opened their saloons, either during the Carnival or before it,
are Prince Doria, Duke of Teano, and Prince Pallavicini.
Not one of the Pope's party has given an evening reception
since the 2Oth of September, and all the families who could
conveniently leave Rome during the Carnival have done so.
4. On the occasion of the entry of the Prince and Princess
of Piedmont, the Roman nobility presented a second address,
worded in the most fervent style, and signed still more
numerously than the previous one. Scarcely a day passed
during the month of February that groups of Civil Service
officials and others, who had resigned their appointments, did
not wait on the Holy Father, and, together with an address,
present a substantial Peter's Pence offering. But a deputation
from Bologna, now ten years under the rule of Piedmont,
gave the greatest consolation to the Holy Father. He
received the deputation on the 23rd of February. The con-
course of illustrious personages, both Italians and foreigners,
was considerable ; all the ante-chambers were thronged. The
deputation was composed of: — Alfonso Rubbiani, President of
the Circle of St. Petronius ; Marquis Hannibal Maroigli ;
Prince Alfonso Hercolani; Marquis Alexander Guidotti ;
Count Vincent Ranuzzi ; Marquis Alfonso Malvezzi ; Marquis
Francis Malvezzi ; Dr. Peter Gardini ; Count Mark Bentivoglio;
Dr. Guido Bagni, President of the Circle of St. Blaze in Ceuto.
The Holy Father entered the Audience Chamber about noon,
followed by a numerous suite, including Cardinals Guidi,
Milesi, Barnabo, Bilio, Catarini, Borromeo, Capath, Amat,
Bonaparte ; General Kanzler, Prince Chigi, Marquis Cavaletti,
and Monsignors Ricci, Rocca, Negrotto, Casali, De Bisogno,
Negrone, and De Merode. The Pope looked in excellent
health — his countenance beaming confidence and resignation.
As soon as he had ascended the throne, the President of the
Circle of St. Petronius read the address.
He then presented the Holy Father with three large volumes,
containing 31,854 signatures, collected in the city and suburbs
of Bologna, and the Treasurer of the Circle, Marquis Francis
Malvizzi, laid at the feet of the Pope a purse of 13,173 francs
(nearly ^530). The volumes were splendidly bound in red
Roman Chronick. 355
morocco, and bore the arms of Pio IX. and those of Bologna,
with an inscription in letters of gold — " Pio IX. , Bononia
Fidelisy The purse, the gift of a noble lady, was exquisitely
embroidered in gold. The members of the deputation were
then presented to the Holy Father, who admitted each to
kiss hands. In the course of his reply the Holy Father said :
" Blessed be God who permits so many scandals, nt veniant
bona ; and if youth is an active element in revolutions, we
behold, on the other hand, to our great consolation, a power-
ful reaction amongst Catholic youth in many parts of Italy
and other nations in favour of the Church. The chief sin of
young men is human respect, and consequently young Catholics
do well to commence by frankly manifesting their faith and
their devotion to holy Church. The examples of Bologna
have exercised great influence in the other cities of the
Romagna; and if the revolution had its origin in Bologna, it
is with unfeigned pleasure that we now see the reaction of
the Catholic spirit against the principles of the revolution
lead off from the same city. Wherefore, with all the fervour
of my heart I bless you and all whose names are signed
in that most voluminous list of good Catholics — Benedictio
Dei, &c." The Holy Father then passed through the ante-
chambers, where, amongst others, he encountered four Fran-
ciscan friars of Bologna about to leave for the Indian mission.
In another room were collected quite a crowd of English
and Americans, principally the latter, and mostly Protestants.
The Holy Father addressed them in French, and alluded to
his having read with pleasure, many years ago, the book of a
distinguished Irish author — Thomas Moore — entitled, "Travels
of an Irish gentleman in Search of a Religion," and he sup-
posed that many of those whom he now addressed were
engaged in such travels : such persons he would counsel to
search their own hearts with sincerity and confidence, and
God would lead them to the profession of the truth. When
he raised his hands to bless them, all, without exception, went
on their knees. Some of them, although Protestants, offered
considerable sums towards the Peter's Pence. Then, preceded
by two noble guards, and followed by the suite of Cardi-
nals, &c., already mentioned, and the Bologna deputation, the
Holy Father went down to the gardens for his usual walk.
After a considerable round of the garden he entered the
library, and inviting all to sit down, entered into three
quarters of an hour's familiar conversation, occasionally allud-
ing to a ''ray of hope" He subsequently retired to his own
apartments.
336 Roman Chronicle.
5. Prince Joseph Rospigliosi of Rome has written to the
Nazione, deploring that he should have been classified
amongst the nobles of doubtful fidelity to the Holy Father.
He glories in the fact of having served the Holy Father
faithfully in the regiment of Zouaves.
6. The Austrian Catholic Deputation, numbering 43, was
received by the Pope, on Monday, the 5th of March. He
made, in his usual happy style, a most apposite reply to their
affectionate address. They presented a considerable sum of
money for Peter's Pence.
7. By a Royal Decree, dated Florence, March 4th, 1871,
the following Roman Convents are seized on by the Govern-
ment, as a first instalment : —
1st. Santa Maria in Vallicella, oratory and house of the
Fathers of St. Philip Neri.
2nd. Santi Dodici Apostoli, Convent of Franciscans, Minor
Conventuals.
3rd. 56". Silvestro e Stefano in Capite, Convent of the Poor
Clares.
4th. San Silvestro in Monte Cavallo, house and garden of
the Fathers of the Mission (Vincentians).
5th. Santa Maria delle Vergini, Convent of Augustinian
Nuns.
6th. Sanf Andrea della Valle, house of the Teatines.
7th. Santa Maria sopra Minerva, head house of the Domi-
nican Fathers.
8th. Sanf Agostino, Convent of the Augustinian Fathers.
8. The Ageusia Stefani, the great telegraphic agency of
Italy, invented an allocution of the Pope, supposed to be
delivered at the Consistory of the 6th of March. The tele-
graphic summary was copied into all the Catholic papers of
the provinces, not excluding the well conducted Unita
Cattolica. This last concludes a scathing article against this
base trick, in the following terms.
" There was no consistory at the Vatican, but only a private
Council of the Cardinals to provide for several vacant sees.
And Pius the Ninth did not utter a word. And yet the
Agenzia Stefani not only gave us the summary of the pre-
tended allocution, but added that it was drawn up by three
Jesuits. We purpose consulting our legal adviser, to see if
we have grounds for an action against the Agenzia Stefani.
But for the present we may remark that now it is plain to all
that the Catholic world may be deceived by the actual rulers
in Rome. Several foreign journals copied the telegram ; and
the responsibility of it falls upon the government that allowed
Koiuan Chronicle. 337
it to go abroad. Which means this, that it is in the power of
Lanza, Gadda, and the like, to tell the universe that the Pope
has said so and so, when he has preserved complete silence.
Can this state of things last ? Is the government of the
Church possible, when the Pope suffers such a cruel imprison-
ment ?"
9. Among the Bishops precognised by the Holy Father,
on the occasion of this pro-consistory, we are happy to find
the Rev. James Rickard, D.D., appointed Bishop in the
Vicariate Apostolic of the Eastern District, South Africa ;
Rev. George Conroy, D.D., Bishop of Ardagh ; Rev. Hugh
O'Rorke, Professor in St. Patrick's, Maynooth, Bishop of
Clonfert, and Rev. James MacDevit, Professor in All Hallows
College, Bishop of Raphoe.
10. The Festival of our glorious Apostle St. Patrick, was
this year attended with unusual honours in Rome. The
Cardinal Vicar of Rome, Cardinal Patrizi, issued an Invito
Sacro or Pastoral Notice to the People of Rome, relative to
Ireland's festival. He mentioned that " Ireland was justly
proud of her Apostle, which merited through his labours the
title of the Island of Saints, and which through centuries ot
trial still preserves the fruits of his Apostolic zeal, and the
memory of his example." He reminds the Roman people
that the Festival of St. Patrick, preceded by a devout
Triduum will be celebrated, in the Church of S. Agata a
Monti attached to the Irish College, and adds that the Holy
Father grants a Plenary Indulgence on the Feast, and an
Indulgence of seven years and quarantines for each attendance
at the Triduum.
1 1. The riots which took place in the Piazza and Church ot
the Gesu, on the Qth and loth March, have attracted so much
attention that we deem it requisite to give a detailed and
impartial account of these sad occurrences. The Pall Mall
Gazette, in a Roman correspondence copied into the Saunders's
News-Letter, of Dublin, has put in circulation a multitude ot
falsehoods, that would not be easy to. overtake at this distance.
However, in order that we may appear impartial, we select
the history of these riots from the revolutionary Journals of
Rome, principally two, La Libcrta, edited by a Jew, and
subsidized by the Italian Government, and L Italia Nuoi'a,
a rabid Anti-Catholic Paper. La Liberia, in its number of
the loth of March, traces the origin of the disturbances that
occurred at the Gesu, on the day previous, to the fact of
some young Liberals, in National Guard uniform, entering the
church, behaving disrespectfully during the sermon of Father
338 Roman Chronicle.
Tommasi, and expressing aloud their disapprobation of some
principles advanced by him ; whence, on leaving the church,
an altercation arose between these young nationals, and a
a few pious Catholics. Words and blows followed on both
sides, and the police had to interfere. " We cannot," adds
the Liberia, " but disapprove of National Guards going to the
sermon in uniform, or being permitted to mark their disap-
probation of the words used by the preacher." The Nuova
Roma, of the I2th, blames the Liberal party for " provoking
the Clericals by their exclamations of dissent during
the course of the sermon." Notwithstanding that the
Liberal party were thus blamed for provoking' the disorders
of the Qth, they resolved to continue them on the loth. The
Liberia of the nth again speaks: — "To-day again fresh
disorders at the Gesu. Two of our staff, eye-witnesses, give
the following report. The sermon of Father Tommasi was
no way extraordinary ; it was on confession, and he made
no allusion whatsoever to politics. The church was less crowded
than usual. Meanwhile, groups of young men, known for
their liberal opinions, were gathering in the Piazza, and the
streets adjacent, until, about the conclusion of the sermon, quite
an unusual crowd had formed." The Italia Nuova. of the I2th,
adds : " These young men were armed with sticks ; they were
not in uniform, and waited patiently outside the Gesu from eleven
o'clock. It is certain that the Questor knew full well what was
in the wind, because he already sent an increased police force,
and some carbineers ; and orders had reached the 62nd regi-
ment, quartered in the adjoining convent, to hold themselves
in readiness. Immediately after twelve, the sermon being
over, the congregation began to leave the church, the great
majority being caccialepri (an opprobrious epithet for the
Catholic young men of Rome), armed with sticks. Their
adversaries who waited for them outside, commenced to hiss
them, and close round them, until coming within reach of
each other, a vigorous onslaught with the sticks was made by
both sides. The police promptly intervened, and the car-
bineers succeeded in separating the combatants, forcing the
caccialepri to re-enter the church, and warning off their ad-
versaries. The troops arrived at this moment, and were
placed at the disposal of three Delegates of Public Security,
who ordered them to clear the Piazza, and leave a free passage
for the people to leave the church. This, however, was a
slow process. The bugle was sounded repeatedly, the usual
intimations given, and the bayonet charges ordered, however
we have not to deplore any killed or wounded : the advances
Roman Chronicle. 339
with fixed bayonets were made more for formality than else.
Seven or eight were arrested because they did not disperse
when summoned. But in the church, the officials of the
Questor arrested eleven or twelve suspected persons, and
carrying sticks. It was rumoured that arms were also
found, but I cannot confirm that rumour, not having seen
any ; I saw about twenty sticks, more or less formidable
looking."
From this information, derived exclusively from hostile
sources, we may infer as follows : —
1st. That the disorders of the loth, were a revenge for the
insult of the Qth, provoked by the Liberals themselves.
2nd. That the Liberals were armed with sticks to attack,
and the Clericals for defence.
3rd. That Father Tommasi's sermon had no reference to
politics.
4th. That the Liberals "began' to hiss and close around the
Clericals.
5th. That the troops entered the church, and, leaving the
crowd to fight outside, arrested within the sacred edifice
eleven or twelve " suspects" Catholics of course.
6th. That the Clericals had arms, but nobody saw them.
7th. That the troops charged with the bayonet, but only for
formality sake.
8th. That the Questor was fully informed of the intentions
of the Liberals, but made no effort to prevent their being
carried out.
If we add to all this, the courageous exploit of arresting at
the foot of the High Altar a priest celebrating Mass, clad in
the sacred vestments, and with the chalice in his hand, we
may be able to form some idea of what the Italian Government
mean by moral order, and guaranteeing the liberty of the
Church. We give the priest's report, as drawn up by him-
self:—
" On Friday, the loth inst., the Lenten sermon being con-
cluded, I, the undersigned, Ordinary Chaplain at the Church
of the Gesu, according to custom, went to the High Altar to
celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Continuing the
Holy Sacrifice, I was very much distracted by the disturbance,
the cries, and the clash of weapons, every moment increasing
within the church ; and I discovered that the soldiers had
even entered the sanctuary, and were upon the very steps of
the altar ; and I was better enabled to observe this when I
turned round to give Holy Communion to some of the faithful,
and found I could not descend from the altar, while the faith-
340 Roman Chronicle.
ful could with difficulty approach the last step of the altar to
receive Holy Communion. Then I saw soldiers of every
description with pistols, sabres, and guns, who ordered the
devout persons assisting at the Holy Communion to retire
and leave the Church. Seized with Catholic zeal, I turned to
the soldiers who were round me within the sanctuary, and told
them to go back, because that was not the proper place for
them, and that they were all excommunicated. When mass
was concluded, with the chalice in one hand, and my biretta
in the other, wishing to return to the sacristy, and not being
able to do so from the crowd of soldiers that surrounded me,
I begged them to allow me to pass, but no one moving, I was
obliged to open a way with the hand in which I held my
biretta. Laid hold of by the chasuble, and stopped at the
door leading from the high altar to the sacristy, I was told
that I was under arrest, whilst I had yet on the sacred vest-
ments. On my declining to lay aside the sacred vestments
before speaking with the Superior of the church, a National
Guard said — ' Let us tie him just as fie is, dressed like
Pnlcinella, and lead him handcuffed through Rome.' A dele-
gate answered that that could not be done. The same fellow
rejoined — 'Ohyes,let us take him as he is, because he has eaten
that ' ( I cannot write it). One of the Royal Car-
bineers (I believe an under officer because of the braid on his
arm) turning to me said — ' That he would put the handcuffs
not only on me, but also on tJiat hangman Pius IX., and drag
him through all Rome.' One of the delegates asked me if I
wished to put on a citizen's dress, and I refused, saying that
I was not ashamed of my habit. Thus, escorted by a dele-
gate and a municipal guard, I was brought to Monte Citorio,
and, after three hours delay, was interrogated by Questor Berti.
He dismissed me, making me wait another half hour in an
ante-room, and then politely told me I could return home,
adding, that the Catholic party (the forty-six of the plebiscite)
would do well to be moderate and have more prudence, and
cease to insult those of the opposite party.
" D. RAFFAELE COLALTI, Chaplain at the Gesu."
341
MONASTICON HIBERNICUM,
OR,
A SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE ANCIENT
MONASTERIES OF IRELAND.
[N.B. — Thetextofthe "Monasticon" is taken verbatim from Archdall : the notes
marked with numbers are added by the Editors.]
COUNTY OF CORK.
Kilcrea? five miles west of Cork, in the barony of Musketry.
Nunnery ; St. Cyra, or Chera,23 was abbess here ; where her
feast is celebrated October i6th.z
Franciscan Monastery ; was founded in this town under the
y The Earls of Clancarty had a strong castle here. * Calendar.
Continuation of Note 22, p. 292.
from yourself? You shall have a place of resurrection on the brink of the sea.
said Senan, but I fear the tide will take away your remains. I fear not, said she,
for my hope is in the Lord God, and I have confidence in your great sanctity that
you will put a protection over my body. The holy virgin was standing on the
water, and her Trosdan under her bosom as if she had been on the dry land all this
time while Senan was conversing with her, and at last Senan permitted her to
come in on the brink of the island, and Cannera scarcely reached the island
alive. Senan then went into the church and brought communion and sacrament
with him to Cannera, and she then died and was buried in the strand on the
south side of the island, where her grave is. Any person in the state of grace who
goes to the stone which is over her grave, and who prays there with fervent
piety, beseeching her intercession with the Trinity for him, if he be going on sea,
he will return by the grace of God, and he will not be drowned in any part of the
world." — Life of Saint Senan. GLooney, MS., C.U.I., chap. 5, pp. 30, 31; see
also Book of Lismore, fol. 64, l.a.
M Oil Chera. The following passage from an account of the Saints of Erin in
"Leabhar Breac," in the Royal Irish Academy, p. 21, col. 4, mentions this place,
and preserves the names of some of the ancient churches and distinguished saints
in this part of the country : —
" Nine persons of the race of Conaire, i.t., Senach, son of Coirill, and Eolaing,
from Athbii Bole in Muscraidh Mittaine, and Odran, from Lathrach Odran in
Muscraidhe Tire ; these are the three seniors of the race of Conaire.
" Crescliad from Cill Chera, Gobinait, the sharp-beaked Caillech (nun), from
Buirnech (Mourn) in the boundary between Muscraidhe Mittaine and Eoganacht
Locha Lein, and Sciath, daughter of Meachair, in Pert Sceith in Muscraidhe Aeda;
these are the three virgins of the race of Conaire.
" I.achtain of Achad Ur, and of Aie Cind Chaille in Ossory, and from Bealach
Abrath, in Sliabh Cain, Finan Cam Chind Ettig, in the boundary of Ely and Per-
cell ; Senan of Inis Cathaigh ; these are the three candles (luminaries) of the race
of Conaire.
" Nine persons of the race of Conaire,
By learned persons called
Three candles, three seniors, three virgins,
Commemorated by the learned sages.
" These are the three seniors
Who spoke with Christ in conversation —
Senach, son of Cairill, without tribulation,
Eolaing, and Odran.
VOL. VII. 2
342 A ncient Monasteries of Ireland.
invocation of St. Brigid by Cormac M'Carthuigh, the Great,
Prince of Desmond, in the year 1465.° He was murdered by
Owen his brother,15 and was buried here in the middle of the
choir, with the following inscription on his tomb :
Hie jacet Cormacus fil. Thadci, fil. Cormaci, fil. Dermitii
magni M'Carthy, Dnus. de Musgraigh Flayn ac istius con-
ventus primus fundator. an. Dom. 1494.°
Thomas O'Herlihy, bishop of Ross, was interred here in
1579,° and the Roman Catholics repaired this house in 1604.'
A great part of this building still remains, with the nave
and choir of the church ; on the south side of the nave is an
handsome arcade of three Gothic arches, supported by marble
columns, more massive than those of the Tuscan order ; this
arcade continues to form one side of a chapel, being a cross
isle. In the choir are some old tombs of the family of Clan-
carty, &c. The steeple, a light building about eighty feet
high, and placed between the nave and choir, is still entire,
and supported by Gothic arches. From the gateway, on
either side, to the high road, are high banks entirely formed
of human bones and sculls, which are cemented together with
moss : besides these, and great numbers strown about, there
are several thousands piled up in the arches, windows, &c.
The river Bride runs near this ruin. The lands were granted
to Lord Muskerry, but after the wars of 1641, Oliver Crom-
well gave them to Lord Broghill.*
• Act. SS.,p. 15. b War. Annal. c War. Mss. , vol. 34, /. 164. • War. Bpt.
p. 588. f Smith, vol. 2, p. 101. « Smith, vol. \, p. 210, 211.
" These are the three Cailec/is (nuns)
Who freely gave their love to Christ —
Ciarascach, Gobinait, with devotion,
And Sciach, daughter of Meachair.
" These are the three candles
Who saved middle Munster —
Lachtain, the fair, the good instructor,
Finan Cam, and Scnan.
" Senan of Sliabh Luimnigh, who is not weak,
Lachtain from Bealach Abrath,
With the King of the elements, a deed not concealed,
And Finan-Cam-Chind-Ettig.
" They are alike in state with the King of Heaven,
Alike their right and their family,
Alike the union they have consummated
In heaven and on earth," &c., &c.
The seven sons of Torben, son of Nuachadh, i.e. , Lilan. from Ath-na-Ceall, on
the brink of Abhan Mor (Blackwater) ; Silen and Cellan, from Ath-na-Ceall also;
Senan Liath, from Cill T-Senain Leith ; Trian, from Domnach Mor Muscraidhe
Mittaine ; Mochoba, from Lismore ; Crocho, from Cill Crochan, in the boundary
of Leix and Ossory ; Lachtain, from Achad Ur, in Acs Chind Chaille, in Ossory
also. The seven daughters of Torben were, Coirsech, Cersech, Sodelb, Cellsech,
from Ath-na-g-cell, &c., &c., &c.
County of Cork. 343
Kilcruimthir ;** near the city of Cluainchollaing, or Kilchuile,
in Hy Liathain, the modern barony of Barrymore. St. Abban
built a church here and died in a respectable old age A.D. 650.
St. Cruimthcrfraech gave his name to this church and is
honoured there. h This place is now unknown.
Kilfeacle ; or the church of the Tooth, so called from a
tooth of St. Patrick, that was preserved there. We cannot
find any circumstance on record respecting this abbey, but
that St. Beoan of Cluainfiachul, in Muscragia, was a disciple
of St. Patrick's.1 This place is also now unknown.
Killabraher ; or the Church of the Brotherhood ; a ruined
monastery between Churchtown and Liscarol, in the barony
of Kilmorc ; it is uncertain to what order it did belong.k
Killcigh ; a small village four miles from Youghal, in the
barony of Imokilly.
St. Abban, who died A.D. 650, built an abbey at Killachadh
conchean.and made the holy Virgin, St. Conchenna, abbess of it.1
Kit Na Marbhan ; or the Church of the Dead ; near
Briggoban, or Brigown, in the barony of Clongibbon. This
church was also founded by St. Abban.m
Kingsale ; in the barony of Kerrycurry and Kinallea, is a
corporation town, sending two burgesses to parliament, and is
well known for its excellent harbour and strong fortifications.
Priory of Regular Canons ; St. Cobban, a disciple of St.
Ailb, was patron of the monastery of Kingsale ;r' and in the
sixth century we meet with St. Began of Kinnsaile. St.
Senan lies buried here : he presided over the Church»of Cluan,
between the mountains Crot and Mairge, in Munster.0
White Friars ; we have no information about the foundation
of this house ; but Stephen Prene, the prior of it, obtained,
in the year 1350, a quarter of land in Lischan from Robert
11 Act. SS., p. 615, 623. *Tr. Th.p.\%\. k Smith, vol. I,/. 326. * Act. SS.,
p. 632. m Id., p. 527. "/</.,/. 750. "/</.,/. 573.
*Kilcruimthir was situated about a mile and a-half north of Fermoy, on the old
road to Ballyhindon Castle ; it is now an old ruin and burial ground. It was thr
parish church of /// Maoile Machaire, in the ancient territory of Fermoy. See notf
under Fermoy.
The genealogy of St. Cruimthir Fraech, from whom this place has its name, is
thus preserved in Leabhar Breac in the Royal Irish Academv, p. 16, col. 4 : —
Crnimthir Fraech, son of Carthach, son of Nedi, son of Onchon, son of Findloga,
son of Find Fir, son of Causcrach, &c.
The following passage from an ancient Irish life of St. Aban, mentions this and
other churches in the same country :
" And Aban then returned into the territory of Corca-Duibhne, and he blessed
Boumeach and he gave it to Gobnait ; and he blessed Cill-Aithfe, on Magh Con-
chon, and he gave it to Fionnan, and Fionnan foretold the coming of Aban many
years before he was born. He blessed Cul [Cill] Cullainge and Brigobann, and Cill
Cruimthir and Cill na Marbh, and he blessed Cluain Aird Mo Beococ, and Cluain-
Fionnglaise, and he left Beccan in it ; and he left the office of the Holy Church in
every church of them."— Life of St. Aban. O'C., MS., C.U.I., p. 54.
344 Ancient Monasteries of Ireland.
Fitz-Richard Balrayne.p Part of the ruins of this monastery
still remain in the north end of the town.^25
Lcgan; there was a monastery here, of which John de Comp-
ton was prior in the year i3Oi.r We have no other account of
it, but that, at the suppression of religious houses, the prior of
St. John in Waterford was found to be seized of this priory.
Lneim ; there was a monastery here, of which the only
account we have is, that it was situated near the city of Cork,
and that David de Cogan was patron in the year 1318."
Maiir, see Carigiliky.
Middletown /* a market and borough, pleasantly situated
in the barony of Imokilly. An abbey was founded here
A.D. 1 1 80, by the Fitzgeralds ;u or, according to others, by
the family of Barry ;w it was supplied with monks of the
Cistertian order from the abbey of Nenay, or Magio, in the
county of Limerick, and was called the abbey of St. Mary of
Chore, or of the Chore of St. Benedict*
Donald was abbot of this house, and was succeeded by
Robert, who governed the abbey A.D. 1 3097
1476. Gerald, bishop of Cloyne, appropriated several vicar-
ages to this abbey.226
Monanimy ; is seated on the river Blackwater, in the
P War. Mss., -vol. 34, /. 108. * Smith, vol. I, /. 227. * King, p. 141. • Id.,
p. 142. * Was called by the Irish Castre ni chora. ™ War. Man. w Allemande.
1 War. Mon. ' King, p. 376. * War. Bps.,p. 563.
M Cluain. This is probably the place referred to in the following passage of the
Irish life of St. Findbarr : —
After St. Barra had built the church of Achadh Duirbchon, near Cuas Barra, he
crossed the Abhan Mor to Cill-Cluana, and he built a church there, and remained
there for some time, till two pupils of St. Ruadan of Lothra, i.e., Cormacand
Baoithin came to him, and soon after Ruadan himself came to him there. After
this, Ruadan's pupils came to ask him for a place for themselves, and Ruadan
said to them, " Go forth to where the tongues of your bells will sound, and it is
in that place your resurrection will be on the last day, and remain in that place.
They then went forth till they reached Cill Cluana (the Church of Cluain), where
Barra was, and the bells sounded there, and the clerics became very much dis-
heartened, as they did not expect to get this church or place. Barra saw this, and
said to them, " Be not disheartened," said he, " for I will give up this church and
all the wealth and property that belong to it, to God and to you ;" and so Barra gave
his church to them, and the above-named clerics remained in that church. And
Barra built twelve churches more after this before he came to Cork, and gave them
all in charity and love of God. And he was then led by the angel to where Cork is
to-day, where he settled down in the seat of his resurrection. " — O1 Curry, MS. C. U. I.
** Middletown ; The Inquisition given in the the text thus commences in the
copy of R. I. A. : — Inquisition the Tuesday next after the nativity of the Virgin
Mary, 3ist Henry VIII., finds the abbot was seized of the abbey, dormitory,
cloister, chapter-house, an hall, &c.
Inquisition 3rd May, 1612, finds that Sir John Fitz Emund Gerrald, knight, was,
at his death, seized of this monastery, and of the possessions thereunto belonging,
containing three carucates of land, and of an hundred acres of land in this county,
and Cowlebanj, one carucate. A mill on the River Awnye Corrg.
Inquisition 26th January, i/th Elizabeth, finds that the castk and townland of
( To be continued.)
[NEW SERIES}
THE IRISH
ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD.
IN
MAY, 1871.
MACCHIAVELLI.
(Continued).
the last Number of the RECORD we endeavoured to trace
the personal and political career of Macchiavelli ; the present
paper will deal with his writings, which have, indeed, made his
name widely known, whether favourably or otherwise, our
readers must decide for themselves when they shall have
finished the perusal of this notice.
The works of the Florentine diplomatist may be divided
into two classes, viz., those treating ex professo of politics,
and those which are purely literary. The former have made
him famous ; the latter are known only to the " virtuosi" in
literature, and the most that can be said of them is, that they
prove him to have been a man of some literary taste. We
shall dispose of the minor works first, and purpose doing so
very briefly, devoting the greater portion of our paper to
Macchiavelli's political treatises, and the soundness of the views
put forward in them.
Macchiavelli was not only a writer of prose, but of poetry
as well. His poems must be regarded, however, as the pro-
ductions of a licentious and irreligious young man, who was
vain enough to think he might attain a high position in the
world of letters by employing his talents in a field which had
been already cultivated with distinguished success by many of
his countrymen, under the patronage of the Medici at Florence,
and of Leo X. at Rome. Of their claim to a place in Italian
literature we cannot presume to speak, having never read them
except through the medium of a French translation. But the
learned historian, Roscoe, who had read them in the original,
thus pronounces his judgment on the subject : — " Of the
poetical works of Macchiavelli in his native tongue, several
VOL. vu. 24
346 Macchiavelli.
pieces remain, which are distinguished rather by vigour and
conciseness of expression, than by poetical ornament."1 Nor
could it well be otherwise; for Macchiavelli, though a vigorous
word-wielder in prose, and possessed of a sharp, clear intellect,
was yet of too cold and frigid a disposition ever to become a
successful votary of the Muses. He lacked both fancy and
imagination ; and, if we are to credit Roscoe (loc. cit.), his
verses lacked the grace of harmony as well.
If we except his correspondence with Vettori and some
other friends, the prose works of Macchiavelli — at least such
of them as deserve special notice — may be reduced to three, viz.,
the " Discourses on Livy," "The History of Florence," and
" The Prince."
The first-mentioned is a commentary on the first decade of
Livy, in which the author, taking for his theme the principal
facts recorded in the pages of the great Roman historian,
furnishes us with his own views on the origin of civil power,
and the means by which sovereignty may be acquired, and
its possession secured to the ruler. The work is, in truth,
nothing else than a foreshadowing of those pernicious doc-
trines embodied at a later period in "The Prince," and when
treating of that celebrated composition we shall have occasion
sometimes to allude again to the " Discorsi su Tito Livio."
The history of Florence, in eight books, comprises the trans-
actions of that state from its origin in 1205 to the death of
Lorenzo the Magnificent in 1492. The commencement of
the work, describing the origin of the Italian sovereignties,
is well written, combining the clearness of Livy with the
terseness of Tacitus, and would well repay the labours of the
historical student. Whoever would read even these chapters,
must, however, be constantly on his guard against the
poisonous maxims of a false philosophy, which here and
there lie hid as wasps in a garden of flowers. In the Storie
Florentine, as in all Macchiavelli's other works, the reader is .
at once struck with the intimate acquaintance he manifests
with history, and more particularly with that of ancient
Rome and of the Italian states. He scarcely ever treats of
any event without illustrating it with one or more facts drawn
from history,and from a combination of apparently similar facts
producing similar results, he draws conclusions which he would
seem to regard as infallible for the guidance of men's actions
in the future. We may call this " the Macchiavellian system
of the philosophy of history," and it has been praised by
some writers who, we suspect, knew far more of romance
•
1 See Roscoe, Life of Leo X., vol. ii., p. 490, note 47 (Ed. Bogue).
AfacckiavfUi, 347
than of history, or philosophy cither. Thus, the elder
Disraeli, in that very curious work, The Curiosities of
Literature} writes, " Macchiavcl seems to have been the first
writer who discovered the secret of what may be called
comparative history. He it was who first sought in ancient
history for the materials which were to illustrate the events
of his own times, by fixing on analogous facts, similar per-
sonages and parallel periods. His profound
genius advanced still further ; he not only explained modern
by ancient history, but he deduced those results or principles
founded on this new sort of evidence,, which guided him in
forming his opinions." We by no means object to the system
of the " Philosophy of History." On the contrary, we believe
history philosophically studied, to be a true and a grand
science, if that study be carried out on true principles, not
based on sophistry. We have read more than once — and to
read was to admire — Bossuet's magnificent Discours sur t His-
toirc Univcrsclle, which is generally admitted to be the most
perfect practical expose of the philosophy of history extant.
We know that the Catholic Church has spread her protecting
aegis over this study, and we know by our own experience
that in Rome, the centre of Catholic unity, and the fount of
Catholic truth, many months of the scholastic year, in every
seminary, are spent by the students of history in learning the
true principles on which this science is based. But we do
most strenuously object to the system of Messrs. Macchiavelli
and Disraeli — a system which would banish God and provi-
dence from the world, and leave everything to blind chance.
In reply to the remarks of these soi-disant philosophers
we shall cite the words of Frederick Von Schlegel,2 who
thus corrects the supporters of the Macchiavellian doctrines —
" He who regards everything in humanity, and the progress
of humanity, in a mere natural or rationalist point of view,
and will explain everything by such views ; who, though per-
haps not without a certain instinctive feeling of an all-ruling
Providence and a certain pious deference for its secret ways and
high designs, yet is devoid of a full knowledge of, and deep
insight into, the conduct of Providence — he to whom the
power of evil is not clear, evident, and fully intelligible ; he
will ever rest on the surface of events and historical facts,
and satisfied with the outward appearance of things, neither
comprehend the meaning of the whole, nor understand the
1 See page 444 of "The Curiosities of Literature" (Ed. Routledge).
1 He who wishes to study this question would do well to read ^chlegcl's truly
admirable 1st Lecture in "The Philosophy of History," which serves as an intro-
duction to the entire work.
348 Macchiavclli.
import of any part. But the matter of greatest moment is to
watch the spirit of God, revealing itself in history, enlightening
and directing the judgments of men, saving and conducting
mankind, and even here below admonishing, judging and
chastising nations and generations ; to watch this spirit in its
progress through all ages, and discern the fiery marks and
traces of its footsteps. This threefold law of the world, these
three mighty principles in the historical progress of mankind —
the hidden ways of a Providence delivering and emancipating
the human race — next, ti\t frit-will of man doomed to a decisive
choice in the struggle of life, and every action and sentiment
springing from that freedom— lastly, the power permitted by God
to the evil principle, cannot be deduced as things absolutely
necessary, like the phenomena of nature, or the laws of human
reason. It is only when we have gone very deeply into the
varied and complex nature of the circumstances of any age,
and examined in their manifold bearings those historical pheno-
mena which attend or produce the critical turning points, the
decisive eras of history, that we can clearly discover the spiritual
elements — the great ideas which lie at the bottom of a mighty
revolution in society. In every other abstract science, an
exception from the rule appears a contradiction ; but in the
science of history, every real exception serves but the better
to make us comprehend and judge the rest."1 We shall leave
our readers to decide for themselves whether the views of the
English novelist and panegyrist of Macchiavelli, or those
of the German philosopher, merit best the attention of a
Christian who would study the philosophy of history.
We now come to consider Macchiavelli's most famous work,
" The Prince." It was composed at his country house (or,*
rather cabin, for he himself styles it "tugttrio") of San Cassiano,
about eight miles from Florence, whither he had retired when
the government in whose employ he had been had fallen by
the restoration of the Medici to power in September, 1512. In
this famous composition the author aims at setting forth his
views regarding the different kinds of sovereignties, and the
principles which should regulate the conduct of princes in
governing their states. In the eleven first chapters he treats
(a) of the different kinds of principalities, and the means by
which they are acquired ; (/?) of hereditary principalities ; (y) of
mixed principalities ; (8) how principalities should be governed ;
(() of new principalities acquired by foreign aid or good fortune ;
(£) of those who have attained sovereignty by their crimes ;
(TJ) of civil principalities; (6) of ecclesiastical principalities. In
chapters 12, 13, 14, he treats of military governments, and of
* See " The Philosophy of History," by Frederick Von Schlegel. Lecture xv.
Macchiavelli. 349
the duties of a prince towards his soldiers, and of their duties
in return towards him. From chapter the sixteenth to the end
of the treatise he discusses the various qualities of princes,
and the duties incumbent on them. Such as, " Of liberality and
economy;" (ch. xvi.) "Of cruelty and clemency; and whether
it is better to be loved than feared ;" (ch. xvii.) "Whether princes
ought to be faithful to their engagements;" (ch. xviii.) "That
it is necessary to avoid being hated and despised ; " (ch. xix.)
" Whether fortresses and some other things are really of service
to a prince;" (ch. xx.) "How a prince ought to avoid flatterers;"
(ch. xxi.) " Of ministers ;" (ch. xxii.) " By what means a
prince may become esteemed;" ch. xxiii.) " How far fortune
influences the things of this world ; and how far she may be
resisted ;" (ch. xxv.) "Exhortation to deliver Italy from foreign
princes (ch. xxvi.).
From the headings of the chapters which we have given, it
will be perceived at a glance that the author's purpose when
writing Tlie Prince, was
1. To describe, according to his views, the nature of diffe-
rent governments.
2. To point out how supreme power might be obtained in
a state.
3. To teach by what means the possession of power might
be secured to any particular prince or family.
Before we proceed to treat of Macchiavelli's views on these
subjects, or to discuss the arguments by which he strives to
support them, we must bring one or two preliminary matters
under the notice of our readers.
A question which has given rise to no little controversy is
this : — in writing The Prince, was Macchiavelli sincere ?
Did he really mean that sovereigns should put in practice the
atrocious maxims which he inculcates in that book ? In a
word, was he actuated by good or bad motives when he
deliberately sat down after his game of " Cricca," at San
Cassiano, to pen the pages of The Prince ?
Some writers have maintained that Macchiavelli in writing
" II Principe" was actuated by an excellent motive, viz. — that
of deterring princes from the commission of crime, by paint-
ing it in all its odious deformity. Thus one of his most
warm apologists in the " Elogii Toscani" writes — " If it be
contended that this work is fit for the perusal of all sovereigns,
as well legitimate as usurpers, and that he intended to give
an eulogium on tyranny, he can neither be defended nor
excused. But how can it be thought possible that Mac-
chiavelli, who was born under a Republic, who was employed
as one of its secretaries, who performed so many important
3 5 O A face Ida velli.
embassies, and who in his conversation always dwelt on the
glorious actions of Brutus and Cassius, should have formed
such a design."1 And Lord Bacon2 writes, "Our thanks are
due to Macchiavelli, and to similar writers, who have openly
and without dissimulation, shown us what men are accus-
tomed to do, not what they ought to do."
Now we would be pleased indeed could we only persuade
ourselves that Macchiavelli was actuated by such good
motives, when he composed his " Prince." It is not only per-
mitted, but laudable, nay even sometimes necessary, to paint
vice in its most odious colours, in order to deter men from
committing it. Juvenal is sometimes exceedingly coarse in
describing Roman licentiousness, but any intelligent reader
of his satires can perceive at a glance that he detested those
vices which he so graphically describes. The great Apostle
of the Gentiles in some of his Epistles, more particularly in
that to the Romans, occasionally describes, in rather strong
language, the vices of his age, but he distinctly informs us that
his object in so doing is to rebuke, not to encourage them.
This being premised, we proceed to enunciate two propo-
sitions, of the truth of which we hope to convince our
readers : —
I. — That the motive which Lord Bacon and others attribute
to Macchiavelli in writing The Prince is irreconcilable with
the established canons of criticism.
II. — That in the treatise The Prince, Macchiavelli meant
what he said ; and intended the maxims there laid down to
serve for the guidance of Lorenzo de Medici in his political
conduct. Let us come to proofs.
(a) — If Macchiavelli seriously meant the description of
political profligacy contained in // Principe to excite solely
feelings of horror and disgust, why, we ask, did he not state
so plainly "a limine?" or at least why not give his readers
some clue by which they might discover that such was his
real purpose ? for the relations of mankind, whether domestic,
social, or political, are of too sacred a character to be lightly
trifled with, or treated of in ambiguous terms. Yet, (b) — Mac-
chiavelli not only docs not disavow such principles as those
he inculcates in The Prince, but a tone of emphasis runs
1 Vide Elogii Toscani iii. 89. — The defence set up for Macchiaveli in the lext
is exceedingly weak. His entire life, as detailed in the last " RECORD'," shows that
he could be either a Despot or a Red Republican, just as it suited his interest,
and perhaps the very best answer to the argument given above, can be found in
Macchiavelli's own words. " If I taught princes Jicnu to be tyrants 1 taught the
people hmi> to slay them"
'•* " De augment, sclent. ' vii. In. op. iii. 137.
Macchiavelli. 351
through the entire work which clearly indicates that he entirely
approves of them. Nay more (c) — the principles which he
inculcates in The Prince had been previously advanced in
the Discourses on Livy, and he even sometimes refers to
the Discourses for the further elucidation of the meaning
of some passages in The Prince. Ex. gr., compare the
" Discorsi su Tito Livio," iii. 42, and // Principe, cap. 18, in
both of which identically the same principles are laid down
regarding the question " Whether a Prince ought to be faith-
ful to his engagements." Compare also the " Discorsi," lib.
ii., cap. 13, and // Principe, cap. 18. Now who, we ask,
will be rash enough to assert that the " Discorsi" were not
penned by Macchiavelli in downright sober earnestness ?
(d) — Again, Macchiavelli's intimate friend, Biaggio Buonac-
corsi, in a letter to Pandolfo Bellucci, thus writes of The
Prince: — "I send you a little work lately published by
Niccolo Macchiavelli, in which you will find described with
brevity, but with great clearness, all the qualities incidental
to principalities, the methods of preserving them, the failings
to which they are liable, with accurate observations upon history,
ancient and modern, and many otJicr most useful features, from
all of wJiich, if you read the book with your "wonted attention,
you will derive great benefit"^- From this extract it is quite
evident that Buonaccorsi did not regard Macchiavelli's work
as a satire, but as a bona fide code of instruction for princes ;
and knowing the Florentine statesman intimately as he did,
Buonaccorsi must be at least a tolerable interpreter of his
sentiments.
(e) — But perhaps the most conclusive proof of all, and one
which will, to our mind, incontestibly establish at once both
our propositions, may be drawn from Macchiavelli's dedicatory
epistle to The Prince, addressed to Lorenzo de Medici, and
which, notwithstanding its length, we here subjoin in full,
because of its importance.
" Niccolo Macchiavelli, Citizen and Secretary of Florence, to the
Most Magnificent Lorenzo dc Medici,
" Those who court the favour of princes generally present
them with whatever they possess that is most rare, curious, or
valuable, as horses, armour, embroidered cloths, precious
stones, &c., according to the dignity of the personage they
seek to propitiate. For my part, my anxiety to present my-
self to the notice of your Highness, with the best proof of my
devotion, has not enabled me to discover anything that I
esteem more or account so valuable as a knowledge of the
1 See Baudin. monumcn. ined., in praef. 37.
352 Macchiavelli.
actions of celebrated men — a knowledge acquired by a long
experience of modern times, and a diligent perusal of the
ancients. The observations which I have made with all the
accuracy, reflection, and care of which I am capable, are contained
in the small volume now addressed to you. And although I
have not the vanity to deem it worthy of your acceptance, yet
I feel persuaded that your goodness will not refuse the offer-
ing, since it is impossible to present you with anything more
valuable than a work which will place before you, in a small
compass, all the experience I have acquired during many
years of continual meditation and suffering in the school of
adversity.
" You will find in this fragment, neither a glowing and lofty
style, nor any of those meretricious ornaments, with which
authors seek to embellish their works. Its interest must
depend upon the importance of the subject, the solidity of the
reflexions, and the truth of the facts recorded.
" It will, perhaps, appear presumptuous in me, a man of
humble birth, to propose rules of conduct to those who govern;
but as the painter, when about to sketch a mountain in our
country, places himself in the plain, and in order to draw the
scenery of a vale, ascends an eminence, even so, I conceive,
that a person must be a prince to discover the nature and
character of a people, and one of the people to judge properly
of a prince.
" I am, therefore, bold enough to hope that^w will accept
this feeble tribute, in reference to the intention with which it
is offered ; and if you condescend to read it with attention,
you will have evidence of my ardent desire to see you fill with
glory those high destinies to which fortune and your splendid
talents have called you.
" If, from your elevated position, you should condescend to
look down on a person in my lowly station, you will see how
long and how unworthily I have been persecuted by the
extreme and unrelenting malevolence of fortune.
" NICCOLO MACCHIAVELLI."
Such is the dedicatory epistle prefixed by Macchiavelli to
" The Prince ;" and we unhesitatingly ask any candid reader,
whether, after having perused it, he will not join with us in
asserting that it was the author's object in this treatise, to
teach princes how to acquire and retain power by fair means
or foul, and that he was impelled to its composition by a
desire to ingratiate himself with the Medici family, and
obtain some position under them in the Government of
Florence,
Macchiavelli. 353
We now proceed to examine what those principles are
which Macchiavelli proposes for the adoption of princes^ if
they would secure power, and retain it. They may all be
summed up in this one sentence — THE END JUSTIFIES THE.
MEANS. A prince ought not hesitate to commit the most
heinous crimes — to violate the most sacred promises — to-
trample on the most unequivocal rights — to sanction the
most flagrant injustice, provided power can thereby be
obtained and secured.
Such is an epitome of the principles laid down by Macchia-
velli, for the guidance of princes ; and if we only succeed in
establishing, by extracts from " II Principe" itself, that we
have impartially represented the spirit of that work, we pre-
sume our readers will join with vis in affirming that the name
of Macchiavelli ought to be consigned to eternal infamy. .Let
us come to proofs : —
First of all, in chapter xv. of the Prince we find this
general principle laid down — " A prince who wishes to main fain
his power, ought to learn that he should not be always good, and
must use that knowledge as circumstances and the exigencies of
his own affairs may seem to require" This, we take it, is but
a more explicit form of expressing the idea that the end justifies
tlu means.
Hence, true to this general principle, we find Macchiavelli
advocating : —
(a) Murder and cruelties, of the most atrocious description,
whenever they may serve to work out one's projects. Thus
("The Prince," chapter viii.), after narrating the many murders,
cruelties, and crimes, perpetrated by Agathocles, a Sicilian,
who, in ancient times, usurped the throne of Syracuse, and
similar enormities committed about the time at which he
wrote, by Oliverotto da Fermo, he proceeds to defend both
these monsters, on the ground that their crimes were expedient,
or, as he himself naively puts it, well-applied, and sums up thus:
" Whence I conclude that the usurper of a state should commit
all the cruelties which his safety renders necessary at once, that
he may nc*scr have cause to repeat than."
Again, in the same work (chap, xvii.) we find this very
remarkable" but characteristic passage — "When a prince is at
the head of his army, and has under his command a multitude
of soldiers, he should make little account of being esteemed
cruel ; such a character will be of use to him, by keeping his
troops in obedience, and preventing every species of fac-
tion."
Everyone who has read anything of history is acquainted
with the infamous character of Caesar Borgia. Should any-
354 Macchiavelli.
one wish to read it sketched by a master hand, let him con-
sult the first volume of the Life of Leo X. by Roscoe. Borgia
was simply a lawless bandit, whose hands were red with the
blood of his victims, whose days were spent in murder and
rapine, and whose nights were passed in shameless debauchery.
And yet this is the model which the Florentine secretary
would propose to princes for imitation. Thus, he writes in
chap. vii. of The Prince — " If we examine the whole conduct
of Borgia, we shall see how firm a foundation he laid for
future greatness. This examination will not be superfluous;
for I know no better lesson for the instruction of a prince
than is afforded by the actions and example of the Duke,1 for
if the measures he adopted did not succeed, it was not his
fault, but rather owing to the extreme perversity of fortune!"
And again, .towards the close of the same chapter, he writes —
" Upon a thorough review, therefore, of the Duke's conduct
and actions, I cannot reproach him with having omitted any
precaution ; and I feel that he merits being proposed as a
model to all who by fortune or foreign arms succeed in acquir-
ing sovereignty." Whence it follows, in the judgment of
Macchiavelli, that to be a model prince one must be a model
villain.
(b.) The observance of treaties, good faith, and such matters,
are treated with the greatest contempt by Macchiavelli. He
would have his model prince shun them as a something
defiled. This is how he treats the subject in chap, xviii. of
// Principe — " Now, as a prince must learn to act the part of
a beast sometimes, he should make the fox and the lion his
patterns. The first can but feebly defend himself against the
wolf, and the latter readily falls into such snares as are laid
for him. From the fox, therefore, a prince will learn dexterity
in avoiding snares ; and from the lion, how to employ his
strength to keep the wolves in awe. But they who entirely rely
upon the lion's strength, will not always meet with success ;
in other words, a prudent prince cannot and ought not to keep his
•word, except when he can do it witJiont injury to himself, or
when the circumstances under which lie contracted the engage-
ment still exist." Lest anybody might be inclined to suppose
that this sentence was penned inadvertently by Macchiavelli,
that worthy man proceeds to inform us in the very next para-
graph, that the sentiment just quoted is his deliberate convic-
tion, for he adds, " I should be cautious in inculcating such a
precept if all men were good ; but as the generality of man-
1 Caesar Borgia \cas commonly known among his contemporaries as Duke
Valentino. .
Macchia : r///. 355
kind are wicked and ever ready to break their words, a
prince should not pique himself in keeping his more scrupulously,
especially as it is always easy to justify a breach of faith on his
part"
(c). Cunning is, next to force, the great piece de resistance in
the Macchiavellian system. In the "Discourses on Liyy"
(lib. ii., chap. 13) he writes thus, " I do not think there is a
single instance on record of a man, who, from an obscure station,
arrived at great power by the single means of avowed and
open force ; but I have seen others succeed by cunning alone,
as, for instance, John Galeazzo de Visconti, who wrested the
sovereignty of Lombardy from the hands of his uncle Bernardo.
What princes are obliged to do in the commencement of their
career, republics ought continually to practise until they are
powerful enough to be able to conquer by force alone ; and as
Rome, to aggrandise herself, adopted every method by chance
or choice, she also practised the political system of deception."
Again, in giving instructions to Raphael Girolami on his
appointment as ambassador to the Emperor, Macchiavelli
writes to him thus, " It is undoubtedly necessary for the
ambassador occasionally to mask his game ; but it should be
done so as not to awaken suspicion, and he ought ahvays to be
prepared with an answer in case of 'discovery '." In chap, xviii.
of The Prince we find these remarkable sentences, " I could
show numberless engagements and treaties which have been
violated by the treachery of princes, and that tliosewho enacted
the part of the fox, have always succeeded best in their affairs.
It is necessary, however, to disguise the appearance of craft, and
thoroughly to understand the art of feigning and dissembling;
for men are generally so simple and so weak, that he who wishes
to deceive easily finds dupes."
(d.) Conscience must be a very pliable article in Macchia-
velli's model prince, for in chap, xviii of " // Principe " we find
this doctrine laid down, " I maintain that a prince, and
especially a new prince, cannot with impunity exercise all the
virtues because his own self-preservation will often compel him
to violate the laws of charity, religion and humanity. He should
habituate himself to bend easily to the various circumstances
which may from time to time surround him. In a word, it will be
as useful to him to persevere in the path of rectitude, while he feels
no inconvenience in doing so, as to know how to deinate from it
when circumstances dictate such a course" But though Macchia-
velli would not advise his prince to be over-scrupulous,
yet he counsels him to put on the appearance of piety : and
(e) Hypocrisy must be a leading feature in his character, for
in the xviii. chapter of The Prittce we find this sentence, " He
356 Macchiavelli.
(the Prince) should make it a rule above all things never to utter
anything which does not breathe of kindness, justice, good faith,
and piety — this last quality it is most important for him to appear
to possess, as men in general judge more from appearances tJian
from reality?
We could fill several pages with such extracts, but cuibono?
The specimens which we have given are, we believe, quite suf-
ficient to induct our readers into a knowledge of the code of
political ethics laid down in The Prince, and will serve also to
give some insight into the character of the famous author of
that work. It would be interesting and instructive to review
the practical working of the Macchiavellian system of politics.
This system has been largely adopted by modern statesmen,
and however it may have seemed to prosper for a while, it has
invariably ended in failure. The first French empire had its
Macchiavelli ; everything seemed prosperous for a while, but
the system was radically rotten, and St. Helena can tell the
final result The second French empire followed, to some
extent, in the track of the first, and the exile of Chiselhurst
is in a position to state his views regarding the soundness of
that policy. The rulers of the kingdom of Italy have been
most devoted adherents of the Macchiavellian system, and a
bankrupt exchequer, a discontented population, and a govern-
ment powerless to enforce law at home or respect abroad ,
testify to the success of the experiment. Spain has had her
Macchiavelli, and the anarchy which has distracted that unhappy
country for the past three years, proves that there as else-
where the system has been fraught with evil. Germany has
her Macchiavelli ; to-day she is elated with successes which
surpassed even her most sanguine expectations. But let
her beware, for the day may not be very far distant which
may see the victorious Teutons of 1871, craving peace from
some stronger and equally unscrupulous power. No ! the
political system of Macchiavelli is based on iniquity, and can
bring nought but evil. in its train.
We should extend this paper beyond its just limits were
we to discuss further at present the evils of this policy. We
purpose, however, returning to the subject in our next
number.
W. H.
357
LETTERS OF BALMEZ.
XVII. — THE BEATIFIC VISION.
MY ESTEEMED FRIEND — The concluding words of my last
fetter have induced you, I see, to ask for some explanation
about the beatific vision, because you have never been able,
you say, to form a clear idea of what we understand by this
sovereign felicity. I am undoubtedly glad to have my atten-
tion called to this point, which does not produce in the mind
the painful impressions, with which some of those examined
in other letters afflict us. In a word, felicity is in question,
and this can cause only one unpleasant sensation, viz. : the
fear of not attaining it.
As far as I see, you do not comprehend "how a simple
knowledge can constitute perfect felicity, and yet the
intuitive vision of God can be nothing else. It cannot be
denied the exercise of our intellectual faculties affords us some
enjoyments; but it is also certain that these require the con-
currence of sentiment, without which they are cold and
severe as reason, from which they spring." You wish " that
we, Catholics, would note this characteristic of our mind,
which, though it comes at objects by means of the under-
standing, does not intimately unite itself to them, so as to
produce enjoyment, till sentiment steps in to realise that
mysterious expansion of soul, through which we adhere to the
object perceived, and establish an affectionate compenetra-
tion between it and us." These words of yours are true at
bottom, inasmuch as they require, for the felicity of an
intellectual being, a union of love, besides the intellectual act.
Be the object known what it might, it would never make us
happy if we contemplated it with indifference. I unhesitat-
ingly admit that the soul would never be happy, if on
knowing the object which is to make her so, she did not love
it. Without love there is no felicity.
But though your doctrine is true at bottom, it is applied
very inexactly and inopportunely, when you try to found on
it an argument against the beatific vision, as taught by
Catholics. We make eternal blessedness consist in the
intuitive vision of God ; but we do riot thereby exclude love,
but on the contrary hold that this love is necessarily bound
up with the intuitive vision. And theologians have gone so
far as to dispute whether the essence of blessedness consisted
3 5 8 Letters of Balmes.
in the vision or the love ; but all agree that the latter is a
necessary consequence of the former. It is easily seen it is a
long time since you threw away mystic books and treatises on
religion, when you think to improve the Christian felicity by
that philosophical scntimentalism, which is far from rising to
the pure sphere of the love of charity which Catholics admit,
imperfect in this life, and perfect in the next.
The simple knowledge of which you speak, when treating of
the intuitive vision of God, makes me suspect you do not com-
prehend what we mean by intuitive vision, but confound this
act of the soul with the common exercise of the intellectual
faculties as experienced in this life. Allow me, then, to enter
on some philosophical considerations about the different ways
in which we can know an object.
Our understanding can know in two ways : by intuition, and
by conceptions. We have a knowledge of intuition when the
object is presented immediately to the perceptive faculty,
without necessity for combinations of any sort to complete
the knowledge. In this operation the understanding limits
itself to the contemplation of what is before it : it does not
compose, nor divide, nor abstract, nor apply, nor do anything
but see what it has present. The object, as it is in itself, is given
to it immediately, is presented to it with all clearness ; and
though the operation terminates objectively, and in this sense
exercises the activity of the subject, it also influences the latter,
mastering and investing it with its intimate presence.
Knowledge by conception is of a different nature. The
object is not given immediately to the perceptive faculty:
the latter occupies itself with an idea, which, in a certain way,
is the work of the understanding itself, which has formed it by
combining, dividing, comparing, abstracting, and sometimes
running over the long chain of a complicated and troublesome
process of reasoning.
Though I am sure the profound difference there is between
these two classes of knowledge will not escape your penetra-
tion, still I will render it clear by an example within the
comprehension of the whole world. Intuitive knowledge can be
compared to the sight oi objects : but the knowledge acquired
by conceptions is like the idea we form by means of descrip-
tions. Being a lover of the fine arts, you must have a thousand
times admired the treasures of some museums, and read the
description of others which were not within your reach. Do
you discover no difference between a picture seen and one
described ? Immense, you will tell me. The picture seen
displays its beauty to me at a flash ; I do not require to use
my productive powers, it is enough for me to look ; I do not
Letters of Balmcz. 359
combine, I contemplate ; my mind is rather passive than
active ; and if it exercises its activity in any way, it is to
expand itself constantly under the pleasing impressions it
receives, as plants gently open under the soft influence of
the vivifying atmosphere. In the description, I require to
collect the elements given me, to combine them conformably
to the conditions marked out, and so elaborate the aggregate
of the picture, but imperfectly and incompletely, suspecting
all the time the difference there is between the idea and the
reality — a difference which strikes me instantaneously, as
soon as an opportunity presents itself, of viewing the picture
described.
This example, though inexact, gives us an idea of the dif-
ference there is between these two classes of knowledge, and
shows us the distance between the knowledge and the vision of
God. In the former we have united in one conception the
ideas of a being necessary, intelligent, free, all-powerful, in-
finitely perfect, the cause of all things, and the end of all :
in the latter the divine essence will be immediately presented
to our mind, without comparisons, without combinations, with-
out reasonings of any sort. Intimately present to our under-
standing, it will master and invest it ; the eyes of the soul
cannot be directed to any other object, and then we shall
purely and ineffably experience that affectionate compenctration,
that intimate union of seraphic love, described with such mag-
nificent touches by some of the saints, who, filled with the
divine spirit, felt in this life a presentiment of what they were
soon to experience in the mansions of the blessed.
You must allow me to tell you, I wondered to find you did
not feel the beauty and sublimity of the Catholic dogma con-
cerning the felicity of the saved. Prescinding from all religious
considerations, what can be imagined more grand or elevated
than to constitute supreme happiness in the intuitive vision of
the infinite Being? If this idea had sprung from some philoso-
phical school, there would not be tongues enough to praise
it. The author of it would be the philosopher par excellence,
worthy of apotheosis, and of having incense burned to him
by all lovers of the sublime. The vague idealism of the Ger-
mans— that confused sentiment of the infinite that breathes
in their enigmatical writings — that tendency to confound
everything in a monstrous unity, in an obscure and unknown
being, which is called absolute; all these dreams, all these
ravings, meet with admirers and enthusiasts, and profoundly
move some men's minds, simply because they touch on the
grand ideas of unity and infinity ; and can no claim be laid
to admiration and enthusiasm by the teaching of the Catholic
360 Letters of Balmez.
Church, which, while it represents God as the beginning and
end of all existences, displays him to us in a particular
manner as the object of intellectual creatures, like an ocean
of light and love in which all those shall be submerged who
shall have deserved it by the observance of the laws
that have emanated from His infinite wisdom ? Is not the
august dogma which represents to us all spiritual beings as
drawn from nothing by an all-powerful word, and endowed
with an intellectual spark, the participation and image of the
divine intelligence, through which, while dwelling for a short
time on one of the globes of the universe, they can merit
being united with the Being that created them, and living
afterwards with Him in intimacy of knowledge and love for
all eternity, worthy of admiration and enthusiasm, even if
regarded as a simple philosophical system ?
If this is not grand — if this is not sublime — if this is not
worthy of exciting admiration and enthusiasm, I know not in
what, sublimity and grandeur consist. No philosophical sect —
no religion, has conceived such an idea. It may well be said,
the first words of the catechism contain infinitely more wisdom
than is to be found in the most lofty conceptions of Plato,
surnamed the divine. It is lamentable that you who boast of
being philosophers should treat with levity mysteries so pro-
found. The more one meditates on them the stronger grows
the conviction that they could have emanated from infinite
intelligence alone. In the midst of the shades which surround
them — through the august vales that cover their ineffable
depths from our view, we discover rays of purest light sud-
denly bursting forth and illumining heaven and earth.
During the happy moments in which inspiration descends on
the brow of mortals, treasures of infinite value are discovered
in that which the sceptic disdainfully regards as the miserable
pabulum of superstition and fanaticism. Do not allow your-
self to be mastered, my dear friend, by those low prejudices
which cloud the intellect and clip the wings of the mind ;
meditate profoundly on religious truths : they do not fear ex-
amination, for the harder the proof is to which they are sub-
jected, the more complete is the victory they are certain to
achieve.
I am, &c., &c.,
J. B.
ST. AIDAN, BISHOP AND PATRON OF FERNS.
(Continued.)
the Breac Mocdhog preserves to us the memory of St.
Aidan, so another shrine, called the Soiscel Molaise, has come
down to us a memorial of his friend St. Molaise, of Devenish.
This venerable work of early Irish art, now preserved in the
Royal Irish Academy, derives its name from the Irish word
for gospel (i.e., soiscel, pronounced "seeshkel"), because it
formerly contained a copy of the Gospels, which for centuries
was cherished with religious reverence in the monastery of
Devenish, as written by, or belonging to, their great founder
St. Molaise. " It is a small box or cumdach (writes Miss Stokes),
of yellow mixed metal, such as that made to hold the gospel
of St. Moling, or the Book of Dimma, in Trinity College
Library, Dublin. The date of this reliquary, if so it may be
called, can hardly be of a period later than the close of the
tenth century. The inscription1 which it bears, proves that
it was executed for the use of Cennfailad, who died early in
the eleventh century, as we are told in the Annals of the
Four Masters, A.D. 1025 — ' Cennfaeladh, son of Flaithbhear-
tach, successor of Molaise of Daimhinis, died.'2 The shrine
was preserved by the family of O'Meehan, in the county of
Lcitrim, who for more than 500 years were representatives,
/>., com/iarbas, of St. Molaise in Devenish. Mr. Meehan, so
late as the year 1845, still held the reliquary in his possession.
.... The ornamental portions consist of plates of silver, with
gilt patterns, riveted to the bronze box ..... On one side
of the case is seen a robed ecclesiastical figure, holding
an object, believed by Dr. Petrie to be a pastoral staff of a
very ancient form. Details are revealed, however, by the mag-
nified photograph, which would rather lead us to believe it to
be the aspersory in use in the present day in the service of
the Roman Catholic Church. A book is held in the other
hand. This figure was probably intended to represent St.
Molaise himself. The chasuble worn by this ecclesiastic was
evidently embroidered. The design upon it would appear to
have been palm leaves. The vesture round the neck, giving
1 The old Irish inscription is still legible, and fixes the date of this shrine with
an accuracy which is seldom attainable in the monuments that have come down to
us from the early ages of our Church. It has been thus translated by O'Donovan
and Petrie :— " A prayer for Cennfailad, the comharb of Molaise, by whom this
case was made ; and for Gillabaithin, the artificer who made these ornaments."
1 The Annals of Ulster (ad. an. 10251 give the same entry — " Cennfaeladh, son
of Flaithbertach. successor of Molaise of Devenish, fell asleep in Christ."
VOL. vn. 25
362 S/. Aidan, Bishop and Patron of Ferns.
the appearance of a collar cut in Vandykes, is also interesting,
and unlike anything we have hitherto seen."1
In the life of St. Molaise, it is recorded that though himself
wholly devoted to deeds of self-denial and penance, yet he was
generous to others, and lavish of hospitality to the pilgrims
who flocked to his monastery. Hence, St. Cuimin, of Connor,
wrote of him : —
" Molaise of the lakes loves
To be in a prison of hard stone ;
To have a guest-house for the men of Erinn,
Without refusal, without a particle of churlishness."
Among those many pilgrims were the sons of Declan, who,
being requested by St. Molaise to write a copy of the Gospels
for him, executed that task in the space of two days and one
night, the night being illumined as though it were day through
the grace of the saint.2 Some have supposed that this is
the copy of the Gospels which was handed down in the
monastery of Devenish, and from which the Soiscel Molaise
derives its name.
There is, however, another missal, or portable copy of the
Gospels, referred to in the life of the Saint, which seems to be
pointed out by the ancient compiler as the MS. which was
thus held in special veneration at Devenish. St. Molaise
arriving in Rome, the city gates, which happened to be closed
at the time, were opened at his prayer. It soon reached the
ears of the Pontiff that " a wonderful holy cleric of the
Gaedhil had arrived." St. Molaise was accordingly summoned
to the presence " of the Abbot of Rome," who welcomed
him and invited him " to say a Mass in presence of the whole
community of Rome." At the appointed time St. Molaise
proceeded "to the great altar of Peter in Rome (thus runs
the narrative in the ancient life) : the altar was prepared in his
presence, but no Mass-book was upon it, and no cruisce* and
no bell. Molaise having meditated for awhile, said tjiat he
never celebrated Mass without these three things ; and forth-
with they were sent from heaven upon the altar through his
prayers ; the Mass-book was not large, and was subsequently
called the soiscel, and it alone of the three articles Molaise
consented to accept of after he had completed the office.
1 Stokes, "On two Works of Ancient Irish Art, &c." See page 18.
* MS. Irish Life of St. Molaise, in Royal Irish Academy.
* I retain the original Irish word, as its meaning has not been as yet clearly
denned. Mr. Ilennessy translates \tgoblet, in which sense it might, perhaps, in-
dicate a chalice ; but it seems to me rather to correspond with the Latin crux, and
to mean a crucifix.
S/. Aidan, Bishop and Patron of Ferns. 363
Molaise said he would only have the soiscel bcc (i.e., the small
book of the Gospels), whereupon the Pope said soiscel bee
shall be its name, and therefore it is called the soiscel bcc of
Molaise. He remained in Rome, and wrote there the rules
and laws that were necessary for Erinn. On his return home
he found before him the bell and cruisce ; and, though thrice
he sent them back to Rome, they were each time miraculously
returned to him. Some of the relics that he brought from
Rome were deposited in the little rdig (t.e., cemetery) of
Devenish, to which, in consequence, great privileges were
attached."1
As the year 571 is the latest date that can be assigned for the
death of St. Molaise,2 we may safely assert that his journey
to Rome, and his visit to St. Aidan, and consequently the
foundation of St. Aidan's religious establishment in Ferns,
must be registered in the Pontificate of Pope John the Third,8
and not later than 570.
Ferns had long been one of the royal seats of the Kings of
Leinster ; and when St. Aidan founded his religious establish-
ment there, he received from these devoted princes every aid
in his mission of piety and charity. Colman, son of Cairbre,
King of Leinster, died in 576, and was succeeded by Bran-
dubh, son of Eathach, of the race of Cathair-Mor, who during
his long reign of 28 years, proved himself the constant friend
and patron of our saint. In 593 Leinster was invaded by
Cumasgach, son of the Monarch of Ireland, who, without
receiving any provocation, ravaged the territory around
Baltinglass (where Brandubh then resided) : he, however, was
soon put to flight, and, near the Church of Kill-Rannairech,*
was slain by the adherents of the Leinster King. The armies
of Ulster were at once mustered to avenge the death of
Cumasgach, and being led in person by the Monarch himself,
threatened to lay waste the whole of Leinster. It was on this
occasion that St. Aidan encouraged Brandubh to go forth
fearlessly to repel the unjust invasion. As we read in his
ancient life,5 he said to the king, " many saints have served
1 M.S. Irish Life in Royal Irish Academy.
1 The Annals of Ulster, ad an. 563, have the entry "The death of Laisre of
Damhinis," but, ad an. 570, they give a second entry, " or in this year the repose of
Molnisse of Daimhinis." Daimhinis, in Latin Bovhim insvla. is situated in
Ixnigh Erne, near Knni-killen. and is still rcm rkable for its Round Tower. St.
Molaise. founder of this monastery, was son of Nadfraich, and his festival is kept
on 1 2th September.
* Pope John III. sat in the chair of St Peter, from A.D. 560 to 573.
4 (.'Ui-tianitaircck, now Kilranelagh, is situate near Baltinglass, in the county
of \Vicklow.
* '• Ait vir Dei : multi sancti servierunt Domino in term vestra ; ite vos
forti animo ad certamen et nos omncs ibi eiimus vobiscum." Vita, cap 60.
364 St. Aidan, Bis/top and Patron of Ferns.
God faithfully in thy territory ; go forth, therefore, coura-
geously to battle, and we will all be there in spirit to aid thee
with our prayers in the combat ;" and the life adds, that
throughout all that night, St Aidan continued at his church
in prayer, imploring, with arms stretched out, the blessing
of God on Brandubh. The decisive battle was fought in
498, at Dunbolg (i.e. Fort of tfte sacks}, which is described as
situated south of Hollywood, and not far from the Church
of Kil-belat (now Kilbaylet), near Donard, in the county
Wicklow. The victory of Brandubh was complete, and the
monarch Aedh himself, with many of his chieftains, was slain.
The ancient tract called the Borumlia-Laighean, tells us that
when the northern army had advanced as far as Baltinglass,
St. Aidan, who was half-brother of the monarch Aedh, went
forward in the name of Brandubh to solicit an armistice that, in
the mean time, the terms of peace might be arranged ; he how-
ever was treated with insult by Aedh, wherefore departing from
the hostile camp, he prophesied the ruin and death which should
soon be the lot of the ill-fated monarch. The same tale also
relates that it was our saint who planned the stratagem to
which Brandubh was indebted for his victory. Three thousand
six hundred oxen, carrying provision hampers in which
armed men were concealed, were conducted towards the place
where the troops of Aedh were encamped ; they were at once
seized and driven within the camp, when the armed men, at
a given signal, threw off their disguise, and gained an easy
victory over their astonished enemy. All this time Aidan was
in the church absorbed in prayer, and more to his interces-
sion than to the valour of the troops, Brandubh ascribed his
brilliant success. A poem was composed on this occasion by
St. Aidan, of which the first strophe is preserved in the Annals
of the Four Masters: —
" I implore the powerful Lord : near Cill-Rannairech
It was he that took revenge of Comasach, and slew Aedh
Mac Ainmirech."
It was on this occasion that the king bestowed upon St.
Aidan the royal seat of Ferns, its banqueting halls and
champions' apartments, its woods and hunting grounds and
other lands, all to be devoted to the service of God. A coun-
cil of the bishops and chieftains of Leinster was also convened,
by whom it was unanimously resolved that the archiepiscopate
of Leinster should thenceforth be held by Aidan and his
successors.
Such an election by the bishops of Leinster was quite
.SV. Aidan, Bishop and Patron of Ferns. 365
in accordance with the disciplinary code that prevailed at
this early period in the Irish Church. As yet, none of
our metropolitan sees had been definitively fixed by Rome,
but it was deemed expedient, not to say necessary, for the
maintenance of discipline, and for the observance of the
canonical decrees, that in each province there should be
at least one bishop enjoying pre-eminence, and invested with
quasi-metropolitical jurisdiction. The MS. "Liber Canonum"
drawn up as an ecclesiastical code of laws for Ireland before
the year 700, expressly sanctions such an election of a metro-
politan by the decree of his brother bishops, and it cannot
surprise us if, as in the case of St. Aidan, the bishops of the
province should be desirous to have their decree sanctioned
and confirmed by the temporal authority.
On one occasion, when returning with an immense booty
from the northern districts of Ireland, Brandubh was met by a
poor leper who asked an alms for the love of God. The king
at once bestowed on him a good milch cow, and recommended
himself to the prayers of the poor man. Soon after, being
encamped on the banks of the Slaney, he was seized with a
grievous malady, and seemed, in a vision, to be carried down
to the very gates of hell. All the demons were assembled
there awaiting their prey, and one fiery dragon rushed forth
to devour him. At that moment a comely and joyous priest
cast between the dragon and the king the cow which had been
bestowed on the poor leper ; and, when a second time the
dragon rushed on towards the king, the same priest smote the
dragon with his staff and put him to flight. The king narrated
this vision to his attendants, and recovering somewhat,
proceeded to a place called Inver-Graimchin, where again
his illness increased. There he was reminded by his attend-
ants of the many miracles performed by Aidan, and how
water blessed by him restored many that were sick to perfect
health. Wherefore, Brandubh set out to visit the saint, and
meeting him near the monastery, cried out, this is the holy
priest whom I saw in my vision saving me from the dragon
that would devour me ; and prostrating himself before Aidan,
he confessed his evil deeds and prayed him to impose a salu-
tary penance for the blessing of his soul. At the prayers of
the saint his bodily health was also restored to him, and then
the king gave to Aidan many presents for the poor, and
decreed that himself and his race should be interred in the
monastery of Aidan. The ancient writer adds : " to this day
Brandubh and his descendants arc interred in Ferns."
One of the tributary chiefs of Leinster, named Saran,
jealous of the power of Brandubh, and availing himself of the
366 St. Aidan, Bishop and Patron of Ferns.
free access to his presence permitted by that monarch, assassi-
nated him in his royal residence. Thus, adds the chronicler,
was the pious king cut off without confession, and without the
divine viaticum. St. Aidan hearing this, was filled with grief,
and, weeping, foretold that the hand would wither which had
thus murdered " the defender of the churches of the kingdom,
and the protector of the widow and the poor." The prophecy
was fulfilled : and St. Aidan coming to the place where the
deceased king lay, offered fervent prayers, and by the power
of God restored him to life. But the king said : " I pray thee,
father, do not detain me on earth, if through thy prayers the
gates of heaven may be now open to me." The saint was
rejoiced at these pious dispositions of Brandubh, and the
holy viaticum being administered, and prayers being said, the
king once more closed his eyes in peace, and his remains were
interred in the cemetery at the monastery of Aidan.1 As for
the murderer, seeing what had happened, he was moved with
sorrow for his wicked deeds, and coming to the sepulchre of
Brandubh, led there a most penitential life in fasting and
assiduous watching, till at length he heard a voice from the
tomb saying : O, Saran ! thou hast obtained mercy from God.
He passed the remainder of his life in holiness, but the
prophecy of Aidan was verified, that his right arm should be
lifeless and withered till his death.
When St. Aidan proposed to build his chief monastery at
Ferns, many of his disciples complained that there was no
spring of water there to serve for their drink. But the saint
directed them to cut down a tree which overshadowed the
spot on which they stood, assuring them that they would find
there an abundant supply of water. They did so, and a clear
fountain gushed forth, which retains to this day the name of
Tubber-Mogue, i.e., the fountain of St. Aidan. It was whilst
engaged in building this monastery of Ferns, that another
miracle was performed by our saint, which continued long to
exercise a salutary influence on the Ecclesiastical architecture
of the nation. A church was to be erected, thus writes the
ancient chronicler, but no builder could be found to guide
the religious brethren in this work — wherefore, full of con-
fidence in God, St. Aiclan blessed the hands of an untutored
man named Gobban ;2 from that moment he became most
1 " Et tune, accepto sacrificio, et facta orationeet data indulgentia, Rex Brandubh
ad coelum migravit, ct sepultus est honorifice in coemeterio Sancti Moedoc, quod est
in civitate sua Fearna, uU genus ejus, reges Laginiensium, semper sepeliuntur."
Vita, cap. 47.
* "Confidens in Deo bcnedixit nianus cujusdam ineruditi, nomine Gobbanus,
et statim subtilissimus artifex est factus : postea summa arte 411am Basilicam
acdificavit." Vita, cap. 51.
St. Aidan, Bishop and Patron of Ferns. 367
skilled in all the intricacies of the art, and was able, in a
most perfect manner, to complete the church of the monastery.
His skill was subsequently shown in the erection of many other
famous churches and monasteries, and he is known in the
ancient historic tales and legendary poems of our island, as
Goban Saer, i.e., " Goban the builder." What was of still more
importance, he combined sanctity with his architectural skill :
his name is entered in our calendars among the saints of
our early church, and it is, probably, from him that Cill-
Gobban, now Kilgobbin, near Dundrum, in the county of
Dublin, derives its name.
Theerectionof someof the most ancient of the Round Towers
and other stone buildings of our island, is traditionally refer-
red to this disciple of St. Aidan. A few passages from
Petrie's Round Towers will serve to convince the reader of
the important place held by St. Gobban Saer in the traditions
of our early Church : — " The great church of Kilmacduagh,"
he says, "was erected about the year 610, for St. Colman
Mac Duach, by his kinsman, Guaire Aidhne, King of Con-
naught : and the perfect similarity of the masonry of the tower
to that of the original portions of the great church, leaves no
doubt of their being cotemporaneous structures. In the
popular traditions of the country, the erection of both is
assigned to the Gobban Saer, and these traditions are not
falsified by being at variance with the known period at which
he flourished. The doorway of the tower of Glendalough
has a perfect similarity of form and style of construction to
that of the tower of Kilmacduagh ; and it is not unlikely that
both are the work of the same eminent builder with whose era
the erection of the great church of Glendalough would very
well synchronise. . . . It is remarkable, that though the
foundation of the church of Antrim is ascribed, perhaps
erroneously, to St. Mochaoi, a cotemporary of St. Patrick,
who died, according to the Irish annalists, in the year 496, the
popular tradition of the country ascribes the erection of the
tower to the celebrated builder called Gobban Saer, who
flourished in the seventh century."1 Again : " Nor can I
think the popular tradition of the country is of little value,
which ascribes the erection of several of the existing towers to
the celebrated architect, Gobban Saer, who flourished early in
the seventh century ; for it is remarkable that such a tradition
never exists in connection with any towers but those in which
the architecture is in perfect harmony with the churches of
that period, as in the towers of Kilmacduagh, Killala, and
1 Petrif, " Round Towers," pp. 400 and 399.
368 St. AiJan, Bishop and Patron of Ferns.
Antrim. And it is further remarkable, that the age assigned
to the first buildings at Kilmacduagh, about the year 620, is
exactly that in which this celebrated Irish architect flourished.
It is equally remarkable, that though the reputation of this
architect is preserved in all parts of the island in which the
Irish language is still spoken, yet the erection of the oldest
buildings in certain districts in the south and west of Ireland
is never ascribed to him, the tradition of these districts being,
that he never visited or was employed on buildings south-
west of Galway, or south-west of Tipperary."1
One of the principal churches or oratories for which Ire-
land was indebted to Gobban Saer was that erected at Tigh-
Moling, now St. Mullin's, by St. Moling, successor of St.
Aidan. I shall have occasion hereafter to speak more at
length of this oratory. Dr. Petrie having made mention of it,
adds : " its artificer was the celebrated St. Gobban, whose
reputation as a builder, under the appellation of Gobban
Saer, is still so vividly preserved in the traditions of most
parts of Ireland, and of whom, in the ancient Life of St.
Abban, as published by Colgan, it is prophetically said, that
his fame, as a builder in wood as well as stone, will exist in
Ireland to the end of time."2 The ancient Irish Life of St.
Abban makes known to us another great church in Leinster,
constructed by the miraculous architect, Gobban Saer. This
saint, it says, had travelled much in Munster and Connaught,
and founded many churches in these provinces ; at length he
returned to his native province of Leinster, and decided on
settling down for the future. "There was a distinguished
builder (it thus continues), residing not far from St. Abban,
and Gobban was his name ; and it was his constant occupation
to do the work of the saints in every place in which they
were, until at length he lost his sight. St. Abban went to
him to ask him to build a church for him. Gobban told him
that it was not possible, because of his being blind. St.
Abban said to him, you shall get your sight while you are
doing the work, and it shall go from you again when you
have finished the work : and so it was done, and the name of
God, and of St. Abban, were magnified by this."3 Eugene
O'Curry conjectures that the church thus erected by St. Gobban,
was situated in the eastern part of the Queen's County, in
the barony of Ballyadams, and on the very boundary of Kil-
1 Petrie, " Round Towers," page 343.
* Ibid. , page 343. " Quidam famosissimus in omni arte lignorum et lapidum
erat in Hibernia nomine Gobbanus, cujus artis fama usque in finem saeculi erit
in ea." Colgan, ' Acta,' page 619.
* C? Curry, ' Lectures,' new series, vol. 2nd, page 44.
St. A it /an, Bis/top and Patron of Ferns. 369
dare, where there is a church and parish still called Kill-
abban, i.e., the church of St.Abban.
Before closing this notice of St. Cobban, I may mention
that in the distant monastery of St. Paul, in Carinthia, a
manuscript of the eighth century preserves a poem in his
praise. After mentioning Tttaim Inver, " full-flowing with
delicious food for noble feasting," it adds : —
" It was Cobban that erected there
A black house of penance, and a tower :
It was through belief in the God of Heaven,
That the choicest towers were built.
The house of the territory of Feara Flccodh
The sanctuary of the Virgin * he built :
Sweeter than the food of the garden,
Is the reward in the portico of Heaven."2
St. Cobban Saer is often, too, commemorated in the poetic
legendary tales of our Celtic Bards. Dr. Petrie was over
credulous, however, when he received as sober facts, the state-
ments of these legends: many of them are nothing more than
tales of fiction ; and Eugene O'Curry, with wise discrimination,
in his last volume of Lectures, considers that the only historic
conclusions which may be deduced from them are the follow-
ing : 1st, that his father's name was Ttiirbhi : 2nd, that his
family territory was situate on the sea coast, between the
River Boyne and the Liffcy : 3rd, that through Teige, the son
of Cian, he was descended from the celebrated Munster King,
Oilioll Oluim. " This Teige, in the third century, settled in
the territory which runs along the coast from the Boind, i.e. the
River Boyne, to the River Liflfey, where his descendants con-
tinued to rule as chiefs, until supplanted by the Danes in the
ninth century ; and their chief descendants were, in latter
times, represented in the family of MacCormack"
1 »>., The Blessed Virgin, Mother of God. It is in a similar manner that the
early Irish writers continually designate our Saviour as " The Sott of the Virgin.'1
1 See the Original Text in Curry's " Lectures," loc. cit. page 46.
370
ON THE INDULGENCES OF THE ROSARY.
Ti
HE following questions have been proposed by a respected
correspondent. We have much pleasure in answering them,
and also in complying with the suggestion which he makes
in his letter.
" Is it necessary to meditate on the mysteries in order to
gain the indulgences of the Rosary? I am, of course, aware
that the necessity of this meditation is laid down in almost
all popular works of instruction on the subject, and that a
decree of the Sacred Congregation, dated August I2th, 1726,
is usually quoted in support of the statement. Yet it seems
difficult to reconcile it with the manner in which these indul-
gences are mentioned in the official Elcnchus Indidgentianun,
a copy of which is now sent from Rome to every priest who re-
ceives power to bless the rosary beads.1 In that document, which
must, of course, be regarded as having the highest authority
on this subject, it is distinctly set forth that the Indulgences
may be gained by those who recite the Rosary, just as in a
subsequent clause it is stated that certain other Indulgences
may be gained by those who recite certain other prayers which
are specified — for instance, the Seven Penitential Psalms, the
Angtlns Domini, &c.
" In both clauses, the recitation of prayers is mentioned as
sufficient for gaining the Indulgences. It is, undoubtedly, suf-
ficient in the latter case. Is it not hard to suppose that
in the case of the Rosary, other works of devotion are required
in addition to it — certain acts of meditation to which the
Elenclius does not make the slightest reference ? Should
we not rather suppose that the earlier decree has been abro-
gated by the publication of the Elenchus f
" Another difficulty. According to several decrees, the beads
must be kept in the hands of the person who says the Rosary,
each prayer being recited on its corresponding bead. Now
this is plainly at variance with the words of the Elenchus,
according to which the Indulgences are granted to those who
recite the prayers — 'Vel secum deferendo coronam, vel si
quis secum non habeat, eandem in cubiculo vel alio decenti
loco suae habitationis retinere et coram eis preccs recitare
debebit.' Which of these authoritative instructions is to be
followed ?"
1 Indulgentiae qua* Summus Pontiftx vel ab eo delegatus btnetiicendo Coronet
Kosarias, &c. impertitur Christ ifidelibtu. Romac, 1 866.
On the Indulgences of the Rosary. 371
Our correspondent, who considers that " there is scarcely
one of the conditions usually set forth in books of instruction
on the Rosary, regarding which it would not be easy to quote
similar instances of decrees, at least apparently at variance
with each other," concludes by suggesting that " an explana-
tion of the various instructions and decisions relating to the
Rosary, and a full statement of the conditions necessary for
gaining the Indulgences attached to it would be both useful
and interesting to many readers of the IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL
RECORD."
The special difficulties mentioned by our correspondent
arise from his having overlooked the distinction between the
various classes of Indulgences granted to those who practise
this devotion ; and to the same cause, no doubt, may be
ascribed most of the other difficulties to which he refers. For
there are several distinct sets of these Indulgences, regarding
each of which the Sovereign Pontiffs and the Sacred Congre-
gation have issued special decrees, prescribing the conditions
to be observed in each instance. And in almost every case
it will be found that when these decrees differ in respect to
the conditions prescribed, they are not in reality at variance
with each other, but have reference to different classes of
indulgences.
In order, then, to determine how any of the Rosary Indul-
gences is to be gained, it is obviously necessary to ascertain
the class to which it belongs. And since this distinction,
notwithstanding its manifest importance, is frequently un-
noticed, and is rarely stated with sufficient prominence in
popular works of instruction on the Rosary, it may be desira-
ble, in the first instance, to enumerate all the Indulgences
attached to this devotion, distinguishing the classes to which
they belong, before proceeding, in compliance with the
suggestion of our correspondent, to explain the conditions
necessary for gaining them.
The Indulgences, then, which maybe gained by the recita-
tion of the Rosary are of six classes — (i) the Dominican, (2)
the Brigittine Indulgences, (3) the Indulgences called Apos-
tolic, (4) the Indulgence of the Vatican Council, (5) the Indul-
gences of the Confraternity, and (6) those of the Living
Rosary.
I. The Dominican Indulgences. These are usually referred
to when the Indulgences of the Rosary are mentioned without
any qualification. They are as follows: —
372
On the Indulgences of the Rosary.
DOMINICAN INDULGENCES.
Indulgence
Granted by
To those who
Can be gained
on the usual
conditions
i. PLENARY
Benedict XIII.,
Say five decades, once each
Once a year,
1 3th April, 1726
day, for a year. I on any day.
2. PLENARY
Pius IX.,
Not being members ofOnceamonth.
1 2th May, 1851
the Confraternity of the
on the last
Rosary, are in the habit
Sunday.
of joining in the recita-
tion of five decades at
least three times a week.
3. PARTIAL — 100 days
Benedict XIII.,
Say five decades.
Each time of
for each Our Father,
1 3th April, 1726
recitation.
and for each Hail Mary
4. PARTIAL — 10 years
Pius IX.,
Join in saying five decades.
Each time of
and 10 quarantines
1 2th May, 1851
recitation.
It will be observed that whilst the partial Indulgences (3)
and (4) can be gained by a person who says the Rosary even
once, the habitual recitation of it is necessary for gaining the
plenary Indulgences (i) and (2). For the first of these, granted
by Benedict XIII., the Rosary must be said every day. The
second, granted by his present Holiness, can be gained by
those who are in the habit of saying it three times a week —
"qui ter saltern in qualibet hebdomada .... recitare pro
more habuerint."1
There is also an important difference between the Indul-
gences granted by Pius IX. and those of earlier date. In the
Brief of Benedict XIII., granting the Indulgences (i) and (3),
no special manner of saying the Rosary is prescribed ; but to
gain the Indulgences (2) and (4) of Pius IX., at least two
persons must join in reciting it: the words of the Decree are —
" Christifidelibus .... qui conjunction recitaverint."2 It is
hardly out of place to notice here a slight inaccuracy in the
manner in which this condition is stated in the Raccolta, where
those Indulgences are said to have been granted to those
" who in company with others recite," &c. — an expression
which plainly implies that they are not gained when only
two persons say the Rosary together.3 Yet this case is,
undoubtedly, included in the words already quoted from the
Decree by which the Indulgences were granted.
1 Decret. S. C. Indulg. Urbis et Orbis (12 Maii, 1851). * Ibid.
* In the original Italian the words are " in unione di altri Fedrli" "in unionc
di altri" Raccolta di Orazioni e Pie opere, ecc., p. 160, Komae, 1855.
On tlu Indulgences of the Rosary.
373
Another difference between the terms of the Decree and
of the statement in the Raccolta occurs in reference to the
Plenary Indulgence (2) granted by his present Holiness.
According to the Raccolta it is available for all the faithful ;
but the concession, in the original Decree, is expressly
limited to persons who are not members of the Confraternity
of the Rosary: — "lis fidelibus" are the words of the Decree,
" Sodalitati haud adscriptis."1
Finally, it may be useful to observe, in reference to the
partial Indulgence (4), that its extent is incorrectly stated in
the English translation of the Raccolta.2
II. The Brigittine Indulgences, deriving their name from
that of the Swedish Saint Birgitta, who devised the peculiar
form of Chaplet, to which they were originally attached. They
are as follows : —
BRIGITTINE INDULGENCES.
Indulgence
i. PLENARY
a. PLENARY
3. PLENARY
4. PLENARY
5. PARTIAL — 100 days
for each Our Father
and each Hail Mary.
Also 100 days for the
Creed when it is said.
6. PARTIAL — Seven
years and seven quar-
antines.
Clement XI., Say at least five decades Once
22nd Sept., 1714 once every day for a year
Benedict XIV.,
1 5th Jan., 1743.
Granted by
To those who
Can be gained
on the usual
conditions
Are in the habit of
five decades once a week
At the hour
of death.
Are in the habit of saying Once a month
five decades every day.
Leo X.,
ioth July, 1515.
ying O
Say at least five decades.
Say the whole Rosary of Each
fifteen decades.
a year,
on any day.
)n the Feast
of Saint
Bridget (8th
Oct).
Each time of
recitation.
time of
recitation.
It may not be out of place to mention here three partial In-
dulgences, granted by Benedict XIV. (January i$th, 1743),
1 The words of the Raccolta are "A quelli chi avranno il pio costume di
recitare," Ibid., p. 150. No reference is made to the important limitation mentioned
above.
" The present Sovereign Pontiff, by a decree dated May I2th, 1851, granted an
Indulgence of sei'tn years and seven quarantines," &c. The Raccolta. Authorised
translation. London, 1857. The same error is reproduced in the later editions of
this work. In the Italian text of the Raccolta, uie Indulgence is correctly des-
cribed— " Di dieci anni ed. altrettante quarantcne."
374
On tiie Indulgences of tlu Rosary.
which do not require the recitation of the Rosary, but can be
gained by persons who perform certain other works of piety,
'whilst carrying the Brigittine Beads. They are : —
I. — An Indulgence of forty days to all who, at the tolling
of the bell for a passing soul, kneel and pray for that soul.
2. — Twenty days to all who, being truly sorry for their sins,
make an examination of conscience, and say three times the
Our Father and Hail Mary.
3. — A hundred days to all who hear Mass (feast-day or feria) :
or assist at a sermon : or accompany the viaticum : or bring
back a sinner to the way of salvation : or do any other good
work in honour of our Lord, the Blessed Virgin, or St. Bridget,
provided that they also say three times the Our Father and
Hail Mary.
III. The Indulgences, usually called Apostolic. These are
enumerated in the official Elenchus to which our correspon-
dent refers. They are: —
APOSTOLIC INDULGENCES.
Indulgence
Granted to those who
Ca H be gained on
i. PLENARY
Say five decades at
least once a week.
(l) Christmas Day, (2) The Epiphany,
(3) Easter Sunday, (4) Ascension
Thursday, (5) Whit Sunday, (6)
Trinity Sunday, (7) Corpus Christi.
(8) The Immaculate Conception1 of
B. V. M., (9) Her Purification, (10)
the Annunciation, (ll) Her Assump-
tion, (12) Her Nativity. (13) The
Nativity of St. John the Baptist. The
Feasts of the Apostles — namely, (14)
SS. Peter and Paul. 2gth June; (1$)
St. Andrew, 3Oth Nov. ; (16) St.
James, 25th July; (17) St. John,
27th Dec. ; (18) St. Thomas, 2ist
Dec. ; (19) SS. Philip and James,
1st May ; (20) St. Bartholomew,
24th Aug. ; (21) St. Mathew, 2lst
Sept. ; (22) SS. Simon and
Jude, 28th Oct ; (23) St. Matthias,
24th or 25th Feb. ; (24) the
Feast of St. Joseph, igth March, and
(25) of All Saints, ist Nov.
1 This festival is not mentioned by Bouvier in his enumeration of these Indul-
gences. The omission arose fr-. m his having followed the Elenchus of Benedict
XIV., which differed in this respect from those recently published. See, for
instance, the Elenchus in Mgr. Prinzivalli's Authentic Collection, and in the
Raccolta. In the English translation of the Raccolta, the list is. strange to say,
given in its older form : the same error occurs in the Directory of fyly
by the Rev. M. Comerford (Dublin, 1870).
On the Indulgences of tfa Rosary.
A I'OSTOLIC INDULGENCES— continued.
375
Indulgence
Granted to those who
•
Can be gained on
2. PARTIAL — Seven Say five decades on On the day of recitation,
years, and seven any other Feast of
quarantines
our Lord or of the
Blessed Virgin.
PARTIAL — Five Say five decades on
years, and fivei any other Feast-day
quarantines
4. PARTIAL —
days
5. PARTIAL —
days
or Sunday through
out the year.
100 Say five decades
any other day.
lOoAre in the habit of On the day of recitation,
saying five decades,
at least once a week.
On the day of recitation.
on On the day of recitation.
An important difference, not unfrequently overlooked, exists
between these Indulgences and those previously enumerated.
The Dominican, and most of the Brigittine Indulgences, are
granted specially in favour of those who practise the devotion
of the Rosary. Not so in this case. The Rosary is merely
one of several works of piety, enumerated in the Elcncluis,
and the Indulgences may be gained by the performance of any
of these, as well as by saying the Rosary. The terms of the
concession are: — "A Plenary Indulgence to all those who recite
— at least once each week — the Rosary or a third part of it,
or the Divine Office, or the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin,
or the Office for the Dead, or the Penitential or Gradual
Psalms, or who are in the habit of teaching the catechism, or
of visiting prisoners or the sick in an hospital, or of helping the
poor, or of hearing Mass, or (in the case of priests) of saying
Mass," etc.
The Partial Indulgences (2) (3) and (4), can also be gained
by those who perform any of those .good works. But the
clauses regarding the other Partial Indulgence ($) are some-
what different. It is granted " to those who are in the habit of
saying at least once a week the Chaplet, or the Office of the
Blessed Virgin, or the Office of the Dead, or the Vespers,
or one of the Nocturns, together with Lauds, or who s/tall
say the Seven Penitential Psalms, with the Litanies and
Prayers."
IV. The Indulgence of the Council. This is a Plenary In-
dulgence granted by His Holiness, on the 3rd of December,
1869. It can be gained once a week, until the close of the
376 On tlie Indulgences of tJie Rosary.
Vatican Council, by all the faithful " who shall recite daily at
least five decades of the Rosary, and who, being truly penitent,
and having gone to confession and communion, shall make
one visit in the same week to any church or public oratory, and
there pray devoutly for the happy issue of the Council, and in
accordance with the Pope's intention."1
V. The Indulgences of the Confraternity of the Rosary, the
enumeration of which may be reserved until the conditions
necessary for gaining the other Indulgences already enumer-
ated, have been explained.
VI. The Indulgences of the Living Rosary granted by
Gregory XVI.2 It may be well to observe, that some doubts
which have been raised as to the authenticity of these Indul-
gences, are altogether devoid of foundation. Those doubts were
proposed some years ago by a Dominican Father Pradel, in
a work published with the approbation of the Master-General
of the Order of Preachers.3 But the reasons which he puts
forward, are exceedingly frivolous. He argues, for instance,
that the authenticity of the Bull of Pope Gregory XVI. can-
not be admitted, since it was not recognised by the Sacred
Congregation of Indulgences ! And again, that the Living
Rosary falls under the prohibition of Benedict XIV., who
forbade the introduction of other forms of the Rosary : —
" Caetera quaecunque rosaria de novo invenienda :" — a diffi-
culty which is completely removed by the subsequent clause,
in which the prohibition is restricted to the unautJiorizcd
introduction of such devotions — " invenienda, sine apostolicae
scdis facilitate"*
A more plausible ground for doubting the existence of those
Indulgences might, perhaps, have been found in the fact that
they were not mentioned in the Raccolta, or in the authentic
collections of Monsignore Prinzivalli and of Father Maurel. But
their authenticity is now established beyond controversy, as
they are inserted in the Appendix to the Raccolta, published
under the express sanction of the Sacred Congregation of
Indulgences.6
1 Breve Apost. Egregii (3 Dec., 1869). See IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD,
vol. vi., No. Ixvi., March, 1870, page 284.
1 Continuatio Bullarii Romani. Brev. Apost. Benedicentes Domino. Greg. XVI.
(27 Jan. 1832.)
3 Manuel du tres saint Kosaire, par R. P. Pradel. Paris, 1862.
4 Some further information on this point will be found in a very useful manual,
The Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by the Rev. John Ryan, D.D., Dublin,
1866.
* " Indulgentiae quae in appendice . . . concessae inscribuntuj . . . cum authen-
ticis documentis concordare repertae sunt." Deer. S. C. Indulg. (8 Maii, 1865.)
On thf Indulgences of tlu Rosary.
377
They are as follows, in addition to all the Indulgences which
were granted by the predecessors of Gregory XVI. for the
recitation of the Rosary : — J
INDULGENCES OF THE LIVING ROSARY.
Indulgence
Granted to those who
» Can be gained
i. PLENARY
2. PLENARY
Are enrolled in the As-
sociation, observing the
'prescribed conditions.
Once — On the first festival after
the day of enrolment.
Say
been assigned to them,
unless hindered by some
reasonable cause.
3. PLENARY
the decade which has On the Feasts of Our Lord's Na-
tivity, Circumcision, Epiphany,
Resurrection, and Ascension ;
Corpus Christi, Pentecost Sun-
day, Trinity Sunday ; all the
Feasts of the Blessed Virgin ;
the Feasts of SS. Peter and
Paul, and of All Saints.
Once a month, on the third Sun-
day.
4. PARTIAL — Seven Say their portion of the On the day of recitation,
years and seven Rosary on the Sundays
quarantines [throughout the year ; and
on festival days, including
those feasts on which the
hearing of Mass is no
longer of obligation ; and
during the octaves ol
Christmas, Easter, Corpus
Christi, Whitsuntide, the
Assumption, Nativity, and
Conception of the Blessed
Virgin.
5. PARTIAL — roodays Say their portion of the On the day of recitation.
Rosary on days on which
no festival occurs.
The explanation of the conditions which must be observed,
in order to gain the Indulgences of these various classes, is
reserved for the next number of the RECORD.
W. J. W.
1 " Insuper, indulgentias quae pro Rosarii recital tone Romani Pontifices/rj*-
decestores nostri decrtverunt." Brev. Apost. Bentdicentes jam. cit.
Vi»l . VII.
378
DOCUMENTS.
I.— DECREE OF THE SACRED CONGREGATION,
DECLARING ST. ALPHONSUS A DOCTOR OF
HOLY CHURCH.
DECRETUM URBIS ET ORBIS.
Inter eos qui fecerunt et docuerunt, quosque Dominus
Noster Jesus Christus magnos fore vocavit in Regno Caelorum,
merito recensendus est Sanctus Alphonsus Maria de Ligorio,
Congregationis a Sanctissimo Redemptore Institutor et
Sanctae Agathae Gothorum Episcopus. Hie virtutum omnium
exempla facicns, veluti lucerna supra candelabrum posita
omnibus Christifidelibus, qui in Domo Dei sunt, adeo illuxit
ut jam inter cives Sanctorum et domesticos Dei fuerit relatus.
Quod autem sancta operatione complevit, verbis etiam et
scriptis docuit. Siquidem ipseerrorum tenebras ab Incredulis
et Jansenianis late diffusas doctis operibus maximeque Theo-
logiae Moralis tractationibus dispulit atque dimovit. Obscura
insuper dilucidavit, dubiaque declaravit, cum inter implexas
Theologorum sive laxiores sive rigidiores sententias tutam
straverit viam, per quam Christifidelium animarum modera-
tores inoffenso pede incedere possent. Simulque Immaculatae
Deiparae Conceptionis et Summi Pontificis ex Cathedra
docentis infallibilitatis doctrinas accurate illustravit ac strenue
asseruit, quae postea aevo hoc nostro dogmaticae declaratae
sunt. Scripturarum denique aenigmata reseravit turn in
asceticis lucubrationibus, caelesti quadam suavitate refertis,
turn in saluberrimo quodam Commentario, quo Psalmos et
Cantica in divino Officio a Clericis recitanda ad eorum pie-
tatem fovendam et mentem erudiendam explanavit. Sum-
mam Alphonsisapientiam jam demiratusfuerat Pius Septimus
sa. me., eumque commendaverat quia voce et scriptis in media
saecnlinocte errantibus viam justitiaeostendit, per quam possent
de potestate tenebrarnm transire in Dei lumen ct regnum,
Neque minori laude innsitatam vim, copiam varictatemque doc-
trinae in libris ab ipso conscriptis prosequutus est alter Sum-
mus Pontifex Gregorius XVI. sa. me. in Litteris decretalibus,
quibus Alphonso majores Caelitum honores tribuebantur.
Verum temporibus hisce nostris adeo sapientiam ejusennar-
rant gentes, et laudem ejus enuntiat Ecclesia, ut plurimi
Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinales, fere omnes totius
Orbis Sacrorum Antistites, Supremi Religiosorum Ordinum
Moderatores, insignium Academiarum Theologi, illustria
Canonicorum Collegia, et docti ex omni coetu'Viri supplices
Documents. 379
libellos Sanctissimo Domirto Nostro Pio IX. Pontifici Maximo
porrexerint, quibus corrtmunia cxposuere vota, ut Sanctus
Alphonsus Maria de Ligorio Doctoris Ecclesiae titulo hono-
ribusque cohoncstaretur. Sanctitas Sua, preces benigne ex-
cipicns, gravissimum hujusmodi ncgocium de more Sacrorum
Rituum Congregation! expendcndum commisit. Itaque in Or-
dinariis Comitiis. ad Vaticanas Acdes infrascripta die collectis
Eminentissimi et Reverendiss. Patrcs Cardinales sacris tuendis
Ritibus praepositi, audita relationcEminen.et Reverendiss. Car-
dinalis Constantini Patrizi Episcopi Ostiensis et Veliternensis,
Sacri Collegii Decani, eidem S. Congregation! Praefecti, Caus-
aeque Ponentis, consideratis Animadversionibus R. P. D. Petri
Minetti Sanctae Fidei Promotoris, Patroni Causae responsis,
nee non Theologorum pro veritate sententiis ; omnibus denique
severissime hinc inde libratis, unanimi consensu rescribendum
censuerunt : Consnlendum Sanctissimo pro concessions sen de-
claratione et extensione ad univcrsam Ecclesiam tituli Doctoris
in honor cm S. Alplwnsi Mariae dc Ligorio, cum Officio ct Missa
jam concessis.addito Credo,Atiti/>/tc>na ad Magnificat in ntrisqne
Vesperis O Doctor, ac Lcctionilnts I. Nocturni : Sapientiam,
et VIII. Rcsponsorio: In Medio Ecclesiae. Die 1 1 Martii, 1871.
Postmodum facta horum omnium et singulorum eidem
Sanctissimo Domino Nostro Pio Papae IX. per infrascriptum
ipsius S. Congregationis Secretarium fideli relatione, Sanctitas
Sua S. Congregationis Rescriptum ad probavit et confirmavit;
ac desupcr Generate Dccretum Urbis et Orbis expediri man-
davit die 23 iisdem mense et anno.
C. EP. OSTIEN. ET VELITERN. CARD. PATRIZI,
S. R. C. PRAEF.
Loco * Sigilli.
D. BARTOLINI, S.R.C., Secretarius.
II.— PRAYER TO WHICH AN INDULGENCE HAS
BEEN ATTACHED BY THE REIGNING PONTIFF.
OR AT I O.
" Clementissime Jesu, salus, vita, resurrectio nostraTu solus
es : Te ergo quaesumus, ne derelinquas nos in augustiis et pertur-
bationibus nostris, sed per agoniam Cordis Tui Sanctissimi et
per dolores Matris Tuae Immaculatae, Tuis famulis subveni,
quos pretioso Sanguine redemisti."
DECRF.TUM. Sanctissimus Dominus Noster Pius PP. IX., in audicntia habit*
tb infrascripto Card. Pracfecto S. Congregationis Indulgentiis Sacrisquc Reliquii*
380 Documents.
praepositae die 6 Octobris, 1870, benigne indulsit ; ut omnes utriusque sexus
Christifideles, qui corde saltern contrito suprascriptam Orationem devote recitave-
rint fndulgentiam cetttum dierum semel in die lucrentur. Praesenti in Perpetuum
valituro absque ulla Brevis expeditione. Contrariis quibuscumque non obstantibus.
Datum Romae ex Secretaria ejusdem S. Congregationis die 6 Octobris, 1870.
A. CABD. BIZZARRI, Praefectus.
Dominieus Sarra, Substitutus.
III.— DECREE OF THE HOLY SEE ON THE
TRADITIONALISM AND ONTOLOGIST CON-
TROVERSIES IN LOUVAIN.
Some doubts having again arisen in Belgium regarding the
Decrees of the Holy See in the matter of the Traditionalism
and Ontologist Controversies, and some individuals contending
that, by the Second Apostolic Constitution,/^" Filius, published
by the Vatican (Ecumenical Council, permission was accorded
to Theologians to entertain those theories hitherto condemned
by Rome, the Bishops of Belgium deemed it necessary once
more to solicit the decision of the Holy See. In reply to
their petition, His Eminence Cardinal Patrizi, by order of
His Holiness, wrote to each of the Bishops of Belgium on the
7th August, 1870, decreeing: —
" Per memoratam Constitutionem synodalem, praesertim
per monitum ad ejusdem calcem relatum, nedum haud infir-
mari vel moderari, quin imo novo adjecto robore confirmari
Decreta omnia utriusque S. Congregationis S. Officii et India's
hac de re edita, illudque potissimum, quod litteris meis ad
singulos in Belgio Episcopos die 2 Martii, 1866, datis conti-
netur."
IV— DECREE REGARDING SOME OF THE CON-
DITIONS REQUISITE FOR GAINING INDUL-
GENCES.
"DECRETUM URBIS ET ORBIS.
" Ex audientia Sanctissimi die 6 Octobris, \ 870.
" Inter ceteras conditiones, quae in adimplendis-operibus in-
junctis pro acquisitione Indulgentiarum servari debent, ea est
ut eadem fiant intra tempus in concessionibus praefinitum.
Ut vero Christifideles facilius ad eas lucrandas excitarentur,
pluries haec Sac. Congregatio Indulgentiis Sacrisque Reli-
quiis praeposita, approbantibus Summis Pontificibus, quoad
Documents. 38 1
praescriptam Confessionem et Communionem, vel benigna
interpretatione vel indultis hac in re providendum existimavit.
" Hinc per Decretum diei 19 Maii, 1759, statuit : Confes-
sionem suffragarisi expleatitr etiam in pervigilio festivitatis pro
qua concessa est Indnlgentia ; et item per Decretum diei 12
Junii, 1822, declaravit: Communionem peragi posse in vigilia
festivitatis.
" Etsi vero haec indulta nullum dubitandi locum relinquerent
circa eas Indulgcntias, quae pro festivitatibus proprie dictis
conceduntur, incipientibus nempe a primis vesperis usque ad
occasum solis ejusdem diei festi; ita ut liberum sit Fideli vel
in ipso die festo confiteri, et sacra Synaxi refici, plures tamen
exinde dubitationes obortae fuerunt, an idem dicendum foret
de aliis Indulgentiis spatio unius diei lucrandis, et ab initio
diei naturalis incipientibus, quae videlicet concederentur non
ratione festivitatis occurrentis, sed alia qualibet ex causa ;
quemadmodum usuvenire solet pro sextis feriis mensis Martii,
diebus dominicis festum S Aloisii praecedentibus, oratione
quadraginta horarum aliisque similibus quibuscumque.
" Itaque SSmus Dominus Noster Pius PP. IX. in audientia
habita ab infrascripto Cardinali Praefecto ejusdem Sac. Con-
gregationis die 6 Octobris, 1870, ad removendam omnem
dubitandi rationem et ad commodius reddendum Confessionis
et Communionis adimplementum benigne declarari et
decerni mandavit, prout hoc Decreto declaratur atque
decernitur : turn Confessionem dumtaxat, turn Confessionem
et Communionem peragi posse die qui immediate praecedit
sequcntcm pro quo concessa fuerit Indulgentia quaelibet, non
solum ratione festivitatis occurrentis juxta allata Decreta,
verum etiam quacumque alia ex causa, vel devotionis, vel pit
exercitii, aut solemnitatis, uti csset pro memoratis et ceteris
hujusmodi diebus, pro quibus Indulgentia cum conditions
Confessionis et Communionis concessa iamfutrit, vel in posterum
concedatur, licet tcmpus ad earn adquirendam ab initio diei
naturalis et non a primis vesperis sit computandtun ; scri'ata
tamcn in adunploidis aliis operibns iniunctis regula gcnerali
circa modum et tcmpus in concessionibus praescriptum.
" Voluitque Santitas Sua nihil innovatum censeri quoad
Decretum diei 9 Decembris, 1763, favore Christifidelium, qui
laudabili consuetudine utuntur confitendi semel saltern in
hebdomada cum privilcgiis, conditionibus et restrictivis
ibidem recensitis. Contrariis quibuscumque non obstantibus.
"Die 6 Octobris, 1870.
" A. Card. BIZZARRI, Praefectus
"A. Colombo, Secretarins."
ROMAN CHRONICLE.
i. Promoters of Disturbances in Rome, — 2. Arrival of th*
Garibaldians. — 3. St. JosepJis Day. — 4. Invasion of Archi-
tects.— $. The Roman Municipality. — -6. Appropriation of
the Charity Funds. — 7. More Officials refusing to serve.
— 8. The Banquets on Good Friday. — 9. Holy Week
and. the \2th of April. — 10. Miscellaneous.
1. It is now pretty generally admitted, that the Jesuits,
clericals — " Caccialepri, et hoc genus omne" have been the
promoters of all the mischiefs, violence, and immorality, that
have desolated Rome from the bombardment of Porta Pia,
down to the meat banquets of last Good Friday. " Let us
have no more disorders," writes the Nuova Roma of the
1 4th of March, and it then remarks — "the Jesuits are purposely
provoking those disorders in order to make a case with the
foreign powers." This sapient advice has produced the
extraordinary spectacle of Liberals going about as quiet and
gentle as lambkins, notwithstanding that they are every day
victims of clerical provocations that would wear out the
patience of Job. Look at that affair in the Gesu, on the loth
of March, got up expressly by the Jesuits ; but henceforward
the war against these disturbers of modern society, is to be
carried on with different weapons. "The city now under-
stands," writes again the Nuova Roma, "that the most
effective weapon against the Jesuits is contempt." The
Opinione of the 1 3th of March adopts this line of strategy;
and, says the person of its Roman correspondent : " I cannot
refrain from crying aloud to good Roman patriots — resist
temptation ; use moderation and prudence ; and reply to pro-
vocations with a smile of compassion." What masters in the
spiritual life those Italian journalists are !
2. And yet these provocations continue. "Yesterday," writes
the Tempo of the 26th of March, " a man was found standing
in the attitude of prayer, before a picture of the Madonna, at
the corner of Castellani's house, a few steps from the Church
of Saints Vincent and Anastasius. The bystanders very
naturally began to suspect that he must be a hypocrite, sent
there purposely by the Jesuits to insult the people." There
can be no doubt whatever about it. Luckily for the patience
of the Liberals, which was well nigh exhausted by this con-
tinual warfare of threats and provocations from the clerical
party, their faithful allies, the Garibaldians, or, as they are
euphoniously styled, the reduci (returns), arrived from
Roman Chronicle. 383
France, in the nick of time, without their red flannel shirts ;
however, the winter is over now, and they may be supposed
not to require warm clothing. These heroes love dangers.
They did not meet with any in France. They went in search
of Prussians to be sure, but, as far as we can learn, they do
not seem to have found any. So they have come to Rome
in search of new adventures, to defy the threats and provoca-
tions of the Vatican, and, possibly also, to find some of the
booty which La France tells us the Garibaldian General,
Bordone, took from the Prussians. This famous military
commander sent from France, as a present to his wife, in
Italy, twenty-two cases of spoils taken from the enemy, the
result of his heroic exploits during the recent Franco-Prussian
war. These twenty-two cases were stopped and examined at
the frontier, and what do you think they contained ?
Ciboriums, chalices, ostensories, and similar Prussian flags,
The"ra//#7" have a keen scent, and as all the Prussian
trophies about Dijon have been appropriated by Bordone,
they are beginning to get the odour of convents, monasteries,
ciboriums, and chalices, yet to be annexed in Rome ; conse-
quently, with that courage which has ever distinguished them,
they leave French and Prussians to settle their accounts, and
are assembling in Rome in great force, and in pursuit of
new glories.
3- — The clericals, again, were very near compromising this
excellent body of young men just returned from their exploits
in France. They (the clericals) were organising a disturbance
for the Feast of St. Joseph. However, the authorities were
on the alert this time, not like the loth of March, and fore-
stalled every preparation. This precaution did not, mean-
while, leave them quite free from fears of some mischief brew-
ing ; for, on the 22nd of March, we read in the Tempo of that
date, the following proof of the vigilance of the police, as
exercised over those turbulent followers of the Vatican : — On
the i Qth, some returned Garibaldians wished to celebrate the
anniversary of their leader in a vineyard (where else should
they go ?). Returning to town, they were unexpectedly sur-
rounded by the Guards of the Questura. Would you imagine
it ? These returned Garibaldians were mistaken for " Caccia-
lepri." As soon as the frustade was discovered, all enjoyed
the joke heartily. So that, if they had been really " Caccia-
/</>/-/" returning from the temple of God, after celebrating the
Festival of the Patron of the Universal Church, the arrest
would have held good, and Europe informed of this fresh
clerical provocation ; but, thank heaven, they were only
Garibaldians returning from their devotions in the vineyard.
384 Roman Chronicle.
Nevertheless, the good people of Rome did celebrate the
Feast of St. Joseph in a truly Catholic manner. The churches
were crowded throughout the entire day ; the number o/ com-
municants was something extraordinary, and we may reason-
ably infer, that the fervent prayers addressed to the Patron of
the Universal Church will not long remain unheeded.
4. Since the commencement of the present century, Rome
has had to suffer many invasions, from the First Empire down
to Bixio and Cadorna, but she is now invaded by an army
that threatens to efface every remnant of her former
self. Everybody is turning architect in Rome, some for
building up, some for levelling, but all for destroying. The
courtyard of Monte Citorio is already metamorphosed ; the
Palazzo Madama follows, and it is not the architect's fault if
the Pauline Chapel, in the Quirinal, be not already trans-
formed into a ball room. Money is scarce, and for that we
should be thankful. One would imagine that this destructive
mania, that has taken bodily possession of Rome's liberators,
is a kind of conspiracy of old Imperial Rome, against Rome
of the Popes. Every one knows that modern Rome is, for the
most part, built from materials supplied by the ruins of the
ancient city. If the modern Roman buildings could speak, you
might safely predict that they would speak Latin. So say the
architects. Travertine, marbles, bricks, etc., could date their cer-
tificates of birth from the Colosseum, the baths, the temples, the
aqueducts, and forums. Old Rome evidently bought up the
architects, and the conspiracy is mature. An architect in him-
self is a sufficiently dangerous individual; but an architect and an
archaeologist rolled into one is a social catastrophe. He dreams
of ruins, his food is crumbling stone ; he cares not for the
living, he violates the resting places of the dead in search of
hidden architectural treasures. This is all very well when
regulated by discretion. But now appears to be the hour for
indiscretion. Colossal walls, built up to support the tumbling
remnants of the forum, are being removed. Excavations
renewed, and mounds of earth piled up on places already
opened up ; so that strangers, if they wish to see Rome,
had better make haste. First of all, the Via del tre ladroni
is to vanish ; the name is not nice, especially as it leads to the
Quirinal, and might be considered personal. Then the Via
Pia is to be converted into barracks and stables. We will
lose thereby four or five churches, and about as many convents ;
we will also lose a very pretty chef d'oeuvre of Bernini ; but
what of that ? We have plenty of Bcrninis, but we want stables;
and so the church and mission-house of San Silvestro, on
Monte Cavallo, is to form portion of the royal mews ; then,
Roman Chronicle. 385
indeed, there will be some meaning in the name Monte Cavallo.
Another architect has discovered that, with very little trouble,
they can overturn another bit of Rome, andtunnel under the
Quirinal, so as to make one long straight street. A third
wishes to square Rome, and demolish any amount of houses,
churches, streets, &c., so as to make four long straight streets —
one from " Trinita de Monti" to "Ponte Sant Angela /"another
from " Ponte Sant Angelo" to the Roman Forum; a third
from the Roman Forum to St. Mary Major's; and the fourth
from St. Mary Major's to the Trinita de Monti. But the
Tempo of the 28th of March announces : " The works for carry-
ing out the project of enlarging and beautifying the city are
suspended, the Municipality having declared that it has no
funds to carry them on." Blessed for ever be the architects
that study : as the preparing of the plans swallowed up all the
disposable funds, none remain for putting them in execution.
We think that, when the restoration comes, the Catholic world
is bound to present these men of science with an unequivo-
cal token of their esteem and gratitude for having preserved
the Eternal City.
5. The peripatetic tendencies of the Giunta, or Municipality
or Corporation of Rome, established on the 2Oth of last Sep-
tember, seem to have no end. The capital of the Catholic
world, proclaimed the capital of the Freemason Kingdom of
Italy, is, after six entire months, a body without a head.
Prince Doria, in conformity with the express wish of Victor
Emmanuel, resigned himself to the anomalous position of
"facicnte funzionc di sindaco" or Provisional Lord Mayor,
and pulled through as well as he could. In January last he
wrote to La Marmora to say that he could keep it no longer ;
alleging as his motives, his own unfitness, the interests of
his family, and his anxiety to take his seat in the Senate
Chamber, and share in their labours, through reverence for the
king, and love of country. Doria's example was followed by
Placidi, Angelini, Silvestrelli, Duke Mario Massimo, and
Salvati, the Assessors, who all resigned. La Marmora
besought of them to remain in office till the 6th of February,
and, during this period, they had an opportunity for engaging
in a brilliant but unsuccessful encounter with the Minister of
Finance. Sella obliged the Roman Municipality to pay as its
quota to the tax on consumable goods 3,800,000 francs. The
Giunta did not see it, and offered 2,000,000. Sella was im-
movable, and answered with a dry " quod scripsi scripsi" As
a last resource, Doria, Alatri, and Placidi went on a deputation
to Florence, but to no purpose ; and the liberated citizens of
ac had the felicity of paying the entire sum, for love of
386 Roman Chronicle.
country. On the 1 3th of February, Doria again tendered his
resignation, and was followed by a large number of the
councillors, but the motion was adjourned sine die, and after
two or three days noisy debating, the entire business done
was to authorize a bond of 500,000 francs, to provide for im-
mediate expenses — to order that slabs, commemorative of the
Roman patriots who fell fighting for their country, be placed
in the Capitol: — and to remove, at the expense of the Munici-
pality, the remains of Montecchi from London to Rome, and
give him a public funeral and monument in San Lorenzo.
To provide funds for carrying out the designed improvements
in the city was another task. The advocate, Placidi, and
Emmanuel Ruspoli, deputy for Rome, could not see why the
Giunta, as well as the Government, might not proceed to
appropriate convents and monasteries for purposes of public
utility. A motion was made to this effect, and the
corporation felt they had discovered another Peru. To be
able to turn out on the streets the monks and nuns of about
157 religious houses, and appropriate so many vast edifices in
central positions, appeared a magnificent project, and an
application to the Government was voted almost unani-
mously. Prince Doria then understood the part that he was
called on to play, and was so disgusted with himself, that he
finally announced his irremovable resolution to have nothing
more to say to the Giunta. He went to Florence, took the
oaths as a Senator, and also assumed the office, and most
special distinction (attribntissima distinzione), of Prefect of
the Royal Palace, and Grand Master of Ceremonies to the
King. " Prosit !" The Giunta still remains unconstituted.
Angelini has been persuaded to accept Doria's vacant post
(faccndo fnnzioiie di sindaco), assisted by Massimo, Spada,
and the Jew, Alatri. They had their first public meeting on
the 3Oth of March, which was remarkable for two facts, the
noisy nature of their debate, rivalling the Chambers in
Florence, and the truly parliamentary system of winding up
the discussion by the imposition of a tax on the Romans of
3,800,000 francs for three years, and 4,000,000 for two sub-
sequent years, to be paid to the Government. There we leave
the Roman Giunta.
6. The next patriotic undertaking of the Government
Giunta, Questor, and all combined, was to proceed to appro-
priate the control and management of the several charitable
institutions of Rome, known as "Opcre Pie" The Cardinal-
Vicar wrote a splendid protest, which was signed by the
suburban Bishops, and followed up by another protest from
the Bishops of the Roman Campagna. The Royal Com-
Roman ChronicU. 387
missary, or whatever his title is, that acts as Governor of
Rome, sent a reply, which reads very like a spiritual lecture,
addressed to Cardinal 1'atrizii and his brethren in the Roman
Episcopacy. The Cardinal answered it with a crushing
epistle, and the correspondence terminated there. But the
" Opere Pic1 are taken under the humane care and economical
management of the wise, religious, and truly charitable
Government of Victor Emmanuel. If the Hon. Member for
Cork City should happen to revisit the Eternal City a year
hence, he will find ample material for an additional volume
on the Institutions of Rome, and it would form a most useful
appendix to the latest edition of his valuable work.
7. The employees of the Monte di Piet£ — the last to be dis-
turbed— all, to a man, refused to take the oath and serve the
new Government, so that the Pontifical Government may now
challenge the world to produce a staff of officials in every
department so faithful and true. Nine-tenths of all employed,
civil and military, by the Papal Government, have proved
their loyalty by sacrificing their situations, which, to most of
them, was the only means of subsistence for themselves and
their families.
8. The freethinkers of the Italian cities filled up the
measure of their iniquity by their blasphemous proceedings
on last Good Friday. Pisa led the way, and was followed
by Venice, Florence, several smaller cities, and lastly, Rome.
On Good Friday, a day of mourning for all humanity, a num-
ber of these unbelievers proceeded in a most ostentatious
manner to a house in the Piazza Barbcrini, where a sumptuous
meat-banquet was served, and toasts proposed of such a blas-
phemous nature, that the pen refuses to transcribe them. A
crucifix was placed in the centre of the tabk, and in presence
of that sacred image, so dear to every Christian, did these
misguided men vomit forth their blasphemies. These ban-
quets had their origin, some few years back, in Paris, under the
direction of senator St. Beuve, and the inaugural one counted,
among its thirteen guests, Prince Jerome Napoleon-. To-day
Paris is reaping the whirlwind ; but, unfortunately, she is blind
to the cause of her misfortunes. One of the organs of the
Commune, La Montague, published on Good Friday the fol-
lowing fearful words — " The reaction is bestirring itself; the
merchants will sell us, and the priests crucify us. Nuns have
been arrested who had gunpowder in their tabernacles, and
bullets for Rosary beads. Jesus made a treaty of offensive
alliance with the two thieves — Vive Jesus and his compeers !
Our enemies from Versailles are drunk with brandy and
sacrificial wine. They called the Prussians cruel, but the
388 Roman Chronicle.
Prussians were clemency in comparison. An enemy falling
into their hands was not shot on the instant. But, no doubt,
Mastai has promised a plenary indulgence to these unclean
assassins." Unfortunate Italy, by making common cause
with French impiety, seems to be drawing on itself a similar
chastisement. In an address, forwarded to the Commune by
the Internationale of Florence, we read — " Who are your ad-
versaries ? The wretches that crouched before the Man of
Sedan — Thiers, Cathelineau, and Charette — who have kissed
the slipper of him who still calls himself, doubtless in irony,
the unworthy successor of the unknown fisherman of Galilee."
However, the good Catholics of Italy have been stirred up by
this daring act of impiety ; and, throughout the length and
breadth of the peninsula, crowds of the faithful flocked to the
churches for the " Three Hours' agony," or the " Via Crucis,"
in reparation to the outraged love of our blessed Lord.
9. Holy Week in Rome this year was particularly gloomy.
No functions in St. Peter's or the Sixtine Chapel ; no stran-
gers ; nothing to remind you of the capital of Christendom.
The Pope, in compliance with an earnest request, celebrated
private Mass on Easter Sunday Morning in the Sixtine
Chapel, and administered Holy Communion to his entire
household and other privileged strangers. He is in perfect
health notwithstanding his confinement. He received the
English deputation on Holy Saturday, and made an appro-
priate speech in reply. On Wednesday, the I2th of April,
the anniversary of his return from Gaeta, the whole morning
was passed receiving deputations with addresses. Amongst
others, a very numerously signed address from the noble
ladies of Rome was presented to him, accompanied with the
gift of a valuable carpet, intended to be used in the Loggia
of St. Peter's the next time the Holy Father will be enabled
to give the " Benedict™ Urbi ct Orbi." In his reply, the Pope
made an allusion to the possibility of its being used — not by
him, but by his successor — an announcement which moved all
to tears. The foreign ladies residing in Rome imitated the
example of their Roman sisters, and presented the Holy
Father with a costly Baldacchlno, to be used on the same
occasion as the carpet.
10. At length the Roman Giunta has found a Sindaco.
Prince Pallavicini, one of the five nobles who worship the
rising sun, has accepted the post, and signalised his advent
to office by calling on the Romans to celebrate, with all
festivity, the anniversary of the foundation of Rome, the 2ist
of April. We don't know yet how his appeal was answered.
It was estimated that the number of communions made on
Ancient Monasteries of Ireland. 389
the 1 2th of April in St. Peter's and the principal churches of
Rome, and offered for the Pope, was 25,000. That is the sort
of plebiscite the Holy Father can appreciate. The discussion
on the Pontifical Guarantees Bill has commenced in the
Senate. Terenzio Mamiani, who took the oath of allegiance
to Pius IX., and broke it, is the loyal guardian of this mea-
sure through the Upper Chamber. The first conscription lists
for the Roman provinces have been issued, and are creating
the usual amount of dissatisfaction. Heavy penalties are
threatened against rescusants. This, together with the tax-
ation, will do good in its own way. We are sorry to conclude
our chronicle with the sad news that the distinguished Prefect
of the Propaganda, Cardinal Barnabo, has not for some time
enjoyed his usual good health : let us hope that this illustrious
Prince of the Church may long be spared to watch over the
Foreign Missions and other Churches entrusted to his care.
MONASTICON HIBERNICUM,
OR,
A SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE ANCIENT
MONASTERIES OF IRELAND.
[N.B. — The text of the "Monasticon" is taken verbatim from Archdall : the notes
marked with numbers are added by the Editors.]
COUNTY OF CORK.
barony of Fermoy, and about three miles below the town of
Mallow. In the King's quit-rent books, the parishes or
rectories of Clenor, Carigdownen, Carig, and Templebodane,
with the rectory of Cloghan, are charged £3 IDS. crown-rent,
as belonging to the commandery of Monanimy. No mention
is made by any of our writers of this commandery, but at
Continuation of Note 26, p. 344.
Castleredmonde, in this county, was parcel of the possessions of this abbey. At
the suppression of the monasteries, the abbot was seized of this abbey, castle, and
townland, and are now held from the Queen in capite knight's service, and are now
of the annual value besides reprises, of i6s 6</. —[Chief Remem.]
Ath Ubhla, now Appleford, in Fermoy. A passage in the Irish Life of Saint
Carthach, or Mochuda, of Raheen, Bishop of Lismore, gives the following
account of this and other places in the county of Cork : — " Another time Mochuda
went from Rabin into the province of Munster, and he came into Ciaraighe
Cuircfu (now Kerrycurrihy, in the county of Cork), and he met Carbry Crimthan,
King of Munster, who happened at that time to be at Moy-Cuirche. At this
time there came a fiery thunderbolt, which demolished one of the king's castles.
390 Ancient Monasteries oj Ireland.
Monanimy we find an ancient castle, with the traces of several
large buildings round it.*
Monrne ,-b three miles south of Mallow, in the barony of
Barrets. In the reign of King John, Alexander de Sancta
Helena either founded this preceptory for Knights Templars,
or he was a principal benefactor to it ;c but on the abolition of
that order, it was given to the Knights Hospitallers.*1
Friar Thomas Fitzgerald was commendator in the years
1326, 1327, and 1330,° as was friar John Fitz-Richard in
• Smith, vol. \,p. 349. b Called also Mora and Ballynatnona, and by the Irish
Monasttr na mono. • War. Mon. d Smith, vol. 2,f. 18. • King, p. 38 aW 84.
and killed his queen and his son Aedan, and a number of his people; and the
king's two favourite chariot horses were also killed by the fall of the castle. The
king at once requested Mochuda to resuscitate his queen and his son, and when
Mochuda saw the firmness of the king's faith, he made prayers for them, and bade
them arise and they arose, and Mochuda restored them in perfect health to the
king, and the king gave him extensive lands and many servitors. Another time
Cathal MacAedan, king of Munster, was in the land of Cuircne afflicted with
various diseases, being deaf, dumb, and blind ; Mochuda came to where the king
was, and the king and his friends implored Mochuda to relieve his distress.
Mochuda made prayers to God for him, and put the sign of the holy cross on his
eyes and ears, and mouth, and he was cured of all his diseases and troubles, and
the king Cathal gave extensive lands to God and to Mochuda for ever, namely,
Cathal Island, and Ross Beg and Ross More, and Pick-Island (now Spike
Island), and Mochuda sent holy brethren to build a church in Ross Beg, in
honour of God, and Mochuda himself commenced building a monastery in Pick
Island, and he remained there a full year.
" Mochuda then placed three of the disciples above mentioned, namely, the
three sons of Nascann, i.e., Bishop Gaban, and Sraphan the priest, and Laisren
the saint, in those churches. And it was the holy bishop of Ardomain that gave
holy orders to these three in Mochuda's presence, and it was he that was appointed
to preserve them in the path of righteousness, and he left two score more of his
brethren in his own stead in the monastery of Pick Island. Pick Island is a most
holy place, and most pious people reside in it perpetually.
" And Mochuda then returned towards Rahm, and on his way eastward through
Munster he passed over a river which was called Neim at that time, but which is
called Avanmore to-day, and he saw a large apple in the middle of the ford, over
which he was passing, and he took it up and carried it in his hand, and hence
Ath Ubhla (now Appleford), in Fermoy, has its name. And the servant asked
for the apple from Mochuda, and he did not give it but said : — God will work a
miracle with this apple through me this day, for we shall meet the daughter of
Cuana Mac Cailcnin, with her right arm powerless and motionless, hanging by
her side, and she shall be cured through this apple and through the power of
God. And this was verified; for Mochuda saw the virgin, with her maiden com-
panions, who were at their sports and amusements on the green of the court, and
toing up towards her he said: — 'Take this apple to thyself, my daughter."
he stretched forth her left hand for the apple as was her wont ; Mochuda
said : — 'Thou shall not get it in that hand, but reach out the other hand for it
and thou shalt get it," And the maiden being full of faith, attempted to reach
forth the right hand, and the hand was instantly filled wijth vigour and life, and
the reached it out and took the apple into it.
" There was joy all over the kin^ s palace on this occasion, and all gave praise t<J
God and to Mochuda, for this miracle, and Cuana said on that night to his
daughter, make now your selection, ami say who you like best of all the princes of
Munster, and I will have him married to you; to this the maiden replied, 'I
shall have no husband but the man who cured my hand.' ' Hear you that O
Mochuda,' said Cuana. ' Give me the maiden,' said Mochuda, ' and I will
Coiuity of Cork. 391
*334»f UBS.1 I337»hand I339-1 We shall here give the reader
the said Fitz-Richard's appointment to this commandery by
the prior of Kilmainham, dated at the commandery of Tully,
in the county of Kildare, A.D. 1335.
" We have granted to friar John Fitz-Richard, during life,
the whole government and custody of our house of Mora, with
the appurtenances thereunto belonging, both in temporals and
spirituals, he paying the dues usually paid by that house ; and
we require, that within the space of the next ten years, he shall,
at .his own cost and charge, erect a castle there, completely
finished both as to size, materials, and workmanship."k a
By an inquisition taken 4th November, 1584, Mourne was
found to be an ancient corporation, but soon after the death
of the Duke of Clarence, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, in the
reign of King Edward IV., Morough O'Brien rebelled, and
ruined several walled towns in Munster, particularly Mourne
and Buttevant in this county.28
The body of the church, 180 feet in length, yet remains, in
which are some gravestones of the Barrets, Quinlans, and
other ancient Irish families. The foundation walls of the
commandery inclosed several acres; it was defended to the
south by a strong castle, which was standing not long since,
and there were two towers to the west. The possessions
were granted to Teige M'Carthy, whose descendants forfeited
in the rebellion of 1641 ; notwithstanding which, that family
are at this day styled Masters of Mourne.1
Obalvenc ; in a plea roll of the 44th of King Henry III.
tKing.p. 84. «/</.,/. 61. h /</.,/. 39. *ld.,p. 83. k/</., /. 39. lSmitA,vol.
i, p. 180.
give her as a spouse to Christ, who cured her hand;' and Cuana gave the
maiden and her dowry, with an offering of land on the banks of the river Ncim,
to God and to Mochuda for ever, and his munificence was too great to be
described.
" Flandat was the maiden's name, and Mochuda brought her with him to Rahin,
where she spent her life most profitably with the other ' Black Nuns.' till
Mochuda was banished by the kings of Tara out of his own city, when he took
Flandat with him, and the rest of the black nuns, and when he had finished
his own city of Lismore, he sent Flandat to her own country, that ihe mi^ht
build a church there, and she built a noble church in Cluain Dallain, and it
is in Mochuda's parish it is." — Irish Life of Saint Carthach, O' Curry Af.S., Catholic
University.
t7The rent payable to the Crown for this preceptory was £\$, Irish money ;
and an Inquisition was held ujth March, jOth Elizabeth, to inquire whether Teige
MacCarthie had not forfeited his grant by non-payment of the rent. (Chief
Remem.) — Ord. Surv., R.I. A., vol. iv., p. 102.
«• A.D. 824.— Died the Abbot Conmach McSaergww (?) ; A.D. 839.— Died the
Abbot Aidmeadach ; A.D. 850. — Died the Abbot Andath ; A.D. 866. — Died
Feargus, Scribe and Anchorite of this abbey ; A.D. 1015. — Died Airbeartach Mac
Coise, Overseer of Ross Alitri ; A.D. 1055. — Died Columb CXCathail. Deacon of
this abbey; A.D. 1085. — Died Ncachtain McNcachtan; AD. 1095. — Died Columb
O'Hanadan, the Airchennach. — Ord. Surv., K.I. A., voL iv., p. no.
392 Ancient Monasteries of Ireland.
we find an abbey of this name, said in the record to be in this
county.™
Oniolaggie ; 28th June, 2Oth Queen Elizabeth, a grant was
made to the provost and fellows of the Holy Trinity near
Dublin, of twenty acres of land contiguous to a cross, and
parcel of the possessions of the abbey of the Corbe of
Omolaggie in this _ county. See the abbey of Cong, in
county of Mayo.™™" We can find no other vestige of this
house.
Quchwill ' ; This abbey is mentioned to have existed in this
county, A.D. 1355,° but we know no more of it.
Ross; ° a small market-town and an episcopal see, now
united to the diocess of Cork, and situate on an arm of the
sea, in the barony of Carbury.
St. Fachnan mongach, or the Hairy, abbot of Moelanfaidh,
in the county of Waterford, was abbot of this monastery, and
principal of the school founded there ; his festival is held on
August i4th;P a city grew up here, in which there was always
a large seminary of scholars.*1 St. Fachnan mongach was
succeeded by St. Conall/ and we are told, that St. Brendan
taught the liberal arts in this school,8 in which St. Finchad,
a celebrated disciple of St. Finbar, was a student.1 a Some
of the natives of Ireland did not seem to show much respect
to it, for, in the year 1131, the people of Conaught, under the
command of Donogh M'Carthy, plundered this residence of
religion and learning ; but these foes to everything that was
good, were soon after all justly defeated, and Hugh, the son
of Constantine O'Conor, and O'Cachy, the chief poet of
Conaught, were killed." Cornelius was prior in I353,w as was
Odo in I3;8.x
This monastery has been generally given to the regular
canons following the rule of St. Augustin ; but it appears, from
two instruments published by Hugh Ward, that it did belong to
the order of St. Benedict, and that they professed obedience
to the Benedictin abbey of St. James, without the walls of
the city of Wurtzburgh, in the province of Mentz in Ger-
many/ The ruins of it still remain.2
m King, p. 133. mmAud. Gen. n/</.,/. 142. ° Was anciently called Ross alithri,
Ross elihir, and Ross ylider. * Calcnd. Vet. * Act. SS. p. 196. Tr. Th. Index.
Usher. War. Mon. and Bps., p. 583. * Act. SS. p. 471. • War., vol. 2, p. 242.
* Act. SS. p. 471. *Annal. Inisfal. *Vard. vita Rumoldi, p. 292. * Id., p. 293.
* Id. « Smith, -vol. I ,/. 268.
*• Inquisition, last day of Easter, 29th Elizabeth, finds that the 7th day, nineteenth
of her reign, a grant was made of this abbey to James Goulde, gent. . at the annual
rent of £9 45., with a clause of re-entry.— Ord. Surv., R.I. A., vol. iv., p. 112.
(To be continued.)
[NE W SERIES.}
THE IRISH
ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD.
JUNE, 1871.
ST. AIDAN, BISHOP AND PATRON OF FERNS.
J. HE Latin Life of St. Aidan merely records the fact,
that our Saint, anxious to perfect himself in wisdom and
holiness of life, set out on a pilgrimage, accompanied by twelve
chosen companions. From other ancient documents, however,
we are able to glean some details connected with this pilgrimage.
Among the companions of St. Aidan, were two other great
Saints of our early Church, St. Eulogius and St. Finbar.
The Monastery of Menevia was the first stage of their holy
pilgrimage ; and, having passed some time there to receive
the lessons of spiritual perfection from St. David, they pursued
their course to Rome, there to offer, at the shrines of the
Apostles, the pious tributes of their devotion and love.1
More than once, however, St. Aidan made the journey to
Wales to visit St. David, and the closest spiritual friendship
seems to have united together these holy founders of Ferns
and Menevia. On such occasions Aidan took part with the
other brethren of the Monastery of Menevia2 in their task of
manual work ; and a wood, situated in the Valley of Saleunach,
about two miles from the Monastery, is pointed out as the
place appointed for St. Aidan's labour. Sometimes, too, he
was engaged in transcribing the Sacred Scriptures — a duty
1 Vita S. Finbarri.
' According to Usher, there was a monastery here before the time of St. David,
called vallis Jfosina, founded by, or at least hallowed by the presence of. our Apostle
St. Patrick. — " Works," vol. vi.. p. 540. John of Teignmouth thus commemorates
the religious fervour of the monks of Menevia : — '• David constructo in valle Rosina
monasterio, talem coenobialis propositi rigorem decrevit, ut monachorum quisque,
quotidiano desudans open, manuum labore suam in commune transigeret vitam,
dicens : Qui enim non laborat, ait Apostolus, non manducet. Indeque monachi
illi, divinis ex toto mancipati officiis, a populari frequentia in angulari quadam
solitudine super Hibernicum mare longe remoti, quatuor his curis, manuum
scilicet labore. lectionr, oratione, et pauperum refectione, vitam feliciter exegere."
VOL. vn. 27
394 St- At Jan, Bishop and Patron of Ferns.
specially dear to all the early and mediaeval monasteries. It
is recorded that, on one occasion, when engaged in copying the
Gospel of St. John, he was summoned away to some other
religious exercise, and, on returning, as a reward for the
promptness of his obedience, he found the unfinished column
completed by an angel, in letters of gold. This precious MS.
was long preserved at Menevia, encased in silver and gold.
Giraldus Cambrensis1 states, that even in his own time it was
regarded as something sacred, so much so, that none would
dare to open its pages, or unloose its clasps. Elsewhere this
same writer commemorates St. Aidan amongst the holy men
who, by their sanctity and miracles, adorned the Monastery of
Menevia ; and he ranks him as companion of the great saints
Teliau and Ismael, and foremost among the most faithful
disciples of David.2 He adds, that on the return of St.
Aidan to Ireland, no sooner had he completed his great
Monastery of Ferns (called Fernas, by Giraldus, and Guerwin,
by Ricemarch), than he laid down for his religious the same
rule and observance which he had learned at St. David's, and
which he had found by experience to produce such abundant
fruits of virtue and sanctity at Menevia.
Companion of Aidan at Menevia was St. Modomnoc, who
seems to have accompanied our holy Bishop on his return to
Ireland. St. Modomnoc, whilst in the monastery, had its
many hives of bees for his special charge, and now, that he
entered the boat to sail for Ireland, swarm after swarm of St
David's bees came to settle in the boat with him. Three
times this was repeated, when so often Modomnoc returned on
shore unwilling to deprive Menevia of its honied treasure ; but
the bees would not be separated from their kind patron, and,
at length, with the blessing of St. David, he set sail, bearing
with him his long cherished charge. From that time, say our
chroniclers, the hum of St. David's bees has not ceased in
Ireland. St. Modomnoc "of the bees," is honoured on the
1 3th of February in Tybroughney, on the banks of the Suir,
near Piltown, county Kilkenny. There was also a monastery
in olden times at Lann-beachaire (i.e., " the church of the bee-
hive"), now Lambeecher, in Fingal, county Dublin. Its name
was probably derived from some fact connected with this
journey of St. Aidan and Modomnoc. 3
1 Giraldus Cambrensis. Vita S. Davidis : — " VoCatur autem a comprovin-
cialibus textus iste Evangelium Imperfectum, qui usque in hodiernum signis clarus
et virtutibus, in maxima non immerito reverentia a cunctis habetur."
8 Ibid. " Sanctus Aidanus, qui et Hibemice Maidocus, virtutibus insignis, et
divinis aflat im eruditus disciplinis, &c."
* Mason," History of St. Patrick'sCathedral ;" Kees' " Essay on the Welsh Saints,"
page 228.
£/. Aidan, Bishop ami Patron of Ferns. 395
A little before St. David's death, that aged founder of
Menevia bade farewell to St. Aidan, and, imparting his bless-
ing, said : " May an unbroken fraternity, in heaven and on
earth, ever subsist between me and thec, and between our
spiritual children." This spiritual relationship seems to have
subsisted indeed for centuries, and during the several years
that St. Aidan survived St. David, the religious of Menevia
venerated St. Aidan, and showed all honour to him, as one
who had merited the special love and friendship of their
great founder. In the glosses on the Felire of St. vEngus,
in the Lcabliar Brcac, we meet with a few facts which serve
to illustrate this connexion between the great Monasteries
of Ferns and Menevia. Thus, in the gloss, on 3ist January,
we read that " fifty Bishops of the Britons of Cill-Muine (i.e.,
Menevia) visited Moedhoc of Ferns : on this pilgrimage they
came, because Moedhoc was the disciple of David of Cill-
Muine." The following curious story is added regarding these
pilgrim Bishops : — " The pilgrims coming to Moedhoc, were
conducted to the guest's house, and it was the Lent-time of
spring. Fifty cakes and leeks, with watery whey, were set
before them for dinner. 'Why have these things been brought
us?" said the Bishops; 'we shall not partake of them, but let beef
or pork be brought to us.' Moedhoc permitted the oeconome to
comply with their request ; but the next day, coming to the
strangers, he said to them — 'you must be reprimanded for
eating meat, and refusing the bread, in this time of Lent.'
The Bishops replied: 'it was not your learning, O Maedhog,
that inspired you with such a sentiment ; for it is with the
milk of their mothers that the swine and cow are nourished,
and they eat nought but the grass of the field : but
three hundred and sixty-five ingredients are in the cake
that was set before us, and therefore it is that we did not
use it.'"
Another remark which is added, would seem to imply that
the Monastery of Menevia was subject to Ferns ; and that
the successor of St. Aidan ruled "over both Monasteries.
" From the time of David (thus runs the gloss) no flesh meat
was brought into the refectory of Cille-Muine, until it was
brought thither by the comharb of Moedhoc, of Ferns. It is
contrary to rule, however, that he who did so, should have
joint-seat with David, or continue in the Abbacy of Cill-
Muine, or that his feet should touch the floor of its refectory
as long as he lives."
Perhaps we have here a clue to the statement made by some
!sh writers, towards the close of the twelfth century,
regarding the close connexion which, in early times, had
396 St. Aidan, Bishop and Patron of Ferns.
subsisted between Ferns and Menevia. These writers, how-
ever, manifestly reversed the order of facts, when, as a con-
sequence, they asserted the See of Ferns to be a suffragan See
of Menevia. That Menevia was suffragan to Ferns, would
assuredly be far more consonant with the facts above stated ;
for these manifestly imply that, after the death of St. David,
special reverence was shown by his monastery to his loved
disciple, St. Aidan, and that also the successors of our Saint in
the See of Ferns received particular honour in Menevia,
being reputed the heirs or comharbs of its holy founder, St.
David.
We have already seen how St. Aidan, from early youth, was
the bosom friend of St. Molaise of Devenish. He, in later
years, enjoyed the friendship of several of the other great
saints, who, in the sixth and seventh centuries, adorned our
island by their learning and the sanctity of their lives. Thus,
St. Molua, who is honoured as Patron at Clonfert-Molua, as
also at Sliabh-Bladhma, and at Druimsneachta, in Fer-
managh, was chosen by him for spiritual father and confes-
sor. St. Cuimin, of Connor, commemorating the charac-
teristic virtues of our Irish saints, writes of St. Molua : —
" Molua, the fully miraculous, loves
Humility, noble, pure,
The will of his tutor, the will of his parents,
The will of all, and weeping for his sins."1
It is recorded that when St. Aidan first visited Molua,
there was no food in the monastery, except some flesh meat,
from which St. Aidan always abstained; nevertheless, on this
occasion, he partook of it through charity and reverence for
St. Molua.2 On another occasion, Molua expressed an eager
desire to visit the shrines of the Apostles in Rome ; he even
declared that he would die unless he visited Rome :— cito
moriar si non videro Romam. But the prayers of Aidan, who
was unwilling to be deprived of his Confessor, obtained for
him, whilst staying in the monastery of Ferns, the grace of
contemplating in vision that holy city ; and, the chronicler
adds, that ever after St. Molua was as fully and intimately
acquainted with the sanctuaries and other wondrous monu-
ments of Rome, as though he had lived there for many years.
1 Martyrology of Donegal, page 211.
* " Sumpsit Sanctus Episcopus charitative in xti nomine pro honore S. Moluae,
Deo gratias cum omnibus agens. Et Episcopus accipieus S. Moluam patrem
confessionis suae, cum gaudio in osculo pacis ad sua reversu% est." — Vita S.
Moluae, cap. 41.
St. Ait/an, Bishop and Patron of Ferns. 397
At the time when Aidan visited the territory of the
Hy-Conail (now the barony of Connello, in the county
Limerick), the Superioress of St. Ita's great monastery of
Killccdy, which was not far distant, sent to him to say that
one of her holy nuns, a loved disciple of St. Ita, had just then
expired. At the same time, he heard the bells of the monas-
tery which announced her death ; accordingly he gave his
staff to one of his companions, and told him to touch with it
the body of the deceased nun ; and he added, ' I pray God,
that through the sanctity of most blessed Ita, he may deign to
restore this religious to life.' " No sooner was the cold
body touched by St. Aidan's staff than the deceased nun
arose, full of life and vigour, and gave glory to God."
A somewhat different favour was, on another occasion,
granted through his prayers to the religious of St. Fintan, at
Taghmon. He was received at that monastery with great
honour, and several of the religious who were then ill, were,
at the prayers of St. Aidan, restored to perfect health. When,
however, on the third day, he was taking his leave, the holy
abbot of the monastery said to him : "I pray thee not to leave
till thou restorest to us again the illness of which we have
been deprived, through your prayers, for virtue is perfected in
infirmity," and Aidan, full of wonder at this faith, gave to the
religious his parting blessing, and all were affected as before
with their various diseases.
We find him also visiting the holy virgins, daughters of
Aidus, King of Leinster. Lanigan states that the names of
these virgin saints, as given by some writers, are — Ethnea,
Sodelbia, and Cumania; whilst others mention thetwo first only,
and identify them with the saints who are styled in our calen-
dars, the spiritual daughters of Baithe, and whose memory
was honoured on the 29th of March, in a church, near Swords,
named from them the cell of tJtc daughters of Baithe^ By
whatever name, however, the daughters of Aidus may have
been known, it is certain that they were distinguished by their
piety and lived in a religious community. St. Aidan brought
to them, as a gift, a plough and a pair of oxen. Nor should
this surprise us : for his high ecclesiastical dignity did not
prevent him from joining his monks in their agricultural
labours, and his life, on one occasion, introduces him to us as
superintending one hundred and fifty of the religious brethren
whilst gathering in the harvest2.
Some of the facts incidentally related in St. Aidan's Life
reveal to us the high perfection of holiness to which he had
1 Lanigan, " Ecclcs. History," ii., 327. • Vita, cap. Ix.
398 St. Aidan, Bis/top and Patron of Perm.
attained. On one Easter festival we find him spending the
whole night in the church in prayer. It was on that occasion
that our Saint learned by a Divine manifestation that an
attempt would be made to cut off, by poison, his holy friend
St. David of Menevia. Aidan, accordingly, immediately
made known the danger to his friend, who, having blessed the
poisoned food, divided it into three portions, and then, without
hesitation, partook of one of the fragments that was untainted
by the poison.
At the time of St. Columba's death St. Aidan was standing
beside a Cross,1 in company of a youth for whom he was
transcribing one of the Psalms. The youth saw the holy man
on a sudden rapt in ecstacy, and his countenance became
all luminous with dazzling rays. When subsequently in-
terrogated, he made known to the youth that he had at that
moment contemplated in vision the reception given by the
heavenly choirs to the soul of his friend, St. Columba. It is
also recorded that, at another time, hearing the sweet harmony
of the heavenly choirs, he prayed to God that if it was His
holy will, he might be freed from the flesh, and admitted to
the enjoyment of Christ ; but he heard a voice, which said to
him : " It is the Divine will that you should labour yet awhile
for the welfare of others;" arid he at once replied — "So long
as thou decreest so, O God, may such labour be given to me."
For forty days, in imitation of the Redeemer, St. Aidan
observed a rigorous fast in his monastery at Ferns. At its
close four special favours, for which he prayed, were granted to
him by God. " The first petition was, that any person of the
Royal line of Leinster, and especially of the descendants of
Brandubh, sitting in his See, and holding it till death, should
never receive the heavenly reward :" so anxious was the Saint
to guarantee the spiritual rights of his See, and to secure its
freedom from usurpation of the secular power. The other
petitions for which the Saint prayed, were — " that a similar
penalty should await any of his religious who might fail in
observance, and abandon the religious life : — that Heaven
would be open to all those who should merit to be interred
among the saints of the cemetery of Ferns, and that, through
his prayers, one soul might each day be freed from the pains
of Purgatory."
Several miracles are narrated in the Life of our Saint. I
will only mention two of them, which commend his spirit
of charity and compassion for the poor. Seeing a poor man
who, labouring in the field, bewailed the dire servitude to
which he was subjected by his master, St Aidan brought
1 "Juxta quondam crucem." Viic.. cap. xliii.
St. Aidan, Bisliop and Patron of Ferns. 399
to him half a measure of barley. The poor man, smiling,
said, "What can this avail me?" but looking again, he saw
that the barley had been changed into gold. The Saint
told him to apply a portion of this to purchase his ransom ;
but when the master heard of this wondrous miracle, he not
only restored the poor man to liberty, but refused to accept
any price of ransom. The poor man, rejoicing, brought back
the gold to St. Aidan, insisting that he should accept of it as
an offering for the monastery : but the Saint, despising the
riches of this world, again prayed to God, and the gold was
once more changed into barley as before.
Another time Aidan met some soldiers who were carrying
off to their chieftain a poor captive bound in chains. The
Saint prayed them to set him free for the love of Christ,1
but they scornfully refused to do so. They had proceeded,
however, only a few paces when they saw a number of hostile
troops surrounding them on all sides, so that they betook
themselves to flight to provide for their own safety, and the
captive, remained alone with Aidan. The Saint then said to
him : " I asked these men to set you free, and they refused:
I asked it from God, and he has shown you mercy." The
chieftain, hearing of the fact, ratified the sentence of St.
Aidan.
Colgan assures us that, according to an ancient life-of our
Saint, preserved in Salamanca, he founded no fewer than
thirty churches in the territory of the Hy-Kinnselagh alone,
a district which included the present county of Wexford,
together with the barony of Shillelagh, in the county of Wick-
low.2 Of these the names of only four can now be identified
with any certainty, viz : — Ferns, from which his diocese derived
its name : Ard-Ladhrann, now Ardamine, situated on the sea-
coast, in the barony of Ballagh-keen : Cliiaimnorc, also called
Cluainmorc-Dicholla-Gairbh, now Clonmore, a parish in the
barony of Bantry, in the centre of the county of Wexford ;
and Scanbotha, now the parish of Templeshanbo, in the same
county, at the foot of Mount Leinster, and not far from Ferns.
Colgan also mentions the church of Disert, in Leinster, founded
by our Saint. There was another monastery called Clonmore,
in the county Carlow, which some have supposed to have had
St. Aidan for its founder. Indeed, Archdall, by one of his usual
blunders, confounds into one these two monasteries : the latter,
however, in our Annals, is, for distinction sake, styled Ciuain-
1 Dimittite ministrum vinctum pro amore Christi." — Vita, cap. Ivi.
1 Lanigan, vol. i., p. 276, supposes that the present counties of Carlow, Kil-
kenny, and Queen's county, were included in this district. This, however, is a
mistake.
4OO St. Aidan, Bishop and Patron of Ferns.
Mor-Moedhoc, and the feast of its founder was kept on the
i ith of April.1 Of Seanbotha Archdall also writes that it was
situated in the county Wexford, but that the place is now
unknown (p. 731). However, all the particulars given in our
ancient records regarding Seanbotha agree perfectly with the
modern Templeshanbo : (a) the Martyrology of Donegal
places it in the district of Hy-Kinnselagh (p. 287) : (t>}, the
life of our Saint describes it as situated at the foot of Mount
Leinsber — "Juxta radices montis qui dicitur Suighe Laighcn,
i.e., Sessio Laginensium :" (c) though the two names are ap-
parently so different in form, yet in pronunciation the Irish
Seanbotha is represented as closely as possible by the English
Shanbo.
This monastery of Seanbot/ta was, probably, the first foun-
dation made by St. Aidan in Hy-Kinnselagh, and hence, in
the List of the Saints of Ireland compiled by Selbhach at the
time of St. Cormac mac Cullenan, our Saint receives for his
distinctive epithet, " St. Aidan of Seanbotha." —
" Nathi, grandson of eloquent Suanach,
Cummin, gentle for petitioning,
With a gentle, noble throng, of just voices,
Noble Aedan in Seanbotha."2
That this monastery had already attained considerable im-
portance before the death of St. Aidan, results from two
facts connected with it : first, the chieftain Saran Soebdherc,
who murdered King Brandubh, was erenach, or custodian of
its lands ;3 and, secondly, St. Colman, who attained great
fame for sanctity, was abbot of this monastery during the
life-time of our Saint.4
In Munster, St. Aidan founded the church of Disert Nair-.
bre, now Dysart. in the parish of Ardmorc, in the south-east
of the county of Waterford ; and the monastery of Cluain
Claidhcach, now Cloncagh, in the barony of Connello Upper,
in the county of Limerick.
It was in Ulster, however, that his religious foundations
were most numerous. Thus, we meet his churches at Ross-
inver, in the extreme north of the county Leitrim, where he is
still venerated as patron ; at Caillc-bcga, now Killybeg, in the
parish of Inishmacsaint, in the county Fermanagh, where the
miraculous stone called " leac moedoc" was kept; and at Team-,
1 See the notes in new edition of Archdall's Monastieon, "Carlow," p. 65.
1 Book ofLtcan, in R.I. A., fd. 58.
' See Colgan, "Acta SS.," p. 220, n. 43. * Ibid., n, 40.
/>/. Aidan, Bishop and Patron of Ferns. 401
fnll-an-fltnirt, now Templeport, which gives name to a parish
in the north-west of the county Cavan. It was in this parish
that the Saint was born, and a little to the south of his birth-
place is Templeport lake, where a small island still bears
the name " St. Mogue's island," and presents the ruins of his
ancient church. The most important of the Ulster churches
founded by St. Aidan was that of Drniin-Lcatliain, now Drum-
lane, a parish in the north of the county Cavan, which still
venerates St. Moedoc as its patron, and where the shrine
Breac Moedoc, which we described above, was formerly pre-
served. The ruins of the monastery, round tower, and church
stand on the shore of Lough Oughter, near the village of
Milltown, about three miles south-west from Belturbet.1
There was a church in existence at Drumlane in the sixth
century, but this was totally destroyed before the year 1025,
and the present edifice appears to belong to the twelfth
century. The round tower is peculiar in this respect — that,
"while the lower part is built of fine ashlar masonry, the upper
part is of the rude rubble- work generally thought characteristic
of an earlier period : the top is wanting, and it is not more
than half its original length."2
Colgan, having mentioned these churches in which the saint
is honoured, adds : — " It is not merely, however, in the above
churches that this most holy man is invoked as patron, but,
moreover, the diocese of Mencvia in Britain, the whole terri-
tory of the Hy-Kinselagh in Leinster, and the two Breffnies
[in Ulster] celebrate his festival as a solemn feast, and venerate
him as their tutelar patron."3
The memory of St. Aidan, indeed, is still vividly preserved
in Menevia. John of Teignmouth, and his copyist, Capgrave,
conclude their notice of St. Aidan with the words : — " This
holy man is named Aidanus in the Life of St. David, but
in his own Life, Aidns : and at Menevia, in the Church of St.
David, he is called Moedok, which is an Irish name ; and his
festival is observed with great veneration at that place."4
In Pembrokeshire St. Aidan is also honoured as the founder
of Llanhuadain or Llawhaden ; and the churches of Nolton
and West Haroldston are also ascribed to him under the
name of Madog. His feast is marked as in Ireland on the
3 1st of January.6
1 See plates and description of these ruins in Ulster Journal of Archaology,
vol. 5, p no, seqq.
* Stokes, loc. cit. p. 5. » Colgan " Acta SS.," page 223.
*" A pud Meneviam in Ecciesia Sancti David appellatur Moedok. quod est
Hibernicum, et ibidem in inagna veneratione festura ejus recolitur." — See Ustkir,
Works, vol vi. page 536.
• Kits' " Essay on the Welsh Saints," page 227.
4O2 St. Aidan, Bishop and Patron of Ferns.
As regards Scotland, Dr. Reeves gives from the Statistical
Accounts and other ancient records the following list of the
churches which are there dedicated to him : — " First, Kilma-
dock, a large parish in Menteith, in the south of Perthshire,
north-west of Stirling : the name is believed to signify the chapel
of St. Madock, Madocus, or Modocns, one of the Culdees (thus
the New Statistical Account of Scotland, vol x., page 1224).
Second, St. Madocs, a very small parish in the Carse of
Gowrie, south-east of Perth. The name is written in early
records St. Madois, and is commonly called Semmiedores in
the district where are ' The stannin' stanes o' Semmiedores.'
There is an ancient monument here, called the St. Madoes?
Stone, of which a drawing is given in the ' Sculptured Stones of
Scotland.' The writer in the New Statistical Account rightly
conjectures that the parish is called from the patron saint of
Kilmadock, but errs greatly in styling him a ' Gallic mission-
ary.' Third, Balinadies, an estate in the south-east end of
the parish of Rescobie, in Forfarshire : the cemetery is at
Chapeltown."1
There seems to me, however, to be some room for doubting
Avhether all these Scottish foundations are to be referred to
the holy Patron of Ferns. In the Felire of Aengus, another
Irish saint, called Moedoc, is commemorated on the 23rd of
March, who, as his characteristic epithet, receives the title of
the " crown of Scotland" : —
" The assemblative daughter (i.e., St. Ciannait), with the
immense host
Of Feradach, the admirable :
From Christ received his dignity,
Momoedoc the crown of Alba."2
This St. Moedoc, in the Martyrology of Tallaght, is said to
be from Fedh-duin, in the south of Ossory ; and it is quite
possible that some of the above-mentioned Scottish churches
may have derived their name from him.
The death of St. Aidan is generally placed by our antiqua-
ries, as Ussher, Colgan, Lanigan, &c., in the year 632. Ware
adopts the same opinion : — " Edan (he thus writes), exercised
his pastoral functions about 50 years, and having founded
many churches and wrought great miracles, was removed by
a happy death unto Christ, on the 3ist of January, 632,
which day is kept sacred to his memory, and was buried in
his own church of Ferns."3 However, the Annals of the Four
1 Reeves' " Proceedings of the R.I. A.," Dec. 14, 1863.
* Felire, at 23rd of March. * Ware, " Bishops," page 437.
5/. Aidan, Bishop ami Patron of Ferns. 403
Masters expressly record his death in the year 624, *>., 625 of
our modern computation : — " St. Maedhog, Bishop of Ferns,
died on the 3ist of January." The Martyrology of Donegal
gives the same date : — " A.D. 624, was the date when he re-
signed his spirit to heaven." The Chronicon Scotornm also, at
625, gives the entry : "Maedhog of Ferna quievit,"1 but by a
singular mistake repeats the same entry under the year 656.*
In the ancient "Catalogue of the Order of the Saints of
Ireland,"3 St. Aidan is reckoned in the third class, among those
who '" loved to dwell in desert places, lived on herbs and water,
and the alms of the faithful, despised all earthly things, and
wholly abstained from all murmuring and detraction."
The name of St. Aidan appears in several of the Continental
martyrologies. Thus, in the Carthusian Martyrology of
Cologne, at the 3ist January, "on this day, the Feast of
St. Aidan, Bishop and Confessor:" and Ferrarius, on the
same day, " in Scotia, the Festival of St. Medoth, Bishop and
Cele-De."4 Adam King, in his Scottish Calendar, whilst ante-
dating our Saint by three hundred years, in accordance with
the prejudices of the antiquated Scottish historians, com-
memorates his festival on the 3ist of January : " St. Modoche
Bishop in Scotland, under Crathlinthus, King, A.D. 328."
Dempster follows in the same track, but calls our Saint by
the name of Medoth. Camerarius, and the Martryology of
Aberdeen, also notice our Saint, on the 3 1st of January, as
honoured at Kilmadok, in Scotland. The Breviary of Aber-
deen, on the same day, mentions, " St. Modoc, a renowned
Bishop and Confessor, venerated at Kilmodok," and gives
the following short collect for his festival : " Vouchsafe,
O Almighty God, to quicken Thy people with the light of
Thy glory, and through the gracious intercession of Thy Con-
fessor and Bishop, Modoc, for Thy people, grant them, with
glory, to behold Thy true and neverfailing light in the eternal
habitations : through Christ our Lord." In the Roman and
British Martyrology, we also read on the 3ist January : "St.
Aidan, Abbot and Bishop of Ferns, in Leinster ; a child of
prayer, and trained from youth by St. David, in Menevia, in
1 Ckronicon Scot., edited by W. M. Hcnncssy, page 79.
* The only grounds for placing St. Aidan's death in 632 is the incidental
statement made in his life, that Guaire, Kin^ of Connaught, lived thirty years after
being visited by our Saint. Now (luuire died in the year 662. However there
is nothing in the text to show that it was the intention of the writer to fix that
period with accuracy, and it seems very probable that the expression ' he survived'
thirty yeai only intended to convey in general terms the idea that he
lived very many years, /.*., between thirty and forty years, after seeing our saint.
K.SIASTICAL RF.CORP, vii., 212, seqq.
* See other examples in notes to Untardi Martyrologium, edit, by Migne, Paris,
1852, page 718.
St. A idan, Bishop and Patron of Ferns.
monastic discipline and Christian perfection. He founded
several churches and monasteries in Ireland, and imparted
to countless souls the lessons he had learned from so excellent
a master."
All the Irish Martyrologies commemorate St. Aidan on
the 3 1st of January. I have already more than once referred
to the entry in the Martyrology of Donegal. The Martyrology
of Christ's Church, edited by Dr. Todd, has, on the same day,
"Eodem die, Sancti Edani Epjscopi." Fitzsimon, in his
Catalogue of the Chief Saints in Ireland, gives " S. Medogus,
qui etiam Edanus dicitur." Marianus O'Gorman, in his MS.
Metrical Calendar, at the 3ist of January, writes: —
" The end of the month to Maedhoc,
To my fair Mochumma a co-share
O all ye saints of January,
Come to the sustaining of our souls."
In the Felire of St. vEngus we read on the same day : —
" Name Aedh the powerful, of Ferna,
Maelanfaid, a name before us ;
They give with very great Brigh,
A bright summit to the host of January."
And in the LeabJiar Breac the following gloss is added : —
" Aedh, i.e., Moaedhog, *>., Mo-aedh-og, i.e., my young Aedh :
he was of the men of Lurg, of Loch Erne, i. <?., Moaedhoc, son
of Setna, son of Ere, son of Feradach, son of Fiachra, son of
Amhalgaid, son of Muiredhach, son of Carthaind, son of Colla-
Uais."
The Martyrology of Donegal ends its notice of St. Aidan
with the remark that : — " A very old vellum book, in which
are found the Martyrology of Tallaght and many other matters
which relate to the Saints of Ireland, states that Maedhog of
Ferns, in habits and life, was like unto Cornelius the Pope."1
Dr. Todd, in " Book of Hymns," page 69, published for the
first time the ancient Tract referred to in this passage, but the
Belgian MS. from which he copied it was imperfect and in-
complete.2 It was reprinted from the same MS. by Dr. Kelly,
in his edition of the Martyrology of Tallaght, page xli. I
have fortunately been able to complete the text from the
fragment of the Book of Leinster, preserved at St. Isidore's,
1 Martyrology of Donegal, page 33.
* BnustlU MS. de la Biblioth de Burgogne, No. 5, 104.
Sf. Aidan, Bishop and Patron of Ferns.
405
in Rome, where the Tract is referred to St. >Engus as its
author. Though short, it is invaluable as recording the
estimate that was formed in our early Church of the saints who
adorned the three first centuries of the faith in our island. It
is as follows : — l
" Here arc commemorated saints who were similar in their
manner of life : —
John the Baptist, .
Peter the Apostle, .
Paul the Apostle, .
Andrew the Apostle,
James the Apostle,
John the Apostle, .
Philip the Apostle, .
Bartholomew the Apostle,
Thomas the Apostle,
Matthew the Apostle,
James the Apostle, w
Simon, . . ,-i • : f*»
Tatheus,
Mathias, ;_,,.» . '
Mary, . • ;.
Bishop Ibar.
Patrick.
Finnian of Clonard.
Columbkille.
Finnian of Moville.
Kiaran of Clonmacnoise.
Canice.
Brendan the Senior
Brendan of Clonfert.
Columba of Tirdeglass.
Comgall of Beanchor.
Molaise of Devenish.
Sinchcll the Younger.
Ruadhan of Lorrha
Brigid.
I lie incipiunt Sancti, qui crant bini unius moris.
Johannes Babtitsa, Episcopus Ibar.
Job patientiae, Munnu mac Tulcain.
Petrus Apostolus, Patricius.
Jeronimus sapiens, Manchan Lcith.
Paulus Apostolus, Finnian Cluaina
Clemens Papa, Ciaran Saigri.
Iraird.
•riii* Muralium. Cummini Fota.
Andreas Apostolus, Colora Cilli.
Ciprianus Cartag- Mochotu Lis moir.
Jacobus Apostolus, Finnian Maigi Bile.
iiUMiis,
Johannes Apostolus, Ciaran Cluana Mcic
I-aurentius diaconus, Dechoin Nessan.
Noiii
Beda sapiens et Buti Mac Bronaigh.
Pilippus Apostolus, Cainnech.
monachus,
Bartholomew, Brendinus Senior.
Ilarius episcopus et Sechnall epscop.
Tomas Apostolus, Brcnainn Cluana
sapiens,
Ferta.
Cornelius papa, Moedoc Ferna.
Matheus Apostolus, Colum Tiri da glas.
Silvester papa, [Adomnan episco-
Jacobus Apostolus, Comgall Beruichair.
pus.]
Simon Apostolus, Molassi Dam-insi.
[Bonifaciuspapa,] Molassi Lethglinne.
Tatheus Apostolus, Sinchellus Junior.
Paucomins moua- Garald Maigi Eo.
Mathias Apostolus, Ruadan Lothra.
chus,
Maria, Brigita.
Pastor monachus, Caminne Innsi Ceal-
Martinus, Epscop. Here Slani.
tra.
Paulus Hercmita, Coemgen Glinni da
Benedictus, caput Fintan Cluana En-
loch.
monachorum totius dach, caput mona-
Antonius Monachus, Fechini Fobair.
Europae, chorum totius Hi-
Augu>tinus Sapiens, Lonngharad.
be rniae.
Ambrosias imnodi- Mac indeicis.
Augustinus, Episco- Barre, epscop Muma
cus
pus Anglorum, ocus Conacht,
The two names added in brackets are supplied from the Brussels MS.
406
£/. Aidan, Bishop and Patron of Ferns.
Martin, .
Paul the Hermit, .
Anthony the Monk,
Bishop Augustine the Wise, .
Ambrose of the Hymns,
•
Job of Patience,
Jerome the Wise
Clement the Pope, .
Gregory of the Book of Morals,
Cyprian of Carthage, . j|
Lawrence the Deacon. .
The Monk Beda, the Wise. .
Bishop Hilary, the Wise,
Cornelius the Pope, . • .
Silvester the Pope, . ' .
Bonifacius the Pope,
Pachomius the Monk, '. •
Pastor the Monk, .
Benedict the head of the Monks
of all Europe.
Augustine, Bishop of the .
Angles.
Bishop Ercc of Slaine.
Kevin of Glendalough.
Fechin of Fobhar.
Lonngaradh.
Mac Indeceis (i.e., son of
the Sage).
Munnu Mac Tulcain.
Manchan of Liath.
Kiaran of Saigher:
Cummian Fota.
Carthage of Lismore.
Nessan the Deocan.
Buite mac Bronaigh.
Sechnall the Bishop.
Aidan of Ferns.
Adomnan the Bishop.
Laserian of Leighlin.
Gerald of Mayo.
Caimin of Iniskeltra.
Fintan of Clonenagh, the
head of the Monks of
all Ireland.
Finbarr, Bishop of Mun-
ster and Connaught."
We have already described the Breac Moedoc, or Shrine
of St. Aidan, which was guarded with religious love in the
church of Drumlane. It, however, is not the only memorial
of St. Aidan that popular veneration has carefully preserved
through centuries of peril and persecution to our own times.
The Clog Mogue, or Bell of St. Moedog, with fragments of
its ancient shrine, was purchased some years ago by the late
Protestant Primate from an old man named Kelleher, and in
1863, was exhibited at the Royal Irish Academy. The Mago-
verans had long been the erenacJis at Templeport, and the
faithful hereditary keepers of this bell. The daughter of the
last of that branch of the family was married to Kelleher,
who, when the times became bad, overcome by poverty, sold
it for a trifle. Even within the memory of the present gene-
ration, an oath taken on it was regarded as most sacred, so
deep was the veneration of our people for every memorial of
our early saints. The hereditary keepers of this bell lived
among the Slieve-an-Eirin mountains in the county Cavan,
between Templeport and Fenagh. It was, probably, the mere
neighbourhood of these two towns that gave rise to the popular
tradition, that the bell thus venerated was a gift 'of St. Kilian
Letters of Balmez. 407
(or Caillin, as he is sometimes called), the founder of Fenagh,
to St. Aidan, the founder of Templeport. To judge from the
ancient life of our Saint, we should rather suppose it to be
the bell received by our Saint from St. David in Menevia,
the same, perhaps, to which Dymma owed his conversion at
the time when St. Aidan first approached the coast of Wcxford.
This venerable relic is of iron, but its case is of copper, or-
namented with silver-plated bands, and on its front were two
small figures, also plated with silver, one of which still remains:
it represents an ecclesiastic, who clasps a book to his breast,
and was probably intended to designate St. Aidan. The
whole is now so decayed and mutilated that but little remains
to show forth the richness and ornamentation of the original
shrine.
Though the Danes more than once plundered the monas-
tery and church of Ferns, still the relics of St. Aidan seem to
have remained undisturbed. When the church was last
repaired, in 1817, his tomb was enclosed in a recess of the
wall, and the following inscription was placed on it: —
" Under this monument
are interred the remains of
ST. EDAN,
commonly called St. Mogue,
the founder of this Cathedral,
and first Bishop of Ferns.
He discharged the duties of the Pastoral Office
with piety and Xtian. zeal
for the space of fifty years,
and died in an advanced age,
January 3ist, A.D. 632."'
LETTERS OF BALMEZ.
XVIII. — ON PURGATORY.
MY ESTEEMED FRIEND— It is almost impossible for us to
content sceptics. One of the most powerful proofs of the
justice of our cause is the injustice with which we are assailed.
If a dogma be severe, we are accused of cruelty ; if benign,
we are called temporizers. You justify this observation by
the difficulties you raise in your last letter against the dogma
1 Cotton's Fasti. " Lcinster," page 329.
408 Letters of Baltnez.
of Purgatory, with which, you say, you disagree more than
with that of Hell.. " The eternity of punishment," you say,
" though formidable, is, nevertheless, a dogma full of terrible
grandeur, and worthy to be counted among those of a religion
which seeks greatness though it be terrific. At least I see in
it infinite justice exercised on an infinite scale ; and these
ideas of infinity incline me to believe that this fearful dogma
is not the conception of the understanding of man. But when
I come to Purgatory — when I see those poor souls suffer for
faults they were unable to expiate during life ; when I see
the incessant communication between the Living and the Dead
by means of suffrages ; when I am told these souls are
ransomed, one after another, I think I discover in all this the
littleness of human invention, and its idea of accommodation
between our miseries and the inflexibility of Divine justice.
If I were to speak frankly, I would say that Protestants have
been more prudent than Catholics on this head, by blotting
out the pains of Purgatory from the catalogue of dogmas."
If I were to speak frankly, I would say, in reply, that only
for the security I have of coming off victorious in the dispute,
I could not have calmly read so much injustice accumulated
in so few words. I was not unaware that Purgatory was often
the butt of the mockery and sarcasm of incredulity ; but I
could not believe that a person, who boasts of being impartial
and judicious, would try to gild the coarse foulness of those
sneers and sarcasms with a tint of philosophical observation.
I could not believe that the profound reason of justice and
equity, contained in the dogma of Purgatory, could escape a
clear understanding ; or a sensitive heart, not perceive the
delicate tenderness of a dogma which extends the links of
life beyond the tomb, and sheds ineffable consolation on the
melancholy of death.
As I have spoken largely in another letter of the pains of
Hell, I will not dwell on them here ; particularly as you
appear reconciled to that terrible dogma, for the purpose, I
suppose, of combating with more freedom that of the pains of
Purgatory. I believe these two truths are not in contradic-
tion, and, far from injuring, aid and strengthen each other
mutually. In the dogma of Hell, Divine justice appears in its
terrific aspect ; in that of Purgatory, mercy shines in its inex-
tinguishable goodness ; but far from encroaching on the rights
of justice, these are represented as even more inflexible, in-
asmuch as they do not exempt even the just man destined for
eternal beatitude from paying what he owes.
I suppose you do not hold the doctrine of those philoso-
phers of antiquity, who did not admit any degrees in faults ;
Letters of Balmea. 409
and I cannot think you consider a slight motion of indig-
nation deserving of the same punishment as the horrid crime
of a son who buries the assassin's dagger in his father's breast.
Would you condemn the first fault to eternal punishment,
and confound it with the unnatural cruelty of the second
crime? I am sure you would not. Here, then, we have Hell
and Purgatory ; here we have the difference between venial
and mortal sins ; here we have the Catholic truth supported
by reason and common sense.
Sins are blotted out by repentance : the Divine mercy
delights in pardoning him who implores it with an humble
and contrite heart ; this pardon liberates the person who
receives it from eternal damnation, but does not exempt him
from the expiation claimed by justice. Even in the human
order, when a crime is forgiven, the pardoned criminal is not
exempted from all penalty : the claims of justice are tempered,
but not invalidated. What difficulty is there then in admit-
ting that God exercises His mercy, and requires at the
same time the tribute due to his justice ? Here we have
another reason in favour of Purgatory. Many men die who
had not the will or the time to satisfy for what they owed for
their sins already pardoned : some obtain this pardon a few
moments before exhaling their last breath. The Divine mercy
has freed them from the pains of Hell ; but should we say they
have been translated immediately to eternal felicity without
suffering some penalty for their former disorders ? Is it not
reasonable and fair Jhat, as mercy tempers justice, the latter
should moderate mercy in its turn ?
The incessant communication of the living with the dead,
which displeases you so much, is the natural consequence of
the bond of charity which unites the faithful of the present
life with those who have passed to the future. To condemn
this communication, it is first necessary to condemn charity
itself, and deny the sublime and consoling dogma of the
Communion of Saints. It is strange, when philanthropy and.
fraternity are so much talked of, that the beauty and tender-
ness contained in this dogma of the Church should not be
properly admired ! We incessantly hear of the necessity
under which all men are of living as brothers ; and are we to
be cut off from that fraternity which is not limited to earth,
but embraces all humanity on earth and in Heaven, in felicity
and misfortune ? Wherever there is a good to be communi-
cated, there is charity to prevent it from becoming isolated in
an individual, and to extend it widely over all men ; when-
ever there is a misfortune to be succoured, charity hastens to
bring aid from those who can alleviate it. Whether the
VOL. VII. 28
41 o Letters of Balmeg.
misfortune is in this life or in the other, charity does not
forget it. She who feeds the hungry, clothes the naked,
assists the weak, relieves the suffering, consoles the prisoner,
she it is that knocks at the heart of the faithful, and tells them
to succour their defunct brethren by imploring the Divine
mercy to shorten the term of expiation to which they are
condemned. If this were a human invention, it would certainly
be a beautiful and sublime one. If Catholic priests had
idealised it, it could not be denied they had the cleverness to
harmonise their production with the most essential principles
of the Christian religion. Apropos of inventions, it would be
easy for me to prove to you the dogma of Purgatory is not an
offspring of the ages of ignorance. We find its constant
tradition even in the midst of the errors of false religions,
which shows that this dogma, as well as others, was primi-
tively communicated to the human race, and escaped the
shipwreck of truth provoked by error and the passions of the
disordered progeny of Adam. Plato and Virgil were not
priests of the middle ages, and, nevertheless, they tell us of a
place of expiation. The Jews and Mahommedans did not con-
spire with the Catholic priesthood to deceive the people ; and,
nevertheless, they too acknowledge the existence of Purgatory.
As regards Protestants, it is not exact that all have denied it ;
but if they will appropriate to themselves this sad glory, we
will not dispute it with them. Let them, with all our heart,
admit none but the pains of Hell ; let them remove all hope
from him who is not sufficiently pure to enter immediately
into the mansions of the just ; let them cut all the bonds that
unite the living with the dead, and adorn with this formidable
gem their doctrines of fatality and desperation. We prefer the
benignity of our dogma to the inexorableness of their error.
We confess that God is just, and man culpable ; but we also
acknowledge the frailty of mortals, and recognise the infinite
mercy of the Creator.
I remain yours, &c.,
J. B.
ON THE PLACE OF HISTORICAL STUDIES IN AN
IRISH CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY.1
VV HEN endeavouring to select a subject on which to address
you, gentlemen, this evening, I have been stopped by the name
of your Society. I have the pleasure of addressing the Histo-
rical Society of the Catholic University of Ireland, and I have
asked myself, might it not be interesting to you to inquire
what is the place of history in such an institution as our Uni-
versity. I fear I shall not have much that is new to ofier in
the considerations I shall bring before you, but I hope the in-
terest you take in the object for which you have banded
yourselves together in this Society, will recommend to you
my selection, and secure for me your attention, notwithstand-
ing any shortcomings of mine in the treatment of the subject.
Of course, in a lecture such as this, I can do little more
than touch on a very large subject. However, the remarks I
make may open up thoughts on which you can reflect at
leisure, and which you can follow out to their just conclusions.
Dr. Newman, answering the question — What is a University?
says : — " If I were asked to describe as briefly and popularly
as I could what a University was, I should draw my answer
from its ancient designation of a Stiidium Generate, or ' School
of Universal Learning.' " I propose, then, briefly to discuss
the question : What is the place of history in such a " Studium
Generate?" And, in particular, what is its place in the School
of Universal Learning which Catholic Ireland has set up ?
I suppose no one here will deny, that history is entitled to
a place, and to an important place, in any institution which
pretends to the name of a University. And yet there are
institutions which have been given to Ireland — nay, which
ostensibly were founded and are maintained, in order to meet
the demand of Irish Catholics for " Schools of Universal
Learning," in which, according to the testimony of one of their
own officials, history is mentioned only " ad fucum facien-
dum" to deceive the unwary. Those Colleges are Colleges
of a University, and yet it has been said, that history
ought to be excluded from their course, because history
is only an acquaintance with incidents, a knowledge of
which can be obtained without a teacher, as well as with a
master's help. Those who speak thus seem to forget
that all inductive sciences, such as history, are founded on an
acquaintance with incidents : that their importance, besides the
special objective value of each, consists in their power to
1 A Lecture read before the Historical Society of the Catholic University of
Ireland, 25th May, 1871.
412 Historical Studies in an Irish Catlwlic University.
strengthen and mould the mental faculties, enabling them to
extend themselves to further intellectual advancement, while
the merit of the teacher consists in setting before his pupils
- those incidents in their true light, drawing from them just
"^conclusions, and multiplying his proofs by new and more tell-
ing incidents which bear upon his subject. I shall, therefore,
dismiss the opinion of those who would give history no place
in liberal studies : it ought to have a place, and a most im-
portant one.
For our part, we believe, with the great Frederic Von Schlegel,
that it is a "matter of greatest moment to watch the spirit of God
revealing itself in history, enlightening and directing the judg-
ments of men, saving and conducting mankind, and, even here
below, admonishing, judging, and chastising nations and gene-
rations : to watch this spirit in its progress through all ages,
and discern the fiery marks and traces of its footsteps." We
are convinced, that it is of the greatest importance to study
and convince ourselves of "this three-fold law of the world,
these three mighty principles in the historical progress of
mankind — the hidden ways of a Providence delivering and
emancipating the human race ; next, the free will of man
doomed to a decisive choice in the struggle of life, and in every
action and sentiment springing from that freedom ; lastly, tlie
power permitted by God to the evil principle."1
But I propose to consider the question I have taken up
subjectively rather than objectively : that is, What is the place
of Historical Studies in a University Course, because of their
effect on the student?
What, then, is the end of all liberal education ? To fill the
mind and heart with images of the true, the beautiful, and
the good. Now, the study of history, when properly con-
ducted, is calculated to promote in a wonderful manner this
three-fold end. First, to fill the mind with the knowledge
of the true — of facts, for they are the object of historical re-
search. The illustrious Comte de Maistre has said, that
history for the last 300 years has been a gigantic conspiracy
against truth. When we invite you to the study of history,
surely it is not that you may take part in that conspiracy,
but rather that you may make head against it ; that you may
investigate the facts in the original documents, and seek the
truth in its indisputable sources, and thus oppose yourselves to
a conspiracy which is as ruinous to intellectual advancement
as it is immoral.
Much may be done by the true student of history to stem
the torrent of falsehood, which, under the name of learning,
lays waste the minds of men, and destroys the very landmarks
1 Philos. of Hist , by Fred. V. Schlegel, Lect. 15.
Historical Studies in an Irish Catholic University. 413
which guide us in the search after historical truth. Witness
the " History of Pope Innocent III. and his Times," in which
the character of that noble Pontiff is brought out into its true
light by Hurter. Witness the " Life of St. Gregory VII.,"
in which Voigt vindicates that glorious Pope from the attacks
of his enemies, and holds him up to the admiration of the
world. Of all the Pontiffs who have sat in St. Peter's chair,
the two I have just named are among the greatest benefactors
of Christendom ; and yet scarcely any have been more calum-
niated, and represented as more worthy of execration. Now, is
not that study most important for the educated man, which
fills his mind with correct information, which gives him the
truth on important questions such as these ?
The study of history also fills the mind with images of the
beautiful. As we pass in review the centuries that are gone,
the mind of the true student of history rests with delight
on the beautiful works which the noblest of God's visible
creatures, man, has produced ; with which he has decked his
dwelling-place on earth — by which he has perpetuated his name
— with which he has written in lasting characters, deeds which
would otherwise have been long since forgotten ; in which,
more indelibly than on tables of brass, he has engraven, for
the use of future generations, the record of his triumphs over
difficulties, and of his achievements for the good of his fellows.
We all know, that among the ways in which history is to be
studied, the investigation of the monuments of the past, holds
a special place. What study more ennobling, what better
calculated to form the mind, to enlarge it, to fill it with thoughts
that arc beautiful and great — than to ponder over those
glorious works of art, those trophies of by-gone ages ? It may
be some historical painting or sculpture, in 'which the valiant,
the beautiful, and the good, arc made to live on, or rather are
idealized in their most winning form, so that the soul may
take them in, and make their moral beauty all her own ; or
it may be some noble edifice raised to commemorate the
martyr's courage, the lovely virgin's gentle, but irresistible,
power for good, the triumph of truth in some saintly teacher's
life and death. Even, as the poet tells, of that greatest of
man's works, St. Peter's, in Rome: —
" Enter : its grandeur overwhelms thee not ;
And why ? It is not lessened ; but thy mind,
Expanded by the genius of the spot,
Has grown colossal ;"
the study of history in the beautiful monuments of the
past, reems to me one of the most fitting agencies for filling
414 Historical Studies in an Irish Catholic University.
the mind with images of the beautiful, as well as of the true ;
thus attaining the second end of a liberal education —
" Till, growing with its growth, we thus dilate
Our spirits to the size of that they contemplate."
A few years ago there was begun in Venice and subsequently
continued in Rome, a work which, in its conception, seems to
me a most pleasing, as well as a very valuable aid to the
student of history : it is called " Tavole Cronologiche"-
" Chronological Tables." It illustrates each century since the
Christian Era by contemporaneous works of art, beginning
with the medals of the earliest Christian times, the engraved
gems and glasses of the catacombs— and exhibiting, in the order
of time, pictorial, sculptured, and architectural illustrations.
The Lateran Museum, which has been got together by our
present glorious Pontiff, Pope Pius IX., and has been so well
arranged and illustrated by the great Christian Archaeologist,
Cavaliere de' Rossi, is another illustration of my thought, and
shows how well the wise study of history tends to fill the mind
with the beautiful as well as the true.
But of all the educational fruits of the study of history, the
greatest without doubt is, that it tends to fill the mind with
images of the good. Not but that in the history of the past
we find much that is evil — nay, much more of evil than of good.
But it is in this precisely that the advantage of the study of
history under an able teacher consists: that the student learns
to discriminate between the evil and the good, to sift the good,
like wheat, from the chaff, and store it up in the granary
of his mind and heart. I will illustrate my meaning by an
extract from the "History of Ferdinand and Isabella," by the
great American publicist, Prescott. What more educational,
what better calculated, than the following passage, to educate
the student's mind, and fill it with images of the good, as well
as of the true and the beautiful ?
"Among her (Isabella's) moral qualities, the most con-
spicuous, perhaps, was her magnanimity. She betrayed no-
thing little or selfish in thought or in action. Her schemes
were vast, and executed in the same noble spirit in which they
were conceived. She never employed doubtful agents or
sinister measures, but the most direct and open policy. She
scorned to avail herself of advantages offered by the perfidy
of others. Where she had once given her confidence, she
gave her hearty and steady support ; and she was scrupulous
to redeem any pledge she had made to those who ventured
in her cause, however unpopular. She sustained Ximenes in
all his obnoxious but salutary reforms. She seconded Colum-
Historical Studies in an Irish Catholic University. 415
bus in the prosecution of his arduous enterprise, and shielded
him from the calumny of his enemies She was
incapable of harbouring any petty distrust or latent malice,
and although stern in the execution and exaction of public
justice, she made the most generous allowance, and even
sometimes advances, to those who had personally injured her.
" But the principle which gave a peculiar colouring to every
feature of Isabella's mind was piety. It shone from the very
depths of her soul, with a heavenly radiance, which illumi-
nated her whole character. Fortunately, her earliest years
had been passed in the rugged school of adversity, under the
eye of a mother who implanted in her serious mind such
strong principles of religion as nothing in after life had power
to shake. At an early age, in the flower of youth and beauty,
she was introduced to her brother's court ; but its blandish-
ments, so dazzling to a young imagination, had no power
over hers, for she was surrounded by a moral atmosphere of
purity,
' Driving far off each thing of sin and guilt.'
" Such was the decorum of her manners, that though encom-
passed by false friends and open enemies, not the slightest
reproach was breathed on her fair name in this corrupt and
calumnious court Isabella's actions were habitually
based on principle. Whatever errors of judgment be imputed
to her, she most anxiously sought in all situations to discern
and discharge her duty .... Isabella's measures were
characterised by that practical good sense, without which the
most brilliant parts may work more to the woe, than to the
weal of mankind. . . . She was quick to discern objects of
real utility She was equally indefatigable in her mental
application With all her high qualifications, Isabella
would have been still unequal to the achievement of her grand
designs without possessing a degree of fortitude rare in either
sex ; not the courage which implies contempt of personal
danger — though of this she had a larger share than falls to
most men ; nor that which supports its possessor under the
extremities of bodily pain — though of this she gave ample
evidence .... but that moral courage which sustains the
spirit in the dark hour of adversity, and gathering light from
within to dispel the darkness, imparts its own cheering
influence to all around Happily these masculine
qualities in Isabella did not extinguish the softer ones which
constitute the charm of her sex. Her heart overflowed with
affectionate sensibility to her family and friends. She watched
over the declining days of her aged mother, and ministered to
her sad infirmities with all the delicacy of filial tenderness.
416 Historical Studies in an Irish Catholic University.
We have seen abundant proofs how fondly and faithfully she
loved her husband to the last, though this love was not always
so faithfully requited. For her children she lived more than
for herself, and for them too she died, for it was their loss and
their afflictions which froze the current of her blood before age
had time to chill it. Her exalted state did not remove her
above the sympathies of friendship . . . Her heart, indeed,
was filled with benevolence to all mankind. In the most fiery
heat of war, she was engaged in devising means for mitigating
its horrors. She is said to have been the first to introduce
the benevolent institution of camp hospitals. . . . But it is
needless to multiply examples of this beautiful, but familiar
trait in her character."
Such is the portrait which the Protestant historian draws of
Isabella the Catholic. He winds up his description of his
heroine, and fulfils the historian's office of sifting the true, the
beautiful, and the good, from the false, the deformed, and the
evil, by contrasting Isabella of Spain with her illustrious
namesake, Elizabeth of England, whose " history presents
some features parallel to her own ;" concluding his comparison
with these striking words : —
" The circumstances of their deaths, which were somewhat
similar, displayed the great dissimilarity of their characters.
Both pined amidst the royal state, a prey to incurable despon-
dency, rather than any marked bodily distemper. In Elizabeth
it sprung from wounded vanity, a sullen conviction that she
had outlived the admiration on which she had so long fed —
and even the solace of friendship, and the attachment of her
subjects. Nor did she seek consolation where alone it was
to be found in that sad hour. Isabella, on the other hand,
sunk under a too acute sensibility to the sufferings of others.
But amidst the gloom which gathered around her, she looked
with the eye of faith to the brighter prospects which unfolded
the future ; and when she resigned her last breath, it was
amidst the tears and universal lamentations of her people."
I have quoted this long passage from Prescott's " History
of Ferdinand and Isabella," because it seems to me to exem-
plify, in a striking manner, the power of history to fill the
minds of its students with images of the good, as well as of the
true and the beautiful.
However, it is not the province of education to store the mind
with images of the true, the beautiful, and the good, as of
things past ; but to make those images prototypes for the
future. The advantage of education is not a theoretical
advantage, but a practical one. The great instruction to be
derived from history is: that the experience of the past should
throw light on the future. " What is it t/uit hath been ? what
Historical Studies in an Irish Catholic University. 417
M it that hath been done?" asks the wisest of the kings of
Israel ; and he answers : " The same thing that shall be. Tht
same that s/iall be done" The office of education is, to
mould the mind and heart, that they may aspire to and em-
brace the true, the beautiful, and the good in action. The study
of history teaches how this is to be done in circumstances the
most varied and the most difficult. The unruly passions of
man, their deceitful allurements, the evils their indulgence
brings in their train, are the same they ever were. Alas ! even
as I speak, a new proof of this truth is being written on the
page which will tell to future generations the ruin of Paris 1
Forewarned by the study of history is to be forearmed. Virtue,
its conflicts, its true glories, the happiness which is its fruit —
these enchanting pictures, engraven on the pages of history —
strengthen the mind, win the heart, and gently, but powerfully,
draw the soul to all that is good and great — Verba movent,
exeinpla trahunt.
And now I pass to the second part of the task I have under-
taken. If these remarks be true and applicable to all who
desire to ennoble their souls by a liberal education, they apply
in a most special manner to those who study in this Univer-
sity, which the Catholics of Ireland have set up in this second
half of the nineteenth century. Here, more than elsewhere,
because we are in a Catholic University, ought history to be
cultivated, that the truth and the beauty of the Catholic
Church, and the invaluable good of which she has been, and
is the channel to the world, may be made manifest to all.
A distinguished writer, Monsignor Palma, in the preface to
his "Lectures on Ecclesiastical History," says: "Everyone
knows that the enemies of the Catholic religion, besides the
other snares which they spread, endeavour, by arguments
which they falsely take from ecclesiastical history, to prove
that the Church herself affords arguments which militate
against her sanctity. Moreover, it is well known that by an
exaggerated, or an altogether false representation of facts, they
attempt to throw discredit on the Sovereign Pontiffs, and to
show that the Catholic doctrine of their supremacy is to be
either called in doubt or altogether rejected. These enemies of
the Catholic Church also seek to undermine her salutary pre-
cepts by throwing discredit on those ancient ecclesiastical
monuments, in which we find inculcated the importance and
the necessity of observing her wise and saintly disciplinary
ordinances. Thus it is, that the very facts of history, which are
calculated to show forth the glories of the Church, are made
use of by the enemies of the truth to calumniate and insult
her. ... It is thus the enemies of the Church perversely turn
history against the Catholic religion. Who, then, will deny
4 1 8 Historical Studies in an Irish Catholic University.
that it is very necessary to investigate and clearly set forth
the truth regarding the chief facts of ecclesiastical history,
in order to take from them this excuse for inveighing against
the Catholic Church ?"
It is not necessary that I should follow up these reflections
at any considerable length. I shall only remind you, that to
this part of our subject are specially applicable the words
written by the distinguished author of the " History of Pope
Innocent III.," Hurter, while still a Protestant: —
" With good reason we may say of history what Bacon said
of philosophy: ' Lcviores haustus avocant a Deo; pleniores
ad Denm reducunt! "
And now it only remains for me to consider the special claims
which the study of history has upon us as Irish Catholics.
In doing so, I cannot adopt better words than those used
by one whose name will always be mentioned with venera-
tion in this University — the late Professor Eugene O'Curry.
In the preface to his " Lectures on the Manuscript Materials
of Irish History," he says : —
" Without meaning the smallest disparagement to previous
labourers in these fields, I found, on examining their works,
that, although much had been done in particular directions,
and by successive writers, who more or less followed and im-
proved upon, or corrected each other, still the great sources of
genuine historical and antiquarian knowledge lay buried in
those vast, but yet almost entirely unexplored compilations,
which, to my predecessors, were inaccessibly sealed up in the
keeping of the ancient Gaedhelic, the venerable language of
our country. To point out the only way to remedy this state
of things, then, and, if possible, by a critical analysis of
the great mass of documents which still remain to us
in the ancient tongue, to open the way — as far as lay in my
power — to the necessary examination of these previous
records and materials, was the scope and aim of my first
course of lectures, those now collected in the present volume.
That I have not succeeded in placing this interesting subject
before the readers in as clear and attractive a form as it
deserves, is but too painfully apparent to myself ; but if I shall
have succeeded in drawing the attention of the student to the
necessity of making an independent examination of it for
himself, I shall have attained one of the dearest objects of my
life, and I shall feel that I have not struggled wholly without
success in endeavouring to do my duty to my country, so far
as it lies in my power to do at all. As to the work itself, its
literary defects apart, I may claim for it at least the poor
merit of being the first effort ever made to bring within the
view of the student of Irish History and Archaeology, art
Historical Studies in an Irish Catholic University. 419
honest, if not a complete, analysis of all the materials of that
yet unwritten story which lies accessible, indeed, in our native
language, but the great body of which — the flesh and blood of
all tlic true History of Ireland — remains to this day unexamined
and nnknoTun to the world"
This is the work which remains to be accomplished by you,
gentlemen, and by those who will come after you in these
halls : to examine and make known that true, and beautiful,
and venerable, but yet unwritten story. One of the chief
duties of the Catholic University of Ireland will be to
develop and propagate the study of the history of our
country. And if, in all history, it is the work of the student
to sift the truth from falsehood, and to bring out in all
its splendour what is beautiful and good, in none will
your trouble be more amply repaid, than in the study of our
own country. In the official record of the foundation Of this
Institution, it is said : — " The Catholic University of Ireland,
although brought into existence by the circumstances of the
day, really owes its foundation to the reasonableness, or even
the necessity, of the principle, that a country possessed of
intellectual and moral characteristics proper to itself, should
not be without some great central School, for the develop-
ment of the national genius and the expression of the national
mind. England glories in her own Universities as institu-
tions cognate to her peculiar social temperament, and uses
them as abodes and organs of her national thought. It is but
natural that Catholic Ireland too should require some corres-
ponding seat of mental activity, the establishment of which,
when once the pressure of the penal laws against Catholic
education came to be mitigated, and she began to think and
act for herself, was only a matter of time. Accordingly, the
Catholic University has been founded by the Bishops of
Ireland, in compliance with the wishes and counsels of His
Holiness Pope Pius the Ninth, in order to keep alive in our
country the spirit of faith, while cultivating to their utmost
•development the several branches of knowledge, and tims
enabling it fully to meet the literary and scientific require-
ments of the age." For the attainment of this end, the study
of the history of our country is absolutely necessary.
I conclude. I have endeavoured to show the importance,
nay, the necessity, of the study of history as a part of higher
studies, for the attainment of frhe end for which such studies
are undertaken. That end is, to fill the mind and heart with
images of the true, the beautiful, and the good. In this Irish
Catholic University there is special necessity for the cultivation
of historical studies, in order that the truth regarding the
Catholic Church and our Catholic country may be more and
42O Historical Studies in an Irish Catholic University.
more brought to light, vindicated, and proved ; and that the
minds and hearts of all who study here may be more and
more impressed with their beauty and their worth. And now
to bring home to you, gentlemen of the Historical Society,
all that I have said, I will remind you, with Dr. Newman,
that " mutual education, in a large sense of the word, is
one of the great and incessant occupations of human
society, carried on partly with set purposes, and partly not.
One generation forms another ; and the existing generation is
ever acting and re-acting upon itself in the persons of its
individual members. Now, in this process, books, I need
hardly say, that is, the littera scripta, are one special instru-
ment. It is true, and emphatically so in this age
Nevertheless, after all, even in this age, when men are really
serious about getting what, in the language of trade, is called
' a good article,' when they aim at something precise, some-
thing refined, something really luminous, something really
large, something choice, they go to another market : they
avail themselves in some shape or other of the rival method,
the ancient method, of oral instruction, of present communi-
cation between man and man, of teachers instead of teaching,
of the personal influence of a master, and the humble initia-
tion of a disciple. . . If the actions of men maybe taken
as any test of their convictions, then we have reason for
saying this, viz.: — that the province and the inestimable benefit
of the littera scripta is that of being a record of truth, and an
authority of appeal, and an instrument of teaching, in the hands
of a teacher ; but that, if we wish to become exact and fully
furnished in any subject of teaching which is diversified and
complicated, we must consult the living man and listen to his
living voice. . . Till we have discovered some intellectual
daguerreotype, which takes off the course of thought, and the
form, lineaments, and features of truth, as completely and
minutely as the optical instrument produces the sensible
object, we must come to the teachers of wisdom to learn
wisdom ; we must repair to the fountain, and drink there.
Portions may go from thence to the ends of the earth by
means of books, but the fulness is in one place alone. It is in
such assemblages and congregations of intellect that books
themselves — the master-pieces of human genius — are written,
or at least originated."
It is to secure for yourselves these advantages in the im-
portant study of history, and more especially of the history
of the Catholic Church, and of our country, that you have
come to the Catholic University of Ireland, and banded
yourselves together in this Historical Society.
421
THE INDULGENCES OF THE ROSARY.
(Continued.)
W E may now proceed to examine the conditions prescribed
in the various Pontifical Briefs by which these Indulgences
have been granted, and in the explanatory Decrees of the
Sacred Congregation.
USE OF BLESSED BEADS. — This point presents no difficulty
so far as the Dominican Indulgences are concerned. " To
gain these Indulgences," writes Father Maurel, " it is necessary
to have a Rosary or a Chaplet1 blessed by a Dominican Father, or
by a priest who has received this power from the General of the
Order."2 Indeed, according to the terms of the original con-
cession, the beads should be blessed by a Dominican.3 But
the power is now frequently communicated to other priests ;
and there can be no doubt that, as all modern writers on
the subject state, the Indulgences can be gained by those
who use Beads blessed by any priest thus especially em-
powered.
It is necessary also that the Beads should be kept in the
hand and used in the ordinary way, each prayer being recited
on the corresponding bead: — "Pour gagner les Indulgences
appliquees aux chapelets . . . du Rosaire de Saint Dominique
. . . il est n6cessaire de tenir en main son chapelet, ou d'en
toucher les grains, a mesure qu'on recite les prieres correspon-
dantes."*
By a concession of his present Holiness, when a number of
persons join in saying the Rosary, it will suffice if Beads be
used by one of them : the others can gain these Indulgences,
provided that they are careful to unite with him in reciting
the prayers.6 There is no reason to suppose that this con-
|44Ce qne nous appelons en France Chapelets, s'appelle Conronnes a Rome et
dans le langage ecclesiastique .... Le Chapelet (ou la Couronne) de la Sainte
Vierge est le tiers du Rosaire. "— BOUVIER. Tratii des Indulgencest part 2,
chap. vi.
* Le Chrftien Eclairf. sur la Nature et f Usage des Indulgences. — Par le P. A.
Maurel. de la Compagnie de Jesus. Sixieme Edition. Paris, 1860, p. 285.
' "Declaravit tamen Sanctitas Sua ut ad effectum lucrandi praedictas Indulgen-
tias requiratur, nt Rosarium fucrit de more btnedictum a Fratribus Ordinis Prat*
dicatorum."—Decr. S. C. Indulg. (13 April, 1726).
4 M \UREL. Lf Chretien Eclaire, p. 328. And in blessing the Dominican
Beads, the priest prays fiat the graces, privileges, and indulgences annexed to the
Rosary may be granted to those '• quicum«jue quodlibet horum secum portaverint . . .
et in eis . . . secundum Societatis instituta . . . devote oraverint" &c.
• " Porrectis precibos a P. Procuratore Ord. Praed. . . . propositnm rait du-
bium:— An consulendum sit Sanctissinv ut concedere dignetur ut Christifideles
Rosarium ... in comrnuni recitantes, lucrenlur Indulgentias a Benedicto XIII.
422 The Indulgences of the Rosary.
cession regards only the case of persons who have Beads, and
that it dispenses merely with the necessity of using them ; for
no such restriction is justified by the terms of the Decree; and,
as Father Maurel justly remarks, the Consultor of the Sacred
Congregation, in accordance with whose advice this con-
cession was made, clearly contemplates, in his Votum,
the case of persons who have not Beads as well as of those
who have. But, as the same writer adds, it is nevertheless
to be desired that they should be in the possession of all the
faithful.1
For the Indulgence of the Vatican Council also,2 Beads
must be used : regarding this Indulgence it will suffice to
observe, once for all, that it is granted subject to the same
rules and conditions as the Dominican Indulgences of the
Rosary.3
The use of blessed Beads is necessary also for gaining the
the Brigittine Indulgences. The power of attaching the
blessing required for these Indulgences was originally granted
only to priests of the Order of our Saviour, or of St.Birgitta,4 but,
as in the case of the Dominican Indulgences, it is now freely
communicated to other priests.
Leo X., in granting the Brigittine Indulgences, declared that
they could be gained by two or more persons joining in the
recitation of the Rosary.5 This provision, as Bouvier observes,
does not dispense with the necessity of Beads being used by
each person.0 It simply means that the Indulgences may be
gained when the prayers are recited alternately — a principle
which, by a more recent decree, has been applied to all in-
concessas, licet manu non teneant Rosarium benedictum, ac sufficere ut una tan-
turn persona . . . illud manu teneat eoque in recitatione de more utatur? Resp.
Affirmative. Facta itaque relatione. . . . Sanctitas sua . . . benigne annuit,
addita tamen expressa conditione quod fideles omnes, caeteris curis semotis se com-
ponant pro oratione facienda una cum persona quae tenet Coronam ut Rosarii In-
dulgentias lucrari queant." — Deer. S. C. Indulg. (22 Jan., 1858.)
1 Le Ckr6tien Edairi, p. 330.
•See IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD, vol. vi., No. Ixvi., March, 1870, p. 284;
and vol. vii., No. bcxx., May. 1871, p. 376.
3 " Dilectus films . . . Ordinis Fratrum Praedicatornm Magister Generalis . . .
enixe petiit ut Indulgentias alias adjicere dignaremur . . . Quare omnibus Chris-
tindelibus qui . . . recitaverint, servatis quoque. qua in ejus recitatione alias injuncta
sunt" etc. — Breve Apost. Egregiis (3 Dec., 1869).
* '' Rosaria a praefatis P. P. Ordinis Sanctissimi Salvatoris nve S. Birgittat
debent esse prius benedicta, aliter nulla prorsus gaudent Indulgentia." — Deer. S.
C. Indulg. (9 Feb., 1743.)
8 "Qui . . . cum alio vel aliis recitaverit, o*nneset singuli recitantes easdemmet
Indulgentias perinde ac si quisque seorsim id egerit consequentur." — Summarium
in Deer. S. C. Indulg. (9 Feb., 1743.)
* Traitf des Indulgences, part 2, chap, vi., art. 2, § iii., n. I.
The Indulgences of the Rosary. 423
dulgenced prayers.1 It is right, however, to add that Father
Maurel understands the clause as similar in purport to the
decree of 1858, sanctioned, as we have seen, by his present
Holiness in reference to the Dominican Indulgences.2
For gaining the Apostolic Indulgences, the use of Beads is
not necessary. In the Elcnchns " all the faithful are instruc-
ted that, in order to gain the Indulgences with which his
Holiness . . . enriches Chaplets, Rosaries, Crucifixes, Crosses,
Images, and Medals . . . they must say the devout prayers
prescribed below ... at the time that they are wearing some
one of the aforesaid Cliaplcts, Crucifixes, &c.; or, if not wearing
them, they must keep them in their own room, or some other
fitting place in their abode, and recite their prayers before
Hence, two points are plain— (i), that the Apostolic Indul-
gences can be attached to Crucifixes, Crosses, Images, or
Medals, as well as to Beads, and (2), that when Beads are
used it is not necessary to keep them in the hand, or to
recite each prayer on the corresponding bead : it will suffice,
for instance, to carry them in the pocket. These points should
not be lost sight of, especially as the Apostolic Indulgences,
according to the clause quoted in the last number of the
RECORD, are granted not only to those who say the Rosary,
but also to those \yho perform certain other specified works
of devotion — for example, " to those who are in the habit of
hearing Mass, or (in the case of priests) of saying Mass, &c."4
The power of attaching to Beads, Crosses, &c., the blessing
necessary for gaining these Indulgences, is freely granted in
Rome. Bouvier notices a strange opinion, which, he says, was
held by many French priests, namely, that every one who
receives this power is thereby authorized to attach also the
Brigittine Indulgences, even though the formula of concession
should make no reference to this additional privilege. He
justly regards this view as untenable.5 In fact, the point has
been repeatedly decided by the Sacred Congregation,6 whose
1 " An recitans alternatim cum socio orationem cui applicatae sunt Indulgentiae
. . . possit lucrari Indulgentias ? JResf. Affirmative." — Deer. S. C. Ittdulg.
(i Mar., 1820.)
' Le Chritien Eclaire, p. 334.
' See the Raeeolta. Authorised Translation, pages 361-2. The words "parvoc
Statuae " are here translated Images. The Italian text of the Rateolta has
" Statuette." An explanatory clause in the Elenehw excludes prints or pictures : —
" Imagines sive impressas sive depictas."
4 See IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD, vol. vii., No. Ixxx., May, 1871, page 374.
• BOUVIER, Traife dts Indulgenres, Part 2, chap, vi., art 2, § iii., question 2.
8 " An lx?ne faciant benedice.ndo Coronas . . . cum applicatione Indulgen-
tiarum, I). Hiryittae nuncupatarum ? Kesp. Negative, nisi peculiaies habeanl
424 The Indulgences of the Rosary.
decrees regarding it seem, however, to have escaped his atten-
tion. But the question is of little practical importance ; for
the Brigittine Indulgences are expressly mentioned in the
formula by which the power of attaching the Apostolic Indul-
gences is now usually conferred : — " Bencdicendi
Coronas . . . eisque applicandi indulgentias lucrandas, ut
supra, et D. Birgittae nuncupatas."
It has been decided by the Sacred Congregation, that
priests are not empowered, by virtue of this clause, to bless
the Brigittine Chaplet, but only to bless Beads of the ordinary
form, attacking to them the Brigittine Indulgences)- The
Brigittine Chaplet is thus described in another Decree: — "It
is composed of six decades, in each of which the Our Father
is said once, the Hail Mary ten times, and the Apostles' Creed
once : at the close, the Our Father is again said once, and the
Hail Mary three times."2 Thus, as is observed in the Raccolfa,
the Our Father is said in all seven times, to mark the
number of the Seven Dolours, and Seven Joys of the Blessed
Virgin ; and the repetition of the Hail Mary marks the
years (sixty-three) which she lived upon this earth.3 The
power of blessing those Chaplets is rarely, if ever, granted
by the Holy See, except to the members of the Order on
whom it was originally conferred : it does not appear that they
are authorised to communicate it to other priests.
It is hardly necessary to add, that as the Apostolic and
Brigittine Indulgences alone are mentioned in the formula
by which the power of blessing Beads, &c., is usually granted
at Rome, a priest who receives it is not thereby empowered
to attach the Dominican Indulgences. To obtain the special
faculties required for this purpose, which are rarely granted
immediately by the Holy See, it is necessary to apply to the
General or Local Superior of the Dominican Order.*
facilitates . . . quaeque in concessionibus erprimuntur per ilia verba aut similia
' ac etiam applicandi Indulgentias Sanctae Birgittae nuncupatas.'" — Decret.SC.
Indulg. (28 Jan., 1842).
1 " Per ista verba aut similia, non datur facultas benedicendi Coronas Bir-
gittinas . . . sed traditur potestas benedicendi Coronas communes . . . cum
Indulgentiis quoque, quae propriae sunt Coronarum D. Birgittae." — Dtcret. S. C.
Indulg. (28 Jan. 1842.)
*Decret. S. C. Indulg. (25 Sept., 1841). The description given by Bouvier
(Traiti des Indulgences, part 2, chap, vi., art. 2, § Hi., n. i) of this Chaplet
is incorrect. "It is." he says, "recited thus :— At first, the Hail Mary three
times, and the Our Father once, then six decades, each terminated by the Our
Father," etc.
* The Kaccolta. Authorised Translation, p. 154.
4 The Dominican formula of concession is: — "Concedimus N.NT., facu'tatem,
qua possit, in locis uhi non sunt Fratres Ord. Praedicatorum, Christifideles . .
ad Societatem Sanctissimi Rosaiii adscribere . . ; coronas seu rosaria .
beneclicere ; et indulgentiam plenariam . . . Confratribus in articulo mortis
constitutis impertiri.
The Indulgences of the Rosary. 425
The Elenchus contains some important instructions, further
explained by Decrees of the Sacred Congregation, regarding
the materials of pious objects to which the Apostolic Indul-
gences can be attached.
Thus it is provided that "Crosses, Crucifixes, Statues, and
Medals of tin, lead, or of any material that can be easily
broken or destroyed,"1 are not to be blessed ; iron also was
excluded until recently; but in the new Elenchus, published
by the Sacred Congregation in 1853, the prohibition is
expressly withdrawn.2
It must be observed that these clauses of the Elenchus do
not refer to Rosaries or Chaplets. Bouvier, indeed, states that
for these, as well as for Crosses, Medals, &c., " lead, tin, and
other materials easily broken or destroyed," are excluded by a
Decree of the Sacred Congregation (ist March, i82O.)3 But,
this Decree expressly teaches the contrary.4 Bouvier himself
remarks that it is usual in Rome to bless Chaplets " of ala-
baster, mother-of-pearl," (Maurel adds " marble and enamel,")
and even "of glass, provided that the beads are solid."6
Finally, for the Indulgences of the Living Rosary, neither
the use nor the possession of Beads, Medals, etc., is required.
Gregory XVI. in granting these Indulgences, prescribed only
the recitation of the prayers, according to the rules of the As-
sociation :6 and these make no mention of any such condition.7
Several decrees have been issued by the Sacred Congregation
regarding the manner of blessing Beads. A communication
1 The Raccolta. Authorised Translation, page 362. The words of the Elenchus
are: — "Quae ex stamno, plumbo vel ex fra^ili alia materia, facilisque consump-
tionis conficiuntur. "
* " Notandum tamen Sanctitatem Suam ea etiam quae ex ferro confectasunt
admittere, licet usque nunc prohibita essent." Dtcret. S. C. Indulg. (n Mali
1853). Vid. PRINZIVALLI, Decreta Autluntica. Appendix N. 47.
* BOUVIER, Traitf des Indulgences. Part 2, chap. vi.. art. 2, § iii., n. 3.
4 "An ab hujusmodi benedictione rejiciantur etiam Coronae seu Rosaria quae
ex ... stamno, plumbo vel ex fragili matcria facilisque consumptionis conficiuntur.
Resp. Negative." Decret. S. C. Indulg. (i Mart. 1820).
* " An possint applicari Indulgentiac Coronis ex vitro seu chrystallo confectis ?
Resp. Affirmative, dummodo globuli sint ex vitro solido atque compacto." Decret.
S. C. Indulg. (I Mart. 1820).
facti
MAUREL, /.<• Clirttien Eclairi, p. 317.
" Quoties . . ex pii cxcrcitii prao-cripto, pars rosarii recitetur." Breve
Apost. Hftifdicentes Domino. (27 Jan. 1832).
7 See BOUVIER, Traiti des Indulgences. Part 3, chap, ii., §3, art. I. Rosaire
Vivant.
VOL. vii. 29
426 The Indulgences of the Rosary.
has been received from a Correspondent, who considers that
" the last of these, issued in 1864, and quoted by F. Ballerini,
in the Roman Edition of Gury's Compendium of Moral Theo-
logy, is at variance with those previously published. For it
requires the recitation of the prayers, and the observance of
the form inserted in the Ritual ; whereas, the earlier decrees
declared that it was sufficient for the Priest to make the Sign
of the Cross with his hand over the objects to be blessed."
As the point is of great practical importance, " involving," as
he believes, " the invalidity of the blessing usually conferred,"
he suggests that "the Decree of 1864 should be published
without delay in the ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD."
Our Correspondent is quite correct in stating that, previous
to 1 864, many Decrees were issued by the Sacred Congregation,
declaring that nothing more than the Sign of the Cross was
required.1 But it must not be supposed that these have been
set aside by the later Decree, requiring the observance of the
form which is found in the Ritual ; for, the Sacred Congre-
gation, in issuing the Decree of 1864, expressly declared that
it did not regard the cases which had been provided for by the
earlier decisions.2
What, then, is the purport of these various Decrees ? In the
first place, the earlier decisions, issued in answer to questions
regarding persons empowered to bless " Crosses, Medals, and
and Chaplets," plainly refer to the blessing required for gaining
the Indulgences mentioned in the Elenchus. On the other
hand, it is evident both from the terms of the question proposed,
and from the Votum of the Consultor, whose opinion of the
case was taken by the Sacred Congregation,3 that the Decree
of 1864 refers only to the Indulgences attached to the Chaplets
of certain Religious Orders.
The question, proposed by some French Vicars-General, was
whether the Decrees previously issued by the Sacred Congre-
gation referred exclusively to the blessing required for gaining
the Apostolic Indulgences, or regarded also the blessings re-
quired for the Dominican Indulgences of the Rosary and for the
1 " Utrum ad Indulgentias applicandas Crucibus, Rosariis, etc., alius ritus sit
necessarius praeterquam signum crucis ? Rap. Negative. " Decret. S. C. Indulg.
(14 April, 1840).
"Sufficitne signum Crucis manu efformare super res benedicendas, absque
pronuntiatione verborum formulae Benedictionis, et sine aspersione aquae bene-
dictae? Resp. Affirmative." Decret. S. C. Indulg. (7 Jan. 1843).
* "Responsa S. Congregationis. . . 14 April, 1840, et 7 Jan., 1843, non com-
prehendunt casus de quibus agitur. " Decret. S. C. Indulg. (29 Feb. 1864).
"These Documents, together with the Decree itself, were published in these
pages several years ago, soon after they had been issued by the Sacred Congregation.
See IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD, vol. ii., Nos. xxii.-iii., July and August,
1866, pp. 477 and 527.
The Indulgences of the Rosary. 427
Indulgences annexed to the recitation of the Chaplet of the
Seven Dolours. If the view indicated in the former part of the
question should prove to be correct, the Congregation was
requested to issue a new Decree extending to those other
Indulgences, the principle already sanctioned in the case of
the Indulgences of the Elenchus, so that priests authorised to
attach the Indulgences of the Rosary or the Chaplet of the
Seven Dolours — whether immediately by the Sovereign Pontiff,
or by permission from the Superiors either of the Dominican
Order, or of the Order of Servants of Mary — could do so by
simply making the Sign of the Cross without using holy water
or reciting any form of prayer.1 The Consultor, in his Votumt
apparently assuming that the earlier Decrees referred exclu-
sively to the Apostolic Indulgences, advocated their extension
to the other Indulgences mentioned in the question.2
Obviously, then, the question decided by the Sacred Con-
gregation in 1864, had no reference to the blessing required
for the Indulgences of the Elcnchus: it regarded only those
blessings, the power of conferring which, though of course it can
be obtained immediately from the Sovereign Pontiff, can also
be granted by the Superiors of certain Religious Orders.
And hence, the decision — that a special formula should be used,
and that the Sign of the Cross made with the hand would not
suffice — in no way affects the validity of the simpler form of
blessing sanctioned for the Indulgences of the Elenckus by
the earlier Decrees.3
It is plain then, that the Dominican Indulgences cannot be
gained unless the prescribed formula has been used in blessing
the Beads. This formula will be found in the Appendix to
the Roman Ritual,4 in Bouvier's Treatise on Indulgences,6
and in the Document by which the Superior of the Dominicans
1 Cum Decreta, de benedictionibus cum applications indulgent! arum apostoli-
carum loquantur, dubitatur num . . etiam comprehendant benedictionem cum
applications indulgentiarum Rosarii S. Dominici et Coronae septem Dolorum
. . . ita ut Sacerdotes qui vel immediate a summo Pontitici vcl a Superioribus
. . Ordinum facultatem habeant benedicendi .Kosaria S. Dominici et Coronas
septem Dolorum id solo signo Crucis perfkere valeant. . . In casu quo formula
adhibenda sit, ab obligatione illam adhibendi dispensationem implorant." — See
IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD. Ibid; or the first volume, page 555, of that
most useful periodical Ada ex its Decerpta quae apud S. Sedem Geruntur. Romae,
1865.
1 •• Videbantur ejusmodi Resolutiones extend! posse ad benedictionem cum ap-
plicationc Indulgentiarum Rosarii S. Dominici etc . . . quia de re favorabili.
agitur." Id. Ibid.
* " Pro Coronis Rosarii et septem B. M. V. dolorum, servandum fonnulam,
cum Responsa S. Congregationis dierum n April, 1840, et 7 Jan, 1843. non com-
prehendant casus de quibus agitur in precious. Quoad dispensationem non expedire.
Decret. S. C. Indulg., 29 Feb., 1864.
4 Appendix ad Rituale Romanum, Dublinii (Kelly) 1864, page 69.
• Traiti des Indulgences, part a, chap. vi. art. 3, § iii. quest. 7.
428 Documents.
empowers a priest to bless the Rosary Beads. An incorrect
version of it is given by Maurel.1
On the other hand, nothing more than a simple blessing
with the hand is required in the case of the Apostolic
Indulgences. The Pope himself does not use either holy
water or any form of prayer: and the Sacred Congregation has
decided that neither is required even in the case of ordinary
priests.2 But, as Maurel observes : — " II convient, lorsque
les fideles ofifrcnt au pr£tre un objet a b6nir, de suivre le cere-
monial 6tabli dans 1'Eglise, c'est-a-dire, de faire cette benedic-
tion avec une certain solemniteV'3 And Bouvier very justly
adds : — "Si on ne le faisait pas, les fideles se persuaderaient
difficilement que leur chapelets fussent benits."*
In blessing the Brigittine Chaplet, it is necessary to follow
the directions of the Ritual of the Brigittine Order, the
decisions regarding the Apostolic Indulgences being plainly
inapplicable to this case. But no special form is required
for attaching the Brigittine Indulgences to the ordinary Chap-
let of five decades, since, in virtue of the formula which, as we
have seen, is now employed by the Holy See, these Indul-
gences are attached when a Chaplet is blessed for the Apostolic
Indulgences.
W. J. W.
DOCUMENTS.
I.— LETTER OF OUR MOST HOLY FATHER,
PIUS IX., ON THE NEW TEACHERS IN ROME.
Venerabili Fratri Nostro Constantino S. ft. E. Cardinali
Patrizi, Episcopo Osticnsi et Vditcrno, Sacri Cardinalinm
Collegii Dccano, Vicario Nostro Gcnerali in Spiritualibus
Romae eiusque districtus.
PIUS PP. IX.
Venerabilis Frater Noster, Salutem et Apostolicam Bene-
dictionem. Res maximi plane momenti, Venerabilis Frater
Noster, postulat, rogari te a Nobis atque excitari, ut opera
studioque tuo extenuare contendas, aut etiam, si fieri possit,
amoliri a juventute nostra studiosa periculum exitii ei parati.
Litteris sane manu Nostra datis non semel monueramus
aliquem e populorum moderatoribus, ut usi auctoritate desuper
1 Le Chretien Eclaire, part 3, n. 105.
* Decreta S. C Indulg. (14 April, 1840; 7 Jan., 1843). See anjf, page 426.
' Le Chretien Eclairt, p. 315.
* Traite des Indulgences. Part 2. chap, vi., art 2, sect, iii., quest. 7.
Documents. 429
eis commissa, memoresquc muneris sui tuendae civilis societatis
ab incrcdulitate, pestc omnium perniciosissima, arcerent a
Magistrorum subselliis homines, qui non solum omnia des-
piccrent officia religionis, sed odio cjus acti, spirituque vere
satanico, eamdem carperent, traducerent, oppugnarent. Irrita
tamen fuerunt monita Nostra ; siquidem veritum est, aut
non libuit opponere murum aeneum monstri progressui ;
licuitque proptcrca juveniles animos perversis vitiare doctrinis,
et per calumniosa, versuta, impudentissima commenta, in fidem,
religionem, Ecclesiam, sacros ritus eorumque administros ac
sanctiora quaeque concitare. Nonnulli vero e caecis istis et
perditis caecorum ducibus, ad exacerbanda mala Nostra, hue
etiam per diruta Urbis moenia sunt advecti ; quibus perpauci
e veteribus variarum disciplinarum professoribus, abjectissimi
sane ingenii, versipelles et cujusvis grati animi sensus expertes
accesserunt, qui retusis conscientiae stimulis, omnique postha-
bito religiose respectu, ultro se signum constituerunt irae Dei,
cui severissimam reddituri sunt rationem malorum, quae fecer-
unt in Jerusalem. Eorum autem omnium impiae mentis
detestabilisque doctrinae specimen habetur indubium in iis,
quas ad Doellingerum dederunt, litteris errore, blasplemiis,
incredulitate scatentibus. Equidem,Venerabilis Prater Noster,
zizania perfecte non secernentur a frumento ante magnam
illam diem, in qua Dominus tempus accipiens justitias judica-
bit. Verum expedit, ut citius innotescat universis, eos, qui
nomina sua scelestis litteris adscripserunt, catholicos esse
desiisse, adeoque vitandos esse a catholicis. Nos quidem et
pro iis oramus, ut in se reversi recedant a tenebricosa inferorum
doctrina ; eaque damnantes quae sunt professi, verbo et ex-
emplo submovere nitantur scandalum a se proximis objectum.
Interim vero, Venerabilis Prater Noster, tu Parochos omnes
istius Metropolis Orbis catholici moneto, eorum esse officii,
nullam negligere. occasionem suadendi juvenibus curae suae"
creditis, non licere prorsus auditores se illis praebere, eorumque
excipere institutionem, qui nefariis litteris subscripserunt,
quorum nomina cum publicae nunciaverint ephcmerides, re-
censenda non ducimus. Utinam solicitudo Nostra zelo adjuta
tuo et piorum huius urbis parochorum, sistat irrumpentis in-
credulitatis impetum, multosque ex adolescentibus a barathro
retrahat impietatis, in quod compelluntur. Id enixe poscimus
a Deo ; cujus favoris auspicem, simulque testem praecipuae
benevolentiae tibi, Venerabilis Prater Noster, Apostolicam
Benedictionem peramanter impertimus.
Datum Romae apud S. Petrum die 15 Maii Anno 1871,
Pontificatus Nostri Anno Vigesimoquinto.
PIUS PP. IX.
430
CORRESPONDENCE.
I.
THE IRISH MARTYR AT TIEN-TSIN.
In the month of December last, we published a short
account of the triumph of martyrdom accorded to Sister
Louise O'Sullivan, of the Sisters of Charity, in the dreadful
outburst of persecution at Tien-Tsin. The following letter,
with which His Eminence, our revered Cardinal Archbishop,
has kindly favoured us, gives some most interesting details
connected with this Irish Martyr — details which, assuredly, will
be the more prized by many of our readers, as they are dic-
tated by the gratitude of a Scotch Presbyterian Freemason :—
"22 Burr-street, East Smithfield,
"London, 4/5/71.
" YOUR EMINENCE, — I earnestly request you will have the
kindness to publish this letter in any Irish periodical you may
think will lead to the discovery of the parents of a beloved child,
who suffered martyrdom for her Saviour's sake.
"As I was the only British subject in the Tien-Tsin Hospital
previous to the Massacre taking place, the following facts may
be interesting : —
"The whole of the Ladies of the Institution belonged to the
Order of St. Vincent de Paul, and amongst those saints, was
my kind-hearted nurse, Sister Louise, who was at my bedside
day and night, cheering my drooping spirits, broken down
with sickness and pain.
" Often she told me how delighted she was, although far
away from old Ireland, to have the privilege of conversing in
her native tongue with a Scotchman. I will not dwell longer
on the characteristics of this ministering angel, who is now
with her Redeemer.
" On the evening before the massacre, I had received a sign
from a brother Mason that my life was in danger ; I, however,
remained all night (armed) in the Hospital, and left about
9 a.m. next morning. Previous to my leaving, I tried hard to
persuade poor Sister Louise, to come with me to the British
Consulate ; alas ! all was of no avail ; I then paid her the sum
of ten shillings, Hospital fees, besides giving her a small
donation in behalf of the schools.
" Should the above meet the eyes of her bereaved parents,
I shall feel great pleasure in handing them her dying receipt,
recorded in her handwriting.
Roman Chronicle. 431
" The massacre took place about an hour after I left the
Hospital, and poor Sister Louise was the last victim.
" I also wish to state that she told me her native place was
near Waterford. — I am, Rev. Sir, your obedient servant,
" JAMES MERCER,
" Master of the Ship ' Walton,' of Harwich."
II.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD.
" REV. DEAR SIR, — Would you deem it advisable to recom-
mend, through the pages of the RECORD, to the priesthood and
people of Ireland, a General Communion of the faithful, on or
before the i6th day of June next, for the Intentions of our
Holy Father, Pope Pius the Ninth. — Yours faithfully,
" AN IRISH PRIEST."
[We are most grateful to our esteemed correspondent for
the suggestion he has made, and we are sure our readers will
not fail to carry it into effect.]
ROMAN CHRONICLE.
I. Theatre in the Quirinal Palace. — 2. Appointment of Sindaco. —
3. Foreign Religious Institutions in Rome. — 4. The French
Ambassador. — 5. The Pope. — 6. The Public Offices in Rome. —
7. The Roman University and Dollinger. — 8. Conduct of the
Students. — 9. A Miraculous Cure in Rome.
I. This month's Chronicle opens with the novel intelligence
that the Apostolic Palace of the Quirinal has been converted
for the nonce into a playhouse. The representation came off
on the evening of the I4th of April. During Lent the
revolutionary journals had been giving most flattering
accounts of the rehearsals, and how the five or six ladies of
the court were preparing to give proofs of their talent in comedy,
and their ability to rival some of our most renowned virtuose.
They spoke of the august lady (Princess Marguerite), who
honoured the rehearsals with her presence, and they extolled
the energy and skill of Madame Riston, who gave the finish-
ing touches of the piece.
432 Roman Chronicle.
The programme was even forwarded to Florence for
publication in these terms : — The evening will commence
with Les souhers de bal, represented by the Princess Pallavicini
and the Marchioness Lavaggi ; to be followed by Fra moglie
e marito, non mettere nn dito, in which the Duchess di
Rignano, Marchioness Lavaggi, Don Marcantonio Colonna,
and George Capranico Del Grille, • son of Madame Ristori,
will take parts : to conclude with the little comedy of Les
erreurs de Jean, in which the Princess D'Avellino, Princess
Pallavacini, Don Marc Antonio Colonna, the Marquis Mon-
tereno, and Marquis Allessandro Giuccioli, will court applause.
The evening was a great success. // Tempo decrees the palm
of merit to the actress, Princess Pallavicini. This was the
latest profanation of the Pope's palace ; however, it must be
remembered that, in adapting it for the use of its present
occupants, every sacred emblem which entered into the
decoration of the several apartments was carefully removed.
2. After eight months' abnormal existence of the Communal
Council of Rome, at last they found one to take the duties of
Sindaco of Rome. By a royal decree of the i6th of April
it was notified that this position was filled by Don Francesco
Cesare Rospigliosi- Pallavicini, Prince Pallavicini, and Gallicano,
born the 2nd of March, 1828, married the 4th of October,
1864, to Donna Maria Carolina, daughter of Antonio, Prince
Piombino-Boncompagni-Ludovisi. The Pallavicini family is
perhaps among all the noble families of Rome, the one most
indebted to the vigilance and generosity of the Holy See.
Yet such is the gratitude which it now displays towards
Pius IX., the best of benefactors.
3. The Official Gazette of the 2Qth of April published the
following announcement: — " The Royal Government, with the
view of observing towards the foreign religious institutions in
Rome the due regards, not only of justice, but also of con-
venience, each according to their special nature — came to the
determination of appointing a commission of distinguished
personages, charged with studying the juridical condition of
those institutes, as far as they may depend upon foreign Catholic
Churches or foundations, and proposing opportune provision.
The commission consists of L. E. Desambrois de Navache,
President; Vigliani, Vice-President; Pacca; Pisanelli; Scialoia;
Boncompagni ; Mauri ; Joseph Robecchi (a suspended priest) ;
and Piacentini Rinaldi."
Under the benevolent care of such a commission as the
above, the Foreign Colleges in Rome are sure to prosper.
4. The selection made by M. Thiers to represent Catholic
France at the Pontifical Court was the source of great satis-
faction to. the Holy Father. His Kxcellency Count d'Har-
Roman Chronicle. 433
court arrived in Rome on the 22nd of April. On the Wednes-
day following he was received in private audience by his Holi-
ness, and presented his credentials as Ambassador to the Holy
See. A few days after he had another audience, when he
presented M. De Vogue, the ambassador en route to Constan-
tinople, and who was ordered to pass through Rome and put
himself in relation with the Holy See in order to the suppres-
sion of the Armenian schism, and sustaining the Catholic cause.
The people of Rome, properly so called — not the people of the
plebiscite — showed their appreciation of M. Thiers' policy, and
the Count d'Harcourt's avowed Pontifical principles, by leaving
their cards on the French ambassador to the number of over
6o,OOO. The Roman revolutionary journals tried to make
light of this demonstration, and discredit the figures, adducing
as a proof, that very few were seen to enter the precincts of
the French embassy. But it should be understood, that every
'one entering was charged with the delivery of 500 and 700,
and some even 1,000 visiting cards, and the number was in-
creasing every day. It is admitted also that a certain A ,
a Roman, but a child of the revolution, and attached in some
capacity to the French embassy, amused himself by destroy-
ing a considerable number of these cards, or writing under the
name, " To protest against the temporal power of the Pope."
This trick was soon discovered, and the perpetrator was imme-
diately cashiered. The French ambassador, later on, paid a
formal visit to the Marquis Cavaletti, late senator under the
Pontifical Government, to thank the Romans, in his person,
for the exhibition of sympathy tendered to him. This visit
made to the ex-municipal governor gave great offence to the
powers that be, especially as the Count d'Harcourt declines
all overtures made to him for the purpose of visiting the
present inhabitants of the Quirinal.
5. The state of the Holy Father's health is all that could
be desired, and everything that seems to assure his children
throughout the world that he will safely reach and pass the
years of Peter. Scarcely a day passes that he does not receive
deputations, with addresses and offerings, and some days
as many as four or five. Two large deputations came from
Austria, another from England, others from different quarters
of the globe, but the most interesting was the deputation of
the poor women of Rome. As many as 1,300 poor women of
the city were assembled in the hall of the consistory to present
an address to the Father of the Poor, and, together with the
address, a handsome sum of money, made up of the soldi and
centesimi of the poor of Rome. The interview was most
touching, and the Holy Father's remarks in reply were most
beautiful and consoling. On Ascension Thursday morning
434 Roman Chronicle.
he said Mass in his private chapel, and administered Holy
Communion to upwards of seventy ladies of the first families
in Rome He has now entered upon his eightieth year, and
seems fully as active and vigorous as he was ten years ago.
" Dominus conserve! cum et vivificet eum et beatum faciat eum
in terra" should be the fervent prayer of all his children.
6. The ex-minister, Gadda, who fills the anomalous position
of Regent of the Prefecture, publishes an official report on the
preparations made for transferring the capital, and announces
the following arrangement of the public offices : (i) — the
Ministry of War, in the Convent of the Santi Apostoli ; (2) —
the Finance, in the Convent of the Minerva ; (3) — Public
Works, in the Monastery of San Silvestro in Capite ; (4) — the
Interior, in a private palace for which the Government is
negotiating ; (5) — Grace and Justice, in the Tuscan Embassy;
(6) — Agriculture and Commerce, in the suppressed Tipo-
grafia Camerale; (7) — Public Instruction in the Piazza Colonna;
(8) — Marine.theConventof St. Augustine; (9) — Foreign Affairs,
a private building to be purchased ; (10) — Court of Accounts,
not yet fixed ; (11) — Council of State, not yet fixed ; (12) —
the Treasury, in the Convent of the Vergini ; (13) — Registry
Office, in the Convent of St. Andrew; (14) Lottery and Civil
Engineering, in the Palace of the Ripetta ; (15) Post Office,
in Piazza Colonna; (16) — Tribunals and Court of Appeal,
in the Oratorians, at the Chiesa Nuova ; (17) — Military Inten-
dance, in San Sylvestro, in Quirinale ; (18) — Archives, a por-
tion in Palazzo Mignatelli, and a portion in the Convent of
the Valle. It was a god -send that there were so many con-
vents in Rome from which they could summarily eject the
inmates without the bother of buying them out.
7. Great noise has been made in Rome about the address
from the Roman University to the excommunicated Dollinger.
" La Liberta," which gave it such prominence, was forced to
publish the names of the signatories, and they number exactly
twenty-five between professors and assistants; sixteen of
whom came in by the breach at Porta Pia, and of the remain-
ing, two had already signed an address to the Pope in favour
of the Infallibility ; but not one of them belonged to the
Theological Faculty, most of them being medical doctors
and chemists. A counter demonstration was made by the
remaining professors, and an address, bearing seventy names,
was presented to the Pope, condemning the conduct of those
who assumed the right of speaking in the name of all, and
expressing their entire adhesion to the doctrines of the Catholic
Church, and especially to the dogma lately defined by the
Vatican Council. Apropos of this incident, a brief of his
Holiness, addressed to the Cardinal- Vicar of Rome, will be
Roman Chronicle. 435
found in the preceding pages, pronouncing sentence of excom-
munication against the promoters of that wicked though
foolish Dollinger address.
8. Some of the students, partizans of the Revolution, en-
deavoured to imitate the conduct of the excommunicated
professors, and called a meeting in the halls of the Liberi-
Pensatori (Free-thinkers), in Piazza Barberini. They, too,
subscribed an address in the name of all the students, ad-
hering to the heretical professors. Out of one thousand
students that attend the Sapienza, barely ninety attended
the meeting ; of these eighty voted for the address, nine
against, and one declined to vote. In opposition to this, on
the evening of Tuesday, the i6th of May, a considerable num-
ber of the students met together and repudiated the act of
the few that dared to misrepresent them, and unanimously
agreed to the following resolutions: (i) Insincerely pitying
their misguided companions, who, incompetent in amatterpurely
theological, professed a rationalism of which Dollinger himself
would be ashamed ; (2) — Adhering steadfastly to all the
doctrines of the Catholic Church, and particularly the dogma
of Papal Infallibility ; (3) — Considering that so doing, even
humanly speaking, they are acting with prudence, and at all
hazards they prefer to stand with two great Italians, St.
Thomas and Dante, than with a German priest made famous
in Italy by his heresy ; (4) — Applauding their courageous
professors who remained true, and gave them good example,
their seniors in all Christian and civil virtue as in age ; (5) —
Exhorting the Catholic youth of all Universities, to resist
every insinuation which might endanger the precious treasure
of the Catholic Faith. These demonstrations, pro and con,
were followed by disturbances. The fifty liberali commenced
to hiss and hoot the retrivi, the new name for the CathoHc
students, who all refused to attend the lectures of the heretical
professors. Many of the latter, especially the medical men,
have lost their best patients in consequence of the excom-
munication. The Roman aristocracy are acting with their
accustomed vigour, and excluding them from their houses.
9. A wonderful miraculous cure was operated on the 7th
of May, on the person of Vittoria Romanelli, through the
intervention of the venerable Servant of God, Rosa Venerini,
foundress of the Maestre Pie. The ecclesiastical authorities
are investigating the matter to attest its truth. The person
cured was charged in the vision to tell 'Pius IX. that his
triumph was certain and near, but that it would be preceded
by three dark days.
436
MONASTICON HIBERNICUM,
OR,
A SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE ANCIENT
MONASTERIES OF IRELAND.
[N.B. — The text of the "Monasticon" is taken verbatim from Archclall : the notes
marked with numbers are added by the Editors.]
COUNTY OF CORK.
Cloyne. — The account given by Archdall of this ancient and venerable see is
meagre in the extreme. The see of Cloyne was founded by St. Colman Mac Lenin,
who was closely allied by blood with the reigning family of Munster. His genealogy
in the Book of Lecan traces back his family to Mogha Nuadhat ; but the Martyrology
of Donegal leaves us in uncertainity as to whether he was descended from that
Prince, or from another distinguished chieftain named Lughaidh Lagha. In his
early years he was famed for his rare poetic talents, and was honoured with the title of
Royal Bard of Munster. In after times he dedicated his minstrelsy to religion,
and composed several poems on sacred subjects — a fragment of one ot these, being
an elegant metrical Life of St. Scnanus — was known to Colgan, who describes it
as " stylo vetusto et pereleganti patrio sermone conscriptum. " (Acta SS., page
339). In the Book of Lismore, there is another short poem in Irish, composed by
St. Colman, in praise of St. Brendan. It thus begins : —
"Brendan, flame of victorious lightning ;
He smote the chafer, he ploughed the waves
Westward to the populous assemblative place —
The fair-sided Land of Promise."
At the request of St. Ita, St. Brendan, on a certain occasion, went forward to
meet the youthful Colman, and admonished him to enter on a life of penance,
saying " God has called thee to salvation, and thou shalt be as an innocent dove in
the sight of God. " Colman, throughout the remainder of his life, was docile to
the inspirations of grace, and became illustrious among the saints of Ireland by hii
learning and virtues. Towards the close of his earthly pilgrimage, hearing of the
fame of the school of Lough Eirce, he wished, though himself a master in the
paths of perfection, to visit that monastery, and to enrol his name among the
disciples of St. Finharr. Our annalists do not mark with precision the year in
which St. Colman founded the Monastery of Cloyne. It was certainly not before
the year 550, for it is recorded that, at the inauguration of Aodh Caomh, King of
Cashel, about that time, our saint took part as the royal minstrel of Munster.
There seems, however, no ground for doubting the acccuracy of the statement made
by O'Halloran in his History of Ireland (vol. 3rd, page 76) on the authority of the
Psalter of Cashel. that Eochaidh, Monarch of Ireland in the year 560, founded the
Church of Cloyne for St. Colman.
According to the Annals of (he Four Masters, St. Colman died in the year 600
(i.e., 601 of our present computation), and the 24th of November is the day on
which his festival is marked in all the ancient calendars, and on which it is still
observed in the Diocese of Cloyne. Our patron of Cloyne must not be confounded
with another St. Colman, who was honoured on the same day : both these saints
are thus commemorated by St. ^Engus in his Felirfi, at the 24th November : — •
" With Cianan of Daimliac,
A beautiful ear of our wheat.
Mac Lenine the most excellent, >
With Colman of Dubh-chuillenn."
Count)' of Cork. 437
The Martyrology of Donegal preserves the following quatrain, from the ancient
poem Naemhsheanchus, on the Saints of Ireland : —
" Colman, son of Lenin, the full,
And Mothemneog, son of Ccrban,
Were of the race of two brothers —
Oilioll Oluim, and Lughaidh."
The old Latin Life of St. Brendan passes the following eulogy on St. Colman :
"This Colman, the son of Lenin, was for learning and a holy life chief anfong the
saints. He founded the Church of Cloync, which is at this day a cathedral, and
famous throughout the province of Munster."
Cloyne was situated in the territory of Ui-Lethain, and in that sub-division
which was called Ui-Mocaille, a name that is still retained in the barony of Imo-
killy. It Is distant nineteen miles from Cork, and '• is seated in the heart of a
rich and highly cultivated country, being emlxjsomed in gently rising hills : it does
credit to the choice of the ancient fathers who here took up their abode in very
remote times." — Brash, "Journal of Kilkenny Arch. Soc." (New Series ii. 253).
To distinguish this see from other churches of the same name— of which there
were several scattered throughout Ireland— it was sometimes called by the name
Cluain-mor, i.e., " The great Cloyne," but more generally Cluain-uamha, that is,
" Cloyne of the caves." There are some very deep and interesting caves close by
the old cathedral : it is probable St. Colman, or some of his religious, lived in
them in olden times ; and it is the popular tradition that many of the clergy and
people found a safe retreat there when the country was ravaged by the Danes.
The Protestant Bishop Bennett thus writes of the caves in 1813 : " The town of
Cloyne is situated on a small limestone eminence, gently rising in the midst of the
valley, through which I suppose Cork Harbour to have once communicated with
the sea, and this eminence, therefore, was once an island surrounded with water. . .
On this spot St. Colman, before the year 600, is supposed to have founded his
church, and the security of it must have received no small addition from the cir-
cumstance of a cave, which is on the most elevated part of it, extending in various
branches underground to a great distance. . . The cave is now in the field
called the Rock-meadow, forming part of the bishop's demesne, a little east of his
garden wall, and they having been long neglected, and the drains from it choked up,
it is generally full of water in winter, yet there is a large arched passage, running some
hundred yards, leading to another mouth in the shrubbery north of it. A third,
but smaller opening, is also visible in the high ground above the pond ; a fourth,
near the road to the commons ; and these, or similar entrances, gave the name to
the whole of this land of the field of the caverns." Elsewhere he writes : '• The
rock-shrubbery ends at the mouth of a cave of unknown length and depth, which
branches to a great distance under the earth, and is sanctified by a thousand wild
traditions." Brash further informs us, that " it is generally believed that the caves
at Cloyne, and the great stalactitical caves at Carrig-a-Crump, about two miles
distant, are connected, which is not improbable. The latter caves have never been
thoroughly explored, though penetrated to a distance of one mile."
Speaking of the Cathedral. Dr. Bennett writes — " It is a respectable building,
witli a handsome nave and tnnuept, and a small choir. By the style of the building
I should suppose it not older than 1250. ... In the eastern part of the church-
yard, which is large and well planted, still remain the ruins of a small stone
edifice, standing east and west, thirty feet long, and nineteen in breath, known by
the name of St. Colman's Chapel, and, probably, one of those oratories or early
churches still to be seen at Killaloe, or St. Donat's, treated of by Ledwich in his
' Antiquities " Klsewhcre the same writer adds: " In 1706 the Chapter passed
an order to pull down the battlements of the church, as being too heavy for the
side walls, thus depriving the cathedral of its ancient respectable appearance, and
making it look, as much as they could, like a barn." An old MS. in the British
Museum, which is believed to have belonged to Sir James Ware {Clarendon
Collection, 4.796), contains a curious account of the graveyard of Cloyne: "The
best l)lo<>d> of Ireland," it says. •• have chosen Cloyne for their place of burial,
use its founder, being a holy bishop, had such power with C-od, that what
souls had dwelt in the bodies buried under that dust would never be adjudged
438 Ancient Monasteries of Ireland.
to damnation." To corroborate this statement, we may mention that St. Cormac
mac Cullenan, king and bishop of Cashel, directed in his will, as Keating informs
us, that his body should be interred at Cluain-Uamha, because it was the burial-
Elace of Colman mac Lenan ; if that could not be accomplished, he was to be
urieil at Disert Diannada.
Nearly opposite the west end of the Cathedral, at a distance of thirty yards,
stands the beautiful round tower ofCloyne. Its present height is a little more than
a hundred feet ; its diameter at the doorway is nine feet two inches, with a thick-
ness of .wall of three feet eight inches. At the upper floor the diameter of the
tower is seven feet two inches, with a thickness of wall of two feet nine inches.
The tower is divided internally into storeys by seven offsets taken from the thick-
ness of the wall ; so that, drawn in section, the internal line of wall would
show a zig-zag outline. The tower was originally crowned by the usual conical
stone roof, which is stated to have been destroyed by lightning on the night of
the loth of January, 1749. Bennet gives the following description of this storm : —
"A storm of lightning, with thunder, on the niyht of January loth, 1749, passed
through the country in a line from west to east, and, after killing some cows, in
a field south of Cork, struck the round tower of Cloyne. It first rent the vaulted
arch at the top, threw down the great bell, together with three galleries, and de-
scending perpendicularly to the lowest floor, forced its way, with a violent explosion,
through one side of the tower, and drove some of the storeys, which were admir-
ably well jointed, through the roof of a neighbouring stable. The door, though
secured by a strong iron lock, was thrown to the distance of sixty yards, and quite
shattered to pieces. A few pigeons that used to roost on the top of the steeple
were scorched to death, not a feather of them being left unsinged. With the
same bad taste which distinguishes all the works of our modern architecture, the
vaulted stone roof of the tower was never repaired, but the height was lowered
more than six feet, and a vile battlement, in imitation of the worst English churches,
substituted in its stead." Wilkinson, treating of the "Ancient Architecture of
Ireland," p. T\, states that '' the material of this tower is reddish-coloured sand-
stone of the country, in good preservation ; much of it is very carefully worked to
the curvature of the tower with a chisel-pointed hammer ; the masonry of the
doorway is put together in a laboured manner, and finely chiselled, each stone
being apparently worked as it was required ; the stones are flat-bedded and of
considerable size;" and, subsequently, he adds. " that the masonry of the doorway is
so carefully put together, that a file alone would produce such careful work in the
present day.''
In a paper read twelve years ago before the Kilkenny Archaeological Society
(New Series, ii., 265), we find it stated that "the round tower at Cloyne is locally
known by the Irish-speaking people as Giol-cach ; and the same term is locally
applied at Ardmore, at Kineth, and at Ratto. in Kerry," Within the past few
days this statement has been confirmed and further illustrated by the Rev. Richard
Smiddy, in his interesting work on the "Druids, &c., of Ireland." At page 199
he writes: "The universal popular name of the round tower in Munster, Con-
naught, and the other Irish-speaking parts of Ireland, is cuilceach or culctheach :
this name is formed from cuilc, ' a reed,' and theach, ' a house,' that is the reed-
house, or reed-shaped structure. Thus, the people have always said, with constant,
unerring accuracy, when speaking of these sti-uctures, cuilceach cluina, ' the round
tower of Cloyne ;' cuilceach Colmain, ' the round tower of St. Colman ;' cuilceach
Deaglain, ' the round tower of St. Declan,' at Ardmore, and so on." To explain
the origin of the name, he further adds: "There is growing in the bogs and
rivers of Ireland a large kind of cuilc, or reed, with a conical head, which, in form
and shape, resembles the lines of the round tower, and which, I am sure, was
originally taken as the model for it." The writer in the transactions of the Kil-
kenny Archaeological Society, already referred to, also states : " I was never
more struck with the poetic applicability of this term to our round towers than at
Ratto, in Kerry, when I stood on the ancient causeway opposite the tower, and
heard the same name applied to the tall, slender, symmetrical pillar, with its
perfect conical spire, as to the tall, graceful reeds, with their spiral feathered caps,
which lined the banks of the Brick, and of the canal which runs up nearly to the
b;ise of the tower" (p. 265).
County of Cork. 439
In the "Book of Rights," page 87, Cluain-uamha is mentioned as one of the royal
residences of the Kings of Cashel, and subsequently is added : —
"Of the right of Cashel in its power
Are Bruree and the great Muilchead ;
Seanchua the beautiful, Ros-raeda the bright :
And to it belongs the noble fort of Cluain-uamha."
The following facts, omitted by Archdall, have been gleaned from our Ancient
Annals and the " Wars of the Danes" :—
A.D. 821. Cucaech, abbot of Cluain-uamha. died.
A. D. 822. A party of marauders plundered Cork. Inis-Temhni, Begery Islaml
in Wexford harbour, Cloyne, and Rosmaelain. The barren rock, called Sceli*
Mithil, i.e., St. Michael's Rock, the abode of a solitary named Edgall, wa- also
invaded by them, and. as they found nothing else to take, they carried him off into
captivity, in which he died in the following year. Keating says the invaders, on
this occasion, were White Lochlann, that is, Norwegians.
A.D. 835. Between the years 824 and 835 the greater part of the churches of
Erin were plundered by the Danes. The monasteries and churches were the
reputed repositories of wealth, as they were the centres of civilization throughout
our island. They thus became the chief aim of the plunderers, and even at this
early date the marauders made their way to the ecclesiastical establishments in
some of the most remote parts of the country. The long list of the places plun-
dered by them on this occasion ends with the names " Cell-Uasaille, now Killossy,
or Killashee, near Naas, county Kildare ; Glendalough, county Wicklow ; Cluain-
Uamha, county Cork ; and Mungairet, now Mungret, county Limerick."
A.D. 857. Maelcobha Ua Faelain, abbot of Cluain-Uamha, died. Lynch'sMS.
gives us in this year the additional entry : — " Robertachus bonus episcopus de
Cluain-Uamha obiit."
A.D. 884. Reachtaidh, learned Bishop of Cluain-Uamha, died.
A.D. 888. Cluain-Uamha was again plundered by the Danes, and Fergal, son
of Finachta, its bishop and abbot, and Uanan, son of Cerin, its sub-abbot, were
killed.
A.D. 1056. Daighre O'Dubatan, anchorite of Cloyne, died at Glendaloch.
A.D. 1071. A fleet with Dermot O'Brien sailed round Ireland : he devastated
Cluain-Uamha, and took away the relics of St. Finbarr from Cill-na-clerich.
A.D. 1075. O'Carrain, archinncch of Cluain-Uamha quievit in Chisto.
A.D. 1094. O'Molvain, Bishop of Cluain-Uamha. died.
A D. 1099. Uamnachan Ua-Mictire, comharb of Cohn.in, son of Lenin, died.
A.D. 1137. Cluain-Uamha and Ardagh of Bishop Mel were burned, both
houses and churches.
A.D. 1149. Nehemiah O'Moriertach, bishop, died. He flourished in 1 140, as
•we learn from St. Bernard in Vita S. Afalachuif, who gives him the title " Epis-
copus Cluan-vaniae," which, in some of the printed texts, is corrupted into " Duen-
vaniae." Bishop Nehemiah is described by an old writer in " Tyndal's Vision"
as " a plain and modest man. excelling in wisdom and chastity."
A.D. 1159. O'Duberg, also called O'Dubrein, -abbot of Cluain-Uamha, died.
A.D. 1162. Diarmid Ua-Laighnen. lector of Cluain-Uamha, was killed. He
is called by Lynch " Dermicius O'Leighnin, archidiaconus Cluanensis et Momoniae,
Doctor."
A.I). 1167. Ua-Flannain, bishop of Cluain-Uamha, died.
A.D. 1192. Matthew O'Mongach, bishop of Cloyne, died. He was Legate of
the Holy See for Ireland at the time of the English invasion, and was succeeded
in his Legatine authority by the celebrated Matthew O'Heney, archbishop of
Cashel.
The subsequent history of the See till the Reformation era, may be seen in Ware.
Much additional light is thrown on this period by the Pipe Roll of Cloyne, pub-
lished in Cork, in 1859, by Richard Caulfield, Esq. In the Preface the learned
editor gives the following description of the contents of this valuable fragment of
our Diocesan literature: —
"This roll is said by Ware to have been begun in the year 1364. in the time of
44O Ancient Monasteries of Ireland.
John Swafham, a Carmelite Friar and Doctor of Divinity, who was then Bishop of
Cloyne, and so its earlier dates seem to show ; but after a while, many documents
much older than the time of that bishop, were included. It consists of a series of
entries, being copies and abridgments of findings of juries, and acts and deeds re-
lating to, or affecting the temporalities of the See of Cloyne, and was probably an
imitation of an English practice long established. The bishop in those times was •
a great feudal lord, holding lands and seignories in the same manner as lay barons,
and sitting in the Parliament or great council, in right of his territorial possessions.
In England, such baronies, whether lay or ecclesiastical.originally consisted of lands
held in capite. that is, immediately from the king, without any intermediate lord ;
but many of those held by laymen, becoming reduced by alienation or subdivisions,
the Crown adopted an arbitrary practice of summoning whom they pleased, and
this gradually ripened into law. But in the case of bishops and peeral abbots, the
ground of the right to sit as Barons of Parliament, seemed to have continued as
it originally stood, except in so far as it has been affected by special legislation.
In Ireland, a tenure in capite was never essential to a lay barony ; and probably
the bishops and abbots themselves were, in general, undertenants. It appears
from some documents near the end of the roll, that the bishops of Cloyne held
large estates as feudatories of the Barry and Roche families
"The time when lawlessness began to prevail in the county of Cork is rather
distinctly vindicated by the nature of some of the entries of the roll. At first all
transactions l>etween the bishops and their feudal and other tenants, proceeded
regularly according to the English Law, without disturbance from any aggressor.
At last, in 1402, appears a deed, by which Lord Barry formally agrees with the
Bishop of Cloyne, to impose no legal burthens or exactions on liim or his tenants.
Immediately after, others imke a like agreement with the Bishop, whose sacred
character, of course, formed his sole claim to exemption from the ill-treatment
which others were obliged to submit to. In the same year Maurice Roche, Lord of
Fermoy, binds himself in like manner to the Bishop and Ecclesiastics, and in case
of infraction, agrees to submit to excommunication without any legal process. In
the third year of Henry IV. appears a document, by which the Earl of Ormond
— as Lord of half the Barony of Inchiquin, and farmer of the other half — takes the
Bishop of Cloyne and his goods and property into his special protection. By
another document, about the same time, the King interferes for the protection of
the Bishop. Then follows another document, on the same subject, closing the
series. Here the roll was discontinued, probably in consequence of the utter
impossibility of stemming the tide of outrage, or enforcing any longer the rights of
the see according to law. It appears from the roll that villeinage, of which so
little trace can be found elsewhere in Irish documents, was anciently quite prevalent,
and it further appears, that men of Irish race, living on the Bishop's estates, were
destitute of any rights in their own labour, being seemingly in a similar condition
with that class in England, who were called villeins in gross. In the year 1348
there occurs, as the reader may see, a finding of a jury, that John, who was called
Lowis, is mere Irish, and of the race (progenie) O'Karny, and that all his goods,
lands, and tenements, are the property of the Lord Bishop of Cloyne, because
all of the race of O'Karny, are Irishmen, of the Church of St. Colman, and bom
in servitude : yet it appears in the same finding, that this John Lowis hath
thirteen tenanted houses, and some land."
Buttevant derives its present name from the Norman war-cry of the Barrys —
" Boutez en avant .•" — it was in olden times called A'ilnemuIlagA, as we learn from
the poet Spenser :
"To Buttevant, where spreading forth at large,
It giveth name unto that auncient cittie.
Which Kilnemullah cleped is of old."
In many ancient documents, however, it is also called Bothnrin, and in Latin,
fluthonia. The "Annals of the Four Master.-," fix, with accuracy, the foundation
of the monastery for the Friars Minors here, " A.I). 1251. A monastery was erected
:it Kilnamullagh, in the diocese of Cork, by the Barry; and it was afterwards
(To be continued.)
\.\EW SERIES.]
THE IRISH
ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD
JULY, 1871.
THE JUBILEE FEAST OF PIUS THE NINTH.1
" And Josue being now old, and far advanced in years, called for all Israel,
and for the elders, and for the princes, and for the judges, and for the masters,
and said to them : ' I am old, and far advanced in years ; and you see all that
the Ix>rd your God hath done to all the nations round about ; how he himself
hath fought for you. . . . Only take courage, and be careful to observe all things
that arc written in the book of the law ; and turn not aside from them, neither
to the right hand nor to the left; lest after that you are come in among the Gentiles
you should swear by the name of their gods, and serve them, and adore them: but
cleave ye unto the Lord your God, and the Lord God will take away before your
eyes nations that are great and very strong, and no man shall be able to resist
you."' — {Josut, xxiii., I — 9.)
o
'F every man that is born of a woman it is written that
he liveth for a short time, and that his life is fragile as that
of the flower, and fleeting as the inconstant shadow. If, then,
in its best estate, human life is thus brief and -fragile and in-
secure, how poor a thing is one single solitary day from among
the few that remain at the close of a career already exceeding
the common lot of man. And yet, one such day has just
come in the life of an aged man who sits a prisoner in Rome,
and it has made the hearts of more than two hundred
millions of Catholics beat with joyous love.
The i6th June, which gave to Pius IX. alone among his
predecessors, to equal, in the duration of his Pontificate, the
years of St. Peter, rose upon millions who had prayed for its
coming as men sigh for the dawning of the day of the joy of
1 A discourse delivered by the Right Rev. Dr. Conroy, Bishop of Ardagh, in
the Cathedral Church, Marlborough--trcet, on Sunday, the l8th June, at the
conclusion of the solemn Triduum, which, by order of His Eminence the Cardinal
Archbishop, was celebrated in all the Churches of the Diocese of Dublin, in thanks-
giving to God for the many blessings granted to Pius the Ninth during the past
•wenty-five years of his Pontificate.
VOL. vn. 30
442 The Jubilee Feast of Pins the Ninth.
their hearts ; its hours, as they ran their course, seemed to
millions not long enough wherein to exult and rejoice in the
day the Lord had made ; and it set in a glorious burst of
thanksgiving which, even yet, is mounting upwards from the
whole earth, and our glad part in which we fain would take
to-day. And why, beloved brethren, has the Catholic world
thus made this day the beginning of its joy ? Not, surely,
as if we judged a shorter Pontificate to be a sign of God's
disfavour, since we know that for Josias, whose memory was
" sweet as honey in every month, and as music at a banquet of
wine' ( Ecclesiasticus, xliv. 21), life was shortened as a reward;
nor is it because we account a protracted life, to be, of itself, a
blessing singularly great; for have we not heard the patriarch
Jacob, though bending beneath the weight of six score years
and ten, declare that the days of the years of his life were
few and evil; but because we feel that a singularly noble
Pontificate, like that of Pius IX., could not be more fittingly
crowned than by the singular privilege which preserved him
that he might see the years of Peter. For what does that
privilege, rightly considered, imply ? It implies triumph !
it implies victory ! Not the base and vulgar triumph which
marks the victory of stronger over weaker human passions,
but the lofty, pure, serene triumph that fitly graces the vic-
tories won by the eternal truth of God !
For I need not remind you that in revolving ages the truth
of God has had, and still has, its battle-fields, in which heavenly-
appointed champions smite the dominant error of the time, and
thereby win for the truth a victory, the glory of which is re-
flected on themselves. Therefore do we celebrate the Ponti-
fical Jubilee of Pius IX. with exceeding great joy, because it
has encircled his brow with the glory of a triumph bright as
that which, fifteen hundred years ago, Athanasius won for him-
self by his successful defence of the Divinity of the Eternal
Word. For God has two Words — one, the Eternal personal
Word, who is the figure of His substance and the splendour
of His glory — true God of true God ; the other, the Word of
that Eternal Word spoken to man in the Christian revelation,
and living evermore in the Catholic Church. And, as to
Athanasius was assigned the work of defending in his day the
Divinity of the Eternal Word, so to Pius IX. has been assigned
in our day the work of defending the Divinity of the
Eternal Word's word and work in the Holy Catholic Church.
The Arians, by denying that the Word was God, would make
man's redemption impossible ; those who deny the Divine
power of the Catholic Church would render the scheme of
redemption abortive and inoperative. And, as according to
The Jubilee Feast of Pins the Ninth. 443
St. Athanasius himself, the battle in his day was against
heretics, who, like new Pharisees, in sight of the very miracles
of Christ, asked petulantly — how, being man, He claimed to be
God ; so, in our day, the battle is against those who, in sight of
the thousand miracles which adorn the Catholic Church, ask
how — being a human institution — she dares claim the posses-
sion of the very authority of God ? And herein precisely con-
sists the triumph of the Pontifical Jubilee of Pius IX. ; that
out of the materials and within the limits of his Pontificate, it
supplies a most striking proof of the truth of his life-long
teaching, that the Catholic Church speaks with the authority
of God. I say a striking proof — for, as his Jubilee itself is a
fact that stands out in solitary grandeur in the history of
nineteen centuries, so also it is filled with events so extraor-
dinary as to compel the wonder of all, and so certain that
none may gainsay their truth. Such a proof, too, has all the
weight attaching to those Providential manifestations, to reject
which is to exclude from history all trace of that imperfect sanc-
tion of the moral order which alone is permitted by the condition
of this life. And if there be any one who is inclined to make
light of such a proof, or to carp at it, as wanting in logical
weight and dignity, let him explain how, in the text with
which I commenced, Josue pursues a course of reasoning
precisely similar, to prove that the authority which he himself
wielded was from God. Between the words of Josue to the
princes and rulers of Israel, and those of the latest Encyclical
of Pius IX. to the Bishops of the Christian Church, there runs a
most remarkable parallel. It is full of sublime instruction
to observe these two men — rulers, respectively, of God's people
of the Old and of the New Testament — take their stand upon
the height of years which they had painfully climbed, and
trace for their flocks, in the struggles and victories of their
own chequered career, a proof written by the finger of God
Himself, that the authority exercised by'them was from Him !
Brighter days there may have been in the lives of both — days
when their names were acclaimed by a thousand lips, and the
great ones of the earth bent themselves before them ; but, to
my mind, the day of their rarest triumph was that upon which,
in the history of their own lives, they could point to the
triumph of the truth which it was given them to uphold. And
such is the triumph which belongs to-day to Pius IX.
For, in truth, the twenty-five years of his Pontificate are
luminous with the traces of three great characteristics which
the instincts of enlightened faith unhesitatingly accept as
evidence of the victory of the truth of God. These are : an
endurance that no violence can overcome ; a vigour which
444 The Jubilee Feast of Pius the Ninth.
waxes stronger under hostile assaults ; and the sanction of
experience, whereby the truth of Catholic teaching is made
wondrously manifest by the facts of history.
And see, first of all, how gloriously has he endured in his
apostoHcal office of teaching truth. The truth of God, says
Tertullian, has but one thing to fear upon earth, viz., lest it
should be denied a hearing. Its enemies, guided by a dia-
bolical instinct, are conscious of this, and use every exertion
to stifle its voice, or to prevent it from reaching those to whom
it is addressed. Hence, against the man whom God has
chosen to be the mouthpiece of the truth which they hate,
they exhaust all their power of persecution, if so they can
succeed in hindering his Apostleship, by coercing him into
silence. And thus, in such a struggle, the victory of the
truth depends upon the endurance of its champion : as he
endures, the truth endures — and by enduring, conquers. And
God, mindful of His own truth, is wont to give strength and
endurance to him who has thus become its living and visible
exponent among men. This providence was foreshadowed in
that promise oY a life stretching to a mysterious term which
He made to the Apostle St. John; and it is clearly illustrated
in the preservation of the Evangelist's life through the perils
of a century of fiercest persecution, that so he might be a golden
link between the ages to come and the happy age that had
seen the Lord. For one hundred years was he preserved that
he might safely carry within his virginal breast, in the midst of
the nascent heresies, the central truth of the Divinity of Christ.
The same providence is especially seen in the history of that
St. Athanasius, to whom I have ventured to compare Pius
IX. Against him, as the defender of Catholic Doctrine, the
rage of angry sovereigns, and the unceasing hate of their
Arian subjects, were pitilessly exercised. But throughout
all he endured, and with him and through him endured the
truth of God. He was exiled by Constantine, and he
endured ; he was proscribed by Constantius, and he endured ;
he was persecuted by Julian, and he endured; he was
threatened, under Valens, and he endured. Out of the forty
years of his episcopate, he spent twenty far away from his
see — now in the remote Gauls — now amid the burning sands of
the deserts — and at times even in his father's grave, and still
he endured. Five times did he take the road to exile, and
five times did he return ; and to his endurance do we owe it,
under God, that the Nicene Creed is still on the lips and in
the hearts of us all. And now, my brethren, if for the
doctrine of the Divinity of Christ you substitute^that of the
Divine authority of the Church, what is the history of the
The Jubilee Feast of Pins the Ninth. 445
twenty-five years' Pontificate of Pius IX. but a reproduction
of the History of Athanasius' trials, of his endurance, and of
his victory.
Hardly had Pius IX. mounted the Pontifical throne, when
words of flattery and deceitful praises fell upon his ear. These
were the treacherous beginnings of the storm that was soon to
sweep across his life. The secret societies, which are the hands
through which the evil spirit of this unbelieving age achieves
its accursed works, singled out as the special object of their
assaults the Pontiff, who claimed to control the minds and
hearts of men, making them captive to the Divine authority of
the Catholic Church. He was driven into exile ; he lived
through it, and returned. Hardly had he resumed his place
upon the throne, when his name was opprobriously dragged
before the cabinets of Europe, and his kingdom denounced as
the plague-spot of Europe ; he heard, and endured. And then
imperial hands began to undermine his throne, removing one
by one its bulwarks and its supports; and, when the unholy
work was done, imperial lips spoke the treacherous words that
brought down upon the defenceless Pontiff the hordes of his
foes. But he endured through all; and he has lived to see
the imperial hand paralyzed, and to hear from the traitorous
lips the sad cry — " I, too, have been betrayed." Then came
the war of spoliation — stripping him year after year of his
best provinces, of his towns, of his own Rome, of his churches,
of his home, and finally, of his personal liberty. And through-
out all this he has endured. Not for a single day did he flinch
from upholding the Divine authority of the Church ; nor could
flattery, nor threats, nor exile, nor calumny, nor brute force, nor
the robber's violence, nor the loss of liberty, ever compel him to
silence. By sheer endurance he has conquered his conquerors
themselves, who in vain have prayed and hoped for his
death. With eager eye they have been long watching for the
approach of the shadow of death upon that august face ; with
unholy joy they gloated over every fancied sign of infirmity;
until weary at last and disappointed, they ask each other in
dismay — " Is this old man never to die?' Is not this mar-
vellous endurance evidence of a present God who Himself is
enduring because He is eternal, and of whose truth it is
written that it remaincth for ever : veritas Domini manct in
c tern it in !
But, besides the triumph of endurance, the authority of the
Catholic Church has enjoyed, through Pius IX., another and
yet nobler triumph in this — that the more it has been assailed,
the more vigorous it has become. Two things combine to
constitute the triumph of authority : first, that the title by which
446 The Jubilee Feast of Pins the Ninth.
it claims the right to control its subjects should be clearly and
forcibly set out ; next, that this title should be recognised
and obeyed by the subjects ; and the more fully this double
work has been achieved, the more full is the triumph of
authority. Now, Pius IX. has, with signal success, rendered,
throughout his Pontificate, these two most important services
to the authority of the Holy See, as well with respect to its
power of ruling and as to its power of teaching. Who has
ever set forth more clearly than he the titles on which the
Church rests her claim to rule the souls of men ? and who has
ever secured from the bishops and the people of God a more
full recognition and a more loving reverence for these titles ?
He spoke the word, and immediately, in the north and in the
south, where the sun rises and where he sets, new episcopal
thrones arose in the Church, to become centres of sanctification
and of civilization to millions. He spoke again, and the
Churches of two flourishing nations put off their mourning
and forgot their secular sorrow in the joy of beholding once
more the due order of the hierarchy re-established in their
midst. At a sign from him the Bishops of Christendom came
from the ends of the earth, and gathered round the See of St.
Peter, not once, but several times, and especially in the great
CEcumenical Council of the Vatican. At his word again, the
Catholic Universe paid to men whose names were obscure, and
even a reproach, the honours of the altar, and, in the newly-
canonized saints, Heaven itself received new intercessors for the
Church. And thus, at a period when every earthly throne was
tottering, the Chair of Peter alone was vigorous and firm; when
every other power was scorned or despised, the power of the
Pope commanded ever-growing reverence and love. But espe-
cially with regard to the Pontifical Magisterium, has Pius IX.
won triumph for the authority for the Church. Christ, our Lord,
when he had prayed for Peter's faith, that he might confirm his
brethren, placed him and his successors high on the Pontifical
Throne, that from them the world might learn what to believe,
and that each one, by comparing his own faith with that of Peter,
might know if he were walking in the paths of the Gospel.
But it happened, a few centuries ago, that from the passions
of men, there rose up, here and there, over the world, a vague
mist which came between the eyes of some few, and the face
of the Apostolic Teacher, whom Christ had placed on his own
throne. And these, to the sorrow and scandal of their brethren,
began to question the Pontifical Infallibility, while courtier
lawyers and heretics, each to forward their own respective
in crests of evil, encouraged and propagated the* shameful
er or. Early-in his Pontificate, Pius IX., by this dogmatic
The Jubilee Feast of Pius tJie Ninth. 447
definition of the Immaculate Conception, exercised this high
prerogative of his office, and he has lived to confirm the Decree
of the Vatican Council, by which the doctrine of the Ponti-
fical Infallibility was declared an article of Christian faith.
And thus, through him, have been cleared away the clouds that
intercepted from many the view of the Heavenly-appointed
Chair of Truth; so that, at this moment, the entire Church of
God looks with certain faith towards the Holy Roman See, as
towards the very pillar and ground of Catholic faith. And
when we reflect upon the difficulties that beset the close of
many of the General Councils; when we recall the long and
weary period over which the sessions of the Council of Trent
itself were extended ; when we consider the vigour and
audacity of that handful of men who have dared to call in
question the authority of the Vatican Council, we begin to see
how great is the blessing which the Providence of God has
drawn even from the evils which have rendered necessary a
temporary suspension of its sessions. For, behold ! the entire
Church has had time to profess its faith in the doctrinal
Decrees of the Vatican Council, as in the very word of God
Himself; and, at the close of his twenty-fifth year's Pontifi-
cate, Pius IX. has had the consolation of beholding, from the
height of his Apostolic Throne, two hundred millions of
human souls trusting themselves in peaceful confidence to the
guidance of one teacher, whose faith is never to fail. In the
presence of this sublime spectacle of triumphant authority,
how poor becomes even the world-wide empire of ancient
Rome — that iinmcnsa Romanae pads Majestas — the vision of
which seemed to the imperial statesmen something too
majestic to belong to earth !
But there is yet more. As Josue, now old and advanced
in years, could appeal to the testimony of history for a
sanction of the truth of his teaching, so can Pius IX. point
to the unparalleled events of the last few months, as to a
convincing proof that his words of instruction were inspired
by the spirit of Divine wisdom. Like Josue, he had warned
his people that they should not be led away by the errors of
the nations that dwell among them, nor swear by the names
of their gods, nor serve them, nor adore them, for that speedy
destruction would come upon these nations, however great
and mighty and strong they might appear ; and the very
month that brings to him the day of his Jubilee, enables him
to appeal, like Josue, to his hearers' experience of the awful
accuracy with which his predictions have been fulfilled. " I
am old and far advanced in years, and you see all that the
Lord your God hath clone to the nations round about ; how
448 The Jubilee Feast of Pins the Ninth.
He Himself hath fought for you.'r Who are the gods of those
nations which, with a civilization of their own, surround the
Catholic Church in this age ? How are they adored ? What
manner of service is offered to them ? These questions
have been answered by Pius IX. in that Syllabus which
will mark to future ages the moment when the advancing
waves of naturalism were first stayed in their destructive
course. In it he has held up before the faithful the gods
of the modern Gentile world, unmasking the hideous idols
of pantheism, and naturalism, and rationalism ; in it he
has described the fashion after which these monsters are
adored — indifferentism, and that false liberalism which prac-
tically degrades the truth to the level of error ; in it he has
unfolded how these gods, themselves the creatures of man's
evil passions, are served by irreligious education, by unbridled
lust of pleasure, by a licentious press, by public immorality,
by the tyranny of the mob ; in it he reveals the turpitude of
the attempts made to banish God from the marriage contract,
from the family, from the school, from the cabinet, from the
whole range of social and civil life. And whereas these things
were set forth as essential conditions of the only true and
lasting progress, without which nor public property, nor stable
government, nor security at home, nor peace without, nor
riches, nor liberty, nor public virtue could ever be hoped for,
again, and again, did the Sovereign Pontiff warn the faithful
that they should not be seduced by these brilliant promises,
for that these idols would bring sure arid speedy destruction
on the nations who worshipped them as the source and cause
of their own greatness and strength. This truth did he speak
in love ; but many received not the love of the truth that they
might be saved : therefore, God sent them the operation of
error (2 Tttes. ii. 10). And now that he has lived to cele-
brate his Jubilee, he has lived long enough to see the sad
experience of history confirm his words to the fullest extent.
His teaching can no longer be considered as a theological
abstraction, which men may contemptuously reject as too
subtle for the wear and tear of busy life ; for he now can
point to facts that startle the least observant by the complete
justification of his teachings which they contain. "See," he
says, " what has come of the attempts to exclude the super-
natural influences of religion from the life of man. Learn
from the horrors of the last few months what Godless educa-
tion has made of the young ! the hands which you would
not allow to make the sign of the cross are red with innocent
blood, most cruelly spilled. See what your non-religious
training has made of woman ! the gentle and loving being
The Jubilee Feast of Pius the Ninth. 449
whom the Catholic Church would have formed upon the type
of the Holy Mother of God, has become in your hands a fiend,
scattering fire and death on every side ! See what education
without religion has made of your soldiers, of your citizens, of
your statesmen ! See its fruits in the school-room, the threshold
of which is strewn with the shattered fragments of the image
of Him whom impious hands have cast out from among the
little ones whom He loves ! See its fruits in the barbarism
into which society has fallen, in murder, in conflagration, in
the denial of property, of the soul, of God himself ! ' Amen,
amen, I say to you, this generation shall not pass away until
all these things shall be fulfilled !' "
This is the triumph, my brethren, which his Jubilee sheds
upon Pius IX. — a triumph all the more glorious because it
finds him in a prison. Beyond all doubt, the final issue of
that imprisonment shall be victory; for the God who has
guarded him from his youth will surely not abandon him now
that the evening of his life has come, and his day fast inclining
to its close. But of what sort shall that victory be ? Shall it
be the crown of martyrdom ? Oh ! deliver us from blood, O
God, the God of our salvation, and our tongue shall announce
thy praise. But if it be Thy will that this trial should come, I
know of one at least who evermore sayeth from out his prison :
" My heart is ready, O Lord, my heart is ready !" and who
would gladly crown the glory that has been vouchsafed to
him of St. Peter's years, by imitating St. Peter's death for his
Master's name. But, whatever the blessed Providence of God
may decree — whether the remaining days of our Father's life
are to be days of blood, or of tears, or of joy — in the triumph
of to-day we have a solonm pledge that they shall end at last
in triumph, and in such a triumph as will announce, even in
this life, the dawn of that imperishable triumph wherein the
elect, for whose sanctification the Church exists under its
visible head, will sing to Thy name, O Lord, and will praise
with one accord Thy victorious hand !
450
LETTERS OF BALMEZ.
XIX. — THE GOOD AND THE BAD — A DIFFICULTY.
MY ESTEEMED FRIEND — The discussion on the pains of
Purgatory has reminded you of the sufferings of the just, and
you discover a difficulty in the doctrine, that those who pass
through so many and trying expiations in this life, should be
subjected to others in the life to come. " Virtue," you say,
" is so well proved on earth, it is unnecessary it should pass
through a new crucible in the pains of the other world. On
this earth of injustice and iniquities, everything appears topsy-
turvy ; and while felicity is reserved for the wicked, all kinds
of calamities and misfortunes are the lot of the virtuous. Cer-
tainly, if I had not made a firm resolution of not doubting of
Providence, in order that I might not lose all key to the
things of the other life, a thousand times would I have vacci-
lated on this point, when I beheld the misfortune of virtue
and the insolent success of the wicked. I wish you would
answer this difficulty without contenting yourself by placing
before me original sin and its deplorable results ; because,
though it may be, perhaps, a satisfactory solution, it is not so
to me, who doubt of all the dogmas of religion, including that
of original sin itself."
Do not fear that I shall forget the disposition of mind of
my opponent, or argue from principles you do not yet admit.
No doubt, the dogma of original sin gives occasion to very
important considerations, in the question on which we are
occupied ; but I will absolutely prescind from them, and
confine myself to principles you cannot reject.
In the present question, I think you suppose a fact which,
if not entirely false, is at least very doubtful. It matters little
that your opinion agrees with the common one ; for I believe
that there is here an unfounded prejudice, which, though pretty
general, is yet contrary to reason and experience. Like many,
you suppose that felicity is so distributed in this life, that the
greater share falls to the lot of the wicked, and the less to
that of the virtuous, embittered, moreover, by abundant dis-
gusts and misfortunes. I repeat, I consider this belief an
unfounded prejudice, incapable of resisting the examination
of sound sense.
It has been already observed that the virtuous cannot
exempt themselves from the evils that affect humanity in
general, if we would not have God perform continual miracles.
If many people be travelling by railway, and among them two
Letters of Bahncz. 45 1
or three of marked virtue, and an accident occur, it is clear
that God is not bound to send an angel to save the virtuous
travellers by some extraordinary means. If two men be walk-
ing along the street, the one good, the other wicked, and a
house fall on their heads, the two will be crushed: the walls,
beams, and roof will not form a wall over the head of the
virtuous man. If a flood inundate a country-side, and destroy
the crops, amongst which are those of a virtuous farmer, no
one will require Providence, when the waters reach the farm
of this just man, to form a wall of them, as on another occasion
in the Red Sea. If an epidemic decimate the population of
a country, death is not bound to respect the virtuous families
there may be in it. If a city suffer the horrors of an assault, the
unbridled soldiery will not respect the house of the just any
more than that of the wicked man. x The world is subject to
certain general laws, which Providence does' not suspend,
except now and then ; and they commonly affect all those
whose circumstances are such as to make them experience
their results. Undoubtedly, besides evidently miraculous
exemptions, Providence has at hand special means of liberating
the just from a general calamity, or at least of attenuating
their misfortune; but I will prescind from these considerations,
which would bring me to the consideration of facts which it
is always difficult to investigate, still more so to establish with
precision. I admit, then, that all men, just and unjust, are
equally subject to the general evils of humanity, whether they
come from natural causes, or spring from unpropitious social,
political, or domestic circumstances. I do not think you will
make a charge against Providence for this ; for I consider you
too reasonable to require continual miracles that would
incessantly disturb the regular order of the universe.
Leaving aside then the general misfortunes which affect the
good as well as the wicked, according to the circumstances in
which they are placed ; let us see now whether it be true that
felicity is so distributed that the greater portion becomes the
patrimony of vice. I believe, on the contrary, that, even pre-
scinding from the special benefits of Providence, the physical
and moral laws of the world are cf such a nature, that of
themselves, abandoned to their natural and ordinary action,
they distribute felicity and misfortune in such a way that
virtuous men arc incomparably more happy, even on earth,
than the vicious and wicked.
You will agree with me that our judgment about the
degrees of felicity or misfortune should not be founded on
particular cases, but on the general order, as it results, and
must necessarily result, from the very nature of things.
452 Letters of*Balmez.
The world is so wisely regulated that punishment, more or
less evident, always follows on the heel of crime. If a man
abuse his faculties in seeking pleasure, he meets with pain ;
if he wander from the eternal principles of sound morality to
supply himself with a felicity calculated on his egotism, he
commonly works out his misfortune and ruin.
I need not speak of the fate that befals great delinquents,
who commit crimes which the action of the law can reach.
Perpetual imprisonment, hard labour, public shame, an igno-
minious scaffold, these are what they meet with at the end of
a hazardous career, filled with danger, terror, fits of rage and
desperation, corporeal sufferings, calamities and catastrophes
without number. A life and death of this kind possess no
felicity. In the inebriation of disorder and crime, those
wretches perhaps imagine they have enjoyment; but shall we
call that true enjoyment which results from the breach of all
laws, physical and moral, and is lost like an imperceptible
drop in the cup of torture and agony which they drain to the
dregs ? I suppose then, when you speak of the felicity of the
wicked, you do not refer to those who come under the action
of human justice, but solely of those who, whilst wanting in
their duty by trampling on the high claims of Justice and
morality, insult their victims with the security they enjoy,
and live perhaps under gilded ceilings in the arms of opulence
and pleasure.
I do not deny that on a superficial examination there is
something in the felicity of these men which wounds and
irritates. I am not unaware that if we attend to appearances,
without penetrating into the heart of such happiness, and
above all, limit ourselves to particular cases, without ex-
tending the view as it should be extended in this class of
investigations, we become puzzled, and the mind is assaulted
by the terrible thought: — "Where is Providence; where the
justice of God ?" But as soon as we meditate a little, and
grasp the matter in the true point of view, the illusion dis-
appears, and we discover the order and harmony that reign in
the world with such admirable constancy.
Let us explain and fix these ideas. You will quote for
me a vicious and perhaps perverse man, who apparently
enjoys domestic happiness, and receives in society a con-
sideration he is far from deserving : be it so. I will not
dispute about whether this felicity is real or apparent, or
about the interior happiness which undeserved considerations
produce ; I will suppose the felicity is real and the enjoy-
ment resulting from the consideration intimate and satisfactory;
but neither can you deny that, by the side of this vicious and
Letters of Bahncz. 453
perverse man, we meet with honorable and virtuous people,
who enjoy an equal domestic felicity, and obtain a consideration
no way inferior to that of the other. This observation suffices
to establish the equilibrium, and destroys the foundation of
your assumption that vice is prosperous and virtue unfortunate.
You will show me, perhaps, a man endowed with great virtues,
and oppressed with the weight of great misfortunes ; be it so;
but I can show you the reverse of the medal, and present you
with an immoral man afflicted with no less misfortunes; and
here again we have the equilibrium established. Virtue is
represented as unfortunate, but by its side we hear the groans
of vice oppressed with the same crushing weight.
You may remark that I do not avail myself of all the
advantages the question gives me, but leave you the most
favourable ground ; as I suppose equality of suffering in
equality of unfortunate, circumstances, and prescind from the
inequality that should naturally result from the different in-
terior dispositions of those who suffer the misfortune: what to
one is consolation, to the other is remorse.
It is easy to see we could never solve the question with
these parallels ; and no case could be cited in favour of one
without another similar or equal presenting itself in favour of
the other. I will, however, observe that, in spite of the pre-
judice that exists on this point, and which I have already
noticed, the constant experience of the unhappy end of wicked
men has produced the conviction that sooner or later Divine
justice will overtake them ; and the good sense of the people
has given expression to this truth in most judicious proverbs.
The vulgar incessantly talk of the success of the wicked and
the misfortune of the good ; but if you follow up the conver-
sation, you will surprise them at every turn in manifest contra-
diction, when they relate the malediction of Heaven that has
fallen on such and such an individual, on such and such a
family, and announce the misfortune that cannot do less than
happen to others who now wade in opulence and felicity.
What does this prove ? It proves that experience is more
powerful than prejudice ; and the inclination to continually com-
plain and murmur at everything, including Providence itself,
disappears, at least for some moments, before the imposing
testimony of truth, supported by visible and palpable facts.
Those who try to rise to a great height without considering
the means, are not accustomed to find the felicity they desire.
If they rush into great crimes against the security of the
State, instead of attaining their object they work their own
ruin. I might say that for every one that succeeds, there are
a hundred wretches who succumb without realizing their de-
sign: history says so, and daily experience proves it true.
454 Letters of Balmcz.
Those who wish to improve their fortunes by upsetting public
order are condemned to incessant emigrations, and many of
them end by perishing on a scaffold.
There are ambitions that live on lowness and intrigues,
which have not the pluck requisite for crime, and can conse-
quently improve without great personal risk. It is true that
sometimes those men who substitute the slow windings of the
reptile for the flight of the eagle, advance greatly in fortune
without suffering any of the terrible expiations, to which
those who fling themselves on the road of violence are ex-
posed ; but who can count the disgusts, the repulsions, the
shameful humiliations they must have endured, before
attaining the satisfaction of their desires ? who could paint
the terror and dread in which they live, lest they may
lose what they have obtained ? who can describe the sad
alternatives through which they must have passed, and are
continually passing, according as the favour of the protector
who has raised them inclines towards them or recedes in an
opposite direction ? And what idea should we form in such a
case, of the felicity of these men, particularly if we consider
how much the recollection of their villanies, and the remorse
for the evils which perhaps they have caused to well-deserving
men and innocent families, must torment them ? Happiness
is not in the exterior, but in the interior: the richest, most
opulent, most respected, or most powerful man will be un-
happy, if his heart is torn by a cruel pain.
If a man love riches to excess, even to the degree of forget-
ting his duties so that he may acquire them, instead of attain-
ing felicity he brings misery on his head. Those who trample
on the laws of morality to acquire riches are divided into two
classes : one simply labours to store them up, and to feel en-
joyment in the possession of its treasure ; the other desires to
have them that it may enjoy the pleasure of spending them
with profusion. The first class is avaricious, the second pro-
digal. Let us see what felicity is met with in both.
The avaricious man feels a momentary enjoyment in think-
ing on the riches he possesses, and in contemplating them in
cautious solitude, far from the view of other men ; but this
pleasure is embittered with innumerable sufferings. A habita-
tion narrow, unclean, incommodious in every sense ; poor old
furniture ; a garment thread-bare, dirty, and recalling fashions
which passed away many years ago ; poor and badly-prepared
food ; a miserable and cracked table service ; dirty linen ;
cold in winter, heat in summer ; abhorred by his friends and
debtors ; despised and ridiculed by his servants ; cursed by
the poor ; without discovering in any quarter an affectionate
glance, or hearing a word of love or an accent of gratitude i —
Letters of Balmez, 455
this is the happiness of the avaricious man. If you desire to
enjoy it, my dear friend, I envy you not.
The prodigal does not suffer in the same way as the avari-
cious man. He has extensive enjoyments while money and
health last ; and if the accent of the victims of his injustice
reach his ears, he experiences some consolation in the expres-
sion of gratitude he meets with from those who receive his
favours. But, besides the remorse that always accompanies
ill-acquired goods, besides the discredit unjust proceedings
always bring with them, besides the maledictions which he
who enriches himself at the cost of others is condemned to
hear, prodigality has characteristic annoyances, — which in the
end make a miserable man of him who had promised himself
happiness in the profusion of his riches. The pleasures to
which prodigality conduces destroy health, disturb domestic
peace, often impress a stain in the eyes of society, and entail
disgusts of a thousand sorts. In fine, at the heel of these evils
comes another to stare him in the face — poverty. These are
not fictitious pictures ; they are realities you will meet with
everywhere ; they are positive examples that want nothing
but proper names.
Immorality in the enjoyment of the pleasures of life is very
far from bringing felicity to him who expects happiness from
them. This is a truth so well known that it is difficult to in-
sist on it without repeating commonplaces, which have become
vulgar. The works of medicine and morality are full of advice
about the evils of intemperance. All classes of infirmities —
premature old age, the abbreviation of life, sufferings above
all qualification, — these are the results of disordered conduct.
A rich table in magnificent salons, served with luxury and
taste, in brilliant society, amid the glee of festive companions,
followed by toasts, festivities, music, and pleasures of all sorts,
is certainly a seducing spectacle. Is not this, my esteemed
friend, an incomparable felicity ? Well, wait a little ; let the
music cease, the candles, lamps, and chandeliers go out, and the
guests retire to rest. Whilst the sober man of regular habits
is sleeping tranquilly, the servants of the happy man are running
through the house in a fright. Some prepare soothing drinks,
others make ready the bath, these run in haste in search of the
doctor, those knock furiously at the door of the apothecary:
what has happened ? Nothing; only the felicity of the table
has been turned into acute pains. The unhappy man finds no
rest in bed, on the sofa, on the settee, or on the floor; a cold
sweat bathes his members ; his face is ghastly ; his eyes pro-
trude from their sockets; his teeth chatter, and he cries that
he is dying. These are the effects of his felicity; to know
how well such sufferings counterpoise the pleasure of a few
456 Letters of Balmez.
hours, it would be well to consult the patient, and ask him
whether he would not willingly renounce all the pleasures and
festivities of the world, so that he could obtain some alleviation
of the sharp pains he is suffering.
I should never end if I were to continue the comparison
between the results of vice and virtue ; but I do not intend to
repeat what has been said a thousand times, and what you know
as well as I. Suffice it to observe, that felicity does not exist in
appearances, but in the inmost recesses of the soul. Of what
service can the magnificence of a palace, or the glare of
honours, or the incense of flattery, or the fame of a great
name be to a man who suffers acute pains ; is oppressed by
grief; devoured by profound sadness; or slowly consumed by
insupportable weariness ? Happiness, I repeat, has its seat
in the heart; he who has not felicity in his heart, is unhappy,
let the appearances of fortune with which he is surrounded be
what they may. Well, now, in the exercise of virtue, all the
faculties of man are harmonized in his relations with himself,
with other men, and with God, both with respect to the
present and the future. Vice destroys this harmony, disturbs
the interior man, by making reason and the will the slaves of
the passions ; debilitates health; shortens life by the pleasures
of the senses; alters domestic peace; destroys friendship;
and sacrifices the future to the present. Thus man marches
by the path of remorse and agitation to the portals of the
tomb, where he does not or cannot expect any consolation,
and where he fears to meet with the chastisement his disorders
deserve. The felicity of a being cannot consist in the pertur-
bation of the laws to which by its nature it is subject. The
laws of the order of nature are in accord with those of the moral
order: whoever infringes them receives his desert, and instead
of felicity he meets with terrible misfortunes.
Now you see, my dear friend, it is not so certain as you
imagined, that the felicity of earth is solely for the bad, and
its unhappiness for the good alone. I hold it as indubitable
that if the degrees of felicity distributed between virtue and
vice were placed in a balance, the former would weigh down
the latter ; a'nd an incomparably greater amount of suffering
falls to the lot of vice than to that of virtue. Yes ; there is
justice even on earth. God has been pleased to permit many
iniquities: he has allowed the wicked to sometimes enjoy
the shadow of felicity ; but he has also been pleased to
determine that the terrible law of expiation should be felt
in this life," and the means employed by the perverse to
procure their happiness contribute to this end.
I remain your most affectionate friend,
J.B.
457
MACCHIAVELLI.
(Concluded).
1 N a former number we endeavoured to place before our
readers " The Macchiavellian System," such as we find it set
forth in the writings of the celebrated Florentine Secretary.
From the extracts which we selected, it appears that Macchia-
velli counsels every ambitious aspirant to power to murder all
those who may oppose his designs ;' maintains that plunder,
and the almost utter annihilation of a vanquished foe, are the
legitimate rewards of a victorious general ;2 eulogises craft
and cunning of the lowest kind, as the best and most trust-
worthy means, whereby to secure and retain power ;3 in a
word, makes crime of the worst description a virtue of the
highest order, if it but serves one's purpose, and establishes, as
the grand ruling principle of political morality, that well-known
maxim, so often falsely attributed to Catholic Theologians—
the cud justifies the means* Such is the sum of Macchiavelli's
political creed ; he regards justice in a ruler rather as an
evil to be shunned than a virtue to be practised ; craft, un-
scrupulousness, and brute force are, in the eyes of the Floren-
tine Secretary, the grand essentials to success.
Let us examine the merits of this system. Is it sound ?
Would it tend to make a people happy, and a sovereign
secure, loved, and respected ? Would it exercise a favourable
influence on religion and public morals ? How would it affect
the international relations of states ? In a word, ought it to
be held up to the admiration of statesmen as a model for
their imitations, or rather as a ctief d'oeuvre of political
iniquity, calculated to inspire no other feelings than those of
horror and disgust ?
From whatever standpoint we consider it, we think that
the Macchiavellian system merits nought but the most un-
qualified reprobation. The first thing which strikes us in it
is that the author of this political system entirely ignores God.
He would banish Him altogether from His own world, and
would have men manage mundane affairs, not alone independ-
ently, but in open defiance of their Creator and of His laws.
He laughs to scorn the, to him, silly idea that there exists
such a thing as Providence regulating and directing the affairs
• The Prince," chapters vii., viii., xvii.
ie Florentine," Book vi., cap. I.
*See " Reflations on Livy," lib. 2, chap. 13. "The Prince," cap. 18, <t
/V/.o/w.
IKIMI !•'.' ' i KSIASTICAL RECORD for April ; Art., Macchiavelli.
VOL. VII. 31
458 Macchiavelli.
of earth — now raising up statesmen and princes for its own
wise ends — and again casting them down when they cease to
fulfil their mission. No ! Macchiavelli will not admit Provi-
dence. He builds up his system independently of it. He re-
gards the world and men merely as one vast piece of machinery,
in which each wheel moves mechanically, as do the works of
a time-piece. Lest we may seem to do him an injustice in
attributing to him such opinions on so grave a matter, we
shall allow him to state his views in his own words: — "Re-
ligion," he says, "and common sense, have been equally
wounded in the general definitions of fortune, chance. Provi-
dence, &c. The subject has always appeared to me capable
of much simplification, and the terms capable of being
accurately defined. Previous to the attempt, however, it will
be necessary to avoid the trammels of all former reasonings
on the subject, by discarding the ordinary machinery of those
writers who ascribe to supernatural agency whatever appears
to circumvent or defeat the exertions of human prudence."
After supposing, for the mere sake of argument, that fortune
and cJiance have no control over human affairs, Macchiavelli
continues thus : — " The world is a stupendous machine, com-
posed of innumerable parts, each of which being a free agent,
has a volition and action of its own ; and on this ground
arises the difficulty of assuring success in any enterprise de-
pending on the volition of numerous agents. We may set
the machine in motion, and dispose every wheel to one certain
end ; but when it depends on the volition of any one wheel, and
the corresponding action of every wheel, the result is uncertain."1
In this extract there are some isolated propositions unquestion-
ably true ; but, taking the entire as one proposition, it amounts,
if we read it right, to this : — " If men do not act in concert
to attain any end they may have proposed to themselves,
they may fail in attaining it ; if they do act in concert, and if
the action of one wheel corresponds with the action of the
others in the great social machine, success is infallible — the
dicta of antiquated churchmen regarding Providence, &c.,
notwithstanding."
However we may regard this theory of Macchiavelli from
a speculative point of view, we must, at least, award the
author the praise of consistency, inasmuch as his entire
system of political science is based on the supposition, that
men are all-sufficient to effect any purpose if they only pursue
the course which he has mapped out for them, and that in
such circumstances, there exists no power which can frustrate
their designs.
1 See Appendix to chapter x\v. of " '!
Macchiavelli. 45 9
The simple truth is — Macchiavelli was a Free-thinker. His
model prince would be one also, and in his government, and in
the laws which he would enact for his subjects, would practi-
cally ignore religion, and regard public morality as a matter
of quite secondary importance — looking only to "power as the
//;///;// ncccssarinm" Macchiavelli's model prince would seem
to epitomize his entire political code in those lines of
Alneri,1
"A un re, pur che ei nopaja
Colpevol basta."
Like Caesar, when about to cross the Rubicon, he would
exclaim,
" Hie (ait) hie pacem, temerataque jura relinquo." 2
He would be the " alter ego " of Achilles, as represented by
Horace —
"Jura negat sibi nata, nihil non arrogat armis."8
He would endorse the opinion of P. Furius, as handed
down to us by St. Augustine, "that a government cannot be
upheld, or administered with success, save by injustice."
(Nisi per injustitiam, rempublicam stare aut geri non
posse.)4
That religion, however, and the observance, both by the
sovereign and his subjects, of the duties prescribed by religion
are the true prop and mainstay of a government, is a truth
which has never been questioned save by those soi-disant
philosophers, those self-constituted arbiters of right and
wrong, who, by their absurd political theories, impious social
doctrines, and no less revolting morals, have, in times past, as
well as in our own days, thrown Europe into a state of
anarchy and disorder. This truth found staunch supporters
among the very Pagans. Cicero, one of the most profound
thinkers either of ancient or modern times, when inculcating
the necessity of implanting religious ideas in the mind of the
people, shows that this is not only useful, but necessary, inasmuch
as the most ordinary social contracts are entered into by in-
voking the Deity to be witness of the sincerity of the con-
tracting parties; the obligation of treaties presupposes, on the
part of those who make them, a sense of conscientious respon-
sibility to a higher power ; the dread of punishment in a
future life deters many from crimes which they might other-
wise perpretrate ; and domestic and social relations are
1 I'olinice, atto I, sc. 4. * Lucan, Phars. i, 227.
o, At- I'.-etica, c. 123. * Se« St. Aupustine, de civ. Dei xix. 21.
460 Macchiavelli.
strengthened and sanctified by the benign influence of religion.1
And, as we are informed by Tacitus, long before the times of
Cicero, Numa, when e/ideavouring to mould into a civilized
community the savage hordes of brigands left to him by his
predecessor, Romulus, perceived that this could only be
effected by making religion the basis of his government, and
the guiding spirit of his laws : " Numa religionibus et divino
jure populum devinxit."2 In -acting thus the old Roman
king was but following the dictates of common sense ; for, as
Balmez wisely observes, " Man left to himself can only
succeed in producing slavery or anarchy ; the same thing
under two forms — the origin of force" *
Whether we regard this matter from the side of the ruler
or from that of the subject, the introduction of the religious
element into every Government appears absolutely necessary.
As regards the ruler, what Prince, we ask, can be certain of
wearing his crown for a single day, if his subjects, instead of
being taught that they are bound to respect and obey him
for conscience sake, are imbued with the Macchiavellian teach-
ing, that to aim at supreme power is always a laudable am-
bition, and that every means is just which serves to carry out
that design ? Will not ambitious men be ever found ? and if
they fear no power beyond this world, is it natural to suppose
that they will hesitate for an instant to commit the most re-
volting crimes, if thereby they can attain their ends ? It is
simply ridiculous to suppose that such a thing could happen ;
and, therefore, if the Macchiavellian principle of political
morality be approved of and adopted, no prince is secure on
his throne for twenty-four hours. Let us look at the other
side of the picture, and consider what would be the condition
of the subject under a prince of the Macchiavellian type. He
would be simply a slave. He could not be sure of his life,
because, in Macchiavelli's theory, the prince, if it suited his
interest, might lawfully destroy his subject. He could not
be sure of his property, because, in the system of the Floren-
tine Secretary, property has no rights where the interest of
the Sovereign is in question. He could not calculate on en-
joying that pea*ce necessary for the pursuit of industry and
commerce, because the ambition and unscrupulousness of his
sovereign might force him at any moment to take up arms
for the purpose of waging war against some neighbouring
state; and thus, in Macchiavelli's theory, society is constantly
in a disturbed and unsettled state. This view has been very
forcibly put forward by a Protestant jurist, Puffendorf, and,
1 Cicero. De Legibus, I., 7. ' Tacitus. Annal. III., 26.
8 Balmez. European Civili/ntion. chap. 50.
Macchiavelli. 461
though the extract is somewhat long, we cannot persuade
ourselves to withhold it from our readers : — " If you do not
call in religion to your aid," he says, " the stability of a
Government must always be a matter of chance, since the
fear of punishment, or reverence for the allegiance pledged
to superiors will avail little or nothing. For in such circum-
stances the adge — he who knows how to die fears not force —
is literally verified ; since he who fears not God will neither
fear death, and the man who can brave death is capable of
perpetrating any crime against his sovereign. He will have
little difficulty in finding a pretext for so doing — for instance,
that he may escape those inconveniences which he fancies
weigh on him because of another's rule, or that he may enjoy
those advantages attendant on the possession of power ; and
this may the more easily occur, inasmuch as he will not find
it difficult to persuade himself that he is acting lawfully, either
because the actual sovereign seems to him to govern badly,
or because he believes that he would himself prove a more
efficient ruler. Moreover, an opportunity for executing such
designs would easily present itself, either because the prince
might not be sufficiently wary in guarding himself from assas-
sination (and in the state of society which we contemplate,
how could he place trust even in his own body-guard) ; or
because a general rebellion might be set on foot ; or because
in the contingencies of a foreign war the conspirators might
invoke the aid of the enemy." Thus far the learned Protest-
ant exposes the dangers which threaten the sovereign if he
adopts the Macchiavellian principles in the government of his
state. He next proceeds to enumerate the dangers in which
this system involves society, and concludes thus : " Hence, it
appears of what vital importance it is to mankind to oppose
by every means the progress of Atheism ; and, at the same
time, how infatuated those are who persuade themselves that
they advance the cause of political liberty by abetting in-
fidelity."1
Even professed infidels have acknowledged the necessity of
religion as the basis and foundation of governments. Voltaire
writes thus on the subject : — " I should not fancy being the
subject of an Atheist prince, whose interest it would be to
pound me in the mortar, for I should unquestionably perish.
Were I a prince, I would not like to be surrounded by Atheist
chamberlains, whose interest it might be to poison me ; for
each time I should leave my chamber I would have to take an
antidote. It is, therefore, a matter of absolute necessity, both
for rulers and their subjects, that the idea of a Supreme Being —
1 Puffcndorf. DC Officiis. horn, et civ. 1-4.
462 Macchiavelli.
creating, governing, rewarding, and punishing — should be
deeply engraven on their hearts."1
Another infidel of note thus records his opinion on the same
subject : — " If you take away faith in God and in a future life,
I see nothing in the world save lies, hypocrisy, and injustice,
holding high festival. Expediency beyond everything else :
vice is then dignified with the name of virtue. ' Let the world
be my slave, let all things be attracted to me as to a centre ; if
/ remain untouced, let the rest of mankind be consigned to
destruction.' These are the secret thoughts of an Atheist
reasoning with himself. For my part, I shall firmly adhere to
this opinion: 'Whoever says in his heart ' There is no God,'
and yet can reconcile the world with itself, is either a knave
or a madman.' "2
But, perhaps, the best way to judge of the Macchiavellian
system, is to glance at the results which it has produced on
society.
As seen in Italy, during the age of Macchiavelli, and for
centuries after, these results present anything but a gratifying
spectacle. We read of nothing but constant intrigue — ambi-
tious citizens aiming at subverting the liberties of their
country — and rebellion, war, and misery following, as a natural
consequence. Thus it was that, at the period to which we
allude, the liberty of Lombardy and the Romagna had been
extinguished in blood. The freedom of Sienna and Genoa ex-
isted, it is true, but how dearly had it been purchased by
revolutionary proscriptions ! Venice was free only in name.
Macchiavelli's own patron, Lorenzo di Medici, cannot lay
claim to the title of patriot. He completed the subversion of
the Florentine Republic, superseding her regular government
by a permanent Council of Seventy, who were his own creatures
— and who were, by the advice of Macchiavelli, given to under-
stand that they were, in their deliberations, to consult, not
so much the interests of their country, as the wishes of Lorenzo,
under pain of incurring heavy penalties for their audacity,
should they attempt to act otherwise. In order to retrieve
his lost fortune,3 he taxed his country. Many charitable
foundations were suppressed. The current specie was taken in
payment of taxes at one-fifth below its nominal value, while
the government continued to issue it at the old rate ; and in
1 Voltaire: Diet. Philosophique. Art. Atheisme.
* Rousseau. Emile, tome iii. p 206.
« The Medici, when they began to be princes, gave up their old avocation of
merchants. They did not, it is true, relinquish business altogether, but they en-
trusted the management of tlieir affairs to agents, who, as usual, neglected the
interests of their employers. Thus the Medici became bankrupts.. How they in
some manner recovered their fortune is told in the text.
Maccliiai'dli. 463
this manner Lorenzo contrived to repair, to some extent, the
shattered fortunes of his house by involving his country in
bankruptcy. We need hardly say that such conduct was
neither just nor honourable ; but why should a man tutored
in the Macchiavellian school regard either justice or honour, if
an opposite course would better suit his purpose ! In our
number for April we alluded slightly to the turmoil created
in the Italian Peninsula by the conspiracy of the Pazzi, by
Caesar Borgia, by the rapacity of the French in Lombardy,
and of the Spaniards in Naples, and to the fearful miseries
which followed in the train of the Constable de Bourbon and his
barbarous battalions. All these evils were but so many natural
consequences of Macchiavelli's doctrine — that power is every-
thing, and that every means is legitimate which serves to
secure it.
If we come to consider the practical results of the Mac-
chiavellian system as developed in France, what an appalling
picture presents itself to our gaze ! We do not intend to
speak now of the misfortunes brought on Europe by the wars
of Francis I. and Louis XIV. ; but we will come later down
to the Revolution commencing in 1789. We will not under-
take to say that the French nation had not grievances to
complain of at that epoch ; but we do say that they were
grievances which had their origin in the intrigues of unscru-
pulous kings and statesmen of the Macchiavellian type, and
France sought to remedy these grievances, not in a legitimate
and constitutional manner, but by adopting Macchiavelli's
principles in their widest sense, and even improving on them.
The men of '93 began by murdering their lawful sovereign. The
downfall of the altar rapidly succeeded that of the throne.
God was voted a " myth ;" morality a " nuisance ;" and a vile
prostitute sat enthroned in a Christian temple to receive, as
the Goddess of Lust, the homage of her wretched votaries.
And yet, God, in His wisdom, permitted that, from out of the
ranks of those miscreants, one should arise who would serve
as His instrument to punish the others. Who has not heard
of the first Napoleon? who, acting on the Macchiavellian
policy, kept Europe bathed in a sea of blood for well nigh
twenty years, at the cost of millions of human lives, and an
immense expenditure of treasure.1 And if such have been
the results of the Macchiavellian system, when reduced to
idea of what the French Resolution and the First Empire cost Kurojx-
in men an 1 money may be formed from these facts : — The \v.ir against the French
iii/ alone ^404,000,000. The war a-.nnst Bonaparte cost
£,\, 159,000,000 ; and the total loss of life in the I\ninuilar campaign alone is
it out tnillwn fiiv hundred thousand. Ex uno diice omnes ! — See
Haydn, " Dictionary of Dates," art. Wars.
464 Macchiavelli.
practice, what honest peace-loving man will dare to defend it ?
Yet that system will ever find men to "defend it; aye! and
to put it in practice too, so long as an ungodly ambition
finds a shrine in human breasts, and kings and statesmen
value the possession of power more than truth, justice,
religion, and the welfare of their people.
In our own day, an Italian statesman put the Macchia-
vellian system in practice, in order to realize the mad dream
of an " United Italy." Intrigue of the«vilest description was
put into requisition in order to attain this end ; soldiers were
bribed to betray their sovereigns, and violate their solemn
oaths of allegiance ; unsuspecting princes were cajoled by
assurances of friendship, until everything was ready for their
destruction ; treaties were made under the most sacred
obligations, but were made only to be broken almost before
the ink with which they were signed was dry ; — and what
has been the result in this instance of .the Macchiavellian
policy ? The Italian people have become impoverished ; their
national debt has increased enormously ; they have to support
a standing army about four times as. large as that which
sufficed to maintain perfect order under the old regime ; they
have no credit in the foreign money-markets ; their com-
merce is much less than it might be under other circum-
stances ; human life is at the mercy of the assassin ; property
is insecure ; religion is trampled under foot ; public morality
is outraged by the sale of infamous publications and obscene
pictures which would put even the denizens of Holywell-
street to the blush ; an aged sovereign is besieged in hi£
palace without the shadow of a pretext for so doing, without
a formal declaration of war, in open defiance of all inter-
national law ; the entire peninsula is plunged into a state of
well-nigh hopeless anarchy, and this because an unscrupulous
king found an unscrupulous minister who was anxious to
gratify his own private ambition, and in order to do so
became an adherent to the Macchiavellian system, sacrificing
for this purpose every sacred principle human and Divine.
In achieving his purpose, Cavour was ably assisted by the
third Napoleon. And what have been the consequences for
the French Emperor ? After having devoted his life to the
practice and prapagandism of the Macchiavellian principles,
he finds them suddenly turned against himself by an abler
man, and to-day " le neveu de eon oncle" is an exile and
crownless, with scarce a chance remaining that he or any of
his line will ever again sit upon the throne of France. Lord
Palmerston, and other leading English statesmen, also lent
effectual aid to Cavour in revolutionizing Italy ; but little did
Macchiavclli. 465
they reflect when doing so, that they who sow the wind must
reap the whirlwind. In this, as in other instances, the Mac-
chiavellian system is producing its own evil consequences ;
and the tone of some of the leading English journals, during
the past five years, as well as the recent Communist demon-
strations in the London parks, seem to be but the first indi-
cations of a coming storm, which may, ere long, burst with
terrific violence over England, if she does not strive to ren-
der a cure unnecessary, by having recourse to preventive
measures, by dispensing open-handed justice to all her people,
and scrupulously observing those international laws which
are in accordance with the principles of religion and the
rights of nations.
In direct opposition to the Macchiavellian system, the
true principles which should govern the mutual relations of
sovereigns and their subjects are clearly defined by the great
Apostle of the Gentiles. As the constant aim of every legiti-
mate government ought to be to secure peace and tranquillity
for mankind, so as to enable them to work out, in accordance
with the designs of God, the great end for which they were
created, it follows as a necessary consequence (a) that every
legitimate government is entitled to submission and respect
from its subjects ; and (b) that the subjects on the other hand
have a strict right to full protection and even-handed justice
from the government, so that peace and prosperity may reign
in the state.
Such is the theory of government laid down by St. Paul.
Addressing the subject, he says : — "Let every soul be subject to
higher powers : for there is no power but from God : and those
that are, are ordained of God" — (Romans, chap, xiii., i.) The
Apostle is equally explicit when defining the duties of those
placed in authority. Laying down the rule which should guide
those in power, he says — " Masters do to your servants that
which is just and equal, knowing t/iat you also have a Master
in Heaven" — (Col. iv., v. i.)1
The law laid down by the Apostle has been ever endorsed
by the Church. We could fill volumes were we to transcribe
the words of the Fathers on this head : — Tertullian, and
Origen, and Augustine ; Cyprian of Carthage, and Ambrose
of Milan ; Leo and Hildebrand — all proclaim those grand and
primary principles, without which the state of society must be
1 We must not here accept the words master and servant in the limited sense
in which they are ordinarily employed. In the Greek text the word used for
master is KV/JIOS, which strictly means ortf having authority. It is akin to
Tupavvo?, and the context, in which the same word is applied to God, clearly
proves that the term is applicable even to a Supreme Ruler.
466 Macchiavelli.
always insecure. We will not trouble our readers by citing
long passages from those fathers — we should extend the limits
of our paper too far were we to do so ; at the same time we
recommend our readers to peruse the passage for themselves
in that truly admirable work of Balmez, " European Civiliza-
tion," (chaps, xlviii., liii., liv.)
We must now close our notice of Macchiavelli and his
political system. Men of the world will, most probably, say
that our principles are antiquated — our theories out of date — in
the latter half of the enlightened nineteenth century. Be it
so. We are satisfied to accept the responsibility, and we
await the issue with perfect confidence. If political turpitude
is to hold sway yet a little longer, we can't help it. It may
possibly succeed for a while; but of one thing we are certain,
that, sooner or later, it will inevitably produce in the future
those dire consequences which have invariably attended it in
the past.
Before we conclude, our readers will naturally expect that
we should say something of Macchiavelli's personal character.
We expect that the sketch must be anything but flattering.
We will not attempt to give it in our own words, but we will
allow Lord Macaulay to draw the portrait : —
" The character of the Italian statesman seems, at first
sight, a collection of contradictions, a phantom as monstrous
as the pantress of hell in Milton, half divinity, half snake,
majestic and beautiful above, grovelling and poisonous below.
We see a man whose thoughts and words have no connection
with each other, who never hesitates at an oath when he
"wishes to reduce, who never wants a pretext when he is in-
clined to betray. His cruelties spring not from the heat of
blood, or the insanity of uncontrolled power, but from deep
and cool meditation. His passions, like well-trained troops,
are impetuous by rule, and in their most headstrong fury never
forget the discipline to which they have been accustomed. His
whole soul is occupied with vast and complicated schemes of
ambition ; yet his aspect and language exhibit nothing but
philosophical moderation. Hatred and revenge eat into his
heart ; yet every look is a cordial smile, every gesture a
familiar caress. He never excites the suspicion of his adver-
saries by petty provocations. His purpose is disclosed only
when it is accomplished. His face is unruffled, his speech is
courteous, till vigilance is laid asleep, till a vital point is ex-
posed, till a sure aim is taken, and then he strikes for the
first ar\d last time. Military courage, the boast of the sot-
tish German, of the frivo!6us and prating Frenchman, of the
romantic and arrogant Spaniard, he neither possesses nor
The Indulgences of the Rosary. 467
values. He shuns danger, not because he is insensible to
shame, but because in the society in which he lives, timidity
has ceased to be shameful. To do an injury openly is, in his
estimation, as wicked as to do it secretly, and far less pro-
fitable. With him the most honourable means are those
which are the surest, the speediest, and the darkest. He
cannot comprehend how a man should scruple to deceive
those whom he does not scruple to destroy. He would think
it madness to declare open hostilities against rivals whom he
might stab in a friendly embrace, or poison in a consecrated
wafer."1
Such is the character of Macchiavelli, as drawn by a master-
hand, and it certainly is not such as any one would wish to
have recorded of him after death. The man and his principles
are equally to be abhorred. The statesman has been weighed
long ago in a balance which cannot err, the principles remain,
and are daily receiving the approval of modern politicians.
The future will tell with what result. The past, at least, has
satisfactorily proved that unless religion be made the basis of
every Government there can be no security for the ruler, no
prosperity for the subject, no tranquility in the state.
W. H.
THE INDULGENCES OF THE ROSARY.
(Continued.)
1 HE Elenchus contains a very important clause regarding
the distribution of Beads, etc., to which the Apostolic Indul-
gences have been attached. " His Holiness commands that the
Decree of Pope Alexander VII., issued in 1657, shall be
observed, viz. : — that the Indulgences shall not go beyond the
person of him to whom these blessed objects shall be confided,
or at least of those to whom he shall distribute them for the
firsttime."2 This clause,asexplained by FatherMaurel, implies
that Beads, etc., lose the Indulgences attached to them when
they cease to be the property of the person ivlio first uses them
in order to gain the Indulgences ; so that when they have been
used for this purpose by the person at whose request they
have been blessed they are no longer available for distribution ;
and, on the other hand, if they are distributed before being
1 Critical and Historical Essays, by Lord Macaulay. vol I.
1 See Tht Raccolta. Authorized Translation, p. 364.
468 The Indulgences of t)ie Rosary.
used, the persons who receive them can, in turn, give them to
others, provided that they have not themselves made use of
them in the first instance.1
By another provision of the Elenchus, the Indulgences are
lost if the Beads, etc., are sold after being blessed. His Holi-
ness orders the observance of a Decree to this effect, issued in
1721, in which the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences strictly
prohibited their " sale, whether public or private, or any sort
of barter or exchange," declaring, moreover, that " if this pro-
hibition be violated, the Indulgences shall be lost."2
This Decree must not be understood as referring merely to
the case where a higher price is charged for pious objects, on
the score of their having been blessed : their sale or barter, as
all writers on the subject agree, is absolutely forbidden3 It
is, however, laid down by Bouvier and other writers that this
prohibition does not include the case of a person who merely
reimburses himself by charging the original price of Beads, etc,
which he has bought for the purpose of distribution, since, in
the opinion of those writers, such a person cannot be regarded,
strictly speaking, as having sold the articles in question.* But
it is plain, from several Decrees of the Sacred Congregation,
one of which is quoted by Bouvier himself, that this view is
untenable.6 However, to avoid misconception, it may be
well to add that this case should be distinguished from that
of a person who receives a commission to buy Beads, etc.,
and to have them blessed. Without endangering the Indul-
gences he can, of course, receive from the person who en-
trusted him with the commission, the money which he ex-
pended in the purchase. For it is obvious that in thus execut-
ing a commission he cannot, with propriety, be said to sell
the Beads.6
Beads, etc., lose their blessing also, in case they are
1 MAUREL. Le Chretien Eclairi sur la Nature etf Usage des Indigences, Sixieme
Edition. Paris, 1860, p. 317.
* " Districte prohibuit ne in posterum aut publice aut secreto vendantur vel quomo-
docunque commutentur. Quod si secus fiat . . . careant Indulgentiis jam con-
cessis. — Deer. S. C. Indttlg. (5 Jun., 1721).
•See BOUVIER. Trait/ des Indulgences. Part 2, chap, vi., art. 2, § iii. n. 3.
MAUREL, Le Chrttien Eclairf, p. 318.
4 BOUVIER (ibid) says : — " En les distribunnt ainsi, il est moins cense les vcndre
que faire une commission pour ceux a qui il les procure. "
8 ' ' An practice tutum est, non stricto sensu vendere rosaria praevie benedicta,
sed sirnpliciter recipere in eorum distributione, solutas in acquisitione expensas ?
Resp. Negative."— Deer. S. C. Indulg. (31 Jan., 1837).
" Utrum [attento plurimorum Sacerdotum cxiguo nimis peculio] Sacerdotes
percipere queant. . . id quod ipsi impenserunt pro Coronis benedictis, quas fideli-
bus distribuiint ? Resp. Negative, et juxta quamplurima decreta Sacrae hujus
Indulgentiarum Congregationis." — Deer. S. C. Indttlg. (2 Oct., 1840.)
6 See Melanges The'ologiques. Deuxieme Serie. Paris 1859, p. 163.
The Indulgences of the Rosary. 469
lent by the owner to enable another person to gain t/u Indul-
gences ;' so that not only the person to whom they are thus
lent, can derive no benefit from them, but even the owner
cannot gain the Indulgences Until the blessing is renewed.2
But, as Bouvier remarks, this clause refers only to the special
case already mentioned, and not, therefore, to the case where
Beads arc lent merely to facilitate the counting of the
prayers. In such a case the Indulgences, are not gained;
but the Beads do not cease to be available for the owner.
This explanation of the clause does not rest merely on the
absence of any reference to this case in the Elenchus, as
Bouvier's words would seem to imply :3 it has been expressly
adopted by the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences.4
Similar Decrees have been issued by the Sacred Congrega-
tion regarding the Brigittine Chaplets. Thus, in 1714, it was
forbidden, under pain of forfeiting the Indulgences, to sell
these Chaplets or to lend them, after they have been blessed ;
and this prohibition was renewed in the Summary of the
Brigittine Indulgences, published by order of Benedict XIV.,
in I743-5 The clause which prohibits the lending of these
Chaplets" was subsequently explained as referring only to the
case where they are lent for the purpose of enabling a person to
gain the Indulgences ;6 just as we have seen the similar clause
in the Elenchus regarding the Apostolic Indulgences, was
explained by the Decree of 1839. And finally, there can be
no doubt — although, indeed, the point has not been expressly
decided — that the Brigittine Indulgences are available only for
the original owner of the Chaplet. For, in several Decrees
it is evidently assumed that in this respect also there is no
1 "Commodari aut precario dari non possit/n? Indulgentiarum commtinitatione
alioquin amittant Indulgentias jam conccssas. ' — Elenchus Indulgentiarum, etc.
1 " II ne serait plus indulgencie ni pour celui qui 1'emprunte, ni pour celui qui le
prete." — BOUVIER. Tratte dfs Indulgences. Part 2, chap. vi.,,art. 2, § iii., n. 3.
See also MAUREL, Le Chretien / r/,//;r, p. 318.
8 BOUVIER ( Traitt dts Indulgences^ ibid. ) says : — " On ne voit nulle part que le
chapelet ait ce^s6 d'etre indulycncit'.'1
4 Utrum Coronae. . . Indulgentias amittant, si amico . . comm dentur sive ad
Coronam simpliciter recitandam, sive ad Indulgentias lucrandas ? Rap. Negative
in primo casu : Affirmative, in secundo. Ut enim pereant Indulgentiae. . . requi-
rititr finis dandi vel praestandi pro communicatione Induls^tntiarum sicuti expresse
legitur in Elenchus I ndulgentiarum, etc."— Deer. S. C. Indulg. (IO Jan., 1839).
• "Sacra Congregatio . . innovando Decreto diei 26 Novembris, 1714, vetuit
ne hujusmodi Coronae seu Rosaria utpotc benedicta vendantur aut alteri commo-
dcnturaut praecario dentur alioquin careant indulgentiis jam concessis." — Sum ma-
rium in Deer. S. C. Indulg. (9 Feb., 1743.)
• " An vi Decreti de non commodandis Coronis, Indulgentiae concessae Cor-
onis D. Birgittae nuncupatis adhucdurent si dictae Coronae commodentur duntaxat
a<l en ralculos seu ad recitationem orationum ? — Ktsp. Affirmative. "-
Deer. .S. C . Indulg. (9 Feb., 1845.)
47O Ttie Indulgences of tlu Rosary.
difference between the Brigittine Beads and those to which
the Apostolic Indulgences have been attached.1
Are the same principles applicable also to the Dominican
Indulgences ? Apparently they are. The Sacred Congre-
gation has not issued any Decree upon this question, which,
indeed, docs not seem to have been submitted for its decision.
But the Decrees already quoted, regarding the Brigittine
Indulgences, leave little room for doubt that those principles
are regarded by the Congregation as universal rules, applicable
to all Rosaries or Chaplets.
MEDITATION ON THE MYSTERIES. — " To gain the [Domini-
can] Indulgences it is necessary, during the recitation of the
Rosary, to meditate on the mysteries of the Birth, Passion,
Death, Resurrection, etc., of our Lord, according to a Decree
of the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, dated August
1 2th, 1726, and approved by Pope Benedict XIII."2 Before
proceeding to explain the Decree which is here referred to,
it may be useful, in order to guard against misconception,
to remark, that in a Constitution issued in the following year,
the same Pontiff declared that it does not regard persons who
are incapable of meditating on the Mysteries : they can gain
the Indulgences by devoutly reciting the vocal prayers of the
Rosary.3
The nature of the meditation required by the Decree of
1726 has been very fully explained by the Sacred Congrega-
tion. In the first place, according to the terms of the Decree
itself, the meditation must be made on the Mysteries of
Redemption ; if any other subject be substituted, the Indul-
gences are not gained.4 This Decree, however, must not be
regarded as a condemnation of the method of saying the
Rosary suggested by the venerable Father Du Ponte, who
recommends meditation on the principal words of the Hail
Mary, or of the Our Father, or on the virtues of the Blessed
Virgin.5 Great spiritual profit may, no doubt, be derived
1 For instance. . "An ille qui habet Rosarium S. Birgittae illud moriendo possit
alteri cedere in ordine ad ei communicandas Indulgentias ? Resp. Negative, juxta
plurima decreta generalia." — Deer. S. C. Indulg. (31 Jan., 1837.)
8 Raccolta. Roma 1855, p. 161.
3 " Ad consolationem personarum verorudiorum ac divinis meditandis mysteriis
. . . minus idonearum, declarantes eas devota ac pia Rosarii recitatione indulgen-
tias . . lucrari posse." — Bullarium Romanum. Constit. Benedict! XIII., Prttiosus
(16 Mail, 1727), n. 4.
4 " An qui Rosarium recitant . . . omissa consueta meditatione Mysteriorum
humanae reparationis et illorum vice Mortem aut cetera Novissima vel alia pia ac
rcligiosa mcditantur, Indulgentias lucrentur? Rap. Non lucrari." — (Deer, S. C.
Indulg., 12 Aug., 1726).
8 See The Rosary of the Blessed Virgin, by the Rev. John Ryan, D.D. Dublin,
1866, pp. 96-105.
The InJulgcHd-s of the Rosary. 471
from the adoption of this or similar methods ; but it is plain
from the Decree just quoted, that they will not suffice for
gaining the Rosary Indulgences.
A more recent Decree lays down the necessity of meditat-
ing on one of the fifteen mysteries during the recitation of
each decade.1 But, as the Sacred Congregation has also de-
cided, it is not necessary to follow the arrangement usually
indicated in prayer-books and works of instruction on the
Rosary, in which certain mysteries are assigned as the subjects
of meditation for each day of the week.2 However, it is
advisable to adhere to this or to some similar arrangement
which will ensure the commemoration, in due order, of the
fifteen mysteries, which is required for the complete perform-
ance of this devotion.
Bouvicr and other writers remark that an excellent way of
fixing the attention on the mystery corresponding to each
decade, is to mention it, as they suggest, after the sacred name
of our Lord, each time that the Hail Mary is repeated.8
The author of the Manual already referred to adds that
" it will serve much to increase our devotion if, in expressing
what was done, \ve add that it was done for us, for our in-
struction or consolation, etc., as the mystery may suggest.
For example, in the first Joyful Mystery after the word
Jesus, in the Hail Mary, say wlw -was made Man for us, and
then continue Holy'Mary, etc. In the first Sorrowful Mystery
say, ivlio suffered his agony and bloody sweat for us ; and so
on in the other mysteries."4 But from several Decrees of the
Sacred Congregation we learn that neither this nor any other
form of mentioning the mystery commemorated is necessary.
Thus it has been decided that it is not necessary to make a
1 " An ad luerandas Indulgent ias meditandum sit in singulis decadibus super
uno ex quindecim mysteriis lactis videlicet, dolorosis et gloriosis? Resp. Aflir-
niative."— Deer. S. C. Indulg. (28 Jan., 1842.)
1 " Est ne libera electio Mysteriorum . . aut danturne dies stricte determinati
pro tali vel tali gencre Mysteriorum rccolendo, ita ut tali die determinate recoli
debeant Mystcria Gaudiosa, tali die Dolor, sa, tali do Gloriosa ? Resp. Affir-
mative quoad primam partcm ; quoad vero sccundam, invaluit eonsuetudo (ut per
girum cujuslibet hebdomadae singula mysteria percurrantur) recolendi Giuuliosa
in secunda et quarta feria : Dolorosa in tertia et sexta ; Gloriosa tandem in Domi-
nica, quarts fcria et sabbato, si tamcn tcrtia tantum pars in qualibct die rccitetur."
— />fcr. S. C. Ittdulg. (i Jul , 1839.) It will be observed that the arrangement
descrilxjd in this Decree, assigning the Glorious Mysteries to Sundays, without any
exception, differs from that which is usually set forth in our prayer-lxjoks, and in
which the Joyful and the Sorrowful Mysteries are assigned to Sundays in certain
us — the former during Advent, and from Epiphany till Lent, the latter during
» See BOUVIER, Traiti des Indulgences, part 2, chap, vi., art 2, § 2.
4 Sec The Rosary of the Blessed Virgin, by the Rev. John Rynn, I >. D. Dublin,
1866, page 106, where this method of saying the Uosary is fully and most clearly
472 The Indulgences of the Rosary.
special offering of each decade before reciting it,1 or to mention
the mystery in the way suggested by Bouvier; and that it will
suffice to reflect upon it whilst reciting the vocal prayers — the
Our Father and Hail Mary.2 In another Decree the Sacred
Congregation has approved the use of such formulas as are
ordinarily given in prayer books, setting forth in each instance
the mystery which is to form the subject of contemplation
during the recital of the decade.8
According to several Decrees of the Sacred Congregation,
meditation is not necessary for gaining the Brigittine Indul-
gences. Thus, in 1839, it was decided that the faithful who
recite the Rosary on Chaplets of the Blessed Virgin to which
these Indulgences have been attached, can gain the Indul-
gences without meditating on the fifteen Mysteries.* And
when, in the following year, a doubt was raised as to whether
it might not be necessary to meditate on some other subject —
such as the Seven Dolours or the Seven Joys of the Blessed
Virgin, in honour of which the Brigittine Chaplet was originally
devised — the former decision was renewed, and a further Decree
was issued declaring that no meditation was required.6
On the other hand, an earlier Decree (19 Jan., 1833), the
substance of which is given by Bouvier, lays down the necessity
of meditating on the fifteen Mysteries, as in the case of the
Dominican Indulgences.6 He suggests, as a means of recon-
ciling these apparently contradictory decisions, that the earlier
Decree regards the case of a person who uses an ordinary
chaplet of five decades, whilst the Decree of 1839 supposes
the use of the Brigittine Chaplet of six decades. This ex-
planation, however, can hardly be admitted ; for the Decree of
1839 seems to refer expressly to the case where the ordinary
1 " Oblatio specialis mysteriorum debetne fieri antequam singulae decades reci-
tentur? Resp. Negative.— Deer. S. C. Indulg. (l Jul., 1839.)
8 " Debetne fieri mentio specialis Mysterii . . dicendo v. g. post haec verba :
•ventris tui jfesus, haec alia : quern concepisti vel q ucm visitando EHtabeth portasti
vel quern peperisti, etc. ? Resp. Negative, quia quando requiritur meditatio
Mysteriorum pro acquirendis Indulgentiis, sufiicit meditatio mentalis eodem tempore
quo recitantur Oratio Dominicalis et Angelicae Salutationcs." — Deer. S. C. Indulg.
(I Jul., 1839.)
* " An sufficiat ad hanc meditationem pnemittere sequentes aut similes formulas:
in primo decade — In hoc prime Mysterio lotto considerabimus ut Angelus Gabriel
nuntiavit, etc. . . . et sic in caeteris ? Resp. Affirmative. — Deer. S. C. Indulg.
(28 Jan., 1842)
4 "Quando Coronis B.M.V. . . . applicata fuit benedictio cum Indulgentiis
D Birgittae nuncupatis, fideles illas Coronas recitantes tenenturne meditari quin-
decim Mysteria D.N.J.C., ut Indulgentias percipere valeant ? Resf. — Negative."
—Deer. S. C. Indulg., (i Jul., 1839).
• " Utrum . . . teneantur meditari quidquam aliud v. gr. Septem Dolores aut
Septem Gaudia B. M. Virginis ? Resp. Negative." — Deer. S. C. Indulg. (2 Oct.,
1840).
•See BOUVIER, TraM des Indulgences, part 2, chap. vi.,art. ^, §iii., n. 30.
The Indulgences of the Rosary. 473
Chaplct is used—" Chaplcts of the Blessed Virgin, to which
the Brigittine Indulgences have been attached."1
It would seem more probable, then, that if the Decree of
1833 is authentic,8 the Sacred Congregation at first insisted on
the necessity of meditating on the fcfteen Mysteries, for these
as well as for the Dominican Indulgences, and afterwards
removed this necessity by the Decree of 1839. Maurel, without
mak-ing any such distinction as Bouvier suggests, holds, that
for gaining the Brigittine Indulgences, meditation is not
required. He quotes, in proof of his statement, the Decree
of 1839.'
However, from a Decree of still later date, strangely over-
looked by many recent writers on this subject, and apparently
misunderstood by others, we learn that the Sacred Congre-
gation has reverted to its original view. According to this
Decree (28 Jan., 1842), meditation on the fifteen Mysteries is
now declared to be necessary for these, as for the Dominican
Indulgences.4 Maurel, indeed, considers that this decision
does not refer to the Brigittine Indulgences — " The context,"
that is to say, the series of questions, in answer to one of
which this decision was given, proving clearly, in his opinion,
" that there is question only of the [Dominican] Indulgences
of the Rosary."6 But the contrary is the fact : neither the
question in reply to which this Decree was issued, nor any
of those proposed on the same occasion, contains the slightest
reference to any other than the Brigittine Indulgences. It
should, however, be observed that the Decree of 1842 does
not regard the case where the Brigittine Chaplet of six decades
is used. . So far, therefore, as it is concerned, the Decrees of
of 1839 and 1840 have not been superseded.
• For the Apostolic Indulgences no meditation is required.
This is evident not only from the omission of any reference
to this condition in the Elcnctuis, where the Indulgences are
granted to those who recite the Rosary, but also from an
express decision of the Sacred Congregation.0
W. J. W.
1 Deer. S. C. Indulg. (l Ju!., 1839). Sec ante, p. 472.
* Its substance, as has already been stated, is given by Bouvier. I have been
unable to find the text of the Decree itself. It is not given by Mgr. Prinzivalli
in his Collection of Authentic Decrees (Rome, 1861).
1 MAURKL, Le Chritien Eclairi, part 2, art. vii., n. 90.
* " An ad lucrandas istas [Birgittinas] Indulgentias meditandum sit ... super
quimlecim Mysteriis? A'esf. — Affirmative, et juxta Deer. S. C. diei 12 Aug.,
1726."— Deer. S. C. Indulg. (28 Jan. 1842).
6 M \IKII.. /> ChretifH Eflairf, part 2. art. vii., n. 90.
* " Daturne obligatio Mysteria mcditamli, quando Coronis applicata fuit bene-
dictio cum Indulgcntiis ordinariis? /'«/. — Negative, si benedictio respiciat
>entias consuetas, quae citantur in Elencho. — Deer. S. C. Indulg. (i Jul.,
1839).
vii. 32
474
CORRESPONDENCE.
J. HE following " Description of an Antique Statue of the
Madonna in Dublin," from the pen of George Petrie, LL.D.,
M.R.I.A., was forwarded to us for publication by the late
VeryRev.Dr. SPRATT, a short time before his lamented decease.
We now insert it not only because it illustrates an interesting
monument of the Irish Church, but still more that it may
remain as a memorial of this distinguished ecclesiastic, who,
by his untiring labour and disinterested zeal, merited the
esteem and veneration of our clergy and people : —
" There is now preserved in the Carmelite Church, in
Whitefriar-street, Dublin, a very interesting sample of ancient
sculpture — a Statue of the Virgin with the Infant Jesus in
her arms, carved in Irish oak, as large as life. The style of
the execution is dry and Gothic ; yet it has considerable merit,
and is by many attributed to some pupil of Albert Durer's
school, to whose time and manner it seems to belong.
" There are some traditional circumstances relative to the
preservation of this statue, which are very interesting. It
was originally a distinguished ornament in St. Mary's Abbey,
at the north side of Dublin, where it was not less an object
of religious reverence, than of admiration for the beauty of
its construction — (See Archdall's Monasticori). Its fame,
however, was lost when the religious house in which it was
deposited was suppressed. The abbey was given to the Earl
of Ormond for stables for his train, and the beautiful relic
alluded to, was condemned to be burnt by the common
hangman.
" One-half of the statue was actually burnt, but it was for-
tunately the less important moiety, and when placed in a
niche, the deficiency is somewhat concealed. The portion
remaining was carried by some pious person to a neighbouring
inn-yard, where, with its face buried in the ground, and the
hollow trunk appearing uppermost, it was appropriated to the
ignoble purpose of a hog-trough ! ! In this situation it
remained concealed until the religious tempest had subsided,
and the vandalism of the Iconoclasts had passed away, and
then it was restored to its ancient respect, in the humble
Chapel of St. Michan's Parish (Mary's-lane), which had timidly
ventured to rise out of the ruins of the great monastery, to
which the venerable statue originally belonged.
" During the long night of its obscurity, a great change had,
however, taken place in the spirit of the times, mofc dangerous
Documents. 475
to its safety than even the abhorrence of its Iconoclastic
enemies. No longer an object of admiration to any except
the curious antiquary, it was considered of such little value
by its owners, that about the year 1820, the ancient silver
crown which adorned the head was* sold, for its mere intrinsic
value, to Mr. Mooney, of Capel-street (a silversmith), and
melted down as old plate.1 The statue itself would, most
probably, have shared the fate of its coronet, had it been
composed of an equally precious material ; but, fortunately,
it was rescued for a trifling sum, in the year 1822, by the
Very Rev. Dr. Spratt, of Whitefriar-street Church, where it
is at present deposited at the Epistle side of the High Altar."
DOCUMENTS.
I.— ENCYCLICAL OF OUR MOST HOLY FATHER
TO THE BISHOPS OF THE CATHOLIC WORLD.
Pius PP. IX.
Venerabiles Fratrcs, Salutcm ft Apostolicam Benedictioncm.
Ubi Nos arcano Dei consilio sub hostilem potestatem re-
dacti tristem atque acerbam vicem hujus Urbis Nostrae et
oppressum armorum invasione civilem apostolicae Sedis
Principatum vidimus, jam turn datis ad Vos litteris die prima
Novembris anno proxime superiori, Vobis ac per Vos toti orbi
catholico declaravimus qui esset rerum Nostrarum et Urbis
hujus status, quibus obnoxii essemus impiae et effrenis licen-
tiae excessibus ; et ex supremi officii Nostri ratione coram
Deo et hominibus salva ac integra esse velle jura Apostolicae
Sedis testati sumus, Vosque et omnes dilectos filios curis ves-
tris creditos fideles ad divinam Majestatem fervidis precibus
placandam excitavimus. Ex eo tempore mala et calamitates
quas prima ilia luctuosa experimenta Nobis et huic Urbi
praenunciabant, nimiuni vere in apostolicam dignitatem et
auctoritatem, in Religionis morumque sanctitatem, in dilec-
tissimos subditos Nostros reipsa rcdundarunt. Quin etiam,
Venerabiles Fratres, conditionibus rerum quotidie ingravescen-
tibus, dicere cogimur Sancti Bcrnardi verbis: initia malorum
sunt haec; graviora timemus.2 Iniquitas cnim viam suam
tenere pergit et consilia promovet, neque jam valde laborat ut
'This Crown is generally supposed to have been the identical one used at the
coronation of Lamlxjit Simncl, in Christ's Church, Dublin.
* Epist. 243.
476 Documents.
velum obducat operibus suis pessimis quae latere non possunt,
atque ultimas ex conculcata justitia, honestate, religione ex-
uvias, referre studet. Has inter angustias, quae dies Nostros
amaritudine complcnt, praesertim dum cogitamus quibus in
dies periculis et insidiis fides et virtus populi Nostri subjicitur,
eximia merita vestra, Venerabiles Fratres, et dilectorum Nobis
fidelium quos cura vestra complectitur, sine gratissimo animi
sensu recolere aut commemorare non possumus. In omni
enim terrarum plaga exhortationibus Nostris admirabili studio
respondentes Christifideles Vosque duces et exempla sequuti,
ex infausto illo die expugnataehujus Urbis assiduis ac ferven-
tibus precibus institerunt, et seu publicis atque iteratis suppli-
cationibus, seu sacris peregrinationibus susceptis, seu non
intermisso ad Ecclcsias concursu, et ad sacramentorum parti-
cipationem accessu, sive praecipuis aliis christianae virtutis
operibus, ad thronum divinae clementiae perseveranter adire,
sui muneris esse putarunt. Neque vero haec flagrantia depre-
cationum studia amplissimo apud Deum fructu carere possunt.
Multa immo ex iis jam profecta bona etiam alia, quae in spe
et fiducia expectamus, pollicentur. Videmus enim firmitatem
fidei, ardorem caritatis sese in dies latius explicantem, cerni-
mus earn sollicitudinem in Christifidelium animis pro hujus
Sedis et supremi Pastoris laboribus et oppugnationibus exci-
tatam quam Deus solus ingerere potuit, ac tantam perspicimus
unitatem mentium et voluntatum, ut a primis Ecclesiae tem-
poribus usque ad hanc aetatem nunquam splendidius ac verius
dici potuerit quam his diebus nostris, multitudinis credentium
esse cor unum et animam unam.1 Quo in spectaculo virtutis
silere non possumus de amantissimis filiis Nostris hujus almae
Urbis civibus, quorum ex omni fastigio atque ordine amor erga
Nos et pietas itemque par certamini firmitas luculenter eminuit
atque eminet, neque solum majoribus suis digna sed aemula
animi magnitude. Deo igitur misericordi immortalem gloriam
et gratiam habemus pro vobis omnibus, Venerabiles Fratres,
et pro dilectis filiis Nostris Christifidelibus, qui tanta in vobis,
tanta in Ecclesia sua operatus est et operatur, effccitque ut,
superabundante malitia, superabundaret gratia fidei, caritatis
et confessionis. "Quae est ergo spes Nostra et gaudium
Nostrum et corona gloriae ? Nonne vos ante Deum ? Filius
sapiens gloria est Patris. Benefaciat rtaque vobis Deus et
meminerit fidelis servitii et piae compassionis et consolationis
et honoris, quae sponsae Filii ejus in tempore malo et in die-
bus afilictionis suae exhibuistis et exhibetis."2
Interea vero subalpinum Gubernium dum ex una parte
^
1 Act. 4, 32. fc * S. Bern. ep. 238 ct 130.
Documents. 477
Urbcm properat Orbi facerc fabulam,1 ex altera ad fucum
catholicis faciendum et ad eorum anxietates sedandas, in con-
flandis ac struendis futilibus quibusdam immunitatibus et
privilegiis quae vulgo guarentigie dicuntur, claboravit eo con-
silio ut haec Nobis sint in locum civilis principatus, quo Nos
longa machinationum serie et armis parricidialibus exuit. De
hisce immunitatibus et cautionibus, Venerabiles Fratres, jam
Nos judicium Nostrum protulimus, earum absurditatem, ver-
sutiam ac ludibrium notantes in Litteris die 2 Martii pr. pr.
datis ad Venerabilem Fratrem Nostrum Constantinum Patrizi
Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalem, sacri Collegii deca-
num ac Vicaria Nostra potestate in Urbe fungentem, quae typis
impressae protinus in lucem prodierunt.
Sed quoniam subalpini Gubcrnii est perpetuam turpemque
simulationem cum impudenti contemptu adversus Pontificiam
Nostram dignitatem et auctoritatem conjungere, factisque os-
tendit Nostras protestationes, expostulationes, censuras pro
nihilo habere; hinc minime obstante judicio de praedtctis cau-
tionibus a Nobis expresso, illarum discussionem et examen
apud supremos Regni Ordines urgere et promovere non des-
titit, veluti de re seria ageretur. Qua in discussione cum
veritas judicii Nostri super illarum cautionum natura et indole,
turn irritus hostium in velanda earumdem malitia et fraude
conatus luculenter apparuit. Certe, Venerabiles Fratres, in-
credibile est, tot errores catholicae fidei ipsisque adeo juris
naturalis fundamentis palam repugnantes, et tot blasphemias,
quot ea occasione prolatae sunt, proferri potuisse in media
hac Italia, quae semper catholicae Religionis cultu et Aposto-
lica Romani Pontificis Sede potissimum gloriata est et gloria-
tur ; et revera, Deo Ecclesiam suam protegente, omnino alii
sunt sensus, quos reipsa fovct longe maxima Italorum pars,
quae novam hanc et inauditam sacrilegii formam Nobiscum
ingemit ac deplorat et insignibus ac in dies majoribus suae
pietatis argumentis officiisque Nos docuit uno se esse spiritu
et sensu cum ceteris Orbis Fidelibus consociatam.
Quapropter Nos iterum hodie ad Vos voces Nostras conver-
timus, Venerabiles Fratres, et quamquam Fideles vobis com-
missi sive litteris suis sive gravissimis protestationum docu-
mentis aperte significaverint quam acerbe ferant earn qua
premimur conditionem et quam longe absint ut iis eludantur
fallaciis quae cautionum nomine teguntur ; tamen Apostolici
Nostri Officii munus esse ducimus ut per Vos toti Orbi solem-
niter declaremus, non modo eas quae cautiones appellantur
quaeque Gubernii Subalpini curis perperam cusae sunt, sed,
quicumque tandem sint, titulos, honores, immunitates et pri-
1 S. Bern. ep. 243.
478 Documents.
vilegia et quidquid cautionum seu guarentigie nomine veniat,
nullo modo valere posse ad adserendum expeditum liberumque
usum divinitus Nobis traditae potestatis et ad tuendam neces-
sariam Ecclesiae libertatem.
His ita se habentibus, quemadmodum pluries declaravimus
et professi sumus, Nos absque culpa violatae fidei juramento
obstrictae nulli adhaerere conciliationi posse quae quolibet
modo jura Nostra destruat aut imminuat quae sunt Dei et
Apostolicae Sedis jura; sic nunc »x debito officii Nostri decla-
ramus nunquam Nos admissuros aut accepturos esse nee ullo
modo posse, excogitatas illas a Gubernio Subalpino cautiones
seu guarentigie quaecumque sit earum ratio, neque alia quae-
cumque sint ejus generis et quocumque modo sancita, quae
specie muniendae Nostrae sacrae potestatis et libertatis Nobis
oblata fuerint in locum et subrogationem civilis ejus Princi-
patus, quo divina Providentia Sanctam Sedem Apostolicam
munitam et auctam voluit, quemque Nobis confirmant turn
legitimi inconcussique tituli, turn undecim et amplius saeculo-
rum possessio. Plane enim cuique manifesto pateat necesse
est quod, ubi Romanus Pontifex alterius Principis ditioni sub-
jectus foret, neque ipse revera amplius in politico ordine
suprema potestate praeditus esset, neque posset, sive persona
ejus sive actus Apostolici ministerii spectentur, sese eximere
ab arbitrio illius, cui subesset, imperantis, qui etiam vel haere-
ticus vel Ecclesiae persecutor evadere posset aut in bello
adversus alios Principes vel in belli statu versari. Et sane,
ipsa haec concessio cautionum, de quibus loquimur, nonne per
se ipsa luculentissimo documento est, Nobis quibus data divi-
nitus auctoritas est leges ferendi ordinem moralem et religio-
sum spectantes, Nobis, qui Naturalis ac divini juris interpretes
in toto orbe constituti sumus, leges imponi, casque leges, quae
ad regimen universae Ecclesiae referuntur, et quarum conser-
vationis ac exequutionis non aliud est jus quam quod voluntas
laicarum potestatum praescribat ac statuat ? Quod autcm ad
habitudinem pertinet inter Ecclesiam et Societatem civilem,
optime nostis, Venerabiles Fratres, praerogativas omnes et
omnia auctoritatis jura ad regendam universam Ecclesiam
necessaria Nos in persona Beatissimi Petri ab ipso Deo directe
accepisse, immo praerogativas illas ac jura, aeque ac ipsam
Ecclesiae libertatem, sanguine Jesu Christi parta fuisse et
quaesita, atque ex hoc infinite divini sanguinis ejus pretio esse
aestimanda. Nos itaque male admodum, quod absit, de divino
Redemptoris Nostri sanguine mereremur, si haec jura Nostra,
qualia praesertim nunc tradi vellent adeo deminuta ac turpata,
mutuaremur a Principibus terrae. Filii enim, rfon domini
Ecclesiae sunt Christiani Principes ; quibus apposite inquiebat
Documents. 479
ingens illud sanctitatis et doctrinae lumen Ansclmus Cantua-
riensis Archicpiscopus : "ne putetis vobis Ecclesiam Dei quasi
domino ad serviendum esse datam, sed sicut advocate et
defensori esse commendatam ; nihil magis diligit Deus in hoc
mundo quam libertatem Ecclesiac suae."1 Atque incitamenta
eis addens alio loco scribebat : "nunquam aestimetis vestrae
celsitudinis minui dignitatem, si Sponsae Dei et Matris vestrae
Ecclesiae amatis et defenditis libertatem, ne putetis vos humi-
liari si earn exaltatis, ne credatis vos debilitari si earn roboratis.
Videte, circumspicite ; exempla sunt in promptu, considerate
Principes qui illam impugnant et conculcant, ad quid proficiunt,
ad quid deveniunt satis patet, non eget dictu. Certe qui illam
glorificant, cum ilia et in ilia glorificabuntur."2
Jamvero ex iis quae alias ad yos, Venerabiles Fratres, et
modo a Nobis exposita sunt, nemini profecto obscurum esse
potest, injuriam huic S. Sedi hisce acerbis temporibus inlatam
in omnem Christianum Rempublicam redundare. Ad omnem
enim, uti aiebat S. Bernardus, spectat Christianum injuria
Apostolorum, gloriosorum scilicet Principum terrae ; et cum
pro Ecclesiis omnibus, uti inquiebat praedictus S. Anselmus,
Romana laboret Ecclesia, quisquis ei sua aufert, non ipsi soli
sed Ecclesiis omnibus sacrilegii reus esse dignoscitur.3 Nee
profecto ulli dubium esse potest quin conservatiojurium hujus
Apostolicae Sedis cum supremis rationibus et utilitatibus
Ecclesiae universae et cum libertate Episcopalis ministerii
vcstri arctissime conjuncta sit et illigata.
Haec omnia Nos, ut debemus, reputantes et cogitantes,
iterum confirmare constanterque profited cogimur, quod
pluries Vobis Nobiscum unanimiter consentientibus declara-
vimus, scilicet civilem S. Sedis Principatum Romano Pontifici
fuisse singulari divinae Providentiae consilio datum illumque
necessarium esse ut idem Romanus Pontifex nulli unquam
Principi aut civili Potestati subjectus supremam universi
Dominici gregis pascendi regendique potestatem auctorita-
temque ab ipso Christo Domino divinitus acceptam per
universam Ecclesiam plenissima libertate exercere ac majori
ejusdem Ecclesia bono, utilitati et indigcntiis consulere
possit. Id vos, Venerabiles Fratres, ac vobiscum Fideles vobis
crediti probe intelligentes, merito omnes ob causam Reli-
gionis, justitiae et tranquillitatis, quae fundamenta sunt bono-
rum omnium, commoti estis, et digno spectaculo fidei, caritatis,
constantiae, virtutis illustrantes Ecclesiam Dei ac in ejus
defensionem fideliter intenti, novum et admirandum in annali-
bus ejus exemplum in futurarum generationum memoriam
propagatis. Quoniam vero misericordiarum Deus istorum
1 Ep. 8, 1. 4. » Ep. 12, 1. 4. » Ep. 42, i. 3.
480 Documents.
bonorum est auctor, ad ipsum elevantcs oculos, corda ct spem
Nostram Eum sine intcrmissione obsecramus, ut praeclaros
vestros et fidelium sensus, et communem pictatcm, dilectionem,
zelum confirmet, roboret, augeat ; Vosque item et commissos
vigilantiae vestrae populos enixe hortamur ut in dies firmius
et uberius quo gravius dimicatio fervet, Nobiscum clametis ad
Dominum, quo ipse propitiationis suae dies maturare dignetur.
Efficiat Deus ut Principes terrae quorum maxime interest, ne
tale usurpationis quam Nos patimur exemplum in perniciem
omnis potestatis et ordinis statuatur et vigeat, una omnes
animorum et voluntatum consensione jungantur, ac sublatis
discordiis, sedatis rebellionum perturbationibus, disiectis
exitialibus sectarum consiliis, conjuctam operam navent ut
restituantur huic S. Sedi sua jura et cum iis visibili Ecclesiae
Capiti sua plena libertas, et civili socictati optata tranquillitas.
Nee minus, Venerabiles Fratres, deprecatione vestra et
Fidelium apud divinam clementiam exposcite, ut corda
impiorum, coecitate mentium depulsa, ad poenitentiam con-
vertat antequam veniat dies Domini magnus et horribilis, aut
reprimendo eorum nefanda consilia ostendat quam insipientcs
et stulti sunt qui petram a Christo fundatam evertere et
divina privilegia violare conantur.1 In his precibus spes
Nostrae firmius in Deo consistant. " Putatisne avertere poterit
Deus aurem a carissima Sponsa sua, cum clamaverit stans
adversus eos qui se angustiaverunt ? Quomodo non recog-
noscet os de ossibus suis et carnem de carne sua, imo vero iam
quodammodo spiritum de spiritu suo? Est quidem nunc
hora malitiae et potestas tenebrarum. Ceterum hora novis-
sima est et potestas cito transit. Dei virtus et Dei sapientia
Christus Nobiscum est qui et in causa est. Confidite, ipse
vicit mundum."2 Interim vocem aeternae veritatis magno
animo et certa fide sequamur quae dicit: pro justitia
agonizare pro anima tua, et usque ad mortem certa pro
justitia, et Deus expugnabit pro te inimicos tuos.3
Uberrima demum caejestium gratiarum munera Vobis,
Venerabiles Fratres, cunctisque Clericis Laicisque fidelibus
cuj usque Vestrum curae concreditis a Deo ex animo adpre-
cantes, praecipuae Nostrae erga Vos atque Ipsos intimaeque
caritatis pignus Apostolicam Benedictionem Vobis iisdemque
dilectis Filiis peramanter impertimus.
Datum Romae apud S. Petrum die decimaquinta Maii anno
Domini MDCCCLXXI.
Pontificatus Nostri Anno vicesimoquinto.
* PIUS PAPA IX.
j
* S. Greg. VII. ep. 6, i. 3. * S. Bern. Ep. 126. n. et 14. » Eccli. 4. 33.
48 1
II.— LETTER OF THE BISHOPS OF BELGIUM TO
THEIR CLERGY, ON THE TRADITIONALIST
CONTROVERSY.
" REVERENDI ET DILECTISSIMI DOMINI.
" Rescripta Roma venerunt circa nonnulla dubia nuper
exorta de sensu Constitutionis Dei Filius. Rumor ferebat
quasdam circa Traditionalismum et Ontologismum doctrinas,
prout Lovanii a nonnullis Profcssoribus tradebantur, vi hujus
Constitutionis oecumenicae Synodi Vaticanae, esse liberas.
Nunc autem unicuique nostrum scripsit Eminentissimus
Dominus Cardinalis Patrizi die scptima Augusti ciirrentis anni
sequentia, quibus omne dubium prorsus evanescit :
" ' SANCTITAS SUA, pro ca qua urgetur in servanda doctri-
nae puritate sollicitudine, omnibus antea simul auditis istius
Ecclesiasticae provinciae Episcopis Romae nuper degentibus,
et in concilium quoque adhibitis S. Romanae Ecclesiae Cardi-
nalibus una mecum Inquisitoribus generalibus, mandavit
expresse declarari, prout a me Amplitudini Tuae hisce litteris
declaratur, per memoratam Constitutionem Synodalem,
praesertim per monitum ad ejusdem calcem relatum, nedum
baud infirmari vel moderari, quinimo novo adjecto robore
confirmari decreta omnia utriusque S. Congregationis S. Officii
et Indicis hac de re edita, illudque potissimum quod litteris
meis ad singulos in Belgio Episcopos die 2 Martii 1866 datis
continetur.
" ' Quocirca diligentissime curandum erit ut commemorata
decreta accuratiori quoque studio observentur, et omnis e
medio tollatur dubitatio quae eorumdem decretorum vim
labefactare ullo modo conetur.'
" Ne igitur Clerus noster tanti ponderis declarationem igno-
ret, earn cum Parochis omnibus communicandam duximus,
quo fiat ut non modo erroris periculum avertatur, verum etiam
obsequium debitum decretis a Sa'ncta Sede jam diu hac de re
editis magis magisque in nostris Dioecesibus augeatur.
" Pax autem Dei, quae exuperat omnem sensum, custodiat
corda vestra et intelligentias vestras in Christo Jesu.
* VICTOR AUGUSTUS, Archiepiscopus Mechliniensis.
* CASPAR JOSEPHUS, Episcopus Tornacensis.
• THEODORUS, Episcopus Leodiensis.
• JOANNES JOSEPHUS, Episcopus Brugensis.
• HENRICUS, Episcopus Gandavensis.
* THEODORUS JOSEPHUS, Episcopus Namurcensis."
482
ROMAN CHRONICLE.
FRIDAY, the i6th of June, 1871, the Feast of the Sacred
Heart, will be ever memorable in the Annals of holy
Church. On that day, for the first time in the long course
of eighteen hundred years, a successor of St. Peter celebrated
the Jubilee of his Pontificate. This striking fact would, of
itself, have sufficed to quicken the joy of the Christian world ;
but on the present occasion there was something more ; for,
the Pope, who thus entered on the 26th year of his Pontificate,
was Pius the Ninth, one of the most august in the long line
of the Church's Pontiff-Kings, and one who has compendi-
ated in his sacred Pontificate all the glories of his greatest
predecessors.
What was the spectacle presented to the world by the
Church of God on that memorable day ? First of all, the
faithful of every nation, and clime, and tongue, from the rising
to the setting sun, were assembled around the altars of the
Prince of Peace, pouring forth their fervent thanksgiving in
heartfelt gratitude to God for the mercies He has accorded
to His Vicegerent upon earth, and praying that many years
may still be granted to the present great Pontiff to rule the
Church of Christ.
At the same time an acclaim of joy resounded throughout
the Catholic world. On the Continent there was scarcely a
city wherein illuminations and laurel wreaths and festive
decorations did not publicly bespeak a family feast celebrated
by the faithful ; a feast which was enjoyed alike by rich and
poor, young and old, the noblest palace and the humblest
hut, and in which all was peaceable, and serene, and calm,
the more remarkable by the sad contrast which society, in so
many countries, now presents of mourning for the past, or
fears for approaching evils. Countless deputations, too, arrived
in Rome to lay at the feet- of the august Prisoner in the
Vatican, the expressions of sympathy and devotedness of the
Christian world, and in return bore with them to their
respective nations the blessings of a Pontiff who, with the
sublime dignity of Vicar of Christ, and with the bright aureola
of sanctity and glorious deeds, now wears the purple wreath
of the confessors of Christ. Ireland, which yields to no nation
of Christendom in the devoted ardour of her attachment to
the Holy See, manifested her joy on the present occasion in
a thousand various ways. The sacred Triduums thronged
by the faithful : the discourses that were delivered ; the
Roman Chronicle. 483
innumerable addresses that were forwarded by clergy and
people ; the telegrams that were despatched from different
parts of the country ; the bonfires that lit up the Tipperary
hills and other Catholic districts, were all so many proofs of
the sacred enthusiasm which pervaded our devoted people.
One of the addresses merits special mention. It was forwarded
in the name of the womanhood of Ireland, and its 200,000
signatures were accompanied by more than £3,000 to the
feet of the Holy Father. We may also mention one telegram
which some Irish Zouaves forwarded to their former brothers
in arms, expressing their joy in the following spirited
words : —
" Viva Pio Nono, Papa Re,
All hail unto this glorious day ;
Let the Zouaves with one voice sing
God preserve our Pontiff-King."
We would wish to insert in full the many addresses pre-
sented on this happy occasion, and the beautiful responses
given by His Holiness ; but our limits will not permit us to
do so. We cannot, however, forbear treasuring up a few of
the loving words thus uttered by our most Holy Father.
Replying to the deputation of the laity of Italy, he said : " If
the devotedness to the See of Peter shown forth by the faithful
throughout the Catholic world, and the thanksgiving they have
rendered to God for guarding, by His protecting hand, His
weak and unworthy Vicar, are dear to me, yet, as an Italian,
I cannot but be specially moved by the affection which has
been displayed towards me by the devoted Catholics of Italy.
When, on a former occasion, from the balcony of the Quirinal
Palace, which I am now told is no longer mine, I gave my
blessing to Italy, my words were travestied by some, as if I
gave my sanction to the spirit of revolution ; and then came
a communion and other acts, which I do not wish to mention,
which showed how perverse were the designs of these wicked
men. But I then gave my blessing to Italy, and once more I
do so now, for the innumerable good works which are every-
where performed throughout this country, for the ardour of
love which its people manifest above all others, and for the
sufferings in the cause of justice which they have endured,
and still endure. I bless this land, fertilized by the blood of
countless martyrs, and illustrious by its many models of heroic
sanctity in every age. All parts of Italy, at the present day,
have given indubious proofs of devoted attachment to the
Vicar of Christ ; but you will permit me to name, first of all,
the city of Turin." .... Replying to the French deputation,
Roman Chronicle.
His Holiness also said : " I cannot express the sentiments
which agitate my heart in hearing you. Yes ; I love France.
I have always loved her ; I always shall love her. France is
impressed upon my heart ; and every morning, in offering up
the holy sacrifice of the Mass, I pray for her who has given
me, and who still gives me, amid her misfortunes, so many
proofs of devotion, respect, and love. I recognise with plea-
sure that France has constantly shown her devotion for me
and for the Holy See. She is admirable for her charity. In
l\£r good works, in her pious foundations, which belong to her
character, she overlooks no misery, and her women especially
do wonders. Yes, women play a great Christian part in
France — a sublime part. Nevertheless I must speak the truth
to France. She has to suffer a more formidable evil than the
revolution, more formidable than the Commune let loose from
hell, with its men who flung fire about Paris, and that great
evil is Catholic liberalism."
The Irish residents and visitors in Rome — eighty in num-
ber— presented a beautiful address on the 23rd of June.
They were introduced to the Holy Father by Very Rev.
Monsignor Kirby, the venerable Rector of the Irish College,
and the address was read by Count De La Poer, M.P. for
Waterford. His Holiness, in reply, passed the highest eulogy
on Ireland, her hierarchy, and people, and spoke of their
fidelity and generosity with an affection and earnestness that
touched the hearts of all who were present. In the address
mention had been made of St. Columbanus ; the Holy Father
took occasion thence to speak of the glorious deeds of that
great Saint, and added : " It is to this that the Irish people
owe the fervour and piety which now characterize them, that
they love to walk in the footsteps of their saints : the ex-
amples of those bright ornaments of your Church in early
ages, and their intercession before the throne of God, will
enable you to overcome every difficulty, and to triumph over
all your enemies."
485
MONASTICON HIBERNICUM,
OR,
A SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE ANCIENT
MONASTERIES OF IRELAND.
[N.B. — Thetextofthe "Monasticon" is taken verbatim from Archdall : thenotei
marked with numbers are added by the Editors.]
COUNTY OF CORK.
selected as the burying place of the Barrys." Though Buttevant has now dwindled
to a village, it was formerly a walled and corporate town ; and to judge from its
ruins, must have been of considerable importance. The Barrys ruled here with
regal splendour, and almost with royal power. Such a centre was it become of
piety, that Smith writes: "This whole town formerly seems to have
been an assemblage of churches and religious houses" (History of Cork, i., 315),
and it merited from Borlase the eulogy, that it was " an old nest of abbots
and friars." Ward, in his "MS. History," gives the following account of the
Franciscan Convent of Buttevant : "It was built in 1251, and was placed under
the care of the Superior of Cork in 1260. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth the
friars were several times driven away from it, and some of them were arrested and
thrown into prison. All the buildings, with the exception of the church, were
ruined, and that was preserved on account of the tombs of the nobility there
buried, but all the images were broken. Still some of the friars continued to
reiide there, partly in the conventual buildings or their ruins, and partly in the
neighbourhood."
\Vaddingalso writes regarding this place: — " Buttefania, or Buttevania : by
Pisanus it is corruptly called Bachonia, and by Rodulphus, Bathonia. The town
was formerly large and frequented, now it is reduced and poor. Two illustrious
families, the Barrys and Lombards, had their residence there. Some say that the
convent was erected by the Barrys, others by the Prendergasts : but I think it \vas
by the Barrys, whose magnificent tomb was erected in the middle of the choir,
and whose whole family always evinced their piety towards our Order. In the
church are many sepulchres of nobles. It is wonderful with what care the friars
have repaired some of the ruins of this convent." In the crypt is an immense
collection of bones and skulls, which are popularly supposed to be the remains of
those who fell in the sanguinary battle of Knockninoss on the l^th of November,
1647. Among those who were slain on this occasion was the famous MacAHstair
MacDonncll, surnamed Colkitto. It is said, however, that a great portion of
these human bones were brought to this church from the ancient abbey of Ballybeg,
about half a mile distant, by a farmer who got possession of the abbey-land and
graveyard, and who was justly solicitous to deposit such remains in consecrated
ground. In the south gable of the transept is a slab with the inscription : — " Pray
for the souls of Maurice Fitzgerald, Esq., of Castleishen, of the house of Desmond,
who died the l6th day of September, in the year 1726, and Dame Helena Butler,
his wife, of the house of Ormond, who died in the year 1721, whose bodies are
deposited in this vault along with their ancestors, until the resurrection of the dead,
with Christ our Lord." To the south-west of the friary, and about thirty yards
fn.ra it, stands a square tower, which is described by Smith as being called Cullin,
and as having been built by an earl of Desmond. It is at present traditionally
known as "Caislnne Caoimhin," and appears to have originally formed part of the
conventual buildings. It is now built into and connected with the Catholic parish
church, which is deservedly reckoned among the handsomest parochial structures
in the south of Ireland.
486 Ancient Monasteries of Ireland.
Brigmone. Regarding the round tower which once adorned this very ancient
town, Father Smiddy thus writes : —
" It must be admitted that, in not a few instances, human hands have assisted
the elements in obliterating all vestiges of many round towers. This was the
case with respect to the Round Tower of Roscarbery, of which not a trace now
remains ; and also with regard to the round tower which stood near the Church
of St. Finbarr, in the city of Cork. In the year 1720, a violent storm threw down
the Round Tower of Brigowne, near Mitchelstown, leaving standing of it only a
fragment or stump about fifteen feet high from the base. In that state it continued
till about fifty years ago, when this fragment was taken down, and the stones used
in the erection of a new glebe-house or parsonage in its immediate neighbourhood.
The key-stone or lintel over the door, which had on it an inscribed cross, the work-
men refused to take away ; and that is either buried in the adjoining cemetery, or
perhaps, forms there now the footstone of an unknown grave. St. Finneachan,
or Finchu, was, at an early period, bishop and abbot of Brigowne. His staff or
crozier was kept there for ages as a venerable relic ; and, of himself, there is in the
ancient Book of Lismore, a curious biography, replete, according to the taste of
the age in which it was written, with legends, wonders, and supernatural incidents.
Finncu means the fair, hero or warrior, a name which, probably, he obtained
because, as this record of his life states, he had often, even on the battle-field, per-
sonally assisted his friends in the cause of right against might. The site of his
monastery was called Bruighe-amhane, which means the field or farm of the river.
Though the round tower and monastery have disappeared, the ruins of the old
church are still standing there, and the memory of Finneachan himself lives
distinct and undying in the local traditions of the people." — ("The Round
Towers," &c., page 195). All will not agree with the learned writer as to his
explanation of the name Brigowne. Mr. Joyce, in his " Irish Names," &c., page
356, gives a different derivation : " Bri (he says), signifies a hill or rising ground,
the same as the Scotch word Brae. Brigowne, a village near Mitchelstown, in
Cork, once a celebrated ecclesiastical establishment, where are still to be seen the
remains of a very ancient church and round tower, is called in Irish Bri-gobhunn,
i.e., the hill of the smith. In our present names, this word does not occur very
often : it is found simply in the form of Bree, in Donegal, Monaghan, and Wexford ;
while in Tyrone, it takes the name of Brigh." Gibson in his " History of Cork,"
II., 468, gives a still less plausible origin for this name. " The parish may have
derived its ancient name from the mountain stream or river Bregog, of which
Spenser speaks." It seems to me that as St. Abban has been from time immemorial
the patron of this place, its name might easily be explained as Brigh-Abbaunt i.e.,
"the hill of St. Abban."
Ross, formerly known as Ross-ailithir (i. e. , Ross of the pilgrims), and now generally
called Ross -car berry, from the townland in which it is situated, is an Episcopal
See, and lies at the head of a creek about seven miles from Clonakilty. Camden
says the harbour was formerly navigable for ships." Lynch, Archdeacon of Killalla
repeats this statement in his MS. History of the Irish Sees, but adds, that
already, in his time, the harbour was blocked up with shifting sands. He further
tells us that the name Ross in Irish has three distinct meanings, being used to
designate a meadowy plain, a grove, and, more frequently, a promontory. This
last meaning would well correspond with the territory of which we speak, which,
jutting out into the sea, presents quite the appearance of a promontory ; whilst
the smiling fields which adorn the surrounding country, would justify the application
of the name in its first meaning. The diocese was, from the earliest times, co-exten-
sive withthe territory of the Corca-laidhe : at Lynch's time it was eighteen miles in
length, and four or five in width, and consisted of twenty-four parishes, besides three
detached parishes, situated around Berehaven. St. Fachnan, in Irish Fachtna,
who is also called Lachtna, is patron of the See, being founder of the monastery,
and Bishop of Ross in the sixth century. He was disciple of St. Finbarr in the
famous school of Loch-Eirche, and before proceeding to Ross, was abbot of the
Molana monastery, near Youghal. He also, like most of the contemporary saints
of Ireland, received lessons of heavenly wisdom from St. Ita, the Brigid of Munster.
Ross soon became so famous that crowds of students and religious flocked to it
from all parts, so that it was distinguished by the name of Ross-ailithir, that is,
County of Cork. 487
Ross of the pilgrims. The birth of St. Fachnan, and the future greatness of his
school, were foretold by St. Kiaranof Ossory, whoes mother was of his family, and
who himself was bom in the territory of Ross, at a place still called Traigh-Ciaran
(i.e., St. Kiaran's strand), in Cape Clear Island. St. Fachnan, having lost his sight
by some accident when he was somewhat advanced in years, it was restored to him
through the merits of St. Mochoemog, also called I'ulcherius, who was then in his
mother's womb, and whose future sanctity was foretold by St. Fachnan. It is also
related of our saint that it was his daily habit to retire for silent recollection and
private prayer to a secluded spot on the side of a hill, near the monastery. It
happened that one clay he left his scroll of prayers behind*him. Rain fell heavily
during the night, but in the morning his prayer-book was as dry as Gideon's fleece,
for the angels had built a small chapel over it. The traces of this ancient oratory
may still be seen. The precise date of the foundation of the celebrated monastery
of Koss cannot be fixed with certainty. \Vare says it was founded about the year
590, and his opinion has been adopted by later writers. It would, probably, be
more accurate to place the foundation of the monastery before the year 570, and
the death of the saint about the year 590. The Life of St. Mochaemog states, that
it was by the advice of St. Ita that St. Fachtna proceeded from the monastery
of Ross to the parents of Mochaemog, through whose merits his sight was restored
to him. St. Brendan, patron of Kerry, is also mentioned among those who visited
and gave lessons of heavenly wisdom in Ross. These two facts sufficiently prove
that the monastery was established before the death of St. Brendan, which took
place in 577, and of St. Ita, which is marked in our Annals in 570.
In some Latin documents our saint receives the epithet Fachluafacundus, " St.
Fachtna the eloquent :" sometimes his name is simply Latinized Saiictus Facundus.
In the Irish records he generally receives the designation of Mac Mongach, i.f.,
" the hairy child," because at his birth his head was covered with hair : — "Fachtna,
Mongach quia cumcaesarie natus," as the Calendar of Cashel explains that name.
This designation betrayed Usher and others into error when they style our saint filius
Monglrich, "the son of Mongach." The genealogy of St. Fachtna is thus accu-
rately given in the •' Sanctilogium Genealogicum" : — " Fachtna, the son of Maon-
aigh, the son of Cairill, the son of Fiachna, &c., descended from Lughad, son of
Itn," and from the genealogical tables, we should conclude that the holy Bishop
Brandubh, whose feast is kept on the 3rd of June, and Saints Casan and Cailcin,
were brothers of our saint. The O'Driscolls. in whose territory Ross was founded,
belonged to the same race, and made it one of their tribe-duties to enrich the monas-
tery and church of their patron saint with lands and other endowments. After St.
Fachnan twenty-seven bishops of his tribe ruled the See of Ross, as is thus ex-
pressed in the ancient quatrain preserved in the Book of Lecan : —
" Seven and twenty bishops nobly
Occupied Ross of the truly fertile lands,
From Fachlna the melodious, the renowned,
To the well-ordered Episcopate of Dongalach."
The names of these bishops are not mentioned in our annals, only their number
is recorded, and their jurisdiction, which was co-extensive with the territory of
Corcalaidhe. This example should serve as a .warning to the student of our Eccle-
siastical History not to infer from the silence of our annals in regard to other
districts, either that there was no regular succession of bishops or that there were
no fixed boundaries for the ancient Sees of the Irish Church.
St. Fachtna is commemorated in all our ancient Martyrologies on the I4th of
August. The entry in the Martyrology of Donegal on I4th August seems, how-
ever, at first sight to exclude St. Fachtna from the See of Ross. The whole
entry for that day is as follows: — "Fachtna, Bishop and Abbot of Dairinis
Maelanfaidh, in Hy-Cennselach ; forty-six years was his age, and he was* of the
race of Lughaidh. son of Ith, according to the Seanchus : Echlech, Cuimmen, and
Caemhan, three sons of Daiyhre : Brocadh : Dinil." — (Martyr, of Donegal, page
219.) Thus all mention is omitted of Rossaihthir. There is, however, some
contusion in this entry, owing, probably, to a transposition of names. We are,
happily, able to detect the error by the corresponding entry in the Martyrology of
Tallaght, as preserved in the Roman fragment of the Book of Leinster, which is
488 A ncient Monasteries of Ireland.
as follows : — " XIX. Kalcmlas Septembris. Fachtna mac Mongan o Ros Ailithir :
Dinil Macintsair : Mac-intsaeir, Episcopuset Abbas Darinsi Maclianfaid : Broccain
Mac Lugdach : Cummini : Coemain : Aicclig." Thus, it was not St. Fachtna
who was Abbot of Darinis Molana in Hy-Kinnselagh, but St. Mac-in-tsaer ; what,
possibly, gave occasion to this confusion of names, was the tradition mentioned by
Lynch, that St. Fachtna, before proceeding to Ross, was abbot of another monas-
tery called also Molana, situated on the islet of Uair-inis, at the mouth of the
Blackwater. See further mention of this monastery in Archdall, at the County
Wctterford.
In the Felire of St. ^ngus, the name of St. Fachtna occurs in the strophe for
the 1 4th of August : —
" With the calling of Fortunatus,
Over the expansive sea of ships,
Mac-an-tsaer, the noble chief,
The festival of Fachtna mac Mongach."
So also he is commemorated on the same day in the metrical calendar of Man*
anus. O'Gorman : — • ' .
" Great vigil of Mary :
Gregory, and the bright hero Felix,
The just Eusebius in their company :
The sons of Daigre, with Dinil ;
Let Brocad be in their presence :
Fachtna the smooth, fair, hairy son,
Eiclec, Cummen, Coeman,
Not narrow fences this structure."
St. Cuimin of Connor, in his beautiful poem on the characteristic virtues of the
saints of Ireland, thus celebrates the zeal and devotedness of St. Fachtna : —
" Fachtna, the generous and steadfast, loved
To instruct the crowds in concert,
He never spoke that which was mean,
Nor aught but what was pleasing to his Lord. "
It is generally supposed that the St. Fachnan, patron of Ross, is the same
with St. Fachnan, patron of Kilfenora. Two circumstances strongly confirm this
identity, viz. : that their festivals are now kept on the same day, the I4th of
August, and that the same tribe was dominant in both territories. However,
Lynch informs us that in his time (1660) the feast of St. Fachtna, the holy founder
of Kilfenora, was kept on the aoth of» December.
As regards the old Cathedral of Ross which, thanks to the munificence of the
O'Driscoll family, was one of the most remarkable structures of the kingdom, the
following interesting details are given in the Consistorial Acts of the year 1517 : —
" The city of Ross was situated in the province of Cashel, in the middle of a
fertile plain, rich in corn-fields, and stretching along the sea-shore. It was
encompassed with a wall, had two gates, and contained about two hundred
houses. In the centre of the town was the cathedral church, dedicated under the
invocation of St. Fachnan, an Irish saint, confessor, whose feast is celebrated on
the vigil of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The walls of the church
were of cut stone ; there were two entrances — one lateral the other in the front,
and in both you descended by three steps to the level of the church. Its floor was
unpavcd, and its roof was of wood, covered with slates. The interior of the
church presented the form of a Latin cross, and in size corresponded with the
church of St. Maria del Popolo in Rome. It was divided into central nave and
aisles, and the nave was separated by stone pillars from the aisles. Its roof was
of wood, covered with slates ; in the centre was the choir with wooden benches,
and at the head of the choir was placed the high altar. To the left of the altar was
the sacristy, well supplied with vestments, crucifixes, silver-gilt chalices, and mitre
(To be continued.)
[NEW SERIES.}
THE IRISH
ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD.
AUGUST, 1871.
TWO LETTERS OF DR. LYON, PROTESTANT
BISHOP OF CORK, WRITTEN IN 1596.
Friday, I2th of August, 1580, about four o'clock in the morning, Lord Arthur
Grey de Wilton, arrived at Howth ; and on Wednesday, the 7th of September,
vas, by virtue of Queen Elizabeth's Letters Patents, which were solemnly read by
Nicholas White, Master of the Rolls, sworn Lord Deputy in St. Patrick's Church,
before the Lord Justice Pelham, the peers and counsellors of the state. Grey was
a ruthless Puritan, and the Queen sent him to Ireland "to dissolve the spell of
Rome ;" or in plain phrase, to compel the Irish to accept the doctrines of the so-
called Reformation. Pelham had not succeeded in effecting this; and it occurred to
Her Majesty that Grey's swordsmen might achieve what his predecessor's ranting
preachers were not able to realise. In Grey's suite were three remarkable men —
Spenser, the poet, his Excellency's Secretary ; Sir Walter Raleigh, statesman,
soldier, navigator, poet, and philosopher; and William Lyon, a native of Chester,
who, in 1 573, was made Vicar of Naas, and, four years afterwards, obtained dispen-
sation " to hold the same, with any other benefice, for life, and leave to live in
England, and transport the profits of his vicarage into that kingdom." A special
favourite of the Queen was this Lyon : for, one month before Grey landed, her
Majesty advanced him to the Vicarage of Bodenstown, in the county Kildare ;
and when the new deputy was sworn, caused him to be appointed chaplain to
his Excellency. "A Chief Governor of Ireland," says Swift, "can never fail
of some worthless illiterate chaplain, fond of a title and precedence." Was the Dean
thinking of Lyon when he penned that reflection?
Lord Grey had been hardly a week in Dublin when he marched, with over a
thousand men, to suppress the O'Byrnes, who, with their chief, Feagh-Mac-
Hugh, were then in revolt against the English Government. The result of his
Excellency's raid is too well known to require minute description here. His
troops were ignominiously routed, with the loss of about 800 men, in Glenmalure ;
and himself owed his personal safety to the fleetness of his horse. Towards
the close of September, of same year, some eight or nine hundred Spaniards
arrived in Smerwick Bay, and set about fortifying OiLEAN-AN-OlR, or Fort-
del-Ore, where they were joined by their Irish allies. Burning to retrieve
the "disaster in the glen," Grey marched from the metropolis about the end
of October, and reached Dingle on the 7th of November. Having planted his
batteries on the gth, a vigorous fire was opened on the feeble defences thrown up
by the Spaniards, who immediately sent out some officers to treat with the Lord
Deputy, who insisted on the absolute and unconditional surrender of the garrison.
Believing that their lives would be spared, the Spaniards laid down their arms ;
but no sooner had they done so, than Grey, as he himself tells us, "put in cer-
teyn bandes who streight fell to execution, and slew six hundred men," who never
could have foreseen such an act of deliberate murder and treachery. Sir W.
Raleigh had a hand in this villanous business. Spenser, surnamed " the Gentle,"
VOL. vii. 33
490 Two Letters of Dr. Lyon, Protestant Bishop
became the apologist of his lord; nay, maintained that he had acted as he ought ; and
Lyon, the chaplain, could see nothing but what was edifying in a hideous
massacre which is said to have revolted even Queen Elizabeth herself.
After two years spent in vain attempts "to dissolve the spell of Rome," Grey
was recalled to make way for the Lords Justices, Loftus and Wallop, who were
sworn in September, 1582.
In that year died one Sheyn, or Sheehan, whom Queen Elizabeth made bishop
of Cork in 1572. Little has been ascertained of this schismatic's antecedents, and
for that little we are indebted to a poem, composed in 1577, by Eugene O'Dufly,
a celebrated Franciscan, wno was intimately acquainted with the flagitious lives
of the so-styled bishops of Cashel, Cork, and Limerick. Sheyn, it would appear,
was a low-bred, ruffianly fellow, lewd and ribald, whose obscene blasphemies
had secured him the countenance of the Deputy, Sir W. Fitzwilliams. Invested
with all the power the state could place at his disposal, Sheyn, during the ten
years he held the important place of Queen's bishop, inflicted every manner
of outrage on the Catholics of Cork, amercing them for absenting themselves
from the novel liturgy ; and taking a barbarous delight in destroying objects of
art, which, for centuries, had been endeared to popular devotion. One of his
greatest feats was the burning of the image of St. Dominic in Cork ; and so far
as iconoclasm was concerned, he proved himself the most ruthless member of
that impious triumvirate which, in his day, persecuted the Catholics of Munster.
Meanwhile, Lyon was not overlooked by his friend and patron Lord Grey. The
services of such a man could not be forgotten, and the year 1582 saw him installed
Protestant bishop of Ross. In the following year he obtained the sees of Cork
and Cloyne from the Queen, who, in 1586, annexed the two sees to that of Ross
in his person. In 1595 he was named member of a commission appointed "to
find out ways and means to people Munster with English inhabitants," after the
" Irish Papists" of that province had been almost exterminated by sword, fire,
and famine. In this devilry, Lyon, Raleigh, Spenser, and others of minor note acted
allotted parts with unmitigated cruelty. The bishop could not reform the Munster
Catholics, and the next best thing was to wipe them out from the face of the earth !
Like his predecessor, he affected great horror of crosses, images of saints, and
other such "superstitious objects," many of which he caused to be destroyed by
the stone hammers of the posse that always accompanied him in his raids.
The beautiful Franciscan monastery of Timoleague suffered greatly at the hands of this
worse than Vandal; for he and acolleagueof his — oneHanmer — dilapidated the edifice
founded by Donald Mac Carthy in 1320, when they required stones for their new
mansions in Cork and Ross. Lyon died at an advanced age, in 1617. The re-
markable letters we subjoin, and which were never printed till now, have been
copied for us from the originals in the S. P. O., London. Both documents show
what manner of individual Lyon was — canting knave, implacable persecutor of
the Catholics, and withal, a baffled and disappointed man, simply because the
unscrupulous and sanguinary expedients to which he had recourse, failed to
divert the Catholics of Cork, Cloyne, and Ross, from the Faith of their Fathers.
"THE BISHOP OF CORK TO LORD HUNSDON, THE LORD
CHAMBERLAIN.1
"Cork, July 6, 1596.
"MY VERIE GOOD LORD— Your great zeal to religion, care-
fulness of her Majesty and of the State, and hearty affection
to all that love the truth, hath emboldened me to treble your
honor with this long and tedious letter, beseeching your
honor for the causes aforesaid, to vouchsafe the reading, and
1 He was of Queen Elizabeth's nearest kindred. Naunton in his "Fragmenta
Regalia," says mat " Hunsdon's Lattin and dissimulation were alike, and that
his custome of swearing, and obsccmtic in speaking made him seeme a worse
Christian than he was."
of Cork, written in 1596. 491
to pardon my boldness herein, to have patience, and to give
me leave to deliver my griefe touching the miserable state of
God's Church heere in this province, and other places of the
land as bad I feere me. I speake of that which I perfectly
know, which is as I have said, the unhappy state of the
comon wealth of this untoward country, for as all things come
from God, so the government of all Christian comonwealths
are grounded upon his holy and sacred word, and the
obedience of the subjects upon the knowledge of the same ;
and where there is no knowledge of God and his truth, there
can be noe obedience to magistrates, nor submission to lawes,
nor true hearts to their prince. And this is the case of this
countrey ; the people of this kingdom are a true paterne of the
premises. The people are ignorant of God and his truth, led
by false teachers, that draw them away from their obedience
to her Majesty's goodly lawes, and proceeding to that palpable
and damnable blyndnesse to obey her Majesty's capital
enemy that Antichrist of Rome, swearing the people to the
Pope, and that they shall not come at divine service, taking
XIId of everyone so sworne (this is true, and divers have con-
fessed that they would gladly come to service, but that they
are sworn to the contrary), and VId for every masse they
heare after the oath so taken. And yf any will have his child
baptized in the church, they shall hardly get gossips (as they
call them), as the lawe apointeth, but one poor man, that is,
the clerck, his wife, and a poore minister, these are the comon
gossips. In the city of Corck, all is done in private houses,
by massing priests. About March last, was XII. months
were committed by Sir Thomas Norreys,1 myself, and others,
seven or eight recusants of the city of Cork, which would not
by any persuasions conform themselves, upon whose comit-
ment their wives preferred a petition to Sir Thomas, by
whom I was made acquainted therewith. The contents of it
in part was this, that it was her Majesty's pleasure that none
of her subjects in Ireland should be dealt withall for any
matters of Religion, and that it was so knowne to some of the
best in the kingdom. This was in their petition which Sir
Thomas Norreys hath, and heereupon they stand very stub-
borne and are the more obstinate. Whether it be so I referre
to your honor. My answer to them was that her Majesty
had made lawes for her subjects in Ireland, to observe one
uniforme order in divine service and administration of sacra-
ments (which is grounded on the word of God), requiring
their obedience therein, and punishing them if they did not
1 President of Munster; he was slain by Thomas Burke, at Kilteely, Co.
Limerick, July, 1599.
492 Two Letters of Dr. Lyon, Protestant Bishop
perform the same, but any lawes or prohibition to the con-
trary, I knewe none from her Majesty ; therefore I would ob-
serve that which I knew, and not take notice of them of the
contrary. Under correction (my good Lord), to yield my
simple opinion, yf these priests and seducers be not prevented
they will hazard the state of this kingdom, and now is the
the time to reform them, for they are of no force in this
country, and unprovided of weapon. I knowe by myne own
experience, for having the ministering of Carbery, Ibawne,
Coursyes Countrey, Beare, and Bantrey, which countreys are
able to make III hundred horsemen, and 3 or 4000 foote-
men amongst all those at this last service, they were not able
to furnish XX horsemen or 200 footemen with weapon, for
they had none, neyther are there any weapons in all the
countrey ; they have turned them to mattocks and plough-
irons, which I was nothing sory to see, except they were
better minded to her Majesty and her lawes. But the cities
and townes are very well furnished with weapons, and they
shew themselves very perverse and obstinate ; the young
merchants among them goeing to their masses with their
daggers and pistolls ready prepared. They were not soe
ready in the service against the Ulster traytors, but made
forth the simplest of the people. XII good men had bene
better than an hundred such as they appoynted in Corck,
but went not. They of these parts were very unwilling to
goe thither, because Tyrone is of their faction, and hath the
Pope's Legate with him, one O'Gallogher,1 an Irishman, and
bishop, appoynted from the Pope, and is called the Bishop of
the Derry ; he directeth the traytor in all his dealings (as I
was enformed by a credible person), and many priests are
gone out of this countrey to Tyrone.) That traytor he hath
also three English Jesuits with him; the Recusants of this
city said that they are comanded not to reason with any of
us ; that is an especiall charge they have. All which things I
leave to your honors godly care. Oure state heere is very
dangerous. The Lord of his mercy put it into her Majesty's
heart, and the rest of that most honble. state to see to the
reformation of the same, for the furtherance whereof I most
humbly crave your honor's favor. Here are five Justices of
Peace that sit on the Bench every Sessions, but they never
took the oath of Supremacy to her Majesty, nor will they.
Two of them utterly refused at the general sessions holden in
March last. Hereby they generally are mightily drawn awayfrom
their loyaltie to her Majesty's godly lawes now within these
1 Raymond O'Gallagher, Bishop of Deny, from 1569 to 1601, when he was
killed by English soldiers near Coleraine.
of Cork, written in 1596. 493
two years, soe far that where I had a thousand or more in a
church at sermon, I now have not five ; and whereas I have
seen 500 communicants or more, now there are not three, and
not one woman, either at divine service or comunion, which
thing (my good Lord), if it be not looked unto will grow to a
great mischief in the comonwealth. The estate of God's
church and his holy word is now like to be trodden under
foote of the ungodly, and the good estate of this comon-
wealth like to be brought in hazard, if it be not prevented,
soe wickedly are they bent; if it be lett grow without punish-
ment and correction, their hearts being alienated from her
Majesty, there is noe trust in their bodies. The ground of all
these mischiefs is the lack of teachers, neither will they come
to be taught as her Majesty hath apoynted, and by the lawes
it was prescribed. It is lamentable (my good Lord) to see,
and most woefull to heare, that in this province there is not
one preacher of this nation ; I meane of the Irishe ; and very
few in other parts of the kingdom, which is a token (I feare
me), that God hath cast them off. The cause of all these
evills before rehearsed, is the want of dew execution of
those godly lawes which are established,whereby (not obeying
for conscience sake), they are emboldened forwards in their
ungodliness, disloyaltie, disobedience, and rebellion, and out
of this cause springeth the boldnesse of the people. The
Pope's Legate, friars, priests, and seminaries, of whom this
countrey is full, as also the city of Corck ; whereas there be
X seminary and seducing priests resident within the city,
maintayned and kept dayly by the Aldermen and Merchants
of the city, to say masse, baptize, minister the sacraments,
and other their popish and hereticall ceremonies in their
private houses, and when I am out of the town they walk
openly and comonly in the street, accompanied with the
aldermen and officers of the city, and conveyed forth of
the towne, when they goe to say their masses in the countrey
abroad, neyther want they any thing. I have their names,
and who maintaineth them, and how farre I have dealt
hcerein, to the discharge of my dewty, in my function to
Godward, and my obedience to her Majesty, may appear by
a letter written by me unto my honor, good Lord, the Lord
Deputy.1 And therefore my honor, good Lord, I desire that
your honor may further this my lamentable complaint to her
Majesty, and that most honor, state there, that redress may
be had of these things, for the preservation of her Majesty,
and the comonwealth of this'poore countrey, and safeguard
of those few professors of the trueth, which are here resident
1 Sir W. Russell, Lord Deputy, June 1594 to 1598.
494 Two Letters of Dr. Lyon, Protestant Bis/top
in this land. Under reformation, I speak it with all humility,
as one that earnestly desireth the good of the church, and the
peace of this kingdom, that some order may be taken that
these seducers, as priests, friers, Jesuits, and seminaries, and
their maintainers, may be restrayned, and some sharpe punish-
ment devised for them, according to your honor's grave
and wise discretion, that those that are in Corck, Waterford,
Limerick, Clonmell, Cashell, Federt, Kilmalock, Youghill, and
Kinsale, and other townes may be reformed (whereon the
reformation of the whole countrey dependeth) ; for the
example of the cities and townes marre the countrey, their
trade being beyond the seas, from whence they bring little
good, and in the countrey they may be streightley looked
unto, and also that none come over from beyond the seas, as
they daylie doe, I mean of those wicked priests which are the
sowers of rebellion in this kingdom, and will doe mischief if
it be not looked into in tyme. My good Lord, I knowe more
than I will treble your honour with at this tyme, my dewty
is to deliver my knowledge, it lieth in your honor, and the
rest of that most honorable Counsell to cause redresse. I
have been acquainted with their manners and life these XXV
years (so long I have dwelled heere), and have been bishop
these XIV years, and I have observed their doings, but I never
saw them so badly mynded as they be nowe in generall (for
it is a generall revolt through the whole kingdom, at this
present, and therefore the more dangerous), which may be
imputed to this, that they have had the reynes of libertie let
loose unto them, and have not bene kept under, whereas they
are a people, as your honor very well knoweth, which feeling
the rigor of justice and severely regarded, are a good people
in their kind, and with dew justice and correction (but not
oppressed, extorted, nor unjustly dealt withall), they will be
devvtifull and obedient, but let them have favour and be well
entreated, they will waxe proude, stubborne, disobedient,
disloyall, and rebellious. This I know, my good Lord, by
experience. Also the priests1 of the country forsake their
benefices to become massing priests, because they are so well
entreated, and soe much made of among the people. Many
have forsaken their benefices by the persuasion of these
seminaries, that come from beyond the seas ; they have a new
mischief in hand, if it be not prevented. Good, my Lord, I
am bold to discharge my duty and that part which I owe to
my Sovereign Lady the Queen's Majesty for the great
1 Priests, i.e., the Protestant Ministers. The Established clergy often assumed
the name of Priests in Elizabeth's reign, but the faithful people of Ireland &l\\ ay>
refused to honor them with this title.
of Cork, written in 1596. 495
graces and favours she hath bestowed upon me. The best
name that they give unto the divine service appointed by her
Majesty, in the Church of England or Ireland, is the Divell's
service, and the professors thereof, Divells, and when they
meet out of the profession, they will cross themselves after
the Popish manner, and any that company with us, or receive
any living of me or the like, being apoynted by her Majesty,
they excommunicate him or them, and will not suffer them to
come in their company. My good Lord, I have caused
churches to be re-edified, and provided books for every church
through my diocese as Bibles, New Testaments, Communion
Books, both English and Latin, and the Injunctions, but none
will come to the church at all, not soe much as the countrey
churlls ; they follow their seducers, the priests and their
superiors, none remayneth that the churches may be fre-
quented with a Christian congregation, which is the thing
that I desire, all which I leave to your honor to be con-
sidered of, beseeching the Almighty to stirre up your honor
by his holy spirit, to have a care heereof to further God's
cause and the reformation of this miserable comonwealth to the
glory of God, the benefit of his church, the honor of her
Majesty, the good estate of this kingdom, and the suppress-
ing of the ennemy, of the same of the which I am sure your
honor hath a special care. Also I must not forget the per-
verse recusants that come out of England hether, and
especially to these parts, and most part to Waterford, the
sink of all filthy superstition, and idolatry, with contempt
of her Majesty's godly lawes and proceedings.
In Waterford, the Mayor and Sheriffs of the citie come not
to church, neyther will they take the oath of supremacy, and
in this citie of Corck the baylifs refuse the oath, neyther come
they, to the church, and I questioning with one of the last
year's baylifs named Richard Rawley, for whom I sent to
know the cause why he would not come to the church, nor
obey any of her Majesty's ecclesiastical lawes, he made me
answer that he was sworn to the league, that he should never
come to the church nor obey any of her Majesty's ecclesias-
tical lawes touching the same. What answer I made him,
and the discourse betwixt him and me I will not trouble yo.
ho. with. All the premises are true ; I would be loathe to
informe yo. ho. otherwise, but will justify them if I were before
her Majesty. These intelligences I had from themselves,
because I visit the country several times in the year, and
do observe things here, and learne the dispositions how they
are inclined and bent ; there is not any thing done but I get
knowledge thereof among themselves concerning church
496 Two Letters of Dr. Lyon, Protestant Bis/top
government, and many things that concern the comon wealth
and the state of this kingdom, which I think, in conscience,
myself bound to observe, and advertize those thereof that
have authority and will reforme the same, and specially
considering that the government and charge of the church
within myne owne diocese is committed to me by her Majesty
under God. Therefore I must seek all ways and means to
discharge myself and the trust reposed in me by the assist-
ance of God's holy spirit. Therefore, I am bold to presume
to deliver these things to your honor, to be imparted to her
Majesty if it seem good to the same ; pardon my rudenesse,
but consider the playnenesse and trueth of the matter, and
the earnest desire I beare to the good of God's church and
the peace of this kingdom with my hearty and humble love,
and obedience towards her Majesty. These men look for
and desire a change, and that maketh them so obstinate,
swearing against her Majesty's lawes (a thing most contrary
to the nature of subjects), and swearing themselves to the
Pope, that they may, with the more favour, be received when
alteracion cometh, which I trust in our good and gracious
God, shall never be seen in our dayes ; although the bloudy
Papists do leave noe ways nor meanes unassaied or un-
attempted to bring their ungodly desires to effect. My
conscience moveth me and my duty bindeth me to deliver
these things, for the dangerous sequels that are like to ensue
if they be not prevented in tyme, for I am persuaded, and
do partly know the same by experience, that a great part of
the people of this kingdom are noe better than mere infidels,
having but a bare name of Christians without any knowledge
of Christ or light of His truth, in that I myself have examined
divers of them being LX. years of age or upwards, and have
found them not able to say the Lordls Prayer or the articles
of the Christian faith neither in English, Latin, nor Irish,
neither have they ever been taught the same or examined by
the priests whether they could say the same or not. There-
fore, in my opinion, there is neither truth nor credit to be
reposed in their oaths, words, or promises, as by their deeds
is verified. And as for those that profess religion and can
yield accompt of themselves in some sorte, there is as little
trust to be given to the oathes or words of them as of the
other, for they build upon the Pope's dispensacons and pardons,
with the absolutions of Popish priests, persuading themselves
that they may lawfully swear and forsweare themselves unto
any sincerely professing the Gospel whatsoever oaths by them
made notwithstanding. This I have proved many times,
so that by means of the ignorance of the one and the super-
of Cork, written in 1596. 497
stitious blind opinion of the other, there is little truth to be
expected among them, and therefore can they bear no loyall
heart towards her Majesty. I, with many others besides
myself, have noted their services done on behalf of their prince
and country, and I never saw nor heard that any of the Irish
nation did ever any good service or apprehended any traytor
or felon except it were in revenge of some private quarrel or
secret grudge borne in respect whereof their service hath been
shewn and not of any good mind they beare to her Majesty
or reformation of the comon wealth, and suppressing of bad-
minded men and evill members of the state and countrey.
Once again (my most ho. good Lo.) I humbly desire that some
order may be taken for these seditious priests, otherwise it
is to be feared that they will overthrow all, as they have made
a dangerous entry to perform their mischievous entents and
devises, which will be cause of an infinite charge to her
Majesty to suppress them.
And heere I thought it an advise worthy the noting to your
honor that it is an usuall thing amongst them heere in Mun-
ster, after meals and some sorte of thanksgivings made
(without the once naming of her Majesty) to pray for the
good estate, with the speedy and safe returne of their good
Lord James, meaning the Earl of Desmond's sone, who now
is there in England in the Tower, where I heartily wish he
may still remain, and I would that a great many here in this
country of that mind were there with him. But ceasing any
further to trouble yo. ho., I humbly take leave.
Yor. Lps. most humbly at comaundment.
W. CORCK and ROSS.
Corck, the vi*h. of July, 1596.*
I humbly beseech yo. ho. at yr. good leysure to peruse
these few notes enclosed, and to consider thereof according
yo. ho. grave wisdom, pardoning my presumption and over-
boldness with yo. ho., which thing I humbly crave.
1 Enclosed in the above was the original of the following letter, which Lyon
addressed to Sir William Russell, then Lord-Deputy of Ireland. The reader will
perceive that the pseudo-bishop of Cork, etc., etc. , was fertile in suggestions for
the " suppression of Popery," persecution of Catholic schoolmasters ; settlement
of the land question ; systematic coercion ; abolition of usages peculiar to Irish
lords and their dependents ; and inhibition of games of which the Irish of all
classes seem to have been very fond. Lyon's fabrications and contradictions are
so transparent that the reader requires no aid of ours to detect them ; and it is
almost superfluous to add that the tone of scurrility pervading the entire composi-
tion is idcnlical with that to which our ears have been familiarized in the igth
century. If Lyon ever gave himself any concern about the fantastic idol Posterity,
he would not have hcqueathed us an epistle which, viewed in all its aspects, is
eminently calculated Ib provoke a hearty laugh.
498 Two Letters of Dr. Lyon, Protestant Bishop
A view of certen enormities and abuses meete to be con-
sidered of, praying yo. ho. to vouchsafe the perusing thereof
at your best leasure.
First, that all comon wealthes and good government do
depend upon the true worship of God, and knowledge of his
will taken out of his holy and sacred word, the contempt of
which word doth abound in this barbarous country, so that
there is no hope of the elder sort, except God in his abundant
mercy do open their eares and eyes to hear, see, and soften
their hard hearts to receive the sweet dew of his grace
revealed in his word ; but that a care may be had of the
younger sort, to bring them up in the feare of God (if God will
shew mercy upon them); that all bishops be streightley com-
anded upon a payne, that none by them be admitted to
teach publicly or privately within their diocese but such as
are sound on religion, and that will teach the children to
them committed the principles of religion. Far better they
were ignorant in wickednesse than learned to practise mis-
chiefs, rebellion, and troubles in the comon wealth ; as the
most parte do apply their learning to that end, as by ex-
perience it is well knowne and dayly proved, for the youth
will not come to the church no more than the older sorte, for
example whereof I comanded the schoolmaster, which teacheth
in the towne where I dwell, to bring his scholars to church or
else he should not teach them ; upon this the most part of
his scholars went away and left the school. And now lately
within this quarter of this yeare (according myne usuall cus-
tom) I made search myself in schools for books, and what
books were taught there, whether according her Majesty's
lawes, and searching I found to my great grief her Majesty's
stile and title torne out of all the grammars to the number of
74 in one school ; the leaf in the grammar quite torne out
which conteyneth in it: "Elizabeth, by the grace of God,
Queen of England, France, and Ireland, Defender of the
Fayth, &c.," and in the end of the leaf: "God save the Queen,"
whereupon I caused search to be made in all schools in my
diocese, and found them all torn out, although they came
new from the merchants' shops. I sent for two of the school-
masters and examined them upon that point, if they acknow-
ledged her Majesty's title as is above said. The one said her
ancestors were so, but he denied her to be so, the other like-
wise denied, whereupon I comitted them to prison, and
there they remain. And what good shall be looked for in
this comon wealth where the youth are taught by such school-
masters ?
That no scholars leave the realme to go beyond seas to any
of Cork, written in \ 596. 499
school or university, but to those in England, for beyond
seas they practise mischiefe, and when they come home they
set it abroach to the overthow of Christ's true religion, and
subverting of the peaceable estate of this comon wealth, as at
this time we find our poor country (I mean those that desire
the successe of Christ's gospell) to be troubled by them.
By such means the cities and corporate towns grow stubborn,
disobedient, and indurate, and a general contempt of her
Majesty's ecclesiastical lawes established for the advancement
of the gospel, and the sincere setting forth of Christ's holy
and sacred word, instead of whose word these false apostles,
Jesuits, and seminaries do teach the dregs of mens traditions
and Antichrists religion by means of which false teachers
they will swear and forswear. And there is a general revolt
in all cities and towns in the country, and I am credibly
informed they have sworn in many cities and towns to stand
in defence of their Romish religion, and all this cometh to
pass by their seducers, Jesuits, and seminaries, hedge-priests,
and Rome-runners, which (under correction) are to be looked
unto, otherwise what will ensue ?
The citizens and corporations grow wealthy, proud, stub-
born, obstinate, disobedient, and rebellious. They have
furniture, good store in every citie and corporate towne. One
example and instance I will give of their undutifulness
towards her Majesty and her Grace's progenitors who have
in most bountiful sort, bestowed upon the cities and corporate
townes large charters with most liberal gifts, and yet tied
them to observe certain good orders for their well govern-
ment, but how those good points are kept I refer it to their
government, and in that if her Majesty direct any comission
for the advancing of her revenue, redressing of disorders,
reforming of the comon wealth, and to look into their dis-
ordered government, then they will bring forth a point of their
charter against her to defeat her hignesse in her right. But
they will never bring forth their charter any way to farther
her service but by compulsion. This is one sure token of
their undutifulness towards her Majesty. In the late rebellion,
and in all stirs the cities and townes maintain and releave the
traitors with vittles, as wine, aquavitae, and bread, and with
powder, shot, swords, targets, sculles, and other munitions.
After the traitors were received to grace they confessed the
same. They will also allege a point of their charter for this.
In full and open shew of their spurning of her Majesty and
other godly proceedings in cities and corporate towns, there
are no children baptized in the churches, but in private
houses ; no communicating in the churches ; no resort to
500 Two Letters of Dr. Lyon, Protestant Bishop
divine service, nor sermons, neither of men, women, nor
children ; the like obstinacy was not scene, nor rebelling
minds since her Majesty's reign, as hath bene these two yeares
past, and they go in defensible sort to their idolatrous ser-
vice. What will come of these things if it be not looked unto,
and these rebellious minds tamed ? This I know to be true,
the most part of my own knowledge, and some part by credible
information given to me. Those seditious enemies, the priests,
have their houses for rent in the city of Corck and other
cities and townes where they say their masses and walk in
the streets, and are conversant with the best in the citie, but
when they are sought for they are conveyed away. Also
where there are store-houses for the safe-keeping of her
Majesty's munition, it is not meet (under correction) that
Irish Papists should have the keeping of the same, as in the
cities of Munster they have. It is not convenient that those
who hate her Highnes' lawes and religion, should keep her
defence. Under God what may come of this I refer to your
godly judgment. As their charters are always ready against
her Majesty, and that they challenge all fines and amerce-
ments imposed upon them, to the great hindrance of the
revenue, specially in Waterford, Limerick, Corck, and the
town of Kinsale ; it were meet that they should be compelled
to shew their charters, whether they have observed them
according to their grants or forfeited the same, that thereby
it might be bridled and their obstinacy brought into subjection
to her Majesty's lawes. And this is most true. Reform
cities and towns, and reform all the countries round about
them, both in religion and civility. It is confirmed by experi-
ence, for the cities and townes are lanterns unto the countries
wherein they are ; if the citizens and townesmen be good they
give a light to the country, if they be bad the country learn
of the townsemen their naughtynesses. Bridle the cities and
towns, then the country will obey.
The Lord, in His mercy, inspire yo. honor's heart with His
holy spirit (whose zeal in the gospel, and care of Majesty is
knowne to all men) to think thereon.
That all archbishops and bishop ordinaries and officials
under them may be comanded and compelled upon a payne
to make diligent inquiry who hath absented themselves from
divine service, as it is now established, upon Sondays and
the holydays,and to certify their names to the Lord Deputy that
the fine sett down in the statute made in the second year of her
Majesty's reign, which is XIId> (every Sonday and holyday for
their absences), may, by direction, be taken up and employed to
such godly uses as it ought to be, as repairing of churches, relief
of Cork, written in \ 596. 501
of the poor, to holy poor soldiers, or to the maintenance of
the College,1 or other godly uses, which will amount to a great
some, and specially in cities and townes, for there are many
that never came to church sithence her Majesty's reign ; better
it were bestowed to some godly use than that such wicked
perverse people should pass unpunished. And for as much as
by statute, it is to be taken up by churchwardens ; the most
part of the parishes have no churchwardens at all, of
purpose because they will not levy the fine ; and those that
have churchwardens will not do it, though they have been
comanded, therefore both the negligence and contempt is to
be punished, and the defect supplied by her Majesty's
direction.
It is dangerous to admit any of the Irish to any office
about the state, or to the place of a clerk or writer, but such
as are found sound in religion ; for, if they be otherwise, they
are not to be trusted, unfaithful to God, and untrusty to man.
Pardon my boldness, my good Lo. in writing, and my rude
and simple stile in penning ; it is zeal unto the truth, my duty
to her Majesty, and natural affection to her Majesty's preserva-
tion in prosperity long to reign over us. These citizens being
so stubborn, and absenting themselves from church, I would to
God it might please her Majesty to set a governor and garrison
in every cityand towne ; and that the enemies of God's truth,the
papists and recusants of every city and towne, might main-
tain them of their charges till they do reform themselves ; for
they maintain both bishops and priests beyond the seas, and
they have legates here, and receivers that collect for them,
and send it them, as I am credibly informed, and I do partly
believe it ; for there is never a bishoprick in Ireland but it
hath two bishops, one from her Majesty, and another from
the Pope ; 2 and the Pope is not so liberal, but he will rather
receive than give ; but he is content to give them the name to
serve his own turn. My good Lo. pardon my boldness in trob-
ling yo. Lo. with my rude writing : the Mayor of Waterford
which is a great lawyer, one Wadding,3 carieth the sword and
rod (as I think he should do) for her Majesty ; but he nor his
sheriffs never came to the church sithence he was mayor, nor
sithence this reign, nor none of the citizens, men nor women,
nor in any other towne or city throughout this province, which
is lamentable to hear, but most lamentable to see ; the Lord
in his mercy amend it when it shall please his gracious good-
ness to look on them.
1 Trinity College, Dublin, founded 1590.
1 Dermod M'Craghe was bishop of Cork from 1580 to 1606.
•Wadding was Mayor of Waterford in 1596; and the celebrated FATHER
LUKE, O.S.F., was eight years old when Lyon was penning his letter.
5O2 Two Letters of Dr. Lyon, Protestant Bishop
As the cohabiting and living of men together breedeth love
and civility, the contrary of necessity bringeth hatred and
barbarousness and dispersed dwellings abroad, which is a
maintenance of idleness and thieves; for, that the people
of the countrey, specially in the province of Munster,
dwell scattered by bogs and wood sides, and such remote
places where idle men and thieves do lurck, and are there
relieved ; then if they be sought for they start into the woods
and bogs, and so escape. For remedy, redress, and reforma-
tion whereof, their tenants continue not past three years in
a place, but run roving about the country, like wild men flee-
ing from one place to another. That order might be taken that
no lord, gentleman, or freeholder let his land but for 21 years,
and to condition with his tenants to enclose with quicksett and
ditch such portion of land as he shall take by lease, according
to his ability, every year a portion, and to make lanes and
gates in the lanes, whereby if any rebellion or spoiling be,
they shall not be able to carry away the prey suddenly, but
that they shall be met withall, and also that they make
trenches and ditches about where their dwelling shall be, that
their goods shall not lie open to the spoile of the enemy. It
will not only defend themselves but prevent the relieving of
thieves and idle men, for one will bewray another for fear,
lest he himself should be brought into danger by keeping
of them, and it will cause them to build houses, plant orchards
and gardens, and set idle persons on worck. That some
straight order may be taken for idle persons, as caroughcs,1
hazards? rimers, bardes, and harpers, which run about the
country not only eating the labors of the poor, but bringing
news and intelligences to the rebells, and bruit false news and
tales, which breedeth great mischief, and also the rymers do
make songs in commendacon and praise of their treasons,
rebellions, spoilings and preyings to the great encouraging
of such a people, as this if not stayed under Government.
That all lords and gentlemen be comanded that they keep
no idle men but such as are officers in their houses, for the
lords and gentlemen used to take quiddyes3' and night suppers
upon their tenants, and upon others which are not their tenants,
which is a great nourishing of vagabonds, for when they go
to these quiddyes, then these bards, caroughes, rimers, hazards,
and harpers flock after them in multitudes.
It were good if order were taken that these quiddyes, night
suppers, coyne, and livery, if they be lawfull to be taken, were
1 Card-players. * Dicersi
* This is Lyon's equivalent for the Irish " cuiJ/t"— allowances for chieftains and
their retainers.
of Cork, ivritten in 1 596. 503
turned into certen rent, for then they would not maintain so
many. And the sheriffs of the counties are in fault for these
idle men, for they will not apprehend them because they
shall get nothing by or from them, for they will not serve but
for profit ; they serve themselves but not her Majesty. The
sheriffs buy their offices, therefore they must needs sell, pull,
plunder, and pilfer to gett up their money again. They can
never make up their money but by falsehood and deceit ;
this is too true, and therefore it is good for sheriffs to have a
pardon after they come out of their office.
And it hath been a comon thing within these three years
that lawyers and petty foggers,1 when they were ready to go
to Term, to go about and enquire who would have a pardon,
and so they would gather 20 or 30 or 40 names, and for 2cxr.,
or 4 nobles a piece, they should have their pardons, and this
was to beare their charges to the term, and so the Governors
are abused, and amongst these numbers there should be some
that procure their pardons for feare more than that they had
need thereof, and others of good accompt, but bad men, were
thrust in amongst these men, which if the Governor had known
he would not have granted their pardon, and this came by
corruption of clercks, whom the Governor gave credit unto,
and trusted.
Also there are certen lands called Chauntry Lands, which
in England are granted to her Majesty, by Act of Parliament,
as well as the abbeys, but not so in Ireland. If a Parliament
were here it would be very beneficial to her Majesty, or to
the new college lately erected, which would amount to a great
sum, for there are very few churches ; but they have Chauntry
Lands belonging to them, some churches 20 pounds by the
year, and some more which were given for the maintaining of
massing priests, and soe I think they be used yet, or taken
up by Lords and gentlemen, whose ancestors bestowed them
upon massing priests ; it were better bestowed upon the uses
aforesaid. Again, all the lawyers of this Realme borne in the
land are most obstinate and indurat recusants, a thing too
well known.
God amend it !
1 Low legal quibblers, like Boyle, first Earl of Cork, who, acting on the fears
of the unfortunate Irish, contrived to swindle and plunder them.
" Your pettifoggers damn their souls,
To share with knaves in cheating fools." — HUDIBRAS.
504
LETTERS OF BALMEZ.
XX. — HOMAGE DUE TO THE SAINTS.
MY ESTEEMED FRIEND — Day by day I am more convinced
of your deficiency in reading in matters of Religion, as I
suspected in the beginning. I know it is not reading you are
deficient in, but good reading ; for I discover, at every turn,
you have taken care enough to look over the writings of
Protestants and infidels, avoiding a glance at the works of
Catholics, as if they were prohibited books. Allow me to
observe, that a person educated in the Catholic religion, and
who practised it in his childhood and youth, cannot exculpate
himself at the tribunal of God from the spirit of partiality so
manifest in such conduct. To assert continually that one has
an ardent desire of embracing the true religion, as soon as
discovered, and, nevertheless, to constantly go in search of
arguments against Catholicity, and abstain from reading the
apologies in which all these difficulties are answered, are ex-
tremes that cannot be easily reconciled. This contradiction
is by no means new to me ; because I am long profoundly
convinced that sceptics do not possess that impartiality of
which they boast ; and even though they are distinguished
from infidels, because instead of saying, " this is false," they
say, " I doubt if this be true," they nevertheless entertain pre-
judices, more or less strong, which make them abhor Religion,
and desire it may not be true.
The sceptic does not always render himself an exact account
of this disposition of his mind. Perhaps he often deludes
himself into the belief he is sincerely seeking the truth ; but
if his conduct and words be attentively observed, he will be
found to take a secret pleasure in raising objections, and re-
lating facts that may wound Religion ; and no matter how he
boasts of his temperance, he does not generally avoid giving
his objections a passionate or even a sarcastic tinge.
I do not desire to offend you by these observations ; but, at
the same time, I wish you would take them into account. You
will lose nothing by examining and asking yourself — "Am I
seeking the truth with sincerity ? Is it true that in the diffi-
culties I raise against Catholicism, there is no mingling of
passion ? Is it true that nothing of the hatred and aversion
which the works I have read breathe against the Catholic
religion has stuck to me ?" I wish you would now and then
ask yourself this, as by doing so you would, besides performing
a work becoming a sincere man, remove no few obstacles
which impede your coming to the truth in matters of religion.
Letters of Balmcz. 505
You will probably tell me you wonder at the preceding
observations, as you have observed in this discussion greater
decorum than is generally observed by the adversaries of
Religion. I do not deny that your letters are distinguished by
their moderation and refined tone, and, though you do not
hold my convictions, have had delicacy enough not to wound
the susceptibilities of him who professes them ; but still I have
remarked that, notwithstanding your good qualities, you are
not completely exempt from the general rule ; for, when dis-
puting about Religion, you manifest a desire to view things
under the aspect that can wound it most, and, whether inad-
vertently or not, endeavour to avoid contemplating its dogmas
in their sublimity, their magnificent aggregate, and their ad-
mirable harmony with everything that is beautiful, tender,
grand, and sublime. I have often had occasion to observe
this, and at present I see no signs of amendment ; so I think
you will pardon me if I do not except you from the general
rule, but consider you more passionate and prejudiced than
you imagine.
Precisely in the letter I have just received this sad truth is
deplorably apparent. In spite of protestations to the contrary,
the trail of Protestant fanaticism and Voltairian levity is
manifest in every line of it ; and I could scarcely believe that
before writing it you did not consult some of the oracles of
the misnamed Reformation or the false philosophy. In spite
of what you say of popular belief, and the enchantment you
experience on witnessing the religious fervour of simple people,
it is evident you contemplate all this with benign disdain, and
consider you pay sufficient tribute to the sincerity of believers
by abstaining from openly condemning or ridiculing them.
We are much obliged for your goodness ; but let me tell -you,
the beliefs and customs of these simple people are capable of a
better defence than you imagine. Far from the homage and
invocation of Saints, and the veneration of their relics and
images, being the religious pabulum of simple people only,
they can afford matter for consideration of the highest philo-
sophy. It is not the credulous and ignorant alone who hold
them, but men of the most eminent genius, like St. Jerome,
St. Augustine, St. Bernard, St. Thomas of Aquin, Bossuet,
and Leibnitz.
On reading this last name you will believe my pen has made
a slip, and I have written it by mistake. How is it possible
that Leibnitz, a Protestant, could defend thg doctrines and
practices of Catholicity on this point ? Nevertheless, it is
written in his works, which are in the hands of the whole
world ; and it is not my fault if the author of the pre-
VOL. vii. 34
506 Letters of Balmez.
established harmony, the eminent metaphysician, the famous
archaeologist, the profound naturalist, the incomparable mathe-
matician, the inventor of the infinitesimal calculus, agrees in
this matter with simple people^ and is something less of the
philosopher than many who know no more history than com-
pendiums in decimosexto, nor philosophy than the rudiments
of the schools, ill acquired and worse retained, nor geometry,
than the definition of the straight line and the circumference.
I have been insensibly led into these general considerations,
and the preamble of this letter has grown rather long, though
I am far from considering it inopportune. Discussion should
be carried on temperately, but the interests of truth should not
be neglected. Whenever it is necessary to remind you, scep-
tics, of your spirit of partiality, it should be done ; and we
should have no scruple in sometimes telling you, you discuss
without having studied, and combat what you have a profound
ignorance of.
The homage of Saints does not appear to you very rational,
nor even conformable to the sublimity of the Christian religion,
which gives us such grand ideas of God and man. How is this
devotion to the Saints opposed to these grand ideas ? Because
" it appears man degrades himself by paying to the creature
the worship due to God alone." I see you have been imbued
with the objections of Protestants, a thousand times answered,
and a thousand times repeated. Let us clear up our ideas.
The homage paid to God, is an acknowledgment of his
supreme dominion over all things, as their creator, ordainer
and preserver. It is an expression of the gratitude the crea-
ture owes the Creator for the benefits received from Him ;
and of the submission, respect and obedience to which he is
obliged, in the exercise of his understanding, his will, and all
his faculties. External homage is the expression of the in-
ternal ; and is, besides, an explicit acknowledgment that we
owe all to God, not only our soul, but also our body, and are
ready to offer Him not only his spiritual but also his corporal
gifts to us. It is evident the homage of which I speak be-
longs exclusively to God ; the homage due to God alone can
be rendered to no creature ; to hold the contrary, would be
idolatry — a crime condemned by natural reason, and the sacred
Scriptures, long before philosophic zeal condemned it.
There are few accusations more unjust, or made for a more
distorted purpose, than that which charges Catholics with
idolatry, on account of their dogma and practices in the homage
of Saints. It is enough to open, I will not say, the works of
theologians, but the smallest catechism, to see that such an
accusation is highly calumnious. Never, in any Catholic
Letters of Balmez. 507
writing, has the homage of Saints been confounded with that
of God ; if a man fell into such an error, he would be at once
condemned by the Church.
The homage rendered to the saints is a tribute paid to their
eminent virtues ; but these are expressly acknowledged to be
the gifts of God : by honouring the saints, we honour Him
who has sanctified them. So that, though the immediate ob-
ject be the saints, the ultimate end is God himself. In man's
sanctity, we venerate the reflection of the infinite sanctity.
These are not arbitrary explanations, conjured up on purpose
to get rid of the difficulty. Open where you will the Lives of
the Saints, or a collection of panegyrics ; listen to our orators
and our catechists — everywhere you shall meet with the doc-
trine I have just laid down. Another observation : the Church
prays on the feast of the saints ; and to whom does she direct
her prayers ? To God himself. Mark the beginning of them
— Deus gui — Omnipotcns sempiterne Deus — Prcesta quasumus
Omnipotens Dcits, &c. And in the end she always refers to
one of the persons of the Most Holy Trinity, or to two, or to
the three.
I cannot conceive what answer can be made to reasons so
decisive, and I do not fear you will continue to accuse us of
idolatry : after these explanations it is impossible, if you act
with good faith, to insist on such an accusation.
I am now going to consider the question under other aspects,
and particularly in relation to the discordance you say exists
between the Homage of Saints and the sublimity of the Chris-
tian ideas about God and man. Religion, by giving us grand
ideas about man, does not destroy human nature ; if it did so,
its ideas would not be grand, but false.
It is a common saying among theologians that grace does
not destroy, but elevates and perfects nature. True revelation
cannot be in contradiction with the constitutive principles of
human nature. Hence it results that the sublimity of the
ideas which religion gives us about man, are not opposed to
the natural conditions of our being, however insignificant.
Our greatness consists in the sublimity of our origin ; in the
immensity of our destiny ; in the intellectual and moral per-
fections which we owe to the bounty of the Author of nature
and grace, and in the aggregate of the means with which He
has supplied us to attain the end for which He destined us.
But this greatness does not destroy the fact that our soul
is united to a body ; that besides being intelligent we are also
sensible ; that at the side of the intellectual will are found the
feelings and the passions ; and that, consequently, in our grief,
in our desires, and in our actions we are subject to certain
508 Letters of Balmez.
laws from which our nature cannot prescind. It were to be
desired you would not lose sight of these observations, for
they serve to prevent the confusion of ideas, and the vague
use of the words sublimity and grandeur, which can occasion
serious mistakes, according to the object to which they are
applied.
As the opportunity presents itself, allow me to observe that
the ideas of greatness and infinity are employed to ruin the
relations of man with God. How is it possible, it is said, that
an infinite being could occupy itself with one so insignificant
as we ? And no one sees that the same argument might be
used by one who took it into his head to deny the creation.
How is it possible, he might say, that an infinite being could
have occupied itself in creating things so insignificant ? All
this is highly sophistical : the ideas of finiteness and infinity,
far from destroying, explain each other reciprocally.
The existence of the finite proves the existence of the in-
finite ; and in the idea of the infinite is found the sufficient
reason of the possibility of the finite and the cause of its ex-
istence. The relation of the finite with the infinite constitutes
the unity and harmony of the universe : this bond once broken,
all is confusion, and the universe a chaos.
After these explanations about the true acceptation of the
words grand and sublime, let us examine whether the dogma
of the homage of saints is opposed to the sublimity of the
Christian doctrines.
We can love a good thing, though finite ; we can respect a
respectable thing, and venerate a venerable thing, without any
humiliation unworthy our sublimity arising therefrom. Now
allow me to ask you, Is not an eminent virtue a good, respect-
able, and venerable thing ? And if it be so, and there can be
no doubt about it, I think there ca"h be no inconvenience in
Christians paying a tribute of love, respect, and veneration to
those who have distinguished themselves by their eminent
virtues. This observation would be sufficient to justify the
homage of saints ; but I shall not confine myself to it, for the
question is susceptible of much greater amplitude.
Whilst man lives on earth, subject to all the weaknesses,
miseries and dangers which afflict the children of Adam in
this valley of tears, no one, no matter how perfect he may be,
can be sure of not straying from the path of virtue : daily
experience gives sad testimony of human frailty. And this is
one of the reasons why the love, respect, and veneration which
the virtuous man deserves, even on earth, are offered him
with a certain fear and hesitation, in application of the wise
saying of not praising a man before his death. But when the
Letttrs of Baimez. 509
just man has passed to a better life, and his virtues, proved
like gold in the crucible, have been acceptable to the infinite
Wisdom, and he has secured the precious crown he merited
by them ; then the love, respect, and veneration due to his
virtues can be displayed without danger; and this is the
motive of the homage so affectionate, so tender, so full of
confidence and profound veneration, which Christians render
the just, who for their great deserts, occupy a distinguished
place in the mansions of glory.
I cannot discover, my dear friend, how there can be a want
of dignity in an act so conformable to reason, and even the
most natural feelings of the human heart. When we are
shown a person of great virtue, we regard him with respectful
veneration and esteem ; and can Christian people not do the
like, with respect to men, who, besides their eminent virtues,
intimately united with God in eternal blessedness ? Imperfect
virtue is worthy of veneration, and is the perfect which has
been crowned with ineffable felicity not so ? When a person
honours a virtuous man, far from humiliating, he exalts and
honours himself. And can it be possible that what is true
with respect to men on earth, is not true with regard to those
in heaven ? A little more logic, my dear friend ; for the
contradiction is too manifest. The simple people, of whom you
speak with benignity and compassion, have on this point more
philosophy than you.
I could scarcely imagine you even so delicate as not to be
able to endure the multitude of images and statues of saints
with which the churches of Catholics are filled. I thought
that, if not the interest of religion, at least the love of art,
should render you less susceptible. The difference between
the coldness and nakedness of Protestant churches, and the
splendour and life of Catholic temples, is generally remarked
by believers as well as by infidels ; and precisely one of the
causes of this difference is found in the fact, that art inspired
by Catholicity, has profusely scattered its admirable works, in
which it presents to the eye and the imagination the most
elevated mysteries, and perpetuates with its prodigies the
memory of the virtues of our saints, and the ineffable com-
munications with which, elevating themselves to God, they
felt a presentiment in this life of the felicity of the future.
I wish to be indulgent with you : I wish to attribute the
difficulty you propose to me to some distraction, or an ill-
meditated thought ; for without this indulgence, I would find
myself obliged to tell you a harsh truth — that you have no
taste, no heart, if you have not perceived the beauty abound-
ing in this Catholic practice.
5io Letters of Balmez.
It is strange, when attacking the customs of Catholicity with
respect to the images of the saints, you did not advert to the
fact that you were putting yourself in contradiction with one
of the most natural feelings of the human heart. How is it
possible you have not here discovered the hand of religion,
elevating, purifying and directing to a useful and august ob-
ject, a feeling common to all countries and all times ? Do you
know any people that has not endeavoured to perpetuate the
memory of its illustrious men in images, statues, and other
monuments ? And is there anything more illustrious than
virtue in an eminent degree, as the saints possessed it ? Were
not many of them great benefactors of humanity ? Will you
dare to sustain that the memory of the conquerors who have
inundated the earth with blood, is more worthy of perpetua-
tion than that of the heroes who have sacrificed their fortune,
their ease, and their very lives to the good of their fellow-men,
and transmitted to us their spirit in institutions, which are the
alleviation and consolation of all classes of misfortunes ? Can
you regard with more pleasure, the image of a warrior, who
has covered himself with laurels, too frequently stained with
black crimes, than that of St. Vincent de Paul, the shield and
consolation of all who were in misery whilst on earth, and who
yet lives, and is met with in all hospitals, beside the bed of the
sick, in his admirable Sisters of Charity.
You will tell me all the saints have not done what St. Vin-
cent de Paul has done ; but you cannot deny that those who
have not confined themselves to contemplation are innume-
rable. Some instruct the ignorant, seeking them out in town
and country ; others bury themselves in the hospitals, serving
the feeble sick with inexhaustible charity ; these divide their
riches with the poor, and then take on themselves the duty
of interesting all beneficent hearts in favour of the unfortu-
nate ; those boldly enter the dens of corruption, with the
ardent desire of improving the morals of defiled and degraded
beings : in fine, you shall scarcely find a saint in whom you
will not discover a jet of light, and virtue, and love, spreading
in all directions, and to great distances, in benefit of his fellow-
men. What is there irrational or unworthy in perpetuating
the memory of actions so noble, so grand, and useful ? Have
not all peoples of all countries and times done the same after
their own manner ? Do you think the prodigies of art are
badly employed in such a work as this ?
Suppose we are treating of a life passed sweetly in the
midst of contemplation, in the solitude of the desert, or in the
practice of modest virtues in the obscurity of the domestic
hearth : even in this case there is no inconvenience in arts
What tJte Jesuits Jiave done for Science and Literature. 511
consecrating itself to perpetuate their memory. Do we not
meet at every turn with profane pictures, descriptive of a
family scene, or calling to mind a good action without any-
thing of heroism in it ? Is not virtue, be it what it may,
even in its ultimate degree, beautiful and attractive, and an
object worthy the contemplation of men ? But remember,
common virtues are not objects of homage among Catholics :
to have the tribute of public veneration paid them, they must
exist in an heroic degree, and receive, besides, the sanction of
the authority of the church.
I abandon with all confidence these reflections to your
sound judgment, and entertain the firm hope they will contri-
bute to dissipate your prejudices, by calling your attention to
points of view on which you had not thought before. Being
an enthusiastic lover of the philosophical and the beautiful,
you cannot do less than admire the beauty and philosophy of
the Catholic dogma of the Homage of Saints.
I remain, &c.,
J. B.
WHAT THE JESUITS HAVE DONE FOR SCIENCE
AND LITERATURE.
O:
I. — INTRODUCTORY.
'N August 1 5th, 1534, was laid the foundation of one of
the greatest scientific and literary bodies which have ever
existed.
On the morning of that eventful day, while the deep, dark
shadows of tower, and spire, and cathedral dome were falling
on the deserted streets of Paris, and a silence, as of the tomb,
gave unmistakable evidence that the voluptuous citizens
were buried in sleep, seven men might be seen moving on
processionally towards the heights of Montmartre. There
was a something about them which would immediately attract
the attention of a close observer. They looked like persons
who had formed some resolution involving great responsi-
bilities, and difficulties of no ordinary kind ; but their calm,
grave, yet determined looks, and that air of confidence in
some secret aid, known only to themselves, which was stamped
upon their countenances, bespoke them just the men whom
one would select for some weighty enterprise. With slow
but firm step they climb the Martyr's mount — they enter a
5 1 2 What tJie Jesuits have done for
subterraneous chapel, venerated as the spot where St. Denis
gave his blood for Christ — and while worldly Paris was still
asleep, they kneel in silent prayer. It was a scene which
Raphael would have loved to paint. The darkness of the
chapel was relieved only by the lights which flickered on the
altar and around the Martyr's shrine, and the solemn stillness
was never broken save by the devotional sigh, or muttered
prayer, which might now and again escape from the lips of
those seven motionless adorers. Let us sketch them hurriedly
as they kneel, while one of the party is preparing to offer
the Holy Sacrifice.
The man who seems to be their leader, and to whom they
pay unequivocal signs of respect, appears to be somewhere
about 50 years of age. He is of middle stature. There is an
indefinable something about his appearance, which bespeaks
him of noble birth, and there is a fiery glance in his eyes,
which, even subdued as it now is by religious feelings, pro-
claims him a man of daring spirit, and inflexible determina-
tion.— It is Ignatius of Loyola, grandee of Spain, whilom
courtier, and officer in the army of his Imperial Majesty,
Charles V., but come to swear allegiance to-day to a mightier
sovereign.
Who is that other worshipper — he with the finely-propor-
tioned figure, and the bright laughing eye, and the clear soft
complexion ? That is Francis Xavier. In his veins, too,
there runs the bluest of patrician blood, and in a short time
his fame and name will be echoed, trumpet-tongued, not alone
in Europe, but by the banks of the Indus and the Ganges,
the Yang-tse-Kiang, and Hoang-ho, and in the distant islands
of Japan. Near him kneel two others ; they seem mere boys.
One cannot nave counted, to judge by the eye, more than
twenty ; the other, perhaps, some seventeen or eighteen sum-
mers ; nevertheless there are clear traces of high intellectual
power already developed on their countenances. They are
James Laynez and Alphonsus Salmeron, who will yet make
Europe ring with the fame of their learning. There is another
in the group whose appearance strikes us similarly, from the
fact that, though all his companions have an unmistakably
aristocratic air, he seems of decidedly plebeian origin — that is
Bobadilla. He is of low extraction to be sure, but so were the
Apostles. Bobadilla possessed however in an eminent degree
virtue and genius — gifts which birth cannot confer, and we
shall hear more of him anon. Next to Bobadilla kneels
Simon Rodriguez, a Portuguese gentleman, and if outward
looks can be a true index of the inward feelings of the soul,
then we must unhesitatingly pronounce Simon Rodriguez, of
Science and Literature. 5 1 3
Azevedo, a saint. But one of the number now remains
unnoticed — it is Peter Faber, a Savoyard, the only priest
among them, and he is just approaching the altar to offer up
the unbloody sacrifice. The six worshippers, dead to every
earthly thought, attend during the celebration of the tremen*
dous rite with reverence and marked devotion ; they receive
the Holy Communion from the consecrated hands of their
companion Faber, and then, prostrate before the Sacred Host
they, all seven, vow to God to place themselves- at the service
of the Supreme Pontiff, to be by him employed in whatever
capacity he might judge most conducive to the advancement
of religion, and the good of the church.
Such was the origin of the celebrated order of the Jesuits ;
and that vow pronounced in the little Chapel of Montmartre,
337 years ago, if it has brought confusion and constant defeat
into the camp of the enemies of religion, has wrought almost
incalculable good, not alone for the church, but also for the
cause of science, letters, and civilization.
It has been so ordained by Providence that in every reac-
tion against the church, a power should be found within the
Church's own fold more than capable of counteracting the
evil, and of turning the tide of victory in her favour.
Perhaps the most terrible religious revolution which, has
ever occurred within the well-nigh nineteen centuries of the
Church's existence, was the so-called Protestant Reformation.
That rebellion was hatched in the brain of proud, ambitious,
and licentious men — men gifted by God with more than
ordinary talents, which, however, they abused to overthrow,
as far as in them lay, God's power on earth. In so doing
they were aided and abetted by the great ones, of the world,
who could not brook the restraint which Divine law would
place upon their conduct. They were, also, favoured by the
avarice of lordlings, who sought to supply purses emptied
through extravagance, by converting into them those trea-
sures which the piety of their ancestors had consecrated to
the service of God. They found easy dupes among an igno-
rant peasantry, who might have been easily persuaded to
adopt any religious views, when put before them by men who
would not scruple to impose upon their credulity, and to stir
up within them a spirit of fanaticism by means of that wild,
impassioned oratory which the first heralds of Protestantism
could use with such effect.
The motive power and guiding spirit of Protestantism was
intellectual pride. An Augustinian friar, believing himself
to be the most distinguished preacher in Germany, fancied
that a slight was put upon him when his Dominican
514 What tJte Jesuits Jtave done for
brother was called upon to occupy the pulpit on a remarkable
occasion. It was the old sin — " Eritis sicut Dii ;"1 and this
infection of intellectual pride caught hold of almost all the
followers of Luther and Calvin. They proclaimed the dawn
of a new era of progress and enlightenment, when the human
mind disenthralled, would lord it over the antiquated doctrines
of the fishermen of Galilee ; and a few half-educated Germans
and Frenchmen would overthrow those doctrines which had
been received and approved of by Tertullian, and Origen, and
Cyprian ; by Leo and Augustine ; by Basil and Gregory of
Nazianzen ; by the Greek philosophers of the Areopagus, and
the wise old Roman Senators, sitting beneath the shadows of
the Capitol, in the Forum ; — by what there was of sterling
intellect, and public worth, and private virtue in three portions
of the globe for 1,500 years.
It was a bold venture, this, on the part |of the so-called
reformers, to throw down, if we may use the phrase, the glove
of intellectual challenge to Catholic Christendom. But
Catholic Christendom, nothing daunted, accepted the chal-
lenge, and God raised up, in the persons of the Jesuits, men
who could take up that glove and fling it back, with tenfold
vigor, in the faces of the wretched miscreants who would rend
the seamless garment of Christ. God raised up an Order,
which was to be a living witness, that as the Roman Church
is the sole depositrix of the Redeemer's doctrine, so she is the
only herald of true enlightenment and civilization, and can at
any time produce from within her fold, men, who in the
varied departments of science, and literature, and art, are able
to hold their own against the world.
The men so raised up to combat the religious revolution of
the sixteenth century were The Jesuits. To use the truthful
and eloquent words of Balmez — " the spirit of the coming
ages was essentially one of scientific and literary progress.
The Jesuits were aware of this truth ; they perfectly understood
it. It was necessary to advance with rapidity, and never to
remain behind : this the new institute does ; it takes the lead
in all sciences, it allows none to anticipate it. Men study
the oriental languages ; they produce great works on the
Bible ; they search the books or the ancient Fathers, the
monuments of tradition, and of ecclesiastical decisions : in the
1 It is a remarkable fact, that as the first rebellion of creatures against their
Creator was the result of intellectual pride, so all, or nearly all the rebellions
against the teaching and authority of the Church — God's representative on earth —
have arisen from the same cause : so fell, in days gone by, Tertullian and Origen,
Arius and Entyches, Luther and Calvin, Voltaire and the infidels of the eighteenth
century, not to mention in our own times. De Lamnunais, Passaglia, Pert Hya-
cinthe, and the most recent of heretics, Dr. Dollingtr.
Science and L iterature. 515
midst of this great activity the Jesuits are at their posts ;
many supereminent works issue from their colleges. The
taste for dogmatical controversy is spread over all Europe ;
many schools preserve and love the scholastic discussions ;
immortal works of controversy, came from the hands of the
Jesuits, at the same time that they yield to none in skill and
penetration in the schools. The mathematics, astronomy,
all the natural sciences, make great progress ; learned societies
are formed in the capitals of Europe, to cultivate and encour-
age them ^ in these societies the Jesuits figure in the first
rank. The spirit of time is naturally dissolvent ; the
institute of the Jesuits is interiorly armed against dissolution ;
in spite of the rapidity of its course, it advances in a compact
order, like the mass of a powerful army. The errors, the
eternal disputes, the multitude of the new opinions, even the
progress of the sciences, by exciting men's minds, give a fatal
inconstancy to the human intellect — an impetuous whirlwind,
agitating and stirring up all things, carries them away. The
order of the Jesuits appears in the midst of this whirlwind,
but it partakes neither of its inconstancy, nor of its varia-
bility ; it pursues its career without losing itself, and while
only irregularity and vacillation are seen among its adver-
saries, it advances with a sure step, tending towards its object,
like a planet which performs its orbit according to fixed
laws. In consequence of the discovery of
the new countries in the east and west, a taste for travelling,
for observing distant countries, for the knowledge of the
language, manners and customs of the recently discovered
nations, was developed in Europe. The Jesuits spread over
the face of the globe, while preaching the Gospel to the
nations, do not forget the study of the thousand things which
may interest cultivated Europe, and at their return from their
gigantic expeditions, they are seen adding their valuable
treasures to the common fund of modern science."1
And yet, it must be ever born in mind that science and
literature are by no means the primary objects proposed to
themselves by the Jesuits. The society of Jesus is not, and
was never intended to be either a scientific institute, or an
academy of men of letters. It is nothing more or less than a
Religious Order, in which the members, beside their own
individual sanctification, aim at preaching the Gospel to
unbelievers, inculcating the practice of its maxims on those
who believe, and assisting all towards the attainment of eter-
nal life. These are the primary ends of the society, and if it
has cultivated science and literature, with almost unprece-
1 Balraez, European Civilization, chap. xlvi.
5 1 6 What the Jesuits have done for
dented success, it was only because its members judged these
to be, under existing circumstances, highly efficacious means
towards the achievment of that end for which the society was
instituted.
We propose to treat, in a series of papers, these literary and
scientific labours of the Jesuits. We should wish that it were
in our power to do so in a single notice, but the spirit of
research among Loyola's learned children has been so exten-
sive, their studies so varied and profound, their acquirements
so rare and so brilliant, that more space is required to
chronicle their labours than could reasonably be afforded in a
single, or even many numbers of the RECORD.
However, before we attempt this task, which we have pro-
posed to ourselves, we had better reply to a not unreasonable
objection — " Have not the Jesuits," it will be said, " been
often and triumphantly defended ; why then ask us to pore
over your prosaic pages ?" We freely admit that the Jesuits
have been ably defended, and that by writers in comparison
with whom we are but " lisping babes." Some members of
that illustrious order, have been themselves apologists for
their brethren. French infidels of the eighteenth century have
more than once spoken in their praise. English High
Churchmen and Presbyterians of the Kirk have vindicated
their honour and integrity;1 but above all the most enduring
1 It may not be out of place to cite here one or two testimonies regarding the
literary merits of the Jesuits. We make our selection from hostile authors, and we
do so merely "en passant," as we shall frequently produce similar ones, in the
course of these papers.
D'Alembert, surely no friend of the Jesuits, writes these remarkable words : —
"Ajoutons, car il faut etre juste, qu'aucune societfi religieuse, sans exception, ne
peut se glorifier d'un aussi grand nombre d'hommes celebr6s dans les lettres. Les
Jesuites se, sout exerc^s avee sucees dans, tous les geures : Eloquence, histoire,
antiquitfi, geometric, literature profonde et agr^able, il n'est presque ancune
classe d'ecrivains on elle ne compte des hommesdu premier merite. — D'Alembert
sur la destruct des Jesuites.
Bacon pays the following high tribute to the Jesuits as a teaching body — "Ad
pedagogiam quod attinet brevissimum foret dictu ; consule scholas Jesuitarum :
nihil enim quod in usum venit his melius." — Bacon de augmento scientiarum, lib
vii., cap. iv. And the Protestant Historian Prescott, though violently antago-
nistic to the Jesuits as a religious body, is forced to confess that they have ren-
dered distinguished services to the cause of science and literature. "But amidst
many bad consequences," hi writes ' flowing from the institution of this order,
mankind, it must be acknowledged, have derived from it some considerable
advantages. As the Jesuits made the education of youth one of their capital
objects, and as their first attempts to establish colleges for the reception of
students were violently opposed by the universities in different countries, it became
necessary for them, as the most effectual method of acquiring the public favour,
to surpass their rivals in science and industry. This prompted them to cultivate
the study of ancient literature with extraordinary ardour. This put them upon
various methods for facilitating the instruction of youth, and by the improvements
which they made in it, they have contributed so much towards the progress of
polite learning, that on this account they have merited well of society. Nor has
Science and L iterative. 5 1 7
monuments of the services which they have rendered to
religion and civilization, to science, and letters, and art, must
be found in the savage untutored hordes brought through their
influence under the regulation of civilized life — the wild
prairies cultivated under their direction — the mighty rivers
traced to their source and navigated under their superinten-
dence— the untold mineral wealth of countries, almost unknown,
explored under their guidance, and by their skill — and, above
all, the countless millions dwelling in the shadow of death,
brought, through their agency, under the sweet yoke of
Christ : these are testimonies, stronger than written words, to
the zeal, the energy, the self-sacrificing devotion, and the
brilliant talents of the Jesuits. But though such testimonies be
eloquent, they entirely fail to conciliate the nineteenth century
in favour of the Jesuits. The Jesuits are supposed to be the
great prop and mainstay of Papal power, and hence the
world — the heretical, the infidel world — will persist in saying
to them Maran atlia. By a decree from Florence, dated 4th
of last March, the Infidel Government of Italy has robbed
them of their colleges, and that magnificent institution, the
Roman College, which has numbered in the past, and counts
at present so many men of brilliant intellect and world-wide
fame within its halls, is now a government office, in the posses-
sion of a few miserable Piedmontese officials. The late
Communist government of Paris, following in the footsteps of
their Italian brothers, also robbed the Jesuits, and has added
one crowning outrage by murdering, with the martyred
Archbishop of Paris, eight of Loyola's sainted children. At
this moment the Jesuits are more or less persecuted in Italy,
in Spain, in Portugal, in Austria, and in France. Decrees of
banishment are pronounced against them — legal restrictions of
quite an exceptionable character are imposed upon them ;
fines and confiscations fall fast and heavy on them; and all
this has been done in the name of liberty, fraternity, and
equality, in the name of progress, civilization, and enlighten-
ment. Out upon such progress ! Shame upon the shameless
miscreants, who would prate of civilization amidst the
smouldering embers of the fairest city^in the world, reduced
to ruin by their hands ; who would hold up to scorn, as the
enemies of enlightenment, the most learned body of men that
has ever existed ; who treat as ferocious wild beasts the men
who have made the shelves of every library in the world groan
.the order of Jc-uits been successful only in teaching the elements of literature ;
it has produced, likewise, eminent masters in many branches of science, and can
alone boast of a greater number of ingenious authors than all the other religious
fraternities taken together.'1 — Prescott, Charles V., Book vi.
5 1 8 The Pontifical Jubilee of Pius IX.
beneath the records of their talents and their industry. It is
the age of progress, of civilization, of enlightenment. Well,
be it so. In our future papers we undertake to demonstrate,
by an appeal to authentic history, that in every department of
science, and literature, and art, the Jesuits have, as a body,
held the first place during the last three centuries. We do
not know whether our labours will succeed in inducing even
one of their enemies to think less harshly of them ; at all
events, it will afford us lively satisfaction to place on record,
in an Irish Ecclesiastical Journal, what it is that the Jesuits
have done for science and literature.
W. H.
THE PONTIFICAL JUBILEE OF PIUS IX.
(Translated from the " Civilta Cattolica")
JL HE man that could gather within the narrow limits of a
fish-pond the immensity of the troubled ocean, might safely
attempt to describe, in a few pages, the Pontifical Jubilee of
the i6th of June, 1871. But, God be praised! Rome still
feels the irresistible, deep, and ardent enthusiasm which the
occasion called forth, and, with the capital, all the provinces
of Christendom ; and our object now is merely to jot down a
passing notice for the benefit of those that shall come after us.
Full twelve months before the hoped-for event, a short
circular was addressed by the Society of Italian Catholic
young men to Catholics of every nation, calling on them to
celebrate it with every token of festivity ; *the youngest of the
brethren, and those nearest the common Father, seemed chosen
by God to summon the more distant. Their address was
translated into every civilized tongue, and received everywhere
with heartfelt applause. The filial love of near 300 millions
of men, who recognise in Pius the Ninth their father, scarcely
required this appeal ; for it was impossible that such an event
could pass unnoticed, or not be signalised with extraordinary
and ever-memorable jubilee. From the first Pope down to
our days, history furnishes no example of a Pontificate out-
living its twenty-fifth year. Pio Nono, first and alone, sees
the years of Peter, first and only one for nineteen centuries,
first and only one from amongst two hundred and fifty-five
predecessors. This privilege, because unprecedented, shines
out as a divine seal on his pontifical career, not miraculous to
be sure, but extraordinary beyond doubt, admirable, and
The Pontifical Jubilee of Pius IX. 519
closely resembling the prodigious. This is the first reason we
may give for the unanimous upheaving of Christian society to
celebrate the Pontifical Jubilee of Pius the Ninth ; and what
is more, viewed from the standpoint of Christianity, every
year of this reign of a quarter of a century contains in itself
the operosity and history of a complete pontificate ; so that
we may safely affirm, in the course of so many years, no
Pontiff ever wrought so much in the threefold capacity sym-
bolized by the triple crown with which he is adorned. The
history of this reign will form ponderous volumes, all resplen-
dent with genuine glory, and many chapters worthy to be
engraved on plates of gold. Pius the Ninth, created Pope in
forty-eight hours of conclave, with a marvellous unanimity of
votes, blessed (the first movement of the heart of a Pontiff-
King) with pardon the rebels to the State, reformed the laws,
attempted a constitution more pleasing to the age — a consti-
tution which would have lasted had the age been better and
less ungrateful. Pius the Ninth, during his regal career, pro-
tected and fostered, even more than Leo the Tenth, science,
letters, arts, studies, libraries, academies, and institutions of
civilization ; he built innumerable new monuments, and restored
many old ones. He it was who restored the Episcopal Hier-
archy, dead for three centuries, in Holland and England, and
we might say created it, and made it to flourish, in the United
States ; fifteen sees he raised to the archiepiscopal dignity,
and erected one hundred and eleven new bishoprics. He it
was who imparted such fervour to the work of the Foreign
Missions ; resisted schismatic despotism, even when aided by
the evil tendencies of the secular power; in sweetest lan-
guage invited heretics back to the bosom of the Church ; called
sinners to penance by proclaiming four universal jubilees ;
enlightened the wanderers by his incessant condemnation of
error, the continuous encouragement afforded to wholesome
literature, and his loving watchfulness in regard to the univer-
sities. He it was who negotiated eight concordats with honest
governments ; unmasked and smote, in the light of day, the
evil workings of secret societies ; whilst, on the other hand,
he inspired incredible ardour in the works of Catholic asso-
ciation amongst the laity, and peopled the world with fruitful
and benevolent brotherhoods. But his greatest solicitude
was the dignity of the clergy ; hence, day by day he gave
his approval to new religious congregations, whilst he stu-
died to reform the abuses of the old ones ; the secular
clergy he endowed with splendid institutes both within
and outside of Rome ; he drew closer the ties which
united the Eastern Church with him ; and the universal
5 20 The Pontifical Jubilee of Pius IX.
episcopate was gathered within his charitable embrace. At
no period of the Church's history were spectacles witnessed
similar to those presented during the Pontificate of Pio Nono :
four times did the bishops assemble round his throne in
numbers beyond all expectation, worthy of a Pontiff that
deserved such an episcopacy. Heaven — even heaven itself
we may say it — is his debtor. No Pope decreed the honours
of the altars to such a number of blessed souls ; none more
solicitous than he to restore their temples ; for St. Peter he
celebrated a centenary which will form a central point in his
history ; to St. Joseph he accorded the universal charge of the
faithful ; for the Blessed Virgin he raised new sanctuaries,
ordered new solemnities, and placed on her head the most
brilliant of her crowns'; and the Sacred Heart of Jesus wit-
nessed increased splendour in its adoration and increased num-
bers among its clients. Even if Pius IX. bore no other gems
in his crown, history will assign him three, brilliant and spark-
ling, which will render him for ever conspicuous to the eyes
of posterity — the definition of the Immaculate Conception,
the Syllabus, and the Vatican Council — I am wrong : there
is a fourth, which gives lustre and relief to all the others —
persecution. If great undertakings place him on a level
with the most illustrious of his predecessors, this renders him
like to Jesus Christ, whose Vicar he is. If a just man that
suffers is an agreeable spectacle in the sight of heaven, the
greatest benefactor of our present humanity, treated by the
wicked as the greatest malefactor, and yet always in the act
of praying for his executioners, must be the delight of God
and men. Now, Pius IX. sees ingratitude, calumny,' treachery,
injustice, and sacrilege conspiring against him ; he tasted the
bitter fruits of exile, of spoliation, and imprisonment ; he
witnessed attempts against his throne, and (horrible to be
told !) he knew of the plots against his life. Who ever heard
an angry word fall from his lips ? No ; no man ever passed
through a reign of a quarter of a century so hunted down by
the wicked, so loved by the just as Pius IX. For both these
reasons, perhaps, God granted him the longest of pontificates ;
they have certainly rendered it the most famous. For it is
literally true that of no one of his predecessors was the name
so frequently written or utterred in assemblies and conversa-
tions, in praise and in blame — according as they were good
or bad — as the name of Pio Nono. No man can number the
biographies written of him, the statues and busts made of him,
the medals engraved of him, the pictures and photographs
by which he has been made familiar with the faithful Pio
Nono loves his children with immense love, and in the same
The Pontifical Jubilee of Pius IX. 521
degree is he loved by them. And fools will ask, how is it
this Pontifical Jubilee agitates the universe ?
Yes, the earth was moved — moved to its centre. The
means of expressing public joy are endless in variety ; but
any one that would undertake to collect the discoveries of
those days, would certainly form the most complete catalogue
known. Volumes of information would be furnished to him
from China, Japan, Arabia, Greece, the East, the islands of
Oceanica, Africa, and more particularly Abyssinia and Senegal,
India, America, and remote Australia. Everywhere sacred
functions, extraordinary discourses, prayers, high masses,
crowds round the Table of the Lord — generous offerings to
the poor king — subscriptions and addresses, and acts of con-
gratulation to be delivered by solemn embassies. Everywhere
appeals made to orators and poets, music, decorations, illu-
minations, processions, etc., ietc. We know not where to
commence or how to select, rhe Christian nations all ap-
peared worthy of the eyes of God and men ; each had a
national hymn ascending to heaven, in thanks for the Pontiff"
so long preserved to them, and in prayers for his^ speedy
triumph ; and at the same time a river of love flowed from
every country and city towards Rome — a river of congratu-
lations, of promises, and of gifts. But these pilgrims — ambas-
sadors of the Christian world — scarcely set foot upon the %oil
of Italy, when they beard the lugubrious sound of the chains
which bind the Papacy. They had to walk between two files —
one, of the immense majority, and almost entirely of the
people, who received and welcomed them as brethren ;
the other of the government and its votaries, who received
them unwillingly, as a murderer would, who fears he may be
despoiled of his victim. Let the reader judge from the acts
of the government in homage to the Pope. It was published
in all the journals, that a minister of state had enjoined it on
all the commandants of Italy and Rome to maintain com-
plete liberty for the Catholic demonstrations ; but facts con-
tradicted words. The government, too, had a Judaical anxiety
to join in harmony with the joyous faithful, but withdrew the
moment it became aware of the preparations of the secret
societies in disapproval ; and still more because of the avowed
determination of the Catholics to repudiate all connexion
with them. A villa, belonging to an august personage in
Tuscany, was illuminated on the i6th of June, and a religious
function actually celebrated at the Pitti Palace ; but let us
pass on. A surprise was even attempted in the shape of a
compliment — an actual compliment. The envoy of Lanza,
Visconti-Venosta, and the like, was Bertolet Viale, a general
VOL. VII.
522 The Pontifical Jubilee of Pius IX.
famous only for his victories over the clergy, and he pre-
sented himself at the Vatican, to congratulate Pio Nono,
" appropinquavit Jesu, ut oscularetur eum" On what could
he congratulate him ? On nothing except on seeing the Vicar
of Christ surviving unavenged the wicked war waged against
him by Viale and his friends ; perhaps he wished to add that
the cup was not yet drained, and promise the remainder of the
dregs. Hence it was intimated to him " viva voce" that by
reaching Cardinal Antonelli unexpectedly, his mission was
accomplished, and not to push further. And this courtesy
(for nothing else was shown him), appeared rather too much
than insufficient. They tolerated the " Herodes eum illusit ;"
but did not care to hear the " Ave, Rabbi." No one doubted
that with all the display of proclamations, moderation, etc., the
Italian Government intended to use the greatest cruelty
possible towards an innocent victim, torture him, and then
show clean hands, saying, " Innocens ego sum a sanguine justi
kujus." The government was devoured with rage at seeing
the Catholic demonstration ; every applause made to the
Pope was called a violation of public order ; every kind word
said of him was reputed a declaration of war on them-
selves ; every aspiration of faith was condemned as a plot or
a felony. Hence its rage could not be concealed, but became
matiifest ; they summoned preachers before them to reprove
for pretended excesses, and warned them against a repetition.
Threats and bravado ! At Bologna, the Questor forbade the
illuminations, giving it to be understood that in case of
disobedience, they would imprison some of the principal
citizens. And the execution of the threat was naturally appre-
hended ; for, but a few days previous, they endeavoured, with
a great display of public force, to confiscate a richly mounted
snuff box presented by Pius IX. to Dr. Acquaderni. In the
valley of the Lamore, at Marradi, the innocent display of the
" Mortarelli," was prohibited. At Arpino, a citizen was
arrested for having at his window a bust of Pius IX. sur-
rounded by wax lights ; the bust of course was seized. In
Bassano, three priests were prosecuted for having by them
lists of subscribers to Peter's Pence, and keeping up corres-
pondence with the Catholic Committees ; and a schoolmis-
tress, guilty of having allowed her pupils to sign an address,
drew down the anger of the manager (an apostate priest
named Malucelli), and was brutally exposed, and threatened
with dismissal. At Leghorn, a police officer publicly in-
sulted the Deputies of the Genoese Catholics, and ill treated
the volumes of names which they were bearing to the Pope.
At Velletri, a priest was dragged off to prison amidst jeers and
The Pontifical Jubilee of Pins IX. 5 23
insults, on the suspicion of having advised an illumination, which
took place notwithstanding, and in spite of the Questor. Hun-
dreds of other similar facts we omit to mention. The better to
hide the hand which dealt these blows, the government called
into requisition its old terms of friendship with the secret
societies. All that is bad, vile, and ruffianly in Italy seemed,
during those days, to have become the guard of honour to the
magistrates, and charged with executing the wicked plans of
the government They had liberty to dare anything, even to
violate private domiciles, smash windows, maltreat and
wound individuals. The police always arrived too late,
excused the offenders, and sent them away with a blessing.
In Turin, for several hours, the assault with stones was
maintained against the windows of Marquis Fassati and
General Pampana ; in Pistoia, Chevalier Bandi had to with-
stand a similar siege, as had also Lady Macdonald in Florence ;
and so it was in several towns, but the police knew nothing about
it. Occasionally they sided with the rioters, as in Genoa, where
they entered the houses, and put out the lights obnoxious to
the mob. At Padua, about fifty armed men entered the
Church crowded with the faithful, drowned the preacher's
voice by their diabolical howling, and violently ejected the
people. Where was the government ? Several days after
it arrived with a rebuke for the Inspector of public security,
not for the outrage committed in the church, but because the
ruffians, who had not sufficiently learned moderation, went
straight from the church to plunder the government offices.
If they had confined themselves to the outrage committed in
the House of God, they would have been let free, as their
brethren outside the Vatican, who assailed the disarmed
Catholic young men with hatchets and pistols ; as the police
and soldiery at the Gesu ; or as the rioters in Parma, who
rushed into St John's Church, crying — Down with the Pope !
Death to Catholics ! Viva la Commune!
In Florence, three or four priests are wounded in the streets ;
a bomb explodes in the cathedral ; a horde of cannibals,
maddened by the applause with which the people greeted
their beloved archbishop, Simberti, shouted " Down with him,"
and assaulted (but in vain, owing to the resistance of the
people) his carriage and palace. The police arrested the
inoffensive defenders of the archbishop. A lady, protected
by a foreign flag, was waited on by a police sergeant that he
might excuse an insult offered to the flag, and gave as his
excuse that the affair happened whilst he was relieving guard.
" Did you take six hours to relieve guard ?" she asked. " Try
and illuminate again," he anwcred, " and you shall see that we
will do our duty." " I have tried it once," was her reply, "and
524 TJte Pontifical Jubilee of Pius IX.
that is enough." But the great effort of tyranny, cloaked
with the finest hypocrisy, was reserved for Rome. There,
more than elsewhere, the journals obeyed the Government,
calumniated the Catholic party, as they called it, but, as truth
would have it, the people of Rome. It was their daily occu-
pation to insult citizens, visitors, the Pope himself ; to misre-
present facts, and shamelessly falsify every violence that was
perpetrated. Fire was opened by an unscrupulous denuncia-
tion of death to Catholics who would dare openly to show
their devotion. This was done both by the organs of the
secret-societies and of the Government, without any effort at
disguise. Conspiracies, Zouaves, and foreign correspondences
were invented ; and this in order to cover a still more disgrace-
ful felony planned by the Government against the old soldiers
of the Pope, guilty of no other crime except their noble con-
stancy in refusing to don the Italian uniform. They were
suddenly set upon by the police, wherever they could be found,
handcuffed, and dragged off to prison, to the number of some
hundreds. The good people complained loudly of this treat-
ment shown to brave and loyal soldiers, but to no purpose.
When strangers who were then in Rome shall relate these
events, they will be thought to have come from visiting
Kaffraria. In the streets, every charlatan who wore a uniform,
was at perpect liberty to lay hands upon any passing citizen
under pretence of arresting a Zouave in disguise. A gentle-
man attached to a foreign embassy was all but handcuffed
right under the entrance to the Vatican. A young friend of
ours, Raphael Santi, was searched in the public street, and
no arms being found, they deprived him of a light walking
stick which he had in his hand. A little boy, who was in-
sulted by some Jews, after bearing with it for some time,
finally struck one of them ; he was immediately incarcerated.
Within the precincts of their own dwelling two young men
were chanting the " Te Dtum" they had heard in St. Peter's,
accompanying themselves on a pianoforte ; the national guard
arrive, rush into the apartment, and drag them off to prison.
Three young ladies, who had lost their father, were suspected
of having assumed mourning because of the sad turn of public
affairs : they were, in the most ruffianly manner, sneered and
pointed at near the Argentine Theatre. An officer of the
Italian army had the baseness to stop some ladies entering
a church, and ask them what they were going to do ; — he got
the answer he deserved : — " We are going to pray God to rid
us of your presence." At least they might have respected
foreigners — sacred ground always amongst civilized nations !
The Government seemed to desire as much. Through
regard for them the police ordered the removal from
The Pontifical Jubilee of Pius IX. 525
shop windows of some of the grosser caricatures
derisive of everything sacred in heaven and on earth.
Besides, the minister Gadda wrote to the Syndic of Rome
that it was his wish that the festivities for the Pontifical
Jubilee should serve as " a splendid confirmation of the com-
plete liberty which religion and her ministers may enjoy in
Rome." Notwithstanding all this, the strangers found nothing
guaranteed in Italy and Rome, except the liberty to insult the
Pope and his adherents. The government forbade the rail-
way companies to give strangers going to Rome the benefit
of the excursion fares ; at all the stations they were watched
closely by ths Italian gendarmes, and treated roughly ; in
Bologna the German deputations dare not leave their hotels,
not even to pay a pious visit to a celebrated sanctuary out-
side the walls. We can scarcely describe the way they were
treated on reaching Rome — that Rome whose hospitable
courtesy has no superior. One would imagine that the
government undertook the task of defaming Peter before all
nations. The military stations were reinforced ; a division of
cavalry was summoned to Rome for the occasion ; another
regiment of Bersaglieri brought in from the neighbourhood ;
twenty-eight companies of the National Guard kept under
arms ; carbineers, police, municipal guards swarming at every
corner ; the patrols marched with ten rounds of ball cartridge
and revolvers in their belts : you would think the city was in
a state of siege. What was the meaning of such a display of
armed force, when the strangers could hear whole detachments
of the National Guard shouting: " Morte ai preti! " Death to
the priests ! What use was it, if in the presence of the military,
no group of strangers could walk the streets of Rome without
being hissed and sneered at, and in not a few instances pelted
with stones ; what use was it when even on the very treshold
of Pio Nono's residence, in sight of the royal troops, a ruffianly
mob took up its position the entire morning to insult the
visitors going to the Vatican, and utter the most obscene
blasphemies up to the very faces of the ladies who accompanied
these deputations. Amongst the scoffers everyone could per-
ceive in the very "front rank, officers of the Italian army ;" so we
are informed by the " International" a revolutionary organ,
which called loudly for their punishment. Amidst this great
display of public force, every time there was question of
entering the basilicas for the functions, or leaving them, you
were obliged to pass through two serried ranks of frenzied
fanatics, who gloried in manifesting their hostility to religion,
and were eloquent in blasphemies against the Pope and Jesus
Christ himself. What were the police doing all this time ?
They placidly and approvingly looked on. Whether it was
526 The Pontifical Jubilee of Pius IX.
their own wish, or because of orders received, certain it is that
every stranger could witness this spectacle of artful weakness,
and judged it to be either. a studied connivance or manifest
complicity of the Italian Government with the Garibaldian
mob. A list of subscriptions in the sacristy of a certain
parish was wanting in some ridiculous formality of date or
something else ; and the .police confiscate it. Where' were
the guardians of public order when the several deputations
arrived at the termini railway station, and were accompanied
by a hissing hooting mob down to the Corso ? Where were
they when a number of German gentlemen were grossly
insulted at the very doors of their National Church ? The
police enjoyed the sport for some days, and then endeavoured
to put a stop to it by ordering the strangers not to leave their
lodgings. Three gentlemen of the French deputation were
searched at the frontier and deprived of their papers ; three
others were pelted with stones in the middle of Rome, in
Piazzia Venezia, and one of those was Arthur Loth, the
correspondent of the Paris " Univers." They say that a stone
was deposited near the French embassy, in token of civility,
which characterizes the present Italian Government. And
whilst the Frenchmen that came to visit the Pope are thus
treated, the Communists of Paris walk the cities and towns of
Jtaly in perfect freedom. A Russian gentleman was assaulted
by two " questurini " near the Vatican, for having worn in his
button-hole his national decoration of St. George, black and
yellow. Madame Marie Neu, a Prussian lady, from Berlin,
celebrated the Jubilee in her own house; she distributed food
and alms amongst a number of poor, and, on the table in
her reception-room, had a beautiful vase of flowers with the
name of Pio IX. in the centre ; a little girl of seven years,
after luncheon, removed the vase to a work table in the
window. Immediately the mob assembles : shouts and hisses
are heard through the streets ; and the police undertake her
punishment. Two National Guards present themselves before
the lady, and commanded her not to dare to illuminate that
evening, threatening broken windows if she disobeyed. The
Tyrolese deputation, more distinguishable because of their
peculiar costume, had to put up with frequent and renewed
incivilities. Finally, in the piazza Rondanini, they were
treated barbarously, and had great difficulty in getting back
to their hotel without broken bones. Some English visitors
cancelled a filthy epigram scratched on the walls of the
Colosseum, and at once up come the soldiers to scatter them.
A considerable number of the English deputation put up at
the Hotel d'Angleterre ; during their absence an immense
Italian tricolor was suspended from the balcony of one of the
Documents. 527
rooms occupied by them. They order its removal. The
hotel-keeper refuses, and collects a band of ruffians to shout
under the windows and demand the replacing of the flag ; the
English pack up their valises and prepare to leave. Meanwhile,
the cries of Viva Vittorio Emmanuele resound in the street,
to which the English gentlemen respond much more lustily,
Viva Pio IX. Fortunately, at this moment, the British
" charge d'affaires" arrived to protect his countrymen ; and
the police, instead of dispersing the mob, offered to form an
escort to the deputation, and get them out safely by a back
way. They were ten in number, including Lord Gainsborough,
his son, Edward Noel, his daughters, and MM. Moore, Vaughan,
English, and Munster. The Spanish deputies fared no better.
They went to the Vatican, headed by the Marquis Maceda, a
Spanish grandee, and the Marquis di Casa Pizarro, who wore
under their outer coats the grand cordons, white and orange
and white and blue, national decorations. Their carriage was
stopped, and they were ordered to remove these decorations.
They stoutly refused, and in consequence would not be allowed
to proceed. They took refuge in the house of a Spanish arch-
bishop, and, by his advice, did not assume the decorations
until they came to the Vatican. In this wretched manner
were Romans and foreigners left by the government to the
malevolence of the mob. The pilgrims of the Pontifical
Jubilee can confirm all this, and meanwhile the journals of
the revolution and their compeers in other lands will go on
magnifying the stupendous liberties of the Italian people,
and Florence ministers will write to every Court the praises
of their own loyalty in the famous legislation of the
"guarantees"
( To be continued.)
DOCUMENTS.
I.— LETTER OF OUR MOST HOLY FATHER TO
H. E. THE CARDINAL- VICAR OF ROME.
" WHEN it pleased God in his own most wise designs to permit
that Rome should be occupied by a hostile army, the usurpers
set forth the pretext that Rome was necessary for them in
order to complete the unity of Italy, and to bind together all
its parts, as if there were not two other small Italian territories
which still retain their independent governments, and will long
continue, I trust, to maintain their independence. It was not,
5 28 Documents.
however, the sole aim of the prime movers of the revolution
to seize on a city like Rome ; it was mainly to assail the
centre of Catholicism, and to destroy Catholicism itself. All
the wicked, all the free-thinkers, all the secret societies of the
world have conspired to destroy, if possible, this ever-endur-
ing work of God ; and to attain this end, they all have sent
some small contingent into this metropolis. All these con-
tingents form here one sole army, which has for its object
to insult the images of the Blessed Virgin and of the saints,
to outrage and assail the ministers of the sanctuary, to pro-
fane the churches and the festivals, to multiply houses of
immorality, to deafen the citizens with cries of blasphemy, and
to corrupt the hearts and minds, especially of youth, by means
of certain newspapers most strikingly immoral, hypocritical,
lying, and irreligious.
" This Satanical phalanx has proposed to itself to clear away
from Rome what it designates as Religious Fanaticism, thus
using the phrase of an Italian philosopher of unhappy memory,
who was suddenly cut off in his career some few years ago.
Having made itself master of Rome, it now seeks to render
Rome irreligious, or at least to make it the head of a religion
of Toleration, in accordance with the ideas of those who have
nothing higher than the enjoyment of the present life pro-
posed to them, and who fashion to themselves the idea of God,
as if it were a matter of indifference to Him how men and
human affairs proceed here below. And does the Government
which tolerates such disorders itself belong to the same
phalanx ? Let us hope that it does not, for if it were, it
would sadly affirm the downfall of the throne.
" In the meantime, to check in some way this torrent of so
many evils, your Eminence will address a circular to the paro-
chial clergy intimating to them to admonish their parishioners
that the reading of certain newspapers, particularly those
printed in Rome, is prohibited ; and that such a prohibition
binds not under venial, but under grievous fault. As regards
the other evils already mentioned, and the violation of the
laws of God and of the Church, each parish priest must bear
in mind the words : Argue, obsecra, increpa.
"In fine, let us raise, our hands to God, and let us hope that
these many outrages against Him, against His religion, against
society itself, may cease, that thus we may at length be freed
from this labyrinth of evils, and enjoy peaceable liberty with
the blessings of Faith, Morality, and Order.
" I affectionately impart to you my blessing.
"The 30th June, 1871, Feast of St. Paul the Apostle.
" Omnes convertantur et vivant ut possint clamare ad Domi-
num Jcsum Xtum : Dominc quid me vis faccre f"
529
II.— CIRCULAR OF HIS EMINENCE THE CARDI-
NAL-VICAR TO THE PAROCHIAL CLERGY OF
ROME.
"THE many impieties and scandals which are witnessed every
day in Rome through the efforts of the enemies of God and
Holy Church, have reached such an excess as to dishonour
the metropolis of the Catholic world, and place it on a level
with the most irreligious cities. Such is the wickedness which
goes on increasing, and becomes more and more triumphant
every day ; such the contempt for everything most dear to
piety and faith, that no other parallel can be found than the
abomination of desolation foretold by the prophet (Daniel ix.
27) in regard to the holy city of Jerusalem.
4> At the sight of this lamentable condition of his beloved
Rome, His Holiness deeply moved and afflicted, and desirous
of applying some remedy to so many evils, addressed to us, on
the 3Oth of June last, a venerated autograph letter, of which
we forward an authentic copy to you, in which, after detailing
the sacrilegious excesses that are committed and the impious
designs which the sectaries and free-thinkers propose to them-
selves, he orders us to stimulate more and more the zeal and
fervour of the reverend parochial clergy of this capital to
preserve from the peril of perversion the souls entrusted to
their care.
" It is the desire then of His Holiness that they should, in
public and in private, admonish their respective parishioners
to turn away from those lying teachers who, under the pretence
of politics and of progress, seek to rob them of the most
precious treasure they possess — that is, their Catholic Faith ;
to substitute in its stead atheism or religious indifferentism,
promising liberty, as the Apostle Peter writes, whilst they
themselves are the slaves of corruption : libertatem illis pro-
mittentes, cum ipsi scrvi sint corruptionis (2 Epist. ii., 29.)
" These infidels and libertines have for their organs, especi-
ally,, certain newspapers which are printed here in Rome, and
which, besides detraction and calumny, seem to have no other
aim than to cast ridicule on all that is most sacred, and to
deny the truths revealed by God. In fact, immoral pictures
are published in them, parodying the most august mysteries ;
articles are inserted which, at one time, under some hypocri-
tical mask, at other times, with barefaced insolence, assail the
Church and its venerable head, and texts of the Sacred Scrip-
tures are cited or commented on in a corrupt manner, to attack
the dogmas of Catholic faith. And these irreligious news-
papers are read through curiosity by the faithful, and are
530
Docwnents.
introduced into Christian families without reflecting on the
grievous injury that is thus done to the minds and hearts,
especially of the young, who thus drink in the poison of incre-
dulity even before they have tasted the saving food of religion.
The parochial clergy, therefore, will explain to the faithful
that the reading of such newspapers is interdicted to them by
the' natural law itself, on account of the proximate danger
to which it exposes them of losing their faith, and that as
there is question of a grave precept, those who violate it become
guilty before God, not of a venial, but of a mortal sin. But
if the light of natural reason teaches that it is unlawful to
read impious and obscene writings, so much so that even the
Pagan laws prohibited the circulation of such writings in
Rome, how much more so must it be unlawful to Catholics
when such reading is interdicted to them by the Sovereign
Pontiff, whose authoritative voice it is their duty to obey ?
Lest any one should allege ignorance as to the newspapers
particularly immoral, hypocritical, lying, and irreligious, which
the Holy Father thus intends to condemn, we add in a note
the names of the principal ones.
" The zeal of the parochial clergy, however, should not only
be on the alert to banish irreligious newspapers, and to
strengthen more and more the principles of faith in the minds
of the faithful, but furthermore to unite with faith a purity of
life and the practice of virtue even amidst the profanations
and wickedness of the libertines. Mindful of the admonition
of the Apostle to the Pastors of Souls, that it is their duty to
counsel, to conjure, to reprove, let them use all the efficacy
of their ministry to preserve the good from the seduction of the
wicked, and to bring back the straying to the true paths of life.
" Let them be mindful that it is a grave error to suppose that
a city can enjoy even material happiness if the fear of God be
banished from it to make way for irreligion and libertinism.
No : sin produces nought but misery in nations ; whilst the
profanation of churches, the violation of the Sabbath and
festive days, outrages against the sacred images and the
ministers of the sanctuary, blasphemy and immorality, are
calculated, above all other things, to draw down upon a city
the chastisements of God.
" In fine, let them hold in mind that it is only in the
Catholic faith that society can find a remedy for the many
evils which now afflict it, and only by the observance of the
laws of God and of the Church can it re-attain order, morality,
and peace.
"From our Residence, the 6th July, 1871.
" C. CARDINAL- VICAR.
ROMAN CHRONICLE
i . Entry of Victor Emmanuel mto Rome. — 2. Deputations to
tfie Holy Father. — 3. Condemnation of the Revolutionary
Newspapers. — 4. Health of the Pope. — 5. Canon Audisio. —
6. Proximate Persecution of the Religious Orders.
X HE unhappy King of Italy has at length reached the
culminating point of his unhallowed career. On the 2nd of
July, Feast of the Visitation, he entered Rome in triumph,
and took formal possession of the Eternal City, as Capital of
the Kingdom of Italy. Great official preparations were made
for his visit. The municipality, though bankrupt, decreed
an enormous sum for illuminations, fireworks, &c., &c., which
took place, but unattended with the success which the sum to
be expended seemed to guarantee. The weather would not
come into the arrangement, and marred a great portion of the
elaborate arrangements made in the Piazza del Popolo and
at the Capital. The King received the customary deputations
and addresses at the Quirinal, where a state banquet was
given to two hundred guests ; but he declined sleeping in the
Pope's palace ; and, after entertaining his friends, he asked
Prince Doria to accommodate him with a sleeping apartment
in his palace for that night — a request which was immediately
complied with. What might have been the subject of his
Majesty's dreams we are unable to chronicle. They can't
have been pleasant.
On the following day, a great review of the troops and
National Guard was held in the Piazza del Popolo. The
arrangements for the reception of the royal personages com-
pletely broke down, owing to a high wind that prevailed during
the night, and knocked over a considerable portion of the
covered platform, rendering it perfectly useless, and obliging
the King to keep his saddle for nearly. three hours under a
scorching sun. Afterwards, there was the inauguration of
the Roman rifle contest at the Acqua Acetosa, an event
which brought a large crowd. In the evening, the great ball
at the Capitol was remarkable for three things — the hasty
departure of the King ; the splendour and abundance of the
refreshment arrangements, which were done ample justice to
by the assembled guests (not less than 2,300 bottles of cham-
pagne having disappeared) ; and the almost total absence of
the Roman nobility. Exactly four titled Roman ladies put
in an appearance. The King opened the ball, dancing with
the Princess Palavicini, and had for vis-a-vis his hopeful son
532 Roman Chronicle.
and heir, Prince Humbert, who bestowed his attention on the
charming daughter of the confectioner that catered for the
refreshment counter. After his first and last quadrille, his
Italic Majesty quitted the ball-room about midnight, drove
to the railway station, and travelled all night to Florence ;
and thus ended his second visit to Rome. The affair passed
off tranquilly enough, except for the force used in smashing
windows, and compelling unwilling citizens to illuminate and
display flags, which they did pretty generally.
2. The deputations for the Pope's Jubilee still continue.
Shortly after th/e departure of the King, the Holy Father was
greatly consoled by a numerous and influential deputation of
the legal profession in Rome, presenting him with a most loyal
address. Nearly 400 lawyers were in the deputation, and all
profess their undivided allegiance to their only legitimate
sovereign, the Vicar of Christ. The Pope, in his reply, eulo-
gised them for their devotion and self-denial, inasmuch as
many of them by this act, exclude the chance of advancement
under the new regime. He encouraged them to persevere in
their good sentiments, and that the day would soon come
when justice would be done them either by himself or his
successor. They were all presented to His Holiness, who had
an appropriate remark for each.
3. Pius IX. has just signalized his imprisoned life by an
act of unusual courage. Since the entry of the Italians, Rome
has been overrun by infamous journals and periodicals.
Nothing is sacred to them, and, day after day, their pages
teem with the most shocking blasphemies against the mys-
teries and practices of religion, against the person of the Pope
(notwithstanding the "-guarantees") and even against Jesus
Christ himself and his Immaculate Mother. The successor
of St. Peter, anxious to save his flock from this deadly plague,
addressed a vigorous letter to the Vicar of Rome, Cardinal
Patrizi, asking him to direct the parish priests to warn their
flocks against the reading of bad newspapers. He entered
into the whole question of dangerous reading, and then enu-
merating eleven of the revolutionary journals published and
circulated in Rome, he declared that any Catholic, after this
notice, who should read any one of these papers, or permit
them to be read by those placed under him, should be held
guilty of grievous sin. Cardinal Patrizi immediately addressed
a circular to the parish priests making them aware of the
Pope's mandate, which was read in all the churches. The
journals condemned are the " Capitate" the "Liberia" "Don
Pirlone" " // Diavolo color di* rosa" and several others, in-
cluding " La Concordia" a liberal Catholic paper. The con-
Roman Chronicle, 533
demnation has had the desired effect. Thanks to the good
practical faith of the Roman people, the wicked journals were
refused at the vast majority of the newsvendor's, and many of
them are so pinched for subscribers and funds as to talk
seriously of bringing an action for damages against the Cardinal
Vicar. They did organise a demonstration, and threatened
to burn his residence, but he sent notice of the plot to the
" Questura," which was only too happy to send a guard and
make a display of their anxiety to enforce order. The mob,
seeing the Cardinal's palace under Government protection,
diverted their steps to the office of the " Frusta" — a courageous
little Catholic journal that has the largest circulation in Rome.
They battered in the doors, broke the office furniture, and
seized all the copies they could lay hands on, and made a
bonfire of them in the middle of the street. The police were,
of course, not to be found, but the " Frusta" nothing daunted,
re-appeared as usual the next morning, scourging, literally, the
perpetrators of the previous day, and the Government for its
manifest connivance, and adding considerably to its list of
subscribers. The Romans can appreciate true devotion to a
good cause.
4. The Italian newspapers of the Government clique have
been industriously circulating the most exaggerated and false
statements regarding the Pope's health. Some even went so
far as to say that Pio Nono was actually dead, but was kept
alive officially by the wily strategy of Cardinal Antonelli.
From the style in which they wrote of him, it was easy to see
that the wish was father to the thought, and that something
was looked forward to by them from the confusion that would
result in the event of the Pope's decease. But they are doomed
to be disappointed, let us hope for many, many years. True,
for a few days the Holy Father suffered from a slight indis-
position, brought on from over-fatigue and excitement, atten-
dant on all the extra receptions and audiences that occurred
on the celebration of his Pontifical Jubilee. His physicians
ordered him to keep his rooms for a few days, and suspend
his audiences. But two days sufficed to restore him to his
accustomed health and vigour, and ever since he has been
going through his daily routine of receiving addresses, and
making happy speeches in reply, giving courage, hope, and
promise of speedy triumph to the Church over her numerous
and powerful enemies. One of the principal causes of his in-
disposition was the annoyance he experienced at the desertion
of two friends that owed everything to him — Professors
Alibrandi and Audisio.
5. These two professors, in the Roman University, called
534 Roman Chronicle.
the Sapienza, went, together with the professional staff, to the
Quirinal on the 2nd of July, to present their felicitations to
Victor Emmanuel on his entering the definitive capital of
Italy. Alibrandi repented of his error a few days afterwards,
and immediately resigned his chair. Audisio was not so
prompt, and yet, of all men living, no one owed so much to
Pio Nono. True, in former years he laboured strenuously and
wrote ably in defence of the Holy See, and in consequence of
his untiring advocacy of this sacred cause, he was deprived by
the Piedmontese Government of the lucrative position which
he filled in Turin as Director of the " Soperga" He came to
Rome, and the Holy Father, in reward of his services and to
compensate him for his losses, made him a canon of St.
Peter's and gave him a chair in the Sapienza. No wonder,
then, that this unlooked-for defection in the hour of trial caused
so much trouble to Pio Nono. He was deprived of his benefice
in St. Peter's, and the chapter of that Basilica lost no time in
presenting an address to the Pope signed by all, repudiating
in the strongest terms the conduct of their confrere. Report
had it that he wrote an humble letter to the Pope craving his
pardon, and at the same time tendered the resignation of his
chair. But we have not yet seen the text of this document,
and still further doubt is thrown on its existence from the
fact of his having written a very bitter letter to the " Unita
Cattolica" complaining of the way in which this journal spoke
of him, and defending his conduct in going to the Quirinal.
Let us hope that he has ere this seen his mistake and retraced
his steps. His name is well known through Italy, and his
previous good works would seem to warrant us in indulging
this hope.
6. Every symptom portends the speedy immolation of the
religious orders in Rome. The Jesuits, of course, come first
to be expelled. The clubs and secret societies are leaving no
stone unturned to have the sons of St. Ignatius driven from
their headquarters in Rome. Demonstrations are organized
every other day to howl and hoot under their windows, and
insult them in the streets, and already several deputations
have waited on Cabinet Ministers demanding their abolition
and expulsion from Italian territory, so that when Parliament
re-opens, we may expect their speedy deliverance from their
present very anxious condition. So much for the vaunted
guarantees.
53S
MONASTICON HIBERNICUM,
OR,
A SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE ANCIENT
MONASTERIES OF IRELAND.
[N. B. — The text of the "Monasticon" is taken verbatim from Archdall: the notei
marked with numbers are added by the Editors.]
COUNTY OF CORK.
(Continuation of Note 29, page 488.)
and crozier of silver. In the cemetery, outside the church, there was a belfry built in
the form of a tower, in which there was one large bell. As for the dignitaries of
the church, after the bishop there was a dean, with a yearly income of twelve marks,
an archdeacon with twenty marks, and a chancellor with eight marks. There were
also twelve canons, each having a revenue of about four marks, and four vicars
with a similar income. All these assist daily in the choir, and celebrate low Mass.
On the festival days a solemn Mass is sung. The canons reside in different parts
of the diocese, which is only twenty miles in extent. The bishop's residence is
about half a mile from the city, and is pleasantly situated on the sea-shore. The
episcopal revenue consists of corn, tithes, and pasturage, and amounts annually to
sixty marks. There are also twenty-four benefices in the bishop's collation." —
(Theiner Monumenta, &c., pag. $28-9).
During the Confederate war in 1641, as we learn from Lynch's MS. History of
the Irish Sees, " the nave and tower of the cathedral were levelled to the ground,
the choir and two chapels remaining intact^ One of these chapels was dedicated
to the Blessed Virgin, the other to St. Fachnan ; and, in former times, so great
was the concourse of pilgrims to this church on the feast of the Assumption and
Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, that traders used to come thither with their mer-
chandize from all parts of the island, and in the fairs, which had their origin in
this custom, no tax was for a long time imposed on any articles of merchandize."
Ware, whose authority is followed by many more recent writers, gives the name of
St Finchad as one of St. Fachnan's immediate successors. For this he rests on a
passage in Colgan's Ada, page 607. Colgan, in his Acta, speaking of the disciples
of St. Finbarr, gives, from an old life of that saint, the following names at page
750: — "S. Finchadius de Domnachmor ; S. Fachna sat Facundus de Kia;S.
Facundus (i.e., Fachna) de Ros-ailither." Quoting the same passage at page 607,
by error of the printer, the words which I have italicised were omitted, and thus
the name " S. Finchadius de Ros-ailither" appears there in Colgan's text. This
printer's error is Ware's only authority for assigning to St. Finchad the episcopate
of Ros-ailither. Others have inserted the name of Conall among the successors of
St. Fachnan, relying on the prophetic words recorded by Cathald Maguire, as pro-
nounced by St. Kieran of Saigher, when foretelling the future greatness of both St.
Conall and St. Fachtna. This passage of Cathald Maguire, however, makes no
mention of the episcopate of Conall, much less of his being successor of St. Fachnan
in the See of Ross. I insert, nevertheless, this passage of Maguire, as it makes known
to us the birth-place of St. Fachtna, not mentioned by the other authorities : — '• Pro-
phetavit Kieranus de S. Conallo et de S. Fachtnano de Ros-alilhir dicens : nascetur
films in Tulachteann, qui nobis fido amicitiae foedere junctus erit : et post eum
multos monachos et monasteria reget Conallus." — (Acta SS., pag. 471.) Thus, as
regards the early successors of St. Fachnan, we must rest satisfied with the
scanty information given in the short record of the Book of Lecan cited above,
viz : that twenty-seven bishops in uninterrupted succession ruled the See from its
holy patron to Bishop Dungalach. The quatrain, of which we gave a literal
536 Ancient Monasteries of Ireland.
Strawhall ; » in the barony of Musketry ; ^Edh, the son of
Breic, founded a monastery of this name, and died November
loth, A.D. 588.b Part of the ruins are still visible.6
Timoleague® ; a village situate on an arm of the sea, in the
barony of Ibawn and Barryroe, and eight miles south west of
Kingsale. We are informed that Dermot, the Brown, son of
Donogh Gad of Carbury, the son of Donogh the Great, died
at Miguisy, and was buried in the new monastery of Cregan,
in Ibaun, and was removed thence to Teaghmolag in A.D.
I279.d81 We do not meet with any other account of the
" Was anciently called Enachmidbrenin, and afterwards Kilbrenin. Usher.
b Act. SS, p. 422. c Smith, vol. \, p. 206. d King, p. 309.
version, was thus translated by O' Flaherty in his Ogygia : — "Dongalus a Fachtna,
ter nonus Episcopus extat, Lugadia de gente dedit cui Rossia mitram;" and Ware
gives the following paraphrase made by Mr. Dunk in : —
" Hail, happy Ross ! who could produce thrice nine,
All mitred sages of Lugadia's line,
From Fachnan, crowned with everlasting praise,
Down to the date of Dongal's pious days.
The following passages, extracted for the most part from the Annals of the Four
Masters, furnish the few additional particulars that have been preserved to us
connected with this See : —
A.D. 824 (i.e., 825). The repose of Conmhach, son of Saerghus, Abbot of
Ross-ailithir.
A.D. 839. The death of Airmeadhach, Abbot of Rossailither.
A.D. 840. The " Wars of the Danes" mentions an irruption of the Northern
Pirates about the year 840, when ' ' they killed Cormac, son of Selbach the
anchorite. He it was whom the angd set loose three times, but each time he was
bound again. Moreover, Cork was plundered by them, and they burned Ross-
ailither, and Kenmare, and the greater part of Munster. But the men of middle
Munster gave them battle, and their slaughter was completed at Ard-Feradaigh."—
Wars of ihe Danes, pag. 19.
A. D. 850. Condach, Abbot of Rossailithir, died.
A.D. 866. Fearghus of Rossailithir, scribe and anchorite, died. This entry
also occurs in the Chronicon Scotorum, but at the year 868, " Fergus of Ros-
ailithre, scribe, quievit."
A.D. 921. The death of Dubhdabraine. Abbot of Rossailithir.
A.D. 1016. Airbhearthach, son of Cosdobhroin, airchinneach of Rossailithir,
died.
A.D. 1055. Colum Ua Cathail, airchinneach of Rossailithir, died.
A.D. 1085. Neachtain mac Neachtain, distinguished Bishop of Rossailithir,
died.
A.D. 1096. The death of Colum Ua Hanradhain, airchinneach of Rossailithir,
A.D. 1127. The Chronicon Scotorum records the fact, that in this year '• the
fleet of Toirdhealbach sailed to Ross-ailithre, and despoiled Ueas-Mumhain very
much."
A.D. 1168. The Bishop Ua Carbhail, Bishop of Rossailithir, died.
50 Timoleagne. The Annals of the Four Masters, 1230, say that the monastery
of Tighe-Molagga was built by McCarthy Ribhach, or the Gray Lord of
Carbery. and that his tomb was erected in the choir. — Ord. Surv., R.I. A., vol. iv.,
p. 114.
J1 Tracton Inquisition, 28th April, 4th Q. Elizabeth, finds that John Roche of
Kensale, merchant, died loth April that year, seized of sixty acres of land in Bal-
lenemonagh, annual value 2s. 6d., besides reprises.
(To be continued.)
[NE W SERIES.}
THE IRISH
ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD.
SEPTEMBER, 1871.
SOCRATES:
A SKETCH.
By Professor J. Stewart, of the Catholic University.
OOCRATES had two biographers, both men of genius,
both his contemporaries, and both his pupils ; I mean Xeno-
phon and Plato. Xenophon was not very well qualified for
the task. He was eminently a practical man, a great warrior,
and a great and polished writer of history. But he had not
much of a philosophical mind himself, nor did he appreciate
it very much in others. His memoirs of Socrates are there-
fore meagre and scanty. They rather tell us what Socrates
was not, than what he really was, being a mere outline sketched
from memory, not very worthy of Xenophon, and doing but
little justice to Socrates. Xenophon had left the school of
Socrates to join the forces of the younger Cyrus in his efforts to
take the throne of Persia from his brother, and he had returned,
after triumphantly leading the 10,000 Greeks from the remote
regions of Babylonia safe to their native land, or at least to
the shores of the ^Egean. His opinions on the subject of
democracy were not popular in Athens. He was banished ;
and living on an estate granted to him in Peloponnesus, he
composed his well-known " Memorabilia," chiefly to defend the
memory of his old master from two charges which had been
laid against him, and on which he had been convicted and
put to death just before Xenophon's return ; viz., that he did
not worship the gods of his country, but introduced strange
divinities, and that he corrupted the youth. As far, however,
as Xenophon goes, he is perfectly to be depended upon. He
understood the popular portion of Socrates' philosophy, but he
was incapable of filling up the meagre outline which he had
learned, so as to make it appear a complete and living form,
had he desired to do so.
VOL. vii. 36
538 Socrates.
Plato was a biographer of a totally different class. His
dialogues, where Socrates almost invariably plays the chief and,
indeed, the engrossing part, if we could depend upon them, would
show us Socrates vividly as he was. That he never intended
to be either his biographer or his advocate, except perhaps in
the "Apologia," and the " Phaedo" is certain. He has, however,
given us a noble picture of his ideal Socrates, which would
leave nothing to be desired were we sure that the real man
and his ideal were identical.
In his other dialogues, amounting in number to about twenty-
six, he developes his philosophy. How much of this philosophy
was due to Socrates, and hovy much to himself, is the diffi-
culty ; and like some other mysteries, as the Letters of Junius
and the casket letters of Mary Queen of Scots, will, humanly
speaking, never be unravelled. We are sure of as much as
this, that there is nothing in the dialogues of Plato, attributed
to Socrates, inconsistent with the known character and
opinions of the philosopher, and in our view of him, perhaps,
an arithmetical mean between those of Xenophon and Plato
would not be very far from the truth.
Nobody, since the world began, has had such a biographer
as Dr. Johnson had in Boswell. Though his personal associa-
tion with Johnson was only for 276 days out of the twenty years
they were acquainted, Boswell, by his intense devotion to
his illustrious friend, and his faithfulness in recording what-
ever fell from his lips, though that was often the reverse of com-
plimentary to himself, has left a book behind him which, in
its way, is without an equal. Boswell's Life of Johnson is a
photograph of the first order, though somewhat coarse : Plato's
picture is portrait painting idealized.
When Socrates was born, in the year 469 B.C., the early
Greek philosophy was losing its influence everywhere. While
every other department of science and literature seemed to
spring into existence in Greece, and, I might almost say, in
Athens, during that remarkable century, philosophy, as we
might expect, had another source. It came from Asia, the
cradle of the human race. Founded on the primitive religion
which Almighty God revoaled to the patriarchs of old, it had,
amidst all its corruption, retained some signs of its divine
origin. Just as we see the various Christian sects exaggerating
some one truth which the Church holds too, till it overshadows
all the rest, and at last itself appears only a monstrous fiction ;
so these different schools of the early philosophy of Greece
seized on some one truth of patriarchal religion, and in seizing,
exaggerated and caricatured it.
P'irst of all, Thales, who was born at Miletus, in Ionia, 636
Socrates. 539
B.C., and was the founder of the Ionian school of philosophy,
maintained that the universe was full of gods, who knew all
things, even the very thoughts of men ; evidently a corruption
of the primeval doctrine of the immortality and omnipresence
of the Deity. He maintained that water was the foundation
of all things, though we do not know whether he imagined
that water was the material out of which God created the
world, or merely that, at one period, the world was submerged
in water. He held the moon to be a solid body, and that it
received its light from the sun. We are told by Herodotus
that he could calculate eclipses.
Next came Anaximander, a disciple of Thales. His specu-
lations also were chiefly physical, like those of his predecessor.
He is said to have invented geographical maps, and a species
of sundial. He had also his views about the origin of the
world. As Thales thought water, so he thought infinity
was the final cause of all things. What he meant by infinity
is not very well known, but his predecessor is thought to have
been a theist, while he is understood to have been a pantheist.
Next came Anaximenes, who held that the infinity of
Anaximander was air, i.e., that air was the only uncreated
existence, and that even the gods derived their origin from
air. Hence he was a real atheist ; for what he called gods
were only spiritual beings springing into existence from some
other cause like ourselves, and in no sense self-existing, or
creators of the physical universe. Next Anaxagoras, who
was only thirty years anterior to Socrates, and from whom
Socrates derived most of his views on physical science. He
held the sun was an immense mass of burning matter,
and discovered inequalities on the surface of the moon.
Anaxagoras was the first who taught, in so many words, that
there was a personal god who had created the world out of
chaos. But whether even he thought that matter, was eternal
or not it is impossible to say. Some of his views were after-
wards adopted and distorted by the Epicureans ; for he held,
as they afterwards did, that bodies were in a continual state of
flux ; that the amount of matter always remained the same, the
material atoms contributing to the support of — first, one body,
and then, another. But he was not a materialist like Epicurus.
Epicurus held that the soul was corporeal, made of atoms
precisely as the body, only the atoms were more distant from
each other ; and so the soul, or the mind, was of a finer texture
than the body. But Anaxagoras held that everything had
parts except mind, and therefore could be dissolved and perish ;
while he considered mind to be the ruling power, and, as it
were, the soul of the world. He thought God was such an
Socrates.
infinite self-existing mind, who formed everything out of similar
atoms, there being atoms of a different nature for every dif-
ferent substance. Last came Archelaus, a pupil of Anaxagoras,
and himself, also with Philolaus, of the Italic school, an in-
structor of Socrates, who formed a transition point between the
early and later Greek philosophers, by introducing some specu-
lations on the nature of justice and the rules of morality.
These philosophers belonged to the Greek colonies in Asia
Minor, and in the islands of the coast, and hence they were
styled the Ionic school.
The other school of early Greek philosophy was called
the Italic, for it was founded by Pythagoras of Crotona, a
Greek city in the south part of Italy, about seventy years before
the birth of Socrates, who was really, for his age, a wonderful
astronomer and a great mathematician. He taught that the
sun was the centre of the universe, that the earth was sphe-
rical, that the stars were worlds, that the moon was inhabited,
and the comets were wandering stars with immense orbits.
We all know he believed in the transmigration of souls, and
insisted on abstinence from wine and meats on the part of his
disciples, believing that these articles of food blunted and
corrupted the intellect. He enjoined all those who wished to
learn from him, silence for five years, and a community of
goods ; for each disciple, on entering, gave up what patrimony
he had into the hands of two officers, a politicus and an oecono-
micus, a president and a minister, who managed the whole
for the best interests of the association. Every hour of the
day had its appropriate duties ; morning walk, meditation, and
gymnastics, and discussions on philosophical subjects on the
part of those who had the privilege of speaking ; self-exami-
nation-morning and evening. His speculations, though chiefly
physical, were, no doubt, partly religious too. His disciple,
Philolaus, who was contemporary with Archelaus, and with
him an instructor of Socrates, taught that the earth went
round the sun, and that it revolved on its own axis ; and
so for some time, rapid, though uncertain progress in the
physical sciences, went on ; but philosophical speculations,
properly so called, with the principles of religion and mo-
rality, were left chiefly in the hands of Socrates and his
companions, in whom both the schools of early Greek phi-
losophy converged. And hence, Cicero says in his aca-
demical disputations : — " Now, the number and motions of
the heavenly bodies, where they rise and where they set, were
most accurately treated of by the ancient philosophers down
to Socrates, who had been the pupil of Archelaus, the dis-
ciple of Anaxagoras ; by them were the magnitudes, the dis-
Socrates. 541
tances, and the orbits of the stars most accurately investigated,
and the nature of all celestial things. But Socrates was the
first who called down philosophy from the heavens, placed
her in cities, introduced her into private houses, and compelled
her to enquire into the conditions of human life, the prin-
ciples of morality, and the good and evil of every human
action."
From what we know of Pythagoras and of Archelaus, we
can take what Cicero here says of Socrates only with certain
restrictions, but in the main he is correct. The advance
of these philosophers in physical science made them neglect
the moral sciences ; after, however, having trained up a vast
number of young men to plausible discussion on any subject,
cultivated their minds in a certain godless fashion, and given
them that fatal facility in public speaking, which was so in-
jurious to the Athenian state. For rhetoric, in the sense in
which Socrates condemned it, was introduced into Athens by
these sophists, as they were called, or artful contrivers, who
coming chiefly from Greek colonies abroad, went about from
place to place, were received with public honours, and were
entertained in the mansions of the rich and great.
Amongst them was Hippias, a native of Elis, who pro-
fessed to know everything. " Come, now, Hippias," says
Socrates, in the dialogue called the " Hippias Minor," "con-
sider through all the circle of the sciences whether it be
as I say or not. I know, indeed, that in very many arts you
are far ahead the wisest of all men; indeed, I once heard you
extolling your great and admirable wisdom, as you called it,
while you walked through the money-changers' tables in the
Agora. I remember you said that once you went to the
Olympic games with every garment which clothed your person
the work of your own hands. .First of all, your ring ; for you
began with that, and said it was your own workmanship, for
you understood, you said, how to engrave rings ; and you had
a seal also your own work; and a flesh-brush, and an oil-cruet,
which you made yourself; and then, as to the shoes you wore,
you said you had cut out the leather and the soles yourself,
and that you had made the cloak and the tunic on your
shoulders; and besides that — and this I consider the cleverest
thing of all, and the greatest proof of wisdom — do you remem-
ber your telling us, that the girdle of your tunic was as fine as
the finest Persian fabrics, and that you had woven it yourself?
And you also said, in addition to all these things, that you were
laden with poems, both epic poetry and tragedies, and lyric poetry
too, and prose writings of all kinds, all composed by yourself;
and about all the arts of which I had been talking to you,
542 Socrates.
you said that you knew everything far beyond all other men ;
and also about the principles of rhythm, and harmony, and
grammar, and in many other things too, of which I have dim
recollection, you said you excelled. I had nearly forgotten
to mention your amazing memory, which you said was your
greatest glory."
This was Hippias. Then comes Protagoras, a native of Ab-
dera, in Thrace. He was a great rhetorician, and, perhaps, one
of the *best of the sophists. However, he has the sophistical
boast about him, and thus, in one of the two dialogues of Plato,
which bear his name, he answers Socrates, who is introducing
a pupil to him called Hippocrates, and has asked what
advantages he promises to the young man if he comes to him?
" That is a very fair question, Socrates, and I have great
pleasure in answering it. Well, if Hippocrates comes to me,
he will not have to endure what he would have to suffer at the
hands of any other of the sophists ; for they injure their
pupils : for when these have just escaped the elementary
drudgery, their new masters compel them to learn once more
arithmetic, geometry, and music, as if they never had been at
school (here he gives a sly glance at Hippias, who was present) ;
but if he comes to me he will learn only what he comes to learn
— and that is prudence in ordering his domestic affairs, and
rhetoric and politics to teach him to manage the affairs of the
state." Protagoras came to Athens about the year before
Christ, 430, followed by crowds of admirers, who joined them-
selves to his suite from every Greek city that he passed through
on his route. He used to receive from each pupil something
like £300 for a single course of lectures ; and we are told by
Plato that he made more money than Phidias, or ten sculptors
like him. He was banished, however, from Athens for stating
in his chair of philosophy, that,«is to the gods, he did not know
whether they existed or not.
The word sophist itself means only a master of one's craft,
and has not necessarily a bad meaning. Plato certainly means
by it a pretender to knowledge, and uses it in this sense in his
earlier as well as his later dialogues. Some people think that
he gave it this odious meaning himself — that seems not
probable — but he fixed it indelibly and for ever upon them.
In the dialogue called the " Sophist," Plato puts into the mouth
of an unnamed Eleatic philosopher four different definitions of
a sophist. The first I will quote : — " He belongs to the
acquisitive group, which hunts rich young men for hire, taking
money, and in exchange giving them what has only tfie appear-
ance of education. His art is called sophistry, which is a hunt
after the souls of rich young men of good repute."
Socrates. 543
Let us suppose one of these great godless educators to
have arrived in Athens. The time of his coming has been
previously announced. The whole city has been in a bustle
from daybreak. Crowds have been hurrying all the morning
to the Peiraeus, the harbour about five miles from the city. A
deputation has been presented to him on board his ship ; and,
in a scarlet cloak, for that is the colour of the robes of a
professor of rhetoric, the colour of a philosopher's gown being
grey, he is conducted like a prince to the house of Callicles, or
some other wealthy Athenian, who has been promised the
honour of his presence as a guest.
As it is not yet noon, and the Agora, or market place, will
now be nearly full, he pays it a visit first ; and, great as he is,
he condescends to mount a platform and inform the bystanders
when and where he is to deliver his introductory or exoteric
lecture, which Plato calls <Mro&t£is, and at what price, perhaps
fifty drachmas, or two pounds, admission is to be had. His
host then triumphantly carries him to his house.
Next day, or the day after, for our sophist has an eye to
business, he delivers his harangue, which is probably in some
hall connected with the Lyceum, or other public wrestling and
recreation ground — in some such place, one might say, as is
to be found in our own Crystal Palace. The lecture-room is
already crowded, though the sophist will not arrive for some
time yet. When he arrives he is conducted in state to a plat-
form, and enthroned in the chair.
He begins, quietly seated ; but after a time, as he warms to
the subject, he rises and gesticulates, his scarlet robes floating
around him, while his hearers shout their applause. After
all, he has been telling them nothing but the advantages of
rhetoric. His course of private instruction is to be paid for at
a far higher rate. He is then congratulated by his friends,
and does not, through mod£sty, shrink from their praises.
" Was I not great at such and such a burst ?" our sophist would
say. " Hippias could not have beat me there. I wish Socrates
had only been present to hear me ; but he would be sure not
to be here. He gets so many lectures at home for nothing
from his wife, Xantippe, that he won't pay for any abroad."
Our sophist now announces the price of a course of esoteric
or private instructions, and retires to the house of his proud
and honoured host.
It is now high time to speak a little more at length of this
Socrates, whom our friend seems to despise, and yet, at the
same time, to dread. The dread is real, the contempt affected.
Socrates devotes his life to the exposure and refutation of the
class to which Protagoras belongs. He was born, as I said
544 Socrates.
before, in the year before Christ 469, and we may suppose him
now to be about forty years of age. His father was a sculptor,
and so was he himself, and a successful one too ; but he has long
given up his profession, having a small patrimony to maintain
him, and occupies himself with walks in the market place, in
the gymnasia, and in every public recreation ground, of which
there are many both within and without the city walls, where
he joins any group of his fellow-citizens that he sees conversing,
and by his questions leads them, as far as he can, to think for
themselves, and to think aright ; for he does not lay down
professedly any philosophical system of his own, though, no
doubt, he had drawn out, and more or less wrought into shape,
certain strong convictions in his own mind.
\The short dialogues, or rather skeletons of dialogues, given
in the "Memorabilia" of Xenophon, show us his manner of
dealing with young men, whom he simply wished to instruct.
He discusses with young artists the principles of their arts. He
tells them the art of painting consists not only in accurately
depicting the appearance of the bodily members, but in ex-
pressing the emotions of the mind — and so of sculpture, too.
He exhorts a worthy man, Charmides, who was passing his
life in indolence, to seek some suitable employment in the
service of the state. He rebukes the young and thoughtless
Glauco for aspiring to office ; and shows him that unless a
statesman has acquired a perfect knowledge of state policy, he
can neither guide the state aright, nor secure his own reputation.
He tells the younger Pericles how the Athenians are to be
restored to their ancient power and glory ; he shows another
young man the injustice of his complaints that the Athenians
had preferred Antisthenes to himself as general ; he addresses
another who had just been appointed general of a division of
horse, and asks him for what motive he desired the appoint-
ment, showing him that he can only render his soldiers
obedient by setting an excellent example before them in
everything. I might multiply these instances almost indefi-
nitely ; but these are enough to show the practical nature of
his instructions to the young. His way of dealing with the
sophists was something very different : it was by way of cross-
examination ; and the sophist was considered to be overthrown
when he had been brought to contradict himself. Socrates
seems, indeed, to be sometimes sophistical himself, and to battle,
not for the sake of truth, but of victory ; but his object was to
lessen the confidence of the young in their pretentious in-
structors, and so gradually emancipate them from their tyranny.
Though his irony is very provoking very often, it is always
refined and gentlemanlike. He never seems to wish to wound
Socrates. 545
the feelings of anyone ; and no degree of insult — and that he
often receives — can induce him to lose his temper, or abate
one whit his usual gentleness of tone.
The class of sophists whose influence he disliked most
were the rhetoricians, who professed to supply a want which
really existed in the Athenian education, but who supplied
it in a way which only made matters worse. Let us see what
was the usual education for a young Athenian gentleman in
those days, and let us hear it in the words of the great Pro-
tagoras himself in the dialogue I quoted before. His object
is to make the best of Athenian education certainly. He
wishes to show, in opposition to Socrates, that virtue can be
taught ; and, as a proof, he takes the care with which parents
bring up their children. " As soon," he says, " as a boy can
understand what is said to him, his father, his mother, his
nurse, and his sister think of nothing but how to turn him out
as good a man as possible. They teach him, bit by bit, what
is just, what unjust ; what honourable, what disgraceful ;
what he ought, and what he ought not to do. If the boy
does what he is bid, it is well ; but if he resists, he is, by
threats and blows, twisted into the right way, like a piece of
warped wood. After this, they send him to -the grammar
school, and tell the master they look much more to his
turning out a good moral boy than to his progress in letters
and in music. His preceptors thus attempt to form him.
And when he has learned his letters, and is beginning to
understand what he reads, first of all Jthey put into his hands
the works of the great epic poets, especially Homer, to be
read and learned by heart in school, and in these he finds
very many stories related in praise of the deeds of virtuous
men, in order that the boy, inflamed by emulation, may
imitate the good actions of his ancestors. The teacher of
the lyre then, taking him in hand, while giving him instruc-
tions on the harp, takes good care that he is virtuous, and
does no mischief. And when he has learned to play on the
lyre, they put in his hands now the poems of other great poets,
such as the lyric poets, and makes him sing them to the harp.
Then they send him to the master of the gymnasium, that
his body may be strengthened, so as to be the worthy instru-
ment of a virtuous mind, and not to show cowardice in battle.
And when he has done with masters, the state makes him
learn the laws, and makes him live after the examples they
furnish, and not according to his own inclination." This
is certainly not a godless education. Indeed, the Greeks
thought the state should do almost everything for them in
this way ; and, not having a church, they tried to make the
546 Socrates.
state a church ; and their greatest men laid it down fully, that
the laws of the state ought to be such, that a citizen obeying
them might fulfil every duty of morality. They, consequently,
considered politics this science, the greatest of all sciences,
and ethics to be only a subordinate branch of politics.
However, the new-fashioned Athenians thought the most
important part of education was wanting — that was rhetoric.
The only way to advancement or consideration in the state
was to become a leader in the Pnyx, and there was no way
to that except by fluency of speaking. Hence, when the
sophists came^ offering to sell the very articles they wanted,
to grind the yo'ung Athenians for their competitive examina-
tion in the public assembly, they were run after, and courted,
and exorbitant fees were paid them. Nor were the Athenians
able to judge very well the value of the wares offered to them.
Only let the teacher offer enough, be loud and confident in
his tones, and impressive in his introductory lecture, and
that was quite sufficient. And the object of Socrates was
simply to put the young, with whom especially he loved
to consort, on their guard against the danger they encountered
by this heedlessness.
Strangely enough, Socrates was confounded by many, and
amongst the rest by Aristophanes, with the very men whom
he spent his life in refuting. Perhaps, however/ a superficial
observer might see in this grotesque-looking man, with his
stout and burly figure, his prominent eyes, his wide nostrils,
immense mouth, and magnificent forehead, who was always
engaged in controversy, often, apparently, verbal, and with
no immediate practical issue — only another form of sophist.
Let us suppose the sophist who has just delivered his in-
troductory harangue to have been Gorgias, and that the subject
was rhetoric. Socrates was not present, but comes into the
Agora, where the exhibition had taken place, with his friend
Chaeriphon, just in time to be too late. They are met by
Polus and Callicles, the former a sophist himself, and a pupil of
Gorgias ; the latter the rich host at whose house Gorgias is
staying. '• We are just too late for the feast," says Socrates.
" Indeed you are," answers Callicles, " and a rich feast it was ;
but if, Socrates, you really wish to hear Gorgias, come to my
house were he is staying, and he will be quite willing to repeat
his exhibition." " I only want to ask him one simple question,"
says Socrates ; " and that is, what is the meaning of rhetoric,
which he professes to teach ? I can hear the rest of his lecture
at another time." So they go to the house of Callicles, and
find Gorgias reclining on a couch, wearied with his grand
display of oratory. "Ask him," says Socrates to Chaeriphon.
Socrates. . 547
" Pray, Gorgias," says Chaeriphon, " is Callicles right in say-
ing you are ready to answer any question ?" " Quite so," says
Gorgias ; " I always am ready to answer every question ; and
for years I have never been asked a question I have not
answered scores of times before." " Then, I am sure, you will
have no difficulty in answering," says Chaeriphon ; " we'll try,
and you will see." " No, no," says Polus, " Gorgias is wearied ;
try me ; I may not answer so well as Gorgias, but I shall
answer well enough for you." Polus, however, breaks down
at once ; for on Chaeriphon asking what art rhetoric was, he
says it is the best and the finest of the arts. Socrates inter-
poses, and appeals to Gorgias himself : — "Tell us what art you
profess ?" " Rhetoric," says he. " Well, then, the art of music
is the art of composing melodies ; of medicine, that of curing
sickness. Of what is rhetoric the art ?"— "Of words." " But
all the arts make use of words, and they are not all rhetoric ?"
"Then it is the art of persuasion." " But does not a geometri-
cian, by his demonstrations, persuade ? It is not, therefore, the
art of persuasion." " Willow then say what it is, Socrates ?"
Socrates says that every useful art has another art ; which is
the perversion, or the flattery, as he calls it, of itself. He
says medicine is the art which prescribes what food is useful
for the body; and there is another art which tells what food is
pleasant for the body — that art is the perversion or the flattery
of medicine, and that art is cookery. Rhetoric, then, is a
flattery or perversion. Of what is it the perversion ? Of a por-
tion of the science of politics — the judicial art. It enables
wrong-doers to escape justice, the worst thing in the world for
them — as ^cookery teaches men to take unwholesome food,
which though pleasant at the moment, brings ill-health and
misery on them in the end. Medicine, by regulating diet, pre-
serves men's health. Justice preserves their morals. Cookery
injures men's health, as rhetoric does their morals. To prove
this he shows that it is a greater evil to do injustice than
to suffer it; but that the greatest of all evils is for a man to have
committed injustice, and not to be punished for it. A real
friend would bring a delinquent at once to a magistrate to have
him punished. For by this punishment he, in some degree,
obliterates the injury that has been done to his soul by his
offence. The rhetoric which saves him from punishment
really seals his ruin.
My remarks on the " Gorgias" I will bring to a conclusion by
a striking passage in the end which shall speak for itself. I
shall not translate it, but abridge it. To abridge it is to
spoil it, but space does not permit me to do more. " Per-
haps," says Socrates, " you may be inclined to believe what
548 Socrates.
I am going to say to be merely a childish myth, but I
think it the truth. Homer tells us that the three sons of
Cronos divided the empire amongst them. Zeus taking the
heavens, Poseidon the sea, and Pluto the lower world. Now,
in the old days of Cronos or Saturn, there was this rule
about men's future destiny — a rule, indeed, that still exists,
and always will — that the perfectly just man should go im-
mediately after his death to the islands of the blest, and
dwell there in perfect felicity ; while he who had lived and
died in impiety, should go to the regions of punishment
and woe in Tartarus. And in the time of Cronos, or Saturn,
and even in the beginning of the reign of Zeus, people used
to be judged before they died, on the day of their death (for
they knew beforehand when that was to take place), by
judges appointed for the purpose. Now these judges had
often been mistaken, and complaints were sent to Zeus that
those who ought to have gone to Tartarus had gone to the
islands of the blessed, and the good had been sent to Tartarus.
Zeus said 'the reason is because the judges here are clothed
when they judge, for they are alive, and the dying man is then
clothed with flesh also. Hence, the judges cannot see the
soul of the judged. I shall appoint two of my sons, yEacus
and Rhadamanthus. as judges, and another, Minos, besides,
as an umpire, who, when they are dead, shall judge the soul
when it is released from the body, and then it will be soul
looking at soul. They shall judge in the meadow where three
roads meet, one of which leads to the islands of the blessed,
and another to Tartarus : ./Eacus, those who come from
Europe; and those who come from Asia, Rhadamanthus ; and
Minos, with a golden staff, shall sit as umpire, and decide
when either of the others has a doubt.' This is the story,
and I believe it," said Socrates, " and from that I infer
that death is merely a separation of two things — the soul
and the body — and that each retains the characteristics it
had during life. The body keeps its own peculiarities. If
any one's body was tall when alive, it will be tall when
it is dead ; if stout, the corpse is stout ; if it had long hair, the
corpse will have long hair ; and if. it was marked with the
scourge, or with wounds, when he was alive, the corpse also
retains the same marks ; and if his limbs were broken or
twisted when he was alive, they are so also after he is dead.
In a word, whatever were the characteristics of the body when
alive, those it will retain after death. In the same way, Cal-
licles, I infer that this happens with respect to the soul too.
When it escapes from the body, all the natural or acquired
dispositions of the soul are exposed to view. When they
Socrates. 549
come, therefore, before the judge, those from Asia to Rhada-
manthus, for instance, Rhadamanthus having made them
stand before him, inspects the soul of each. Perhaps it may
be the soul of the great king or of a beggar, who has no
soundness in him, but whose soul is marked with scourges,
and all over scars ; here is the mark of a perjury, there of a
fraud ; here is falsehood, there a weal left by luxury and
impurity. Rhadamanthus then despatches him at once
to Tartarus. But the object of punishment is twofold — 1st,
for an example to others, that they, seeing his misery, may
refrain from his sin ; 2nd, that he may be made better
himself. Therefore, of the bad there are two classes — the one
the ido-i/iot, are those who can be cured. They are sent
to Tartarus only for a while, till the wounds of their souls are
healed by punishment. The other, the emaroi — the incu-
rable— are detained in Tartarus for ever as a warning to others."
This dialogue seems split up into two parts : the first con-
nected with rhetoric and its definition ; and the second relating
to the question, whether it is better to injure or to be injured ?
But, though apparently two, the object' is really one — to find a
definition for rhetoric ; and having shown that its object is
to get a man off from suffering punishment for the evil he
has committed, to prove that this object is bad, because the
best thing for a man who had sinned is to suffer. And so
there is a certain unity runs through the whole.
The same remark applies to the noblest of all the dialogues
of Plato, I mean the "Republic," to which I can do little more
than allude. This dialogue seems to be that to which all the
others lead. It appears to connect together all the threads of
Plato's philosophy, and to present it to us in something of an
intelligible shape. I do not by this mean to say that Plato's
philosophy was a very definite thing, or one that was intended
to hold water as a whole. Very often we feel that Socrates is
arguing for the sake of arguing, and that if his adversary had
been skilled in dialectics he would not have found it difficult
to turn the tables. But logic, as Aristotle understood it, and
as we understand it, was not known to Plato. There is very
often in his dialogues, on the part of Socrates, a confusion of
ideas, and a vague use of words. The very hardest thing for
Socrates to do is to give a definition. I suppose few of us
will be satisfied with the way he defines Rhetoric as a flattery
of judicial science ; and fewer still perhaps will think that he
has defined justice properly, or proved the just man happier
than the unjust, irrespective of contingent rewards and
punishments, which is his object in the " Republic." This grand
dialogue is divided into ten books, enough to form a large
5 50 Socrates.
volume, and yet it is supposed to have occupied no more than
a single evening.
There is going to be a grand procession and sacrifice in
honour of Artemis at the Piraeus, and Socrates, and one of
his friends, Glauco, are anxious to see it, and so walk to the
harbour in the morning; and after having seen the solemnities,
they walk home again in the afternoon, quite content with
their day's work. However, they are not allowed to go far ;
for a young man of the name of Polemarchus has seen them,
and he sends a slave after them to stop them, who brings them
back again to the house of the old Cephalus, the father of
Polemarchus, where the dialogue takes place. The question is
about justice and its definition : and it arises in this way :
Socrates congratulates Cephalus on his contented old age, and
asks him how he is so happy? He answers in the usual way
about calmness of mind, and so on ; but Socrates suggests
that, perhaps, his being rich has something to do with it.
Cephalus grants this in a certain degree, while he saj's that a
bad man, though ever so rich, could never be at peace with him-
self. " What, then," says Socrates, " do you consider to be the
greatest blessing which your wealth has given you ?" " Why,"
says Cephalus, " when a man gets to my time of life, he often
sits reflecting that, after all, there may be some truth in what
the gods declare about punishment after death inflicted on the
unjust; and I am glad that I have never, on account of my easy
circumstances, been tempted to be unjust, or to deny that I
have received deposits, or if I have committed any unjust acts,
that I can make restitution immediately." "A very good senti-
ment," says Socrates ; " but does justice mean nothing more
than speaking the truth and paying one's debts ? Are we always
to pay our debts ? Suppose somebody lends me a sword
when he is in sound mind, and then, a few weeks aftenvards,
being mad, demands the sword back again that he may plunge
it into another man's side. Am I to give it him now ? No one
would say, I ought, or that I ought always to speak the truth to
a madman." " Of course not," says Cephalus. " Then your
definition of justice was not a good one." " And yet," inter-
poses Polemarchus, "this is the ancient definition of Socrates."
" I think I must go now to look after my sacrifices," says
Cephalus; for he was crowned with garlands for that purpose.
He was rather an indolent old man, who was not fond of
argument; and he had a kind of foresight that Socrates would
have a deal to say before he was done. "But I leave my
son, Polemarchus, as the heir to my side." And, accordingly, .
Polemarchus sustains the argument, that to speak the truth
and pay one's debts is to be just.
Socrates. 551
Then follows an argument as to whether it is best for a man
himself to be just or unjust; Glauco, for argument sake, main-
taining the latter, and Socrates the former. Glauco insists
upon Socrates not showing that justice brought with it rewards
and honours in the world ; for, he said, it was the reputation
for justice that did this. But he insists on Socrates proving,
if he can, that a perfectly just man, having the reputation of
being perfectly unjust, reviled, scourged, and even crucified or
impaled unjustly, is better than the perfectly unjust man who
has the reputation of being perfectly just, and who enjoys all
the honours of the state and the good things of this life. In
order to do this, Socrates builds up his " Republic," on the
ground that justice in an individual and in a state is the same
thing ; in a state, which is larger, it is more easily seen. If
we see it there, we can infer what it must be in an individual.
He describes how a state gradually arises from the various
needs of man ; how these needs increasing it naturally grows,
and how in a perfect state there is a perfect division of labour.
The rulers or guardians of the state are wise, the soldiers cou-
rageous, all the citizens temperate, which means that they are
obedient to their superiors and masters of their passions ; —
prudence, fortitude, temperance — these are their great virtues.
" But where is justice," he asks. " Look out for it, Glauco,"
says Socrates ; " don't let it escape you ; it consists in the
perfect division of labour of which I have spoken, and each
one minding his own business and nobody's else — that is
justice in a state. What is it in an individual man ? It means
that harmonious and proportional developmentof the innerman,
by means of which each faculty of his soul performs its own
functions, without interfering with the functions of another."
And for this definition chiefly was the " Republic" written.
When this equable and proportionate harmony does not exist
in the soul, that is, when the man is unjust, then he is miser-
able, and. the higher he is in the state the more wicked he is ;
the master of others while he -is not master of himself; he
hates himself and he hates all that surround him ; he is worse
than the tyrannical master of many slaves, for society is in a
compact to preserve him from their fury ; but if a tyrannical
master and his slaves were carried off to an immense desert,
and planted in the midst of it, all by themselves, what would the
tyrant's dread and horror be ? And that is the position of an
unjust man who is tyrant of a state.. " Therefore, I gather,"
says Socrates, " that justice is better than injustice, and that
the best and justest of men is the happiest, and that the un-
just man is the greatest enemy of himself and the state, even
if unseen by gods and men."
552 Socrates.
I wish I had time to do more than briefly allude to a
beautiful description of his idea of the judgment to come,
which completes the tenth book of the " Republic." A valiant
man there was of the name of Er, who died in battle, and was
laid on the funeral pile, but after twelve days came back again,
and related what he had seen in the regions of the dead. As
soon as he died, he said that, with a large crowd of others
like himself, he arrived at a strange place where there were
two ravines leading down, and two corresponding openings
above leading to the mansions of heaven. And judges, seated
HI the space between, bid the just ascend, with a seal stamped
on their foreheads; while the unjust had to descend with the
condemnation marked on their backs. For every evil deed they
had done they were punished ten-fold. After that they were
allowed to go to the abodes of the blessed, while some dread-
ful malefactors, like Ardiacus the Great, were never to be
allowed to be delivered from punishment. I have been longer
than I intended ; but the subject is so immense, that it is
hardly fit to be treated of in a paper at all.
In conclusion, I would say, that the study of the great
Greek philosophers, Aristotle and Plato, can be safely under-
taken under the guidance of the Catholic religion, and in a
Catholic University, and in no other way.
The ethics of Aristotle have been, since the Reformation,
as they were long before it, a favourite study in the Univer-
sity of Oxford. In the other great university of Cambridge
they have always, indeed, been a subject of examination,
but almost entirely for the language, and but little for the
matter. In Cambridge, therefore, Aristotle has had but
little influence either for good or evil. In both universities
the dialogues of Plato have been the subject of lectures, with
nearly the same difference of object— in Cambridge as a means
of teaching the perfection of the Greek language — in Oxford
for the matter contained.
For generations, until only a few years back, the study of
Greek philosophy at Oxford was considered to be the great
reason why some kind of dogmatic teaching, or what one might
call Anglican orthodoxy, was more generally found in one uni-
versity than in the other.
Now, as we find in the evidence before the Select Commit-
tee of the House of Lords on the University Tests Act, the
examinations in the final classical school for classical honours
have been found to be most dangerous to the faith in any
system of religion at all, of those who are to be subject to
them, and are, with that view, studying Greek philosophy as
the most important portion of that examination. What is
Socrtttes. 553
the reason of this difference ? I think it is to be found in
this — that some thirty years ago, when the first illustrious
rector of the Catholic University of Ireland, Dr. Newman,
was the leading man in Oxford, Aristotle and Plato were
read under the guidance — miserably defective guidance as
it was — of the Thirty-nine Articles, and the ordinary Angli-
can teaching. In this way they led many to better things :
men began to see that the Anglican arguments would
never be able to hold their ground against the logic of Aris-
totle, or against the cross-examination of Socrates. This
safeguard has now, according to the evidence before this Select
Committee, been given up. As appears by that evidence,
Aristotle and Plato are not now read or examined in either
Oxford or London under the guidance of religion in any shape,
but they are supplemented by Mill and the German infidel
philosophers. The whole are assimilated, and though the
object is a successful examination, the result is destruction of
religious belief.
"I think," says a Fellow of St. John's College, Oxford,
before this Committee, " that it is quite impossible for any
man to throw himself into the system of education for the
final classical school at Oxford at the present time (I mean
really to assimilate it, and not merely to study it ab extra),
without having the whole edifice of religious belief shaken
from the foundation. Generally, when one form of religion
has been destroyed by this process, the examinees construct
for themselves another faith out of the ruins." This is a sad
state of things, and as nobody can doubt the truth of these
statements on oath given by the leaders of Protestant educa-
tion or the chief centres of it, the necessity of a Catholic
University becomes more apparent. Most of us here supposed,
that though history could not safely be taught to Catholics
by one who did not profess the Catholic religion, nor, perhaps,
natural science, nor medicine ; yet, that classical studies were
dangerous, whoever the teacher might be, few of us were
found to believe. Now, to Catholics, and especially to Irish
Catholics, who have never had the least tendency to material-
ism, the study of ancient philosophy, properly conducted,
ought to be edifying and not dangerous.
We do not read Aristotle and Plato to find out a religion
of our own. We have a Divine religion and an infallible
Church to guide us, and we are not disedified by seeing the
wisest and the best of heathens trying to do, what in the
absence of Divine revelation they could not do, make out
a religion for themselves ; but we are rendered the more grate-
ful to Almighty God for his goodness to ourselves. When we
VOL. MI. 37
554 Some Remarks on " The Druids, Churches,
see that Socrates, with all his wisdom and all his thought, could
not find out a better definition of justice in a state, than
minding one's own business, or in an individual, than a
certain harmony between all the faculties of his mind, we are
not inclined to envy him ; nor are we a whit more likely to
envy Aristotle when we find him speaking of the good and
the virtuous, without being able exactly to define what good-
ness and virtue mean. Virtue, according to him, is a mean
between two vicious extremes. But why the mean should be
the good he cannot exactly make clear.
Indeed, it is curious to see how all the new-fangled schemes
against religion are only reproductions of Pagan philosophy.
What are called the rights of women, which are, indeed, con-
trary to natural religion and to natural instincts, we see carried
to their logical results in the Fifth Book of Plato's " Republic."
Darwin's " Origin of Species," which is only another name for
Atheism, is found in the germ in the Fifth Book of" Lucretius,"
who was the exponent of the Epicurean philosophy. And yet
the Christian religion was able at its beginning to hold its
ground against both. It has no reason to fear, even humanly
speaking, that any similar developments of atheistical philo-
sophy will, in the end, prevail against it. The Catholic
Church is Divine, and cannot be overthrown ; but it is at least
something to know that the weapons which are now used
against it are only those which, before our Divine Redeemer
was incarnate, were employed against religion altogether, and
were then found wholly inadequate for their purpose. We,
Catholics, study Pagan philosophy only that we may under-
stand what the greatest minds, without revelation, have been
able to effect ; and we see, by studying it, that the reasonings
which were not able to withstand our Divine religion in its
origin will have no power eventually to obstruct its progress.
SOME REMARKS ON "THE DRUIDS, CHURCHES,
AND TOWERS OF ANCIENT IRELAND."1
Jf ROM the preface to this volume ordinary readers can infer
that until the year of grace, 1871, the "subject of the Druids
had been inadequately handled," the names of the Irish
Churches remained a mystery," and "the key to the cipher
of the Round Tower" had not been found. These subjects could
not, we are told, be approached without a knowledge of the
•
1 " The Druids, Churches, and Towers of Ancient Ireland" An Essay. By Rev.
Richard Smiddy. Dublin : Kelly, 1871.
and Tower f of A ncient Ireland'.' 555
Celtic language, and that language being more essentially of
the tongue than of the letter, to know it well without being
able to speak it, is an utter impossibility. Now, as we have
had " distinguished antiquaries" who could not pronounce a
sentence of our language, such of them as have written on
the Druids, Churches, and Towers, must have done so inade-
quately.
Without stopping to point out the fallacy of this argument,
not distinguishing, that is, between the spoken and written
forms of speech, we need only say that, granting the premises,
the conclusion does not follow ; for, to mention but one
instance, Petrie, an antiquary whose authority, on two of the
subjects, is deservedly very great, had the assistance of
scholars most intimately acquainted with spoken, no less than
with written Irish, Dr. O'Donovan and Professor O'Curry.
Distinguished antiquaries are, we regret, not the only per-
sons who have incurred the Author's displeasure. As repre-
sentatives of Plagosus Orbilius, we do not object to receive,
as well as deal out, hard knocks in a good cause — petimusque
damnsquc vicissim — but it is hardly fair to say (pp. 16-17), we
" teach boys to derive theos of the Greek from theo, to run,
because we can furnish no better derivation." After that we
are not surprised to find (page 29), that when " Latin scholars
attempt to give derivations of their own for ara, altare and
adoro, their derivations are puerile, far-fetched, and destitute
of real meaning."
We have, therefore, studied with some attention the result
of our censor's " lengthened labour and application." Printed
consecutively, the portions devoted to derivation would fill
about 40 pages of his volume. Of the words explained in the
book we have compiled an alphabetical list, in which the
compounds amount to 208, and the roots or factors to 194.
It is, we fear, of too dry a character to interest most of our
readers, but — ex pcde Herculem — from the few specimens we
shall give they will be able to judge of the whole. We find
many Irish words considered from a new point of view, and
the Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Saxon, Welsh, Scotch, Italian,
Spanish, French, English, and Peruvian languages, are de-
scribed as resembling or borrowing from "the language
which was, probably, the first spoken by man." Irish
scholars will find Etymology enriched by the discovery of
fnilla as genitive of fnil (blood) ; and their knowledge in-
creased by the rule that when two factors are nouns, the
initial consonant of the latter is usually omitted. Nor has
Topography been forgotten ; and, as an amusing instance,
we are tempted to quote the Author's derivation of lona —
556 Some Remarks on " The Druids, Churches,
i, an island, and mana, monks. In the Irish Annals, i occurs
13 times, and the Latin forms ia, iae, are found 85 times.
In his Translations of the Annals of Clonmacnoise, Connell
Mageoghegan uses an English form, Hugh. Adamnan, who,
we may remind the Author, calls his native tongue vulgar —
vilis linguae — formed, in accordance with his usual practice,
a feminine adjective from i, ioua, insula, and in later MSS.,
which are very loose in distinguishing between n and u, this
Ioua became the euphonious lona. Will the Author still defend
his derivation of lona?
Such, then, are the results of the Celtic knowledge which
cost the labour and application of so much time. A string of
words derived and explained upon a principle which we had
fondly hoped was long since abandoned by all scholars, and
which has been described in terms we do not care to quote,
but in which we fully agree, by the Translator of Ebel's Celtic
Studies.
Hoc volo, sicjubeo, sit pro ratione voluntas is the motto for a
book like this. Apparently, without perceiving that he is
doing anything extraordinary, the author takes his stand upon
word-splitting, and quietly ignores the authority of ages.
With the exception of a quotation from Du-Cange. he appeals,
as far as we can see, to no work in manuscript or print to
support his derivational views. He never alludes to Cormac
MacCullenan, whilst he snubs Dr. O'Brien, and pities Eugene
O'Curry. We would, however, venture to suggest that much
has been said on the other side which our Author, and those,
if any there be, who think with him, would do well to examine
and refute before they require us to accept their dicta as final.
If, to put the matter as briefly as possible, an organic ortho-
graphy, which can be obtained only in our ancient linguistic
monuments, be absolutely necessary for the right knowledge
of the Celtic language, what good, may we ask, can result
from basing derivations, as the writer of this volume does, on
a modern and corrupt form of the Irish ? Every one is, or
ought to be, proud of his native language ; but surely it is
damning praise to characterize it as more essentially of the
tongue than of the letter.
" Writing"—
A doctrine sage, but truly none of mine —
" Writing as people speak and pronounce is to maim the lan-
guage, to destroy the etymology, and confound the propriety
and orthography."
With the essay which stands first, and occupies the largest
space in the volume, we do not intend to deal. In all that
relates to Irish history and antiquities, antiqnam cxquiritc
and Towers of A ncient Ireland. " 557
matrem is our motto too ; not, however, by the quick process
of reading Pagan authors, but by the slower method of
laboriously investigating our native literature. We have,
moreover, a settled conviction that all who possess a know-
ledge of our ancient tongue can find labour enough — indeed,
we fear, too much — in elucidating the true glories of the Island
of Saints — the gesta Dei per Hibernos. There is not, we
learn (pp. 9 — 10), and there never has been, any native record
of the religious system of the Druids. Be it so : let others
decide how much the Author's Celtic knowledge has added to
the information which can be gleaned from Greek and Latin
writers. One question only shall we take the liberty of
asking him: Where are "the sources from which it is gathered
that 300 books, tinged with Paganism, were destroyed about
the year 438 ?"
We pass, therefore, to the essay on the Ancient Irish
Churches, the merits of which may be summed up by saying
that it contains very little novel information, and very much
novel derivation. The description of the churches is slightly
altered from that of Petrie. For instance, doubtless to assist
the readers, " polygonal " is glossed " many-sided ; " and
" packed " is said to mean " filled." " Stone-roofs " we learn
(p. 149) "were entirely of stones, or stone-flags, continued up
to the apex of the roof in diminished series, from the per-
pendicular walls." Windows and doors, if their sides
" incline," that is " hang in " from the perpendicular, " are
generally more narrow at the head than at the base " (p. 151).
So far Dr. Petrie and our author substantially agree, but in
the following instances they are somewhat at variance. Dear-
thachs (Oratories) were, according to Petrie, lighted by a
single window ; whilst, according to F. Smiddy, they had
scarcely any aperture in the side-walls. Again, to prove these
Oratories were sometimes large, Petrie (pp. 352 — 3) says the
Ulster Annals record the burning of Trevet Oratory, and the
destruction of 260 persons in it ; but F.. Smiddy informs us
that, according to the Irish Annals, the Oratory was struck
by lightning.
" Who shall decide when doctors disagree ?"
On referring to the Four Masters we found, as we anticipated,
that Petrie was correct It was, doubtless, an oversight onr
our Author's part, as he has correctly quoted another entry
from the same Annals.
The Irish names of churches are " fine expressive com-
pounds, formed from pure Celtic roots" (p. 155). Until the
Author meets the objection which we have brought against
his whole system, this assertion may pass for what it is worth.
558 Some Remarks on " The Druids, Churches,
Of the many instances we could quote, the following will
suffice to illustrate the working of his theory. Ceall, a church,
which is manifestly formed from the Latin cella, is derived in
three ways ; and, to prove that cai, a house, enters into its
formation, we are told of a ruin which is called indifferently
ceall, and tigh (house). We are surprised that any one ac-
quainted with Irish topographical names should argue thus.
The words ceall and tigh are synonymous in this instance,
not for the reason here assigned, but because teach (tigh), a
word, as Dr. O'Brien well observes, cognate with the Latin
tectum and Greek tegos, came in Christian times to denote
a church or religious establishment We are informed that
Domhtach and Cathach mean " house of God," and that the
former has been softened in pronunciation into Domhnach,
the Author apparently forgetting that, in making the last
assertion, he assumes that a smooth mute passes into liquid.
It is also stated and repeated that in the fifteenth lecture on
Irish MSS., O'Curry avows his inability to discover the
root or real meaning of these two words. We have read the
lecture very carefully, and we call on the Author to quote
O'Curry 's words, or withdraw so grave a charge against an
honoured name.
Some of our best antiquaries have misinterpreted daimhliag
(a stone church), and, until we find better proof than the as-
sertion that they have, we are content to err in such company.
There is in Irish no such word as eclios, and yet this new
word is split, and made the key to the meaning of ^eaglais, a
church : dearthach, an oratory, is the only word which Irish
authorities explain in the same way as our Author ; but, for
the reasons given by Petrie (Round Towers, p. 345, seq.), dair-
teach, oak-house, is the most probable derivation. From an
imagined similarity of sound, a Latin loan-word, teampull, a
temple, is derived from a corrupt modern phonetic form of an
old Irish word, timcheall. Aifrionn, however, is the Author's
strong point. He enjoys an easy triumph over the author of
the Gaelic Dictionary, who strives to trace it to Arabic and
Chaldaic, and Dr. O'Brien, who says it is an original Celtic
word. "It is a compound word, formed from pure Celtic roots,
manifestly by the early Irish Christians, or their missionaries"
(p. 171). What will the Author say when we tell him that
not one of those good people ever heard the word aifrionn ?
Yet so it is : the oldest extant forms are offrenn and oiffrenn,
which were evidently borrowed from the Latin offerenda. Our
readers will, we fear, be inclined to cry, " Ohe ! jam satis"
when we tell them that, according to this volume, Corp Cricst,
Corpus Christi, are formed directly from the Greek /
and Towers of Ancient Ireland'' 559
" These details, no doubt, are trifling, and, viewed by them-
selves, perhaps of little importance ; but all things are com-
posed of elements, and arise from principles, and true as well
as accurate knowledge in the greatest matters is most fre-
quently based upon the habit of applying the judgment in the
least." — (Homer, Ilias, ed. Clarke, praef.)
Few will be disposed to deny the merit of novelty to the
Author's theory on the Round Towe.rs. The universal popular
name of the Round Tower, in the Irish-speaking parts of
Ireland, is cuilccach, or cnilctheach, formed from cuilc, a reed,
and t/tcach, a house, the reed-house, or reed-shaped structure.
This is the "real true name" in Irish, and is pronounced by
the people "with unmistakable accuracy. A kind of cuilc,
or reed, with a conical head, grows in our bogs and rivers,
resembles the lines of the Round Tower, and was taken as the
model for it. As the reed was an emblem of St. John the
Baptist, the reed-house was a Baptistry."
"Some have said that cuilccach is a mere corruption of
cloigtheach, the bell-house. It is no such thing."
Corruption, certainly, is a strong word ; however, de gustibus,
&c. Nothing is lost by the suaviter in modo, and so, avoiding
the obnoxious word, we beg to say that cnilceach is a phonetic
form of cloigtheach, and to remind the Author that more than
a quarter of a century ago the following conclusion was laid
down : — " It is equally certain that in all parts of Ireland where
the Irish language is yet retained, these Towers are designated
by the same term [i.e., cloigtheach\ except in* a few districts,
where they are called by the synonymous term clogas, or by
the term cuilgtheach, — which, as I have already shown, is
only a corrupted [i.e., phonetic] form of cLngtheach^ by a
transposition of letters very usual in modern Irish words"
(Round Towers, p. 363). (The passage where he shows it to
be a phonetic form our Author can find at pages 19-20.)
Does F. Smiddy think this conclusion sufficiently refuted
by an angry denial ? If so, the1 discussion, of course, is closed ;
if not, let him bring forward his proofs and they shall have
our most attentive consideration.
It is said that cloicthcach means house of stone, and doig-
theach a bell-house ; but will the Author quote or give
references to the passages in Irish Annals and old chronicles
in support of this distinction ? and, to narrow the matter in
dispute, what does he say to the passages quoted by Petrie
(pp. 148-151), in which cc, c, and g are found indifferently?
Does he think one authority meant a bell-house, and the other
a stone-house ? This is our reply to the Author's first and
principal proof; the proof, indeed, upon which he bases his
560 Sane Remarks on " The Druids, Churches" &r.
\
theory, and by which he is confident he has " demolished " all
who preceded him. Our readers can judge for themselves of
its cogency, if the Author does not meet satisfactorily what
we have advanced against it.
The other proofs, being subordinate, do not call for a
lengthened reply. (2.) The Towers stand near episcopal
churches : a statement which we cannot undertake to prove
or disprove. (3.) They have in form, site, and emblem the
peculiarities of ancient Baptistrys in other countries. As
regards that, we may mention that many a time
calidus juventa
Consule planco"-
have we seen the octagonal Baptistry of San Giovanni in
Fonte, and we would no more compare it to a Round Tower
than to the unsightly disestablished steeple which is visible
from where we write. We would wish to have the authority,
if any there be, for saying that " manifestly" Brechin church
"was built by Irishmen, who went to Scotland about the year
500." (4.) The first story is not lighted, because as Baptism
was administered by immersion, the " places for undressing
and re-dressing should be dark, and candles were lighted
during the ceremony ; and inasmuch as fire was carried in
vessels of burned clay, to light the candles, and heat the
apartment, traces of the fire, as well as remains of charcoal
and pottery, are found in the lower story."
With respect to the first part of this proof, we refer our
readers to Petrie's reply to Dr. Lanigan (pp. 33-4), and the
second part of it has been disposed of by the same writer
(pp. 78-96), where he discusses the Researches of the South
Munster Antiquaries in a strain of delicate irony, that reminds
one of La Fontaine's line : —
" Tout est fin diamant aux mains d'un habile homme."
(5.) In the uppermost story four windows face the cardinal
points, in accordance with the rubric for blessing the Bap-
tismal font at Easter — effundatverstis quatiior orbis partcs.
" The windows do not always face the cardinal points, nor
do the windows always consist of four. In some instances,
as shall be hereafter shown, they are fewer than that in num-
ber, and in many instances more." — (Petrie, p. 34).
(6). The Towers are built of brown stone, to resemble the
colour of the reed : which is an interesting fact, as proving
incidentally the colour of the plant in question ; and, in fine,
(7). An ancient Irish Ordo Baptismi says, descendit in
fontem, that is, the compartments containing the font, and
therefore itself called the font, which is an assertion the
author has forgotten to prove.
71 etters of Balmez. 56 1
We have now done with this work. Our criticism has been
frank and fairly reasoned, as criticism, to be anything worth,
should be. The author's theory, we are firmly convinced, is
erroneous; for, in our judgment, he has entered upon a method
of investigation which can never be productive of any useful
results. Towards the author himself it is, we are confident,
not necessary for us to say that we would be understood as
entertaining no other than sentiments of the highest respect
for his abilities ; and, for ourselves, we may add that we feel
a legitimate pride in beholding the traditional lore of the
history and antiquities of our sainted island as strong as ever
amongst the priests of a diocese which justly glories in having
been ruled by the author of the Irish Dictionary, and the
Dissertations on the Laws of the Ancient Irish.
B. M. C.
LETTERS OF BALMEZ.
XXI. — INVOCATION OF SAINTS — A NEW DIFFICULTY.
MY ESTEEMED FRIEND, — I am very glad my last letter did
not produce an unfavourable impression on you ; and that you
do not refuse to acknowledge the beauty and philosophy con-
tained in the Catholic dogma, " presented from that point of
view." I do not wish, however, that what belongs to the
thing itself should be attributed to the manner of presenting
it. To take up that point of view, which pleases you, I had
not to avoid the reality, but to simply show the objects as
they are in themselves, and merely indicate the considerations
to which the proposed difficulties led.
You are inclined to believe I have attacked my adversary
on his weakest flank, but cleverly avoided presenting the
dogma in its whole aggregate. You are no longer an enemy
of the images of the Saints in churches, which means you
have ceased to be an Iconoclast. Now you have taken refuge
in another trench, and say that though it does not appear to
you wrong to perpetuate the memory of the virtues of the
Saints in pictures and statues, and even to pay them, in
religious solemnities, a homage of respect and veneration, you
do not, however, see the necessity of admitting that incessant
communication between the living and the dead, in which the
latter are made our intercessors in things which we ourselves
can ask for immediately. You add, that as it is one of the
562 Letters of Balmez.
principal characteristics of Christianity to unite man inti-
mately with God, imperfectly in this life, and perfectly in the
mansions of glory, it should be considered more proper, more
worthy, and above all, more elevated, for man himself to
direct his prayers to God, without availing himself of media-
tors, and translating to the regions of bliss the customs we
have here on earth. It is fortunate it is you who propose the
difficulty founded on such a principle; for if I, by any chance,
had said that man should Communicate immediately with
God, you would have censured me for jumping, without regard
to human nothingness, over the distance there is between the
finite and the infinite. You never fail to see what you call
the unreasonableness of our side ; if we rise high, we ex-
aggerate, we lose ourselves ; if we lower our flight, we are
grovelling, and forget the sublimity of human nature ! One
requires great calmness to suffer accusation so opposed ; but
this is a sacrifice we are bound to make in the cause of truth,
which has a right to exact it from us.
The dogma that the invocation of Saints is not only lawful
but advantageous, can, like all Catholic dogmas, suffer the
examination of reason, without danger of coming out rough-
handled. To fix our ideas, and avoid confusion, let us place
the question on clear ground. Is there any inconvenience in
admitting that God hears the prayers of the just, when they
pray, not for themselves, but for others ? I wish you would
tell me whether, in the eyes of sound reason, this is not con-
formable with all the ideas we have of the goodness and
mercy of God, and his predilection for the just. If you
admit a God — not a cruel God, who has no care for the work
of his hands, and closes his ears to the supplications of the
unhappy mortal who implores his aid — you should also admit
that the prayer of man directed to God is not a vain thing,
but can and does produce salutary effects. Very well : now
is there anything more natural, more conformable with reason,
or more in accordance with the feelings of our soul, than to
pray to God, not only for ourselves, but for the objects of our
regard ? The mother, with her tender child in her arms,
raises her eyes to heaven, and implores the goodness of the
Eternal in its favour ; the wife prays for her husband ; the
sister for her brother ; the children for their parents; and the
patriarch, when dying, collects his descendants about his bed,
and extending his tremulous hand over them, gives them his
benediction, and prays heaven to bless them. The prayer of
man in favour of his fellow-man is an innate inclination of our
heart ; it is found in all ages, sexes, and conditions — in all times
and countries ; it is expressed at every turn in the cry of
Letters of Baimes. 563
nature in which we invoke the God of mercy whenever we
witness another's danger.
The communication of intellectual creatures in the bosom
of the Divinity — the reciprocal aid they can afford each other
by their prayers, is a universal tradition of the human race —
a tradition bound up with the sweetest and most intimate
feelings of the heart, described by all historians, sung by all
poets, immortalized on canvass and in marble by in-
numerable artists, admitted by all religions, and expressed in
solemn ceremonies by all worships. Look over the history of
the most remote times, consult the most ancient poets, listen
to the popular narratives whose origin is lost in the heroic
and fabulous times, examine the monuments, the pride of the
most civilized nations ; ever, in all parts, you shall meet with
this fact There is a war : the youth of a people is running
danger on the field of battle; the wives, the children, the
parents of the soldiers implore the Divine aid on their behalf —
now in the retirement of the domestic hearth, now in the
public temples with solemn sacrifices. There is a traveller
from whom no news has been received for a long time ; his
disconsolate family fears he has fallen a victim of some un-
fortunate accident, but yet entertains a hope. Perhaps he is
wandering solitary and lost in foreign lands ; perhaps he has
been cast as the plaything of the waves on some inhospitable
shore : what is the inspiration of that family ? To raise its
eyes and hands to heaven, to pray and implore the Divine
mercy in favour of its unfortunate member. History, poetry,
the fine arts, are an uninterrupted testimony of the existence
of this feeling, of this firm belief that the prayers of one
man for another are acceptable in the eyes of the Almighty.
Well, now ; is there any inconvenience in our desiring the
prayers of others, even while they live on earth ? Clearly
not. If there were, we should have to reject all religion, and
put ourselves in open contradiction with one of the most
tender and purest feelings that find shelter in the human
breast. I do not believe your philosophy goes to so
deplorable an extreme. No ; you cannot profess a doctrine
which drowns the cry of nature, that sounds soft and tender
at the foot of the cradle, and is exhaled slowly and propheti-
cally in the portals of death. No ; you cannot profess a
doctrine which responds with a smile of doubt to the suppli-
cation of the mother who prays for her child, of the wife who
prays for her husband, of the child who prays for its father,
of the old man who prays for his descendants, of the relieved
one who prays for his benefactor, of the friend who prays for
his friend, and of entire nations who pray for the brave
564 The Pontifical Jubilee of Pius IX.
fellows defending the independence of their country, or carry-
ing to remote corners of the earth the name of their father-
land under a victorious flag.
I need scarcely deduce the consequences of what I have
said, for you must have already seen them without any
trouble. According to our doctrine the Saints are just men,
who enjoy in heaven the reward of their virtues. They do
not require to pray for themselves, for they are exempt from
all evils and dangers, and have attained the fulfilment of their
desires ; but they can pray for us. If they could do this on
earth, how much more can they do so in heaven ? If mortals
pray for other mortals, can not or will not those who have
attained an immortal felicity pray for us ? Their prayers are
particularly acceptable to God, and are an agreeable incense
which incessantly burns before the throne of the Eternal.
They lived like us in this land of misfortunes, and do not
forget us. The Church tells us : — " Implore the intercession
of the Saints ; ask them to pray for you : this is lawful ; this
is pleasing in the sight of God ; this will be useful to you in
all your necessities." There is the dogma. If your philo-
sophy finds it is not in accordance with natural reason and
the feelings of the human heart, I pity you and your philo-
sophy, and am unable to comprehend the principles on which
you found it. To tell the truth, I expect you will willingly
yield to the light of these reasons, to which I cannot see what
solid or even plausible answer can be made. In which case I
cannot do less than remind you of the necessity, so often in-
culcated, of not proceeding with levity in matters so serious,
and of reflecting that in the dogmas regarded by Incredulity
with indifference and contempt, there are concealed treasures
of wisdom, which are found the more profound the more they
are examined by the light of philosophy and history.
I remain yours, most affectionately,
J. B.
THE PONTIFICAL JUBILEE OF PIUS IX.
(Concluded?)
1 HE Catholic world will learn from its pilgrims that sacri-
legious, rapacious, and vengeful Italy, implacable persecutrix
of the Holy Father, is not to be confounded with the Italian
people. These pilgrims will be able to say, how that this
poor people, under the scourge of a government the enemy
of Catholicity, and ever ready with confiscations, fines, and
The Pontifical Jubilee of Pius IX. 565
imprisonment — this same people, from the foot of the Alps
down to the remotest promontory of Sicily, rose up in one
great festival of prayers and congratulations to Pio Nono.
They will describe how that 500 Italians joined the other
national deputations in Rome ; they will tell how that, on the
2 1st of June, there were present in the Ducal Hall of the
Vatican almost one hundred different deputations from the
several cities of Italy, all under the leadership of Doctor
Acquaderni, of Bologna, President of the Young Men's So-
cieties ; how these Italians received Pius IX. with shouts of
" Holy Father, we wish you free." They will say how Pius IX.,
with tears in his eyes, replied, " I have blessed, and I again
bless Italy for the good works which are everywhere being
done. . . . Every part of Italy has given me splendid
proofs of attachment, but let no one be troubled if, in the
present circumstances, I give Turin the first place. . . .
Some good people of that city speak of repentance ; but what
have they to repent of ? Is an entire people responsible for
the sins of its rulers, or the weakness of its legislators, or the
hypocrisy of its ministers, or the foolishness of its sovereign ?
With Turin I bless Venice and Florence, whence I have con-
soling intelligence, and Genoa and Bologna. From Palermo,
the other day, a letter was received by me so filled with ex-
traordinary expressions of affection, that I was deeply moved
while reading it." .... And yet the Holy Father, while
speaking these words, had not seen the innumerable special
deputations of Italians — that assembling in large cities — eight
or ten new associations formed of merchants, of matrons, of
workmen, of students, and young girls — all for the purpose
of sending special messengers and gifts to the Vatican ; nor
those albums full of exquisite verses from the Catholic Asso-
ciation of Modena and the "Genie" of Reggio, and many
other cities, written by some of the most eminent Italian
literati. The Holy Father did not then know the particulars
of the wonderful celebration got up by those of his children
who glory in calling him their fellow-citizen — the people of
Senigaglia. Bishop, clergy, laity, rivalled each other in en-
thusiasm ; everywhere the churches sumptuously adorned ;
crowds, hitherto unseen, approaching the eucharistic table,
with all the demonstrations of jubilee which yet remain at
the disposal of a nation chained down by a wicked govern-
ment. We have before us a mountain of pastorals of prelates,
and newspapers full of details ; and, as if that were not enough,
another accumulation of manuscript reports which reached us
from every quarter. In each of them we are told how that
here the festivity excelled any other, was extraordinary, and
566 The Pontifical Jubilee of Pius IX.
deserving of special mention ; and in the detailed report which
follows, one can easily see that nothing is told but the bare
truth. What can we do ? Which of the cities shall we place
first ? And then we have but a few pages at our disposal —
not a volume. We have come to the conclusion, therefore,
to narrate only what we witnessed with our own eyes in the
centre of Italy, in Tuscany.
We were in the very centre of the ample basin of the
Ombrone, where noble cities, such as Pistoia and Prato, are
snugly located. The festival lasted from the i$th to the 2ist,
but especially on the i6th day and night the country round
was in a whirlwind of excitement. Beyond the walled
cities the envy of the sectaries could do but little to throw a
damp on the unanimous joy of the population ; wherefore the
country folk, without exception, rushed in multitudes to the
solemn discourses, crowded round the confessionals and the
altar of Life, made the vaults of the churches resound with
sweet psalmody, and endless canticles in honour of the Sacred
Heart and the Madonna. Very many, to our own knowledge,
offered three communions during the Sacred Triduum for the
Holy Father. In the parish churches they solemnly conse-
crated themselves to the Sacred Heart. We witnessed more
than once the sacred banners unfolded, and the processions
wending their way, the men in religious costume, those from
the neighbouring villages bearing lighted torches (one village
of 800 souls furnished fifty torch-bearers) ; the rest of the
people, with heads uncovered, and beads in their hands, fol-
lowing the baldacchino that was borne over the Blessed
Sacrament. We asked those good people what they were
praying for, and they readily replied, " For the triumph of
the Holy Father?
At the close of day, an artificial day commenced. The
hills and mountain sides were brilliant with huge bonfires. It
was impossible to count them, for, from the very base to the
summit of each mountain, an uninterrupted succession of fires
seemed to set the whole country in a blaze. The valleys
about responded to the signals from the mountain, and inter-
mingled with the better disciplined illumination of the
villages ; huge blazing piles marked the salient points of each
town in bold relief upon the landscape. Children marched
in groups with flaming masses fixed to the top of long poles,
and even .the very palliasses were emptied to supply fuel for
the many fires. The peasantry would, good-humouredly,
remark, " We must sleep on boards till harvest time^ but what
matter — Viva Pio IX." All this was but the theatre of the
scene. In the villages the people gathered in the Piazzas and
The Pontifical Jubilee of Pius IX. 567
street corners, and to the sounds of rustic music danced the
night through. Old men were seen forgetting their infirmities,
and stoutly maintaining the village festival, whilst the younger
portion of the males, armed with old muskets and blank cart-
ridge, kept up a continual feu dejoie from every eminence and
vantage point around the towns. Every church bell rang out
a merry peal ; bands of music, some of them admirably
trained, paraded the streets and highways to an advanced
hour, and thus the Tuscan Catholics held high festival, and
the truculent governmental police dare not present themselves
to preserve order. During the days that immediately fol-
lowed, the same demonstrations were renewed with more or
less intensity ; and we must add, in homage to truth, amongst
the continual cries of Viva Pio IX., none other was heard so
constantly as one of imprecation on those who are keeping
him a prisoner. We cannot omit making special mention of
a cyclopean illumination which was erected right in the centre
of Italy, on the summit of Mondrago, in the Valdarno, a
point which can be seen from a thousand towns and four pro-
vinces. The design was two huge cross keys in fire, with the
tiara in the centre, surmounted by a cross, and underneath, in
burning flame, the words Viva Pio IX. It occupied about a
chilometre square, and appeared an inscription set up on the
Apennines, dedicating to the Pope all the festivities of
Tuscany and the entire Peninsula. God and His angels were
witnesses of this uprising of Italy, an uprising of faith, of
thanksgiving, and of prayer.
But let us come to Rome. There it was an incessant hymn
prolonged for twelve days, sung in chorus by all baptized
nations, through their representatives within the walls of
Rome, and ascending to Jesus Christ through his Vicar. The
solemn receptions at the Vatican commenced three days
before the i6th, and the chapters and clergy of the Roman
Basilicas were received in the throne room. The Lateran, as
the first of the world, was the first to speak. Monsignor
Nocello, an eminent Latin scholar, read a poem in the name
of the Liberian Chapter, of which he is a member. Every
Chapter offered designs of the monuments, by which it pro-
poses to perpetuate the memory of the Pontifical Jubilee.
The most splendid comprises an oval effigy of Pius IX., in
mosaic, which will be placed in St. Peter's, over the statue of
the great Apostle, whose foot is worn from the pious kisses of
the faithful. A happy idea thus to unite the two only Popes
who reigned twenty-five years. After the representatives of the
secular clergy, came the heads of the religious bodies, bring-
ing the double tribute of devotion to the Vicar of Christ, and
568 - The Pontifical Jubilee oj Pius IX.
offerings to succour him in his glorious poverty. Then fol-
lowed the civil and military deputations : the fiscal council ;
the office of memorials, headed by Cardinal Monaco ; the
superior officers of the Pontifical army present in Rome ; a
deputation from the Association of the Sacred Heart ; and an
immense number of the Roman and Foreign nobility and
gentry. No one came with empty hands ; even the military
men laid at the feet of their Prince a considerable sum,
snatched almost from the grasp of the usurper, it being the
product of the sale of the furniture, &c, belonging to their
club. On* this day Commenced that beautiful aspect of
serene festivity which continued for so many days to en-
liven the Vatican. No sneering face, no hated uniform, no
mutual suspicion, but a genuine family meeting of all
nations, which, like an oasis in the desert, refreshed the
mind saddened by the armed bacchanal that was being cele-
brated in the streets of the city. The venerable Pontiff
showed himself to his children majestic and benign, more
florid and vivacious every day amidst these seemingly inter-
minable receptions, which he enlivened with his happiest
eloquence. The I4th of June was remarkable for a new ex-
ample of pilgrimage. The Roman ladies, to the number of
800, assembled early in the morning at St. Mary Major's ;
thence in ordered files they walked, reciting prayers to
Santa Croce ; where, prostrated before the Blessed
Sacrament, they recited the Litany of the Saints.
Then, again re-assembling, they advanced to St. John
Lateran to hear a sermon and receive Holy Communion.
Wonderful to relate, no accident happened to intercept
their pious work, because the police knew nothing of it
until it was all over. At the Vatican Cardinal Consolini
presented the illustrious confraternity of the Picenians. The
Ecclesiastical Academy, headed by its President, Monsignor
Cardoni, offered a precious cross and chain of gold, of beautiful
design, and brilliant with precious stones. The Parish Priests
of the city, from their limited resources, filled a handsome
purse, and in Apostolic simplicity offered it to him, from
whom shortly before they had received the generous gift of
3,000 scudi, not for themselves, but for their poor. Thus
Christian charity ebbs and flows. The officers of the Palatine
Guard of Honour were then received. These genuine Roman
citizens, ennobled by proofs of valour given to the Pontiff,
above all in 1867, and now condemned to inoperative, but not
altogether useless fidelity, brought a mitre, accompanied with
a most affectionate address. Lastly, the Pope received his
faithful Savoyards ; generous inhabitants of Annecy, Cham-
The Pontifical Jubilee of Pius IX. 569
berry, and Moriana, they spared no trouble to gather
thousands and thousands of signatures to their address, and
brought one hundred thousand francs in gold. How well
pleased did St. Francis de Sales and Joseph de Maistre
look down on them from heaven on the night of the Pope's
Jubilee.
The twenty-nine Committees of the " Roman Society for
Catholic Interests," united with their pastors, were drawn up in
the Hall of the Consistory on the morning of the 1 5th. With
them were joined the Society for Mutual Succour, and the
" Reduci" from the Papal battles. Along the streets they
were honoured with hisses and scoffs, always guaranteed to
honest folk by the vigilant Italian police ; but they were
amply compensated when they saw in the midst of them the
Holy Father, delighted to see himself surrounded by the true
people of Rome — for they numbered 800 Romans, the flower
of the aristocracy and burgess class, representing ejght to ten
thousand associates, who during these days edified Rome by
their devotions in the churches, and every possible attestation
of affection to the Holy Father which the liberty that came
through the breach at Porta Pia allowed them. The address
was read by Prince Don Mario Chigi, the President, and he
offered a pectoral cross, designed on parchment, as the artist to
whom it had been entrusted had not completed his work in time
— " to the end," said the address, " that you may place it upon
your Apostolic breast, and so indicate that we are in your
heart, united to you in faith, united to you in charity, united
to you in Catholic communion, united to you in the hopes,
the sorrows, and all the affections of your paternal heart,"
Loud acclamations greeted the sweet words said in reply by
Pius IX. to his Romans. It was then, as far as we can learn,
that the clever captain in command of the Royal Guard in the
Piazza of St. Peter's called to arms. He thought there was
an insurrection in the Vatican ! Soon after he breathed more
freely, and disbanded his guard ; and the " reactionary " bat-
talion filed out before him through the great bronze gate,
honoured with the insults of the hired ruffians who form the
chief reliance of the present government in Rome. About
eleven o'clock the Holy Father came down to the Ducal Hall,
where over eight hundred Catholic ladies awaited him.
Princess Altieri spoke in their name, and reminded him of
the Madonna whom he had crowned by the definition of the
Immaculate Conception. She told him of their prayers and good
works during the imprisonment of the new Peter to obtain
the speedy triumph of the Church. Finally she presented
the purse of offerings, and a second purse contained marriage
dowries for as many young girls as there are parishes in Rome,
vot. vii. 38
570 The Pontifical Jubilee of Pius IX.
to be distributed on the Jubilee day. Then the Signora
Gnoli, a clever poetess, recited a beautiful poem in honour of
the Sacred Heart. The Holy Father replied in the happiest
terms. He had just been informed of a congratulatory tele-
gram sent by the Queen of England. An unanimous shout
of " Long live Queen Victoria," greeted the announcement,
and at the termination of the audience they met again to
forward a telegram to the Archbishop of Westminster, begging
of him to thank the Queen of England in their names for her
delicate forethought in thus doing honour to their Father.
At length, the great day arrived, " June the sixteenth, One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-one" the day on which
Providence permitted one of his most beloved Pontiffs to
equal and surpass the years of Peter ; a day predestined from
all eternity by God, and for his inscrutable reasons, this year
wonderfully identified with the solemnity of the Sacred Heart.
The whole Christian world rejoiced, as thousands of telegrams
addressed to the Holy Father testified. Almost all the
sovereigns of the world, not excluding the Sultan, united with
their people in this testimony of affection. The Holy Father
on this day admitted before all others to his private chapel
" His Highness Prince Constantine d'Hohenlohe, ambassador
extraordinary from the Emperor of Austria," with other dis-
tinguished personages of various nations, and administered
Holy Communion to them with his own hand. Early in the
morning he commenced the audiences : first his household,
who presented him with a magnificent reliquary, enclosing a
large portion of the relics of the Prince of the Apostles. The
rest of the day he devoted to the reception of the Foreign
deputations. The first to be presented was the deputation
from the Dioceses of England. Later on he received another
from the Catholic youth of England, in whose name the
Hon. Edward Noel spoke. The Holy Father in his reply
said that he was rejoiced to meet the youth of Great Britain,
" and he recommended them concord, that concord which pre-
served the faith in Ireland" At home, in their several dioceses,
their fellow-countrymen in England, Ireland, and Scotland,
were gathering to prayers, and innumerable despatches brought
their felicitations to the Holy Father. Malta was in a flame
of jubilee, and the British Government, with an instinctive
appreciation of its own interests, favoured the popular move-
ment, legalizing the special holiday voted by the clergy and
people of Malta. On the day previous the British charge
d'affaires presented the congratulations of his most gracious
sovereign ; and thus the Prince, the Government, Clergy, and
people of a great Empire worthily co-operated in this
festivity of Pius IX.
The Pontifical Jubilee of Pins IX. 571
The English deputation was followed by the German, the
most numerous of all — 1,500 deputies. The first 800 were
admitted to-day. Every diocese in the two Empires, and of
the other states, municipalities, universities, colleges, associa-
tions of every kind, were represented ; and the representatives
were prelates, princes, professors, ladies, and other distin-
guished personages. One might well say that all Germany
was at the feet of Pio Nono. As they approached the throne
they presented their rich gifts, works of art, letters of congra-
tulation, and endless lists of signatures. Prince Lovenstein
spoke in the name of all ; and the Holy Father in his reply
extolled the firmness of the episcopacy and peoples of
Germany, and animated them to fight bravely the battles of
the Lord. An enthusiastic " koch" three times repeated,
greeted the concluding words of the Pontiff. At that moment
one of the ladies, unable to control herself, rushed up the
steps of the throne, and prostrating herself at the Holy Father's
feet, in sobs and tears, asked his special prayers for a dearly-
loved friend. The Holy Father promised them, and amidst
renewed applauses and repeated blessings he left the Ducal
Hall accompanied by some of the leading German repre-
sentatives. The private chamberlains and honorary chamber-
lains, lay and clerical, were also admitted to-day. Monsignor
Stonor headed them. He presented a valuable pennello or
syphon, used by the Pope when consuming the chalice.
The address was signed by 152 names of gentlemen, Romans,
Italians, and other nations. The Rectors of the several
Colleges in Rome were then introduced, then the Neapolitan
deputation, then the American. Between one audience and
the other he perused the innumerable telegrams and despatches,
and dictated the replies. Some few personages of distinction
were honoured with private audiences, amongst them the
ambassador of Francis Joseph, Prince Isemburg, husband of
an Austrian Archduchess, and H.R.H. Don Michell di Bra-
ganza. Within the Vatican the old aspect of Rome seemed
to have returned ; outside interminable files of carriages and
pedestrians on their way to St. Peter's, and saying by their
peaceful demonstration to their perverse rulers, " You alone
are not with us ; you are the sole enemies of Christianity!"
A Te Deum sung in St. John Lateran's, with the voices and
hearts of Christians from all parts of the world, closed this
memorable sixteenth of June. At the termination of the
Ambrosian Hymn, Pius IX. completed the twenty-fifth year
of his Pontificate, and entered upon his twenty-sixth. It
would be tedious to recount singly and separately the in-
cessant stream of receptions which followed from all parts of
the Christian world, from Holland, and Spain, and Hungary,
572 The Pontifical Jubilee of Pins IX.
and the Tyrol ; from Switzerland and Constantinople ; from
Canada and the Republic of Ecuador ; from North and
South America. For fifteen days was the aged Pontiff ex-
clusively occupied in receiving the congratulations of his
children. But two receptions we consider worthy of special
mention — Ireland and Belgium. Catholic Ireland was repre-
sented by a numerous and distinguished deputation of ladies
and gentlemen, who happened to find themselves in Rome for
that occasion. They were introduced by Monsignor Kirby, and
Count De La Poer read the address. The Holy Father replied
in his happiest mood, for he never alludes to the constancy and
persevering fidelity of Catholic Ireland without manifesting
the liveliest emotion. Holland and Belgium, two twin peoples,
in their spacious and fertile plains, thickly studded with popu-
lous cities and towns, celebrated the festivity with one heart
and one soul. These classic lands of the Zouaves of Pio Nono
fought with the arms of universal prayer and gifts of greatest
value. All that you beheld, piece by piece elsewhere, was here
united. You had military bands rivalling the jubilant expres-
sion of the sacred bronzes ; you had the houses of the people
adorned with the Papal colours intertwined with the colours
of the country ; you had busts of Pio IX. exposed at the
windows surrounded with flowers, and the Papal Zouaves in
uniform received everywhere with acclamation. But what
shall we say of the Ladies of Belgium ? It was not enough
for them to be generous in their offerings for Peter's Pence,
they would present some more characteristic token of their
devotion to the Sovereign Pontiff. They conceived the idea
of presenting a tiara adorned with the gems and jewels that
they had for their own persons. A committee was formed,
and the archbishop's approval obtained. From the first day
a perfect torrent of emeralds and rubies and sapphires and
topazes and amethysts and diamonds of the purest water
showered upon them, from those that went to form the rich
diadems of the great ladies down to the unpretending little
necklet of the peasant girl, marriage rings, and jewellery
carefully accumulated by a fond mother for her eldest
daughter were all offered to adorn the crown of Pius IX.
More than a good chestfull remained over, but nobody with-
drew their gift, and the superabundance was also presented to
the Holy Father. Brave nation, you have been for so many
years the treasury of Pio IX., you have maintained his army,
nothing remained for you but that your daughters should
weave his crown !
Poor France ! You saw the Papal kingdom fill amidst
your own ruins ; first, your own, then the Pope's ; Sedan
and Porta Pia ; Rome taken, Paris taken ; the name of Jesus
The Pontifical Jubilee of Pius IX. 573
hammered off, and the Vendome Column levelled ; the
Quirinal forced and the Tuilleries burned. And yet, scarcely
recovered, still bleeding from your wounds, you thought of
Pio Nono. Paris, Rouen, Marseilles, Orleans, Lyons, Cambrai,
Lille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, all the cities of France, without
exception, held high festival. One great glory was added
which was wanting to the others — we mean the terrible out-
burst of indignation against the persecutors of Pio Nono.
Two million congratulations France sent to the Holy Father,
rich gifts, and a most distinguished deputation, headed by
the Bishop of Nevers and Count Damas ; but, above all, the
cry of honour, the cry of right, which gives us clearly to
understand that old France is not yet dead. Arise, and reign !
Pius IX., having heard the French addresses, and, above all,
the special one of the Count Damas on the part of the royal
family of France, raised his eyes to heaven, placed his hand on
his heart, and said, " France is written here T
But to conclude. What has the world seen in the Pontifical
Jubilee of Pius IX. ? An unarmed old man, despoiled, a
prisoner, who, by the power of his name alone, can agitate
nations. Pius IX. had not to spend one farthing to get up
this demonstration. The salvation of humanity, therefore, is
not yet to be despaired of when it is thus moved to its centre
in defence of religion and justice. Would to heaven that
sovereigns would hear the cries of their people, weary of
pillage and butchery under the name of liberty. But prudent
people in the world say, " Too much of the people is adverse to
Pius IX. ; it is only the clergy and clericals that are with
him !" False ! Of all the people in the world who are accre-
dited as being his enemies the Italian has the worst reputa-
tion in that sense ; and yet how came it that upwards of
five hundred of the most distinguished nobility and gentry
of Italy crowded the halls of the Vatican on the I $th ? How
came it that such myriads of names were appended to the
several addresses: the circle of St. Peter alone gathered 170,000
names. Was it not the Italian people that illuminated their
towns and villages and fields wherever the hand of the
Government could not reach to extinguish them ? Was not
"Viva Pio IX.!" the universal cry of the multitudes that
thronged the churches, from the little mountain parish to the
spacious basilicas of St. John Lateran and St. Peter ? Other
nations surpassed Italy in their demonstrations of applause to
the old man of the Vatican ; therefore other nations agree
with Italy, and wish what she wishes. " Qui potest capere
For the rest, what can governments hope for, who, because
of the sects or through cowardice, looked on with indifference
574 Tlie Pontifical Jubilee of Pius IX.
on the Jubilee of Pius IX. ? We know not. But certain it is
that Pius IX., during the twenty-five years of his reign, saw
in France four or five governments almost all more and more
hostile to the Papacy, and of one of his persecutors he can
use the biblical expression to the letter — " His place is not to
be found." Pius IX. saw crowns broken in Spain, and others
on the verge of meeting a similar fate ; and so in Greece, in
Germany, in Italy, in Servia, in Roumania ; England and
Russia ominously threatened by an unknown democracy ;
Austria mutilated ; Switzerland, the American Republics, and
the United States devasted by fratricidal war. The little
kingdom of Piedmont, which alone seems to have fattened on
the ruins of the Papacy, what does it hope for ? It is now
Italy — true ; but amidst the hatred of so many thrones over-
turned, wading in a sea of innocent blood, becoming the first
nation in the world for crimes unavenged, crowned by defeats
on sea and land, and victories more shameful than defeats ;
and up to the day on which its capital, wandering from north
to south, like the tents of King Odoacer, is placed in Rome,
and there established with its innumerable sources of discord,
its blasphemous parliament, its unmentionable corruption, by
theatres, indecent feasts, and materialistic education, crowned,
we say, with infamy in the face of all civilized nations, Italy —
which, thanks to heaven, is not the Italian people — which has
it reached, the Capitol, or the Tarpeian Rock ? Pius IX. sees
that, and knows, moreover, that if his counsels had been lis-
tened to, human society would not have to lament the tenth
part of its present ruin. At the end of twenty-five years he
can say : " Too much am I avenged ; and he who denies
Christ in his Vicar has nothing to hope for. This scourge of
God, which for twenty-five years has been laid upon govern-
ments hostile to the church, and this outburst of faith amongst
the people, doing homage to the Pope on the occcasion of his
Jubilee, establish in us an immense unshaken confidence of a
happy future — a confidence founded on the universal senti-
ment of Christendom, on the heart of the Episcopacy, and
on the conviction of Pius IX. Therefore it shall be. Such
was the idea of the thirty or forty thousand Romans who
chanted in St. Peter's the incomparable Te Deum of the coro-
nation of Pius IX. as Pope and King. It was a Te Deum
worthy of Rome ; and God read the thoughts an'd affections
of Rome and of Christendom in the solemn united prayer of
those that believe in Him. The Catholic world, in thanking
Him for the favour accorded, implored another — the speedy
triumph of the Church and of Pius the Ninth. It seems to
us that when the spirit of the Lord so moves his believers,
the triumph has already commenced.
575
ROMAN CHRONICLE.
i. Canon Audisio. — 2. Deputation to the Pope from the Academy
of Catholic Religion. — 3. Great Deputation of the Roman
People. — 4. Munificence of the Pope. — 5. Letter of the Pope to
Marquis Cavaletti. — 6. The Roman University. — 7. Roman
Journalism, — 8. Names of the Piazzas changed. — 9. Pius
IX. sees the days of Peter, 2yd of August.
1. In the concluding remarks of last month's Chronicle we
ventured to express a hope that the distinguished theologian
and writer, Canon Audisio, would have, ere this, seen his mis-
take in visiting the Quirinal, and retraced his steps. We are
happy to chronicle in this number the realization of our hopes.
On the 28th of July he addressed a very consoling letter to
his former disciple, Don Margotti, the editor of the Unitd
Cattolica. Amongst other things he says : " My faith and my
sentiments are registered in my published works. Are my
friends satisfied with my Diritto publico della chiesa, and my
Storia dei Papi ? If they are, they may rest assured that I
will never depart one hair's breadth from what is written there."
And further down he concludes : " Be persuaded that I have
never regarded earth in my actions, and I would be mad if I
should do so now, that I am about to abandon it. Be also
persuaded that I would make any sacrifice sooner than cause
the slightest displeasure to the already too afflicted Pontiff."
He sought to justify his conduct in going to the Quirinal, by
the precedent of fourteen cardinals singing a Te Deum in St.
Peter's for the French occupation of Rome under the First
Republic. But the Unitd Cattolica very ably explains this
fact, and shows clearly that it could in no way form a justifi-
able precedent.
2. Amongst the many deputations introduced to the Holy
Father at this time, we must not omit to mention that of the
Accademiadi Religione Catlolica, which presented an elaborate
and learned address. His Holiness, in replying, remarked :
" Not the least of the malicious interpretations given to the
Decree on Papal Infallibility, is that which reinstates the power
in the Popes to depose sovereigns, and absolve subjects from
the oath of allegiance. This right was, no doubt, exercised by
the Pontiffs in extreme circumstances, not in virtue of their
infallibility, but of their authority. The Pontifical authority,
according to the laws then existing, and the agreement of
Christian nations, who regarded the Pope as the supreme
judge of Christendom, extended even civilly over princes and
576 Roman Chronicle.
states. But the present condition of things is very different ;
and it is pure malice to say that an infallible judgment regard-
ing a principle of revelation, can have any affinity with a right
which the Popes exercised, according to the wishes of the
people, whenever the public good demanded. . . . Some
are anxious that I should explain and make still clear the
definition of the Council. / will do nothing of the sort (lo nol
farb). It is sufficiently clear of itself, nor does it require any
comments or explanations."
3. On the morning of the 24th of July, the Governing Com-
mittee of the Primary Roman Society for Catholic Interests^
with the Prefects of its thirty branches, were presented to the
Holy Father, and they tendered him volumes containing
27,161 signatures, of none but Romans, males, and of full age.
The signatures had each appended their residence in Rome.
The address was read by his Excellency Prince Campagnano,
and it was short, but noble and firm. The Holy Father
replied, praising loudly the object and work of this society,
and the fidelity of the Romans. He then added : " They say
that / am weary. Yes, I am weary of seeing so much iniquity,
so much injustice, so much disorder. I am weary of seeing
religion insulted every day in a city which gave the world an
example in respect of faith and morals. I am weary of seeing
the innocent oppressed, the ministers of the sanctuary outraged,
and all that v^e venerate and love profaned. Yes, I am weary,
but I am not disposed to lay down my arms [here a tremen-
dous burst of applause interrupted the Holy Father's reply for
several moments]. I am not disposed to treat with injustice,
or desist from the fulfilment of my duty. No, thanks to God,
in this sense and for this work I am not weary, and I hope I
never shall."
The Voce delta Verita, the organ of this admirable society,
ably explained the importance of this free, courageous, and
irrefragable testimony, attested in their own handwriting by
27,161 male Roman citizens of full age, under the pressure of
a government introduced by the bombs of last September, and
at a season of the year when thousands of the upper classes
most devoted to the Pope were absent from Rome. This
black plebiscite of the Romans, as the revolutionary journals
call it, contrasts curiously with the 40,000 votes of great un-
knowns that were registered on the 2nd of October last.
4. The charitable institutions of Rome are undergoing a
slow metamorphosis that bids fair to kill them outright. The
Pontifical Government was accustomed to allocate from the
public funds 300 scudi (1,609 francs) per month to the .refuge
for little boys, called " Tata Giovanni" a kind of industrial
Roman Chronicle. 577
school. The philantrophic Government of the 2Oth of Sep-
tember, munificent protector of certain other generous pro-
fessions, suppressed this item in its accounts for the month of
August. The Holy Father, who had begun in that institu-
tion his holy career of the priesthood and of charity,
immediately forwarded to the Refuge the sum denied by the
Government of Lanza, thus reassuring the superiors and
inmates, who saw their institution threatened with immediate
dissolution.
5. Marquis Cavaletti, ex-Senator of Rome, and who has
been foremost in every work of religion and fidelity to the
Holy See, that has been organized in Rome, conceived, with
some friends, tjie idea of presenting the Holy Father with a
throne of gold, and the title accorded by the acclamation of
the Catholic world, of Pius the Great. To this end he had a
beautiful address drawn up, and translated into several
European languages for circulation throughout Christendom,
soliciting contributions towards the Golden Throne. Several
of the Catholic journals took up the affair warmly, and finally
the Holy Father came to know of the project, when he
immediately forwarded to the Marquis the subjoined beautiful
letter, which we give in full.
"Mv DEAR MARQUIS SENATOR, AND SON IN
JESUS CHRIST.
" The innumerable proofs of filial affection which reach
me from every corner of the Catholic world, produce in me
the liveliest emotion, and place me under obligations of
sincere gratitude, which I endeavour to discharge by praying
in behalf of so many children of the Church, and by offering
for them once each week the sacrifice of infinite value, that of
the Holy Mass, and which, to satisfy a general wish, I will
apply, please God, on the 23rd instant, asking God to liberate
Italy from so many evils that more and more oppress her
every day. Recently I was surprised, most beloved son in
Jesus Christ-7-for you were always so devoted to this Holy
See — I was surprised, I say, by the information I received, that
two new and unexpected proofs of filial love were being pre-
pared by good Catholics for my acceptance, the presentation
of a Pontifical throne of gold, and the addition of the title of
Great to the name of Pio Nono.
" With my heart on my lips, and with all the sincerity of a
' Father, who tenderly loves his children in Jesus Christ, I will
answer as to one and the other. In regard to the precious
gift of a golden throne, it immediately struck me to employ
the sum which would result from the oblations of the faithful,
578 Roman Chronicle,
in ransoming young ecclesiastical students from the action of
a wicked and hitherto unheard of law that forces them to
military service. The clergy constitute the golden throne
which sustains the Church, and for that reason it is against
the clergy that the efforts of the present rulers are principally
directed, by spoliation, persecution, and, above all, by render-
ing vocati6ns to the sanctuary most difficult, and thereby
rendering scarce the number of substitutes in the ecclesiastical
hierarchy, which, decimated every day by death and persecu-
tion, leaves continual vacancies which cannot be filled, to the
great detriment of the Church of Jesus Christ It would
appear that the present governors have assumed the duty of
destroying everything, and especially what has reference to
religion and to the church ; and whilst they are profuse in
praises and subventions to encourage ecclesiastics that are
disobedient to their prelates, and apostates from the faith,
they continue their infernal system of keeping out a great
number of good men for the sole reason that they are opposed
to the doctrines of their persecutors, and anti-christian regu-
lations. But let those blind rulers run on in their way of per-
dition, for having turned deaf ears to the first promptings of
conscience, and learned to scoff at sound doctrine placed
before their very eyes, they are gliding down that fatal
precipice that slopes to the bottomless abyss. With regard
to the second project, that of adding the word Great to my
name, I am reminded of a sentence of our Divine Redeemer.
Having assumed our human nature, he was going through the
several towns of Judea, when some one admiring his wonder-
ful works, cried out, Magister bonus — Good Master ; but Jesus
suddenly asked, ' Why do you call me good? — God alone is good.'
If, therefore, Jesus Christ in his humanity declared that God
alone is good, why should not his unworthy Vicar say that
God alone is great ? Great on account of the favours that he
grants to this same Vicar ; great for the support which he
gives his church ; great for the infinite patience he manifests
towards his enemies ; great in the rewards he prepares for all
such as abandon the ways of sin, and apply themselves to the
exercise of penance ; great in the rigours of his justice, which
he must adopt for the punishment of the incredulous and
obstinate enemies of his church.
" Such being tht case, I feel compelled to confirm what I
indicated above, that is, I wish that the money collected be
spent, not to procure a throne of gold, but to ransom young
clerics ; and, secondly, I wish to hear my name pronounced
as it always has been, being desirous that all should repeat it
to the glory of God ; 'Magnus Dominus ct laudabilis niwis'
Roman Chronicle. 579
This is the wish of a father to his dearly beloved children, and
with this wish he renews the assurances of his love and grati-
tude towards them. It is true that the title of Great was
given to three Pontiffs who were indeed great, but that hap-
pened after their death, when the judgments of men are
clearer and more tranquil. May they, meanwhile, remain
great in the mouths and hearts of all, whilst I, with all the
emotion of my heart, impart to you, to your family, and to
all good Catholics, the Apostolic Benediction.
" The Vatican, August 8tk, 1871.
" Pio PAPA IX."
This splendid document needs no comment. A monument
at the same time of true Christian humility, Christian charity,
and paternal love, it will go far to ensure for him from those
that survive him, the well earned title of Great, which he feels
compelled to decline whilst living.
6. The examinations in the Roman University are over.
Last year it had over 1,000 students, this year it had on the
rolls only 700 ; but after the affair of the address to
Dollinger, the number was reduced to 300. Little more than
half presented themselves for examination, and only 24 (mark
the figure 24) were judged deserving of a degree. The
degrees in former years always numbered 80 or 90, and even
more. Now that studies are suspended, there is question of
dismissing the old professors ; that is to say, they will be
asked, within five or six days, to take the oath of allegiance
to Victor Emmanuel, or resign. This step will involve a loss
of 28 or 30 of the old professors to the Sapienza. The new
professors are already named, and persons that have seen the
list say that they are so unworthy of the post that some who
came in with the bombs of last September, are disgusted
to find themselves in such company, This is the future in
store for higher education in Rome, if Providence does not
soon intervene, as we pray he may.
7. The edict of the Pope, condemning and prohibiting the
reading of the revolutionary newspapers, has^told well. Some
of the condemned journals, such as the Tribune, II Diavolo,
and others of minor importance, have ceased to exist, and
the remainder depend more on government subsidy than
popular support On the other hand, the " Roman Society
for Cat/wlic Interests" is establishing a means of counteracting
this evil by founding popular libraries. Good books and good
journals will be sold and distributed at a cheap rate. In the
Gesu, on a recent occasion, Father Gallerani praised this
noble project, and recommended it in the strongest terms to
580 Roman Chronicle.
an immense audience. In the course of his eloquent dis-
course he reminded his hearers that the Society of Jesus,
that Society that has done such incalculable good for religion
since its foundation, had its origin in the reading of a good
book.
On the 1 9th of August the band of the Roman National
Guard played for the first time in public in the Piazza
Navona. The music was good, but the Piazza was almost
in darkness, and this latter coincidence was availed of to
carry out a serio-comic project. Just as the band was en-
gaged in discoursing a very beautiful selection from Verdi's
" Ballo in Maschera" a number of the unwashed mounted
ladders placed at the several angles of the Piazza where the
name is painted, and pasted over the name large placards
bearing in huge characters the following words : — " Piazza
Principe Umber to" So"PuuM Navona" is gone, just as
" Piazza Pia" had to make way for "Piazza del Plebiscite"
9. The great day looked forward to by the Christian world —
the " Dies Petri" — the 23rd of August — came at last, and
Pius IX. has passed, and is in the enjoyment of the most
florid health. We extract from the Unita Cattolica, a hurried
description of how the day was spent in Rome. He offered
holy Mass at the usual hour in private, but with
unusual emotion. This day he offered it for the sal-
vation of Italy. At half-past ten in the forenoon he
passed into the Throne room, where he found assembled all
his honorary chamberlains — lay and clerical. Their dean,
Monsignor Perilli, read an address, and then Commander
Datti, in the name of all, presented a superb ciborium, of ex-
quisite design and workmanship. In the same hall a very
elegant Latin address was presented from the Catholic
University of Dublin, by one of its Professors, Dr. Quinlan,
specially commissioned for that duty ; and another, accom-
panied with a large offering in money, from the diocese of
Kingston, Canada ; some offerings from Florence, exhibited
by Monsignor Frescobaldi, and an address beautifully illu-
minated, from the Seminary of Montefiascone. In the
adjoining hall all the Pontifical- Noble Guard were assembled
in undress uniform to offer their homage and congratulations.
The Holy Father addressed them in an appropriate reply.
Passing on to another hall he found all the superior officers of
the Papal army, a great number of the Roman nobility, mer-
chants, and professional gentlemen, and a few foreigners of
distinction ; here again rich presents were tendered to him.
But in the great hall of the Consistory the largest assemblage
of visitors to the august prisoner of the Vatican was in wait-
Roman Chronicle. 581
ing. There was found Dr. Acquaderni at the head of a chosen
and numerous band of young Italian Catholics ; there also
was the Duke della Regina heading a band of Neapolitan
gentlemen and several distinguished personages, Italian and
foreign ladies and gentlemen. The Holy Father having
ascended the throne, three addresses were read respectively
by the Duke della Regina, by the editor of the Liberia
Cattolica, and by Dr. Acquaderni, all presenting rich offer-
ings to His Holiness. The Neapolitan offering was a mag-
nificent " st'dia gestatoria" or portable throne, used by the
Pope on great solemnities. The offerings presented as the
" elimosina" for the mass celebrated that morning, amounted
to over 150,000 francs — all contributed by Italians. The
Holy Father responded to. the three addresses in a single
speech ; he compared himself to a certain man of the Gospel
who fell amongst robbers, and was left on the roadside half
dead ; but he consoled the assemblage by recounting all the
good that has come out of the present evils, specially noting
the efforts of the young Italians to keep sound doctrine and
purity of morals. When he withdrew from the hall he was
saluted with repeated enthusiastic shouts of " Viva Pio IX"
He was in the best of health. An imposing Te Deum was
celebrated in St. John Lateran's in the evening. The vast
Basilica was so crowded that numbers had to remain in the
Portico, and on the steps outside. There was nothing to
attract the curious, but anything to equal that immense con-
gregation, vociferating the alternate strophes of the Ambro-
sian hymn, it would be difficult to imagine. The correspon-
dent goes on to say that when the sacred function was over
he stopped for about half-an-hour at the top of the street
leading to St. John's, and during that space of time he counted
four hundred carriages that passed him, and as many more
were still in the Piazza. The number of pedestrians was
enormous. And yet they had to encounter the insults and
jeers of a ruffianly mob posted at every street corner, to do
the base work of the Italian government. They were able to
bear the insults, for they had the great satisfaction of knowing
that their loved Pio Nono, whom their enemies would wish
dead, was alive and well, and at liberty to disappoint their
expectations for many a year to come; which may God
grant.
582
DOCUMENT.
NEW HONOURS ACCORDED TO ST. JOSEPH.
"PIUS PP. IX.
" AD PERPETUAM REI MEMORIAM.
" Inclytum Patriarcham Beatum Josephum, quern Deus
Omnipotens prae omnibus Sanctis suis purissimum verumquc
sponsum es.se voluit in terris immaculatae Virginis Mariae, ac
putativum unigeniti Filii sui patrem, quemque ad tarn sub-
limia munera fidelissime implenda gratiis prorsus singularibus
anxit et abunde cumulavit merito Catholica Ecclesia gloria
et honore in coelis coronatum amplissimo prosequitur cultu
atque intimo veneratur pietatis affectu. Quamobrem Romani
Pontifices Praedecessores Nostri, ut augerent in dies, ac
ardentius excitarent in Christifidelium cordibus devotionem
et reverentiam erga sanctum Patriarcham, eosque cohorta-
rentur ad Illius apud Deum intercessionem summa cum
fiducia implorandam baud omiserunt quoties opportuna esset
occasio novas semper ac majores publici cultus significationes
eidem decernere. Inter eos memoria repetere sufficiat Prae-
decessores Nostros felicis recordationis Xistum IV. qui festum
S. Josephi inseri voluit in Breviario et Missali Romano, Gre-
gorium XV. qui decreto diei VIII. Maii An. MDCXXI. festum
ipsum sub duplici praecepto in universe orbe recoli mandavit;
Clemenfem X. qui die VI. Decembris An. MDCLXX. eidem
festo ritum duplicis secundae classis concessit ; Clementem
XI. qui decreto diei IV. Februarii An. MDCCXIV. festum
praedictum Missa ac Officio integre propriis condecoravit ;
ac tandem Benedictum XIII. qui nonem Sancti Patriarchae
decreto edito die XIX. Decembris An. MDCCXXVI. Sanc-
torum litaniis addi jussit. Ac nos ipsi, postquam investiga-
bili Dei judicio ad supremam Petri Cathedram evecti fuimus,
moti turn illustrium Praedecessorum Nostrorum exemplis,
turn singular! devotione, qua usque ab adolescentia erga
eumdem sanctum Patriarcham affecti fuimus decreto diei X.
Septembris An. MDCCCXLVII. magno animi Nostri gaudio ad
universam Ecclesiam sub ritu duplicis secundae classis exten-
dimus festum Patrocinii ejus, quod iam pluribus in locis
speciali hujus Sanctae Sedis indulto celebrabatur. Verum
postremis hisce temporibus, in quibus immane ac teterrimum
Document. 583
bellum contra Christi Ecclesiam fuit indictum fidelium
devotio erga Sanctum Josephum adeo increvit et progressa
est, ut omni ex parte ad Nos innumerae ac fervidissimae
pervenerint postulationes, quae nuper dum Sacrum Oecume-
nicum Concilium Vaticanum haberetur, ab omni fidelium
coetu et quod maxime interest a plurimis ex Venerabilibus
Fratribus Nostris S. R. Ecclesiae Cardinalibus et Episcopis
renovatae fuere, quibus flagitabant, ut luctuosis hisce tempori-
bus ad mala omnia propulsanda, quae Nos undique contur-
bant, efficacius Dei miserationem per merita et interces-
sionem Sancti Josephi exoraremus Ilium Catholicae Ecclesiae
Patronum declarantes. Nos itaque hisce postulationibus
moti Divino lumine invocato tot ac tarn piis votis annuen-
dum censuimus, ac peculiari Decreto Nostrae Sacrorum
Rituum Congregationis quod inter Missarum solemnia in
Nostris Patriarchalibus Basilicis Lateranensi, Vaticana ac
Liberiana die VIII. Decembris elapsi anni MDCCCLXX. imma-
culatae Conceptioni Ipsius Sponsae sacro publicari jussimus,
eumdem Beatum Patriarcham Josephum Ecclesiae Catholicae
Patronum solemniter declaravimus, Illiusque festum die
decimanona Martii occurrens, deinceps sub ritu duplici primae
classis, attamen sine octava ratione quadragesimae, in Orbe
universo celebrari mandavimus. Et quoniam aequum repu-
tamus, post Nostram declarationem Sancti Patriarchae in
Catholicae Ecclesiae Patronum, Ipsi in publico ecclesiastico
cultu omnes et singulas honoris praerogativas tribuendas esse,
quae juxta generales Breviarii et Missalis Romani rubricas
Sanctis Patronis praecipuis competunt, ideo Nos ex consultu
Venerabilium Fratrum Nostrorum S. R. E. Cardinalium
sacris tuendis ritibus praepositorum renovantes, confirmantes,
atque etiam ampliantes praesentibus Nostris Litteris prae-
fatam dispositionem illius Decreti, mandamus insuper, ac
injungimus, quae sequuntur. Volumus scilicet, quod tam in
festo Natali Sancti Josephi, quam in alio Ipsius Patrocinii,
etiamsi occurrant extra Dominicam diem addatur semper in
Missa Symbolum seu 'Credo.' Volumus insuper quod in
oratione ' A cunctis' quandocumque recitanda erit, adjiciatur
semper post invocationem Beatae Mariae Virginis, et ante
quoscumque alios sanctos Patronos, exceptis Angelis, et
Sancto Joanne Baptista, commemoratio S. Josephi per haec
verba 'cum Beato Joseph' Volumus denique ut hoc ipso
ordine servato inter Suffragia Sanctorum, quandocumque ilia
a rubricis praescribuntur, apponatur sequens commemoratio
in honorem ejusdem Sancti Josephi. (Ad Vesperas Antiphona)
1 Ecce fidflis servus et prudeiis, qucm constitute Dominus
super familiam suam. V. Gloria et divitiae in domo ejus.
584 Document.
R. Et justitia ejtts manet in saeculum saeculi. (Ad Laudes
Antiphona) : Ipse Jesus erat incipiens quasi annorum triginta
ut putabatur films Joseph. V. Os justi meditabitur sapientiam.
R. Et lingua ejus loquetur judicium. (Oratio) Deus, qui ineffabili
providentia Beatum Joseph Sanctissimae Genitricis tuae spon-
sum eligere dignatus es, praesta quaesumus, ut quern protec-
torem veneramur in terris, intercessor em habere mereamur in
coelis' Haec volumus mandamus decernentes has litteras
Nostras firmas validas et efficaces existere et fore suosque
plenarios et integros effectus sortiri et obtinere, non obstantibus
Constitutionibus et Ordinationibus Apostolicis ceterisque
contrariis quibuscumque. Volumus autem ut praesentium
transumptis Litterarum, seu exemplis etiam impressis manu
alicujus Notarii publici subscripts, et sigillo personae in
ecclesiastica dignitate constitutae munitis eadem prorsus fides
adhibeatur, quae adhiberetur ipsis praesentibus si forent
exhibitae vel ostensae. Datum Romae apud S. Petrum sub
annulo Piscatoris die VII. Julii MDCCCLXXI. Pontificatus
Nostri Anno Vicesimosexto.
" Loco * Signi
"PRO DNO CARD. PARACCIANI CLARELLI
"F. PROFILI Substitutes"
OF VOL. VII.
I
BX 801 .168
1870 SMC
The Irish ecclesiastical
record. —
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