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IRISH  Ecclesiastical  Record.     1898 
4th  series.  Jan. -June.       v.  3  * 


THE  IRISH 
ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 


I 


THE  IRISH 
ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

&  ilontfjfo  Journal,  untJcr  Episcopal  Sanction 


VOLUME    III. 
JANUARY    TO    JUNE,    1898 


jFourtfj  Scries 


DUBLIN 
BROWNE    &    NOLAN,    LIMITED,   NASSAU-STREET 

1898 
ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 


Nihil  Obstat. 

GlKALDUS  MOLLOY,  S.T.D., 

CENSOR  DEP. 

Jtnprimatur. 

*  GULIELMUS, 

Arehiep.  Diillin.,  Hiberniae 


BKDWXE    &   NOLA?:,   LTD.,   XA.SSAU-STKEET,   DUBLIN. 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS 


Aileach  of  the  Kings  :  A  Brief  Sketch  of  the  History  and  Traditions 
of  the  Ancient  Northern  Residence  of  the  Irish  Kings.     By  Most 

Rev.  Dr.  O'Doherty                                                                      -             -  ?,S"> 

Archbishop  Troy.     By  Rev.  N.  Murphy,  p.p.       -                          -             ,  232 

Cardinal  Wiseman,  The  Policy  of.     By  Rev.  "William  Barry,  D.D.            ••  117 

Continuity  Theory,  The.     By  Right  Rev.  Mgr.  John  S.  Vaughan  18 

Convention  of  Drum  Ceat,  The.     By  Most  Rev.  Dr,  O'Doherty             -  289 

Correspondence  :— 

The  Ancient  Irish  Church      -  .       74,  174,264 

The  Priest  in  Nationality       -                                                                  -  549 

Dante's  First  Defender.     By  Edmund  G.  Gardner,  MA.                           -  156 

^Documents  :— 

Accumulating  Impediments,  Faculties  for  -  -  464 
Archconfraternity  of  Our  Lady  o£  Compassion  -  ,  -  179 
Banners  to  be  carried  in  Procession  -  365 
Baptism,  Form  of,  up  to  fourteen  years  of  age  -  -  -  471 
Books  prohibited  by  the  Ordinary  -  -  468 
Books,  The  Decree  of  the  Index  on  the  Prohibition  and  Censure  of  564 
Burial,  The,  of  Amputated  Members  -  -  -  567 
Ceremonies  of  Low  Mass  -  -  369 
Churches  and  Church  Practices  in  England,  Decision  of  Congre- 
gation of  Rites  -  371 
Commentarius  de  Judicio  Sacrimentali  -  287 
Condiments  on  Fast  Days  -  -  375 
Confraternities  at  Procession  of  Blessed  Sacrament  -  -  366 
Conversion  of  England  -  179 
Decree  regarding  Pious  Unions  and  Societies  -  662 
'  Decreta  Authentica '  of  the  Congregation  of  Rites  -  376 
Dispensations  in  Ago,  Extent  of  Bishops'  powers  -  -  365 
Encyclical  of  His  Holiness  Leo  XIII.  to  Canadian  Bishops  -  272 
Error  in  '  Supplex  Libellus '  -  564 
Excommunications  by  Roman  Congregations  -  365 
Extraordinary  Confessors  of  Nuns  27H 
Faculties  for  Accumulating  Impediments  ....  464 
Faculties  granted  to  American  Bishops  -  -  557 
Fasting  during  Advent,  Dispensation  in  the  law  of  559 
Faculties,  Succession  of  465 
Form  of  Baptism  up  to  fourteen  years  of  age  .  -  471 


TABLE   OF    CONTENTS 


DOCUMENTS — continued. 

Glass.  Decision  regarding  the  use  of,  in  the  '  Crescent  Lunette  '  555 

Indulgences  for  St.  Anthony  of  Padua  -         463 

Indulgence  of  a  Privileged  Altar       -  563 

Italian  Priests  in  America  559 

Leo  XIII.  to  God  and  the  Virgin  Mother    -  88 

Litanies  of  the  Holy  Family  373 

Litanies,  Special        -  374 

Manitoba  Schools'  Encyclical  272 
Marriages  of  Freethinkers.  Sectaries,  and  Catholics  who  refuse  to 

fulfil  their  Christian  Duties         -  -         565 

Method  of  Filling  a  Vacant  Bishopric  in  Ireland  4*2 

'  Oratio  Irnperata '  in  another  Diocese  -         376 

Ordinatiou,  The  Form  of,  corrupted  by  Inadvertence  .">57 

Ordination,  Certain  Defects  in  367,  471 

Paschal  Baylon,  St.,  Patron  of  Eucharistic  Congresses  -         469 
'  Per  Modum  Potus,'  What  is  meant  by,  in  dispensations  in  the  law 

of  Fasting  5(i8 

Relics  of  the  Sacred  Passion                           -  -         561 

Requiem  Masses,  The  Privilege  of  Singing,  twice  a  week   -  -         ").">•"> 

'  Sanatio  in  radice,'  A  Case  of  -         466 
Solution  of  Doubts  regarding  Extraordinary  Confessors  of  nuns    -         278 

Some  of  the  Fruits  of  Fifty  Years  :  Annals  of  Catholic  Church  in 

Victoria  285 

Succession  of  Faculties  465 

Water  and  Cement,  The  Ble-sing  of,  for  the  Altar  -  55(5 

Ecclesiological  Art  in  Ireland,  The  Decadence  of.     By  Michael  J.  C. 

Buckley,  M.E.S.A.I.  317 

Exiles,  Irish,  in  Brittany.     By  Rev.  A.  Walsh,  o.s  A.  32:5 

Glen  of  Altadavin.  The.     By  Rev.  T.  Livius,  C.SS.E.  316 

Kilkenny  and  Bishop  Rothe.     By  Rev.  N.  Murphy  536 

Letters,  Another  Batch  of.     By  Hev.  Matthew  Russell,  s.J.  345 

Modern  Scientific  Materialism.     By  Rev.  E.  Gaynor,  C.M.  193 

Monasteries,  Irish,  in  Germany.     By  Rev.  J.  F.  Hojran  -  r>>ti 

'Muls'   and     'Gils',    The:     Some   Irish    Surnames.       By    Rev.  E. 

O'Growney  4'? 3,  4'I2 

•Rotes  an&  (Queries  :— 

LITURGY  (By  Rev.  Daniel  O'Loan,  D.D.)  :— 

Candles,  The  quality  of,  to  be  used  during  Mass  &c.  2fi2 

Chasuble,  Why  did  Gothic,  fall  into  disuse    -  260 

Expo>ition  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  •">  1 7 
Mitre,  Why  was  present  large,  substituted  for  small  one  of  earlier 

times  ?      -  260 

Procession  and  Benediction,  Questions  regarding      -  258 

Scapulars,  Questions  on  the  -  -257 
Throne,  May  a  Movable,   be  used  for  Exposition    of    M<.sf  Holy 

Sacrament ': 
Votive  Mass  of  the  Holy  Ghost 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS  vii 


NOTES  AXD  QUERIES — continued. 
THEOLOGY  (By  Kev.  Daniel  Mannix,  D.D.)  : — 

Absolution    from   a  Reserved  Sin    and   the  Maynobth     Synodal 

Decrees     -                                                                                        -  358 

Condemned  Secret  Societies                                                                      -  449 

Communion  of  the  Sick  70 

Mass  on  board  ship     -  4.">0 

Masses  for  the  Dead                                                                               -  171 

Maynooth  Synodal  Decrees  and  Absolution  from  a  Reserved  Sin     -  358 

Matrimonial  Dispensations,  Cumulation  of    -                                       -  451 

November  Offerings  -  72 
Nuptial  Blessing :    Can  Catholics,  validly  married  at  a  Registry 
Office  or  in   a  Protestant  Church,  subsequently  receive  the 

Nuptial  Blessing  r                                                                               -  254 

Protestant  Witnesses  at  Marriage  of  Catholics        -            -            .  254 

Sick,  Communion  of   -  70 

•Notices  of  JSoofcs  :— 

America,  Our  Lady  of,  476;  Annals  of  the  Church  in  Victoria, 
285;  Augustine,  St.,  Life  of,  93;  Biblia  Sacra  juxta  Vulgatae 
Exemplaria  et  Correctoria  Romana,  91  ;  Blessed  John  of  Avila, 
Life  of,  574  ;  Breviarium  Rornanum,  186,  473;  Canonical 
Procedure  in  Disciplinary  and  Criminal  Cases  of  Clerics,  569  ; 
Catholic  Ceremonies  and  Explanation  of  the  Ecclesiastical 
Year,  381 ;  Cantus  Sacri,  382  ;  Chants,  Twelve  Eucharistic, 
383 ;  Commentarius  de  Judicio  Sacramentali,  287 ;  Data  of 
Modern  Ethics,  382 ;  Eucharistic  Christ,  The,  280 :  First 
Christian  Mission  to  the  Great  Mogul,  95  ;  General  Introduction 
to  the  Study  of  Holy  Scripture,  92  ;  Gregorian  Music,  478  ;  Hand- 
book of  Rules  for  Singing  and  Phrasing  Plain  Song,  478 ;  Horac 
Diurnae,  186,  473  ;  Institutiones  Theologiae  Dogmaticac,  187  ; 
Le  Costume  et  les  Usages  Ecclesiastiques  selon  la  Tradition 
Romaiiie,  474  ;  Missa  Immaculata  i.  h.  B.  M.  Virginis  Immaculatae 
ad  III.  voc.  aequ,  381;  Missa  in  Honorem  Sancti  Spiritus,  383 ;  Missa 
in  Houorem  Purissimi  Cordis,  B.V.M.,  383 ;  Missale  Romanum 
(Mame  etFils),  473  ;  Moral  Principles  and  Medical  Practice,  379  ; 
My  Life  in  Two  Hemispheres,  279  ;  Missa  :  Mater  Salvatoris,  574  ; 
Praelectiones  Dogmaticae  quas  in  Collegio  Ditton  Hall  habebat 
Christianus  Pesch,  s.j.,  378  ;  Rituale  Romanum  (Mame  ct  Fils), 
473 ;  Sermons,  190 ;  Sermons  and  Moral  Discourses  for  all  the 
Sundays  of  the  Tear,  377  ;  Shall  and  Will,  89 ;  Sister  Aime 
Katharine  Emmerich,  573  ;  Songs  of  Sion,  18o  ;  Theologia  Month's 
per  Modum  Conferentiarum,  382  ;  Very  Rev.  Father  Dominic  of 
the  Mother  of  God,  Life  of,  «">75  ;  Vita  Jesu  Christi,  478 ; 
Wiseman,  Cardinal,  Life  and  Times  of,  89. 

Oliver  Kelly,  Archbishop  of  Tuam.    13y  R.  J.  Kelly,  Esq.,  B.L.  -        417 

Origin  and  Conservation  of  Motion.     By  Rev.  M.  Barrett         -  60 

Phoenicia  and  Israel.    By  Rev.  Hugh  Pope,  O.P.  38 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


Reason's  Synthetic  Judgments.     By  Rev.T.  J.  O'Mahony,  D.D.  -J4o 
Redmond  O'Gallagher,  the  Martyr-Bishop  of  Derry.     By  Most  Rev. 

Dr.  O'Doherty      •  1 

Socialism,  The  Economic  Aspect  of.     By  Rev.  M.  Cronin,  D.D.,  M.A.  140 

Tara,  Pagan  and  Christian.     By  Most  Rev.  Dr.  Healy  97 

Two  Great  Spiritual  Associations.     By  J.  A.  Cullen,  s.j.            -            -  513 

Victor  Vitensis  on  the  Vandal  Persecution.      By  Philip  Burton,  C.M.    -  481 

Yellow  Steeple  of  Trim,  The/.     By  Very  Rev.  Philip  Gallery,  v.r.,  v.r.  -  438 


REDMOND   O'GALLAGHER,   THE   MARTYR* 
BISHOP  OF  DERRY 

IN  reading  over  the   history   of    the    Church   in   these 
kingdoms  during  the  Elizabethan  period  we  are  struck 
with   the  similarity  of  the  sufferings  endured  by  our 
ancestors  in  the  early  days  of  the  Reformation,  with 
the  account  which  St.  Paul  gives  of  the  sufferings  inflicted 
on  God's  servants  in  the   Old  Law.     Indeed,  one  would 
think  it   was  Elizabeth's  victims  that  great  Apostle  was 
sketching,  and  that  he  wrote  from  Ireland  instead  of  from 
Italy  to  the  Jews  in  Palestine.     What  truer  description  of 
the  lives  of  the  Irish  bishops  and  priests  in  the  penal  days 
could  be  given  than  that 

They  were  stoned,  they  were  cut  asunder,  they  were  tempted, 
they  were  put  to  death  by  the  sword ;  they  wandered  about  in 
sheepskins,  in  goatskins,  being  in  want,  distressed,  afflicted  ;  of 
whom  the  world  was  not  worthy,  wandering  in  deserts,  in 
mountains,  and  in  dens,  and  in  caves  of  the  earth.1 

It  was  a  sad  period — an  anticipation  of  the  days  of 
Antichrist.  In  England  the  scaffolds  reeked  with  blood ; 
the  dungeons  were  rilled  with  the  flower  of  the  nobility ; 
whilst  the  fiendish  atrocities  to  which  priests  and  bishops 
were  alike  subjected  make  one  pause  to  inquire  were  the 
authors  of  these  barbarities  human.  In  Ireland  it  was  still 


1  Heb.  xi.  37   38 
FOURTH  SERIES,  VOL.  III. — JANUARY,  18(J8. 


2  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

worse ;  for  here,  to  the  greed  of  gain  and  hatred  of 
the  Church,  was  added  that  racial  hatred  which  has  ever 
existed  since  the  days  of  the  second  Henry,  and  which  at 
that  period  stirred  to  its  lowest  depths  the  savage  nature  of 
the  British  myrmidons.  Their  rulers  urged  them  on  to 
exterminate  the  '  mere  Irish,'  and  wealth  and  honour 
crowned  the  murderer  of  the  priest  or  the  bishop.  Altars 
were  desecrated,  churches  were  razed  to  their  foundations, 
education  banned,  and  innocent  blood  poured  out,  amid  the 
scoffs  and  jeers  of  a  brutal  soldiery.  Such,  in  Ireland,  was 
the  reign  which  in  cruel  irony  has  been  called  glorious,  such 
the  fate  of  those  faithful  servants  of  Christ  who  had  the 
courage  to  profess  themselves  children  of  that  Church 
whose  centre  is  the  See  of  Peter. 

Raymund,  or  Redmond,  O'Gallagher  was  a  prominent 
figure  in  the  Irish  Church  during  nearly  the  whole  of 
Elizabeth's  reign,  having  been  murdered  only  two  years 
before  that  sovereign's  death.  He  had  been  a  bishop  before 
she  came  to  the  throne,  having  been  appointed  Administrator 
of  the  see  of  Killala  in  1545,  two  years  before  the  death  of 
Henry  VIII.,  and  consecrated  bishop  of  that  same  see 
three  years  later.  Redmond  0' Gallagher  was  a  native  of 
the  diocese  of  Raphoe,  County  Donegal,  and  was  of  noble 
family.  The  O'Gallaghers  once  held  a  conspicuous  place  in 
that  county,  and  were  the  owners  of  extensive  property. 
It  was  not,  however,  his  nobility  of  birth  that  recom- 
mended him  to  the  Holy  See,  but  his  character  for  learning, 
piety,  and  prudence.  His  appointment  to  administer  a 
diocese  whilst  he  was  scarcely  twenty-four,  and  his  conse- 
cration at  the  unusually  early  age  of  twenty-seven,  are 
proofs  of  his  extraordinary  qualifications  and  of  the  con- 
fidence reposed  in  him  by  the  Holy  Father.  And  that 
confidence  was  fully  justified  by  his  whole  long  career  after- 
wards as  administrator  and  bishop,  covering  in  all  a  period  of 
nearly  fifty-six  years.  The  following  is  a  translation  of  the 
record  of  his  appointment  to  the  see  of  Killala : — 

On  the  7th  November,  1545,  the  Holy  See  deputed  as  adminis- 
trator, until  he  attain  the  twenty-seventh  year  of  his  age,  in 
spiritual  matters,  of  the  church  of  Killala,  in  Ireland,  then 


REDMOND  O'GALLAGHER,  MARTYR-BISHOP  OF  DERRY     3 

vacant  by  the  death  of  Eichard  Baired  [Barrett],  formerly  Bishop 
of  Killala,  who  died  outside  the  Eoman  Curia,  of  happy 
memory,  D.  Baymund  Ogalcubait  [0 'Gallagher],  cleric  of  the 
diocese  of  Eaphoe,  aged  twenty-four  years  or  thereabouts,  of 
noble  origin  ;  and  then  in  his  person  makes  provision  for  the 
same  church,  and  appoints  him  as  its  bishop  ;  tax,  11  florins.1 

Later  on  we  shall  get  a  glimpse  of  his  zeal  in  the  cause 
of  discipline  and  religion  whilst  in  that  diocese. 

After  governing  the  diocese  of  Killala  for  twenty-four 
years — three  as  administrator  and  twenty-one  as  bishop — 
he  was,  in  1569,  translated  to  the  see  of  Derry.  The 
following  is  the  record  of  his  translation : — 

On  the  22nd  of  June,  1569,  the  Court  of  Eome  absolved 
D.  Eedmond  Ogalchur,  Bishop  of  Killala,  from  the  bond  of 
the  church  of  Killala,  and  transferred  him  to  the  church  of 
Derry,  vacant  by  the  death  of  Eugene  Idocharti  (O'Doherty), 
with  the  power  of  retaining  the  priory  of  Eachini,  of  the  order  of 
Canons  Eegular  of  St.  Augustine,  and  all  things  annexed  thereto, 
in  the  diocese  of  Killala ;  value,  24  marks  sterling. 2 

A  few  years  after  his  translation  to  Derry  he  was 
appointed  vice-primate  by  the  Holy  See.  The  faculties 
then  granted  him  are  thus  recorded  in  the  Secretaries  Brevium 
in  Eome  : — 

To  the  Venerable  Brother  Eedmund,  Bishop  of  Derry,  for  his 
own  diocese  and  for  the  entire  province  of  Armagh,  as  long  as  the 
Venerable  Brother  Eichard,  Archbishop  of  Armagh,  shall  be  absent 
from  his  diocese  and  the  province  of  Armagh  (13th  April,  1575). 

In  1580,  O'Gallagher  is  mentioned  in  a  Vatican  list  as 
a  Bishop  of  Derry  who  had  not  taken  the  oath  of  alle- 
giance. 0' Sullivan  Bear,  in  his  Catholic  History,3  refers 
to  him  as  vice-primate.  Relating  certain  events  in  tthe 
Elizabethan  wars,  he  says  : — 

There  were  present  some  ecclesiastics,  chief  among  whom 
was  Eaymund  O'Gallachur,  Bishop  of  Luci  and  Vice-Primate  of 
Ireland,  who  absolved  from  the  ban  of  excommunication  those 
who  passed  over  from  the  royal  to  the  Catholic  army.4 

1  Barberini  and  Vatican  Archives. 

2  Barberini  Archives.    See  Brady's  Irish  Bishops,  and  Rev.  J.  M'Laughlin's 
Bishops  of  Derry. 

3  Chap,  ix.,  B.  iii. 

4  The  excommunication  here  referred  to  was  that  pronounced  by  Pius  V. 
against  Elizabeth  and  her  adherents.     Note  by  Dr.  M.  Kelly,  in  his  edition  of 
0' Sullivan. 


4  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

An  interesting  reference  to  O'Gallagher  occurs  in  a 
curious  work,  translated  from  the  Spanish  by  Robert 
Crawford,  M.A.,  and  published  during  the  past  year  by 
Elliott  Stock,  of  62  Paternoster-row,  London.  It  is  entitled, 
Captain  Cuellar's  Narrative  of  the  Spanish  Armada  and  his 
Adventures  in  Ireland.  Cuellar  was  a  captain  in  the 
Armada,  and  on  the  wreck  of  that  ill-fated  flotilla  was  cast 
upon  the  Irish  coast;  with  many  others  of  his  countrymen. 
Afte".  narrating  the  hardships  and  perils  he  had  passed 
through  in  Connaught  and  Ulster,  he  tells  what  happened 
to  him  in  O'Cahan's  country — the  present  County  Derry. 
The  English  soldiers  were  everywhere  searching  for  the 
unfortunate  shipwrecked  Spaniards  ;  but  they  were  making 
a  special  search  for  Captain  Cuellar,  who,  they  had 
discovered,  was  in  the  neighbourhood  : — 

Information  about  me  [says  he]  had  already  been  given  to 
them,  and  no  one  passed  by  whom  they  did  not  ask  if  he  had 
seen  me  .  .  .  The  boy  was  such  a  good  lad  that,  upon  learning 
this,  he  returned  to  his  hut,  and  informed  me  of  what  had 
occurred ;  so  that  I  had  to  leave  there  very  early  in  the  morning, 
and  to  go  in  search  of  a  bishop  who  was  seven  leagues  off  in  a 
castle)  where  the  English  kept  him  in  banishment  and  retire- 
ment. This  bishop  was  a  very  good  Christian,  and  went  about 
in  the  garb  of  a  savage  x  for  concealment ;  and  I  assure  you,  I 
could  not  restrain  tears  when  I  approached  him  to  kiss  his  hand. 
He  had  twelve  Spaniards  with  him,  for  the  purpose  of  passing 
them  over  to  Scotland ;  and  he  was  much  delighted  at  my 
arrival,  all  the  more  so  when  the  soldiers  told  him  that  I  was  a 
captain.  He  treated  me  with  every  kindness  that  he  could  for 
the  six  days  I  was  with  him,  and  gave  orders  that  a  boat  should 
come  to  us  to  take  us  over  to  Scotland,  which  is  usually  done  in 
two  days.  He  gave  us  provisions  for  the  voyage,  and  said  Mass 
for  us  in  the  castle,  and  spoke  with  me  about  some  things 
concerning  the  loss  of  the  kingdom,  and  how  his  Majesty  had 
assisted  them,  and  that  he  should  come  to  Spain  as  soon  as 
possible  after  my  arrival  in  Scotland,  where  be  advised  me  to 
live  with  much  patience,  as  in  general  they  were  all  Lutherans, 
and  very  few  Catholics.  The  bishop  was  called  Don  Esimundo 
Termi  (?)  [Bishop  of  Times],  an  honourable  and  just  man.  God 
keep  him  in  His  hands,  and  preserve  him  from  his  enemies. 

The  translator  fails  to  identify  this  bishop,  and  calls  him 

rm  for  a  native  of  the  country. 


REDMOND  O'GALLAGHER,  MARTYR-BISHOP  OF  DERRY     5 

by  the  unmeaning  title  of  'Bishop  of  Times.'  The  word 
Termi  is  evidently  a  mistake  for  Derrie,  as  Derry  was  then 
usually  spelled  ;  and  it  is  quite  certain  that  the  bishop  was 
Eaymund  O'Gallagher,  the  then  bishop  of  the  diocese,  who 
lived  in  disguise  at  this  period  in  O'Cahan's  country,  and 
who,  tradition  says,  used  to  tend  sheep  by  day  on  the 
mountains,  and  visit  by  night  the  sick  and  dying  of  his 
flock.  It  may  be  interesting  to  readers  of  the  I.  E.  RECOBD 
to  know  that  Captain  Cuellar,  with  a  number  of  other 
Spaniards,  was  soon  afterwards,  by  the  kindness  of  Sir  James 
M'Donnell,  sent  in  a  boat  from  Dunluce  to  Scotland.1 

This  same  year,  1588,  we  have  a  letter  from  O'Gallagher 
to  Cornelius  O'Devany,  Bishop  of  Down  and  Connor,  and 
dated  from  Tamlaghtard,  better  known  as  Magilligan. 
This  letter  was  found  on  O'Devany's  person  shortly  after- 
wards, and  in  consequence  he  was  imprisoned  in  Dublin, 
and  kept  in  confinement  for  two  years.  Though  liberated 
for  a  time,  he  was  taken  prisoner  again,  and  ultimately  put 
to  death  in  the  metropolis,  in  1612.  The  letter  was  as 
follows : — 

We,  Eedmond,  by  the  grace  of  God  and  favour  of  the 
Apostolic  See,  Bishop  of  Derry  and  Vice-Primate  of  All  Ireland, 
to  the  Most  Reverend,  our  dear  brother,  Cornelius,  Bishop  of 
Down  and  Connor.  Seeing  that  we  cannot,  without  incurring 
imminent  peril  of  life,  make  visitation  of  your  territory,  we. 
therefore,  by  the  authority  of  Letters  Apostolic  and  by  the 
authority  of  the  primatial  dignity,  by  the  purport  of  these  pre- 
sents, do  appoint  you  in  our  stead  for  a  full  year  from  the  date 
hereof,  and  for  the  same  period  we  give  and  grant  you  power  to 
absolve  from  episcopal  and  also  from  papal  cases  each  and  every- 
one who  has  recourse  to  you,  obligations  of  conscience  being 
safeguarded,  and  salutary  penance  in  proportion  to  the  fault 
being  enjoined. 

Given  in  the  Parochial  Church  of  Tamlaghtard,  the  1st  day 
of  July,  1588. 

E.,  Bishop  of  Derry  and  Vice-Primate. 

Another  letter  of  his,  written  some  years  after  this,  and 
addressed  to  Clement  VIII. ,  may  be  introduced  in  this 

1  Ulster  Journal  of  Archceology,  vol.  i.,  No.  3,  n.  3,  1895. 


6  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

place.  It  refers  to  the  sufferings  for  the  faith  in  Ireland, 
and  the  noble  stand  then  being  made  against  English  power. 
It  runs  thus  : — 

1  am  confident  your  Holiness  knows  that  our  leading  nobles — • 
doubtless  by  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Ghost — have  made  a 
courageous  stand  against  the  malicious  oppression  inflicted  on 
them  by  the  English,  and  have  done  so  with  a  spirit  and  daring 
more  than  human.  By  their  manful  resistance  in  the  battle-field 
they  have  baffled  and  foiled  the  English  devices,  their  rancour 
and  satanic  rage.  Yet  every  day  brings  changes  more  numerous 
than  one  could  tell ;  and  so,  to  give  our  nobles  greater  courage, 
to  strengthen  them,  and  to  make  them  steadfast  in  their  glorious 
undertaking  by  the  hope  of  succour,  a  person  has  come  here,  a 
little  ago,  from  Spain  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  report  that 
will  be  relied  on  to  his  Catholic  Majesty  of  the  actual  state  of 
affairs.  He  is  the  bearer  of  this  letter.  I  recommend  your 
Holiness  to  have  unhesitating  confidence  in  his  testimony.  I 
ask  you  to  do  so,  and  to  cast  a  kindly  look  on  Ireland,  always 
faithful  to  you — Ireland  which  now  presents  such  a  dismal 
appearance,  so  wretched  and  so  mournful,  suffering  for  so  long 
a  time,  and  suffering  so  many  disasters  at  the  hands  of  the 
heretics.  The  present  opportunity  is  specially  favourable.  I  am 
convinced  it  is  a  gift  of  God.  I  ask  your  Holiness  to  seize  it  at 
once,  remembering  that  opportunity  is  usually  bald  on  the  back 
of  the  head.  Make  kindly  provision  as  speedily  as  in  your  power 
for  those  who  are  your  own  dependents — yes,  and  the  most  faithful 
of  all  your  dependents  since  Christianity  came  into  the  world. 
Do  not  disappoint  myself  and  the  bearer  of  my  letter  in  the 
hopes  we  have  formed  and  set  our  hearts  on.  I  leave  to  him  to 
tell  your  Holiness  many  other  matters  that  need  to  be  mentioned. 
And,  taking  into  account  what  I  know  of  his  family,  his  dili- 
gence, his  uprightness,  his  sincere  and  earnest  zeal  for  faith  and 
country,  I  beseech  your  Holiness  to  bestow  some  favour  on  him, 
to  have  no  hesitation  in  granting  him  the  dignity  of  N.,  thereby 
approving  with  your  own  authority  the  action  I  am  taking  in 
the  present  emergency.1 

Protected  by  the  still  powerful  sept  of  O'Cahan,  it 
would  seem  that  O'Gallagher  was  all  this  time  able  to  exer- 
cise his  ministry  with  a  certain  amount  of  security.  In  a 
State  Paper,  dated  28th  July,  1592,  the  following  account  of 
him  is  given  : — 

First  in  Ulster  is  one  Eedmundus  O'Gallagher,  Buishopp  of 
Dayrie,  alias  Daren,  Legate  of  the  Pope  and  custos  Armaghen, 

1  For  the  original  Latin  letters  see  Meehan's  Flight  of  the  Earh. 


REDMOND  O'GALLAGHER,  MARTYR-BISHOP  OF  DERRY     7 

being  one  of  the  three  Irish  buishoppes  that  were  in  the  Council 
of  Trent.  This  buishopp  used  all  manner  of  spiritual  jurisdic- 
cion  throughout  all  Ulster,  consecrating  churches,  ordeyning 
priests,  confirming  children,  and  giving  all  manner  of  dispensa- 
cionS;  rydeing  with  pomp  and  ceremony  from  place  to  place,  as 
yt  was  accustomed  in  Queen  Marye's  days.  And  for  all  the  rest 
of  the  clergy  there,  they  use  all  manner  of  service  there  nowe  as 
in  that  tyme,  and  not  only  that,  but  they  have  changed  the  tyme 
according  (to)  the  Pope's  new  invencion.  The  said  Buishopp 
O'Gallagher  hath  bin  with  diverse  governors  of  that  land  upon 
protecion,  and  yet  he  is  suffered  to  enjoy  the  bishoprick,  and 
all  the  aforesaid  aucthoryties,  these  xxvi  years  past  and  more, 
whereby  it  is  to  be  understood  that  he  is  not  there  as  a  man 
without  aucthority  or  secretly  kept. l 

Though  this  statement  is  inaccurate  in  some  of  its 
details,  and  is  considerably  exaggerated,  still  it  is  important 
as  showing  the  zeal  and  influence  of  O'Gallagher  in  Ulster 
at  this  period.  It  is  not  correct  to  say  that  he  was  one 
of  the  Irish  bishops  who  attended  the  Council  of  Trent. 
The  three  who  did  attend,  were  Donald  M'Congail,  Bishop 
of  Raphoc ;  Thomas  O'Herlichy,  Bishop  of  Boss ;  and 
Eugene  O'Hart,  Bishop  of  Achonry.  Nor  is  it  true  to  say, 
that  he  was  legate  of  the  Pope.  He  had  merely  received 
from  him  extraordinary  jurisdiction  to  be  exercised  in  the 
absence  of  the  Primate,  and  hence  in  most  documents  of 
the  time  he  is  styled  Vice-Primate.  It  is  by  no  means 
likely  that  he  was  in  the  habit  of  '  rydeing  with  pomp 
and  company  from  place  to  place,'  for  the  English  soldiers 
had  gained  a  footing  in  O'Cahan's  country  at  this  time,  and 
one  of  their  great  objects  was  to  seize  the  Bishop  who 
was  regarded  as  their  most  powerful  opponent.  Though 
exercising  his  ministry,  he  did  so  disguised  as  a  peasant, 
and  under  the  protection  of  the  chieftains  who  were  not  as 
yet  entirely  shorn  of  their  power.  Though  residing,  as  a 
general  rule,  in  O'Cahan's  territory,  we  find  that  occasionally 
he  dwelt  in  the  city,  and  also  at  Fahan,  on  the  shores  01 
Lough  Swilly.  In  a  MS.  paper  in  the  State  Paper  Office, 
dated  12th  April,  1601,  and  endorsed  :  '  The  Description  of 
Lough  Foyle,  and  the  country  adjacent,'  we  find  the 

1  See  Kilkenny  Arch,  Jour,  for  1856-7. 


8  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

following  entries  : — '  Three  miles  above  Culmore  stands  the 
Derrie,  where  the  bishop  dwells,  who  is  one  of  the  sept  of 
the  Gallocars.'  And  again :  '  Over  against  Elloghe,  in 
O'Dovgherdie's  country,  is  a  castle  and  a  church  called  the 
Fanne,  but  broken  down  synce  our  aryvall, — Here  dwells 
the  Bishop  O'Galchar.'1 

Except  occasional  references  to  him,  these  are  all  the 
facts  that  have  hitherto  been  recorded  regarding  him,  till 
we  come  to  the  record  of  his  death.  That  sad  occurrence 
is  mentioned  by  several  authorities,  but  all  are  not  agreed 
as  to  the  year  in  which  it  took  place.  Dr.  Burke,  in  a  note 
to  the  eighteenth  chapter  of  his  Hibernia  Dominicana,  after 
recounting  the  names  of  many  who  had  suffered  for  the 
faith,  says  : — 

To  these  are  to  be  added,  deceased  shortly  after  Elizabeth, 
Eedmund  Galcharius,  vernacularly,  O'Gallagher,  bishop  of 
Derry,  who  about  his  seventieth  year  being  taken  prisoner 
by  heretical  soldiers  of  the  garrison  who  were  scouring  the 
country,  and  being  pierced  by  them  with  many  wounds,  died 
in  the  year  1604. 

O'Keilly,  in  his  Sufferers  for  the  Catholic  Faith  in  Ireland, 
adopts,  apparently  without  any  inquiry,  the  chronology  of 
De  Burgho.  O' Sullivan  Bear  gives  the  same  date  in 
enumerating  various  victims  that  were  put  to  death  for  the 
faith  under  James,  the  year  after  his  coming  to  the  throne. 
'  Baymund  O'Gallagher,  Bishop  of  Derry  or  Luci,  was  slain 
by  the  English  with  two-edged  swords,  and  beheaded  about 
his  eightieth  year.'2  Others  give  the  date  as  1602 ;  but 
even  this  is  not  correct  except  in  so  far  as  the  old  style 
corresponds  with  the  new.  The  date  given  by  the  Annals 
of  the  Four  Masters,  and  by  Donatus  Mooney  in  his 
MS.  History  of  the  Franciscans,  compiled  in  1617,  is  the 
correct  one.  The  annalists,  under  date  1601,  say  in  their 
usual  terse  style  :  '  Eedmund  O'Gallagher,  Bishop  of  Derry, 
was  killed  by  the  English  in  Oireacht-Ui-Chathain,  on  the 

1  See  U!st.  Jour,  of  Arch.,   vol.   v.     Though  dated  1601,  this  paper  was 
written  at  least  a  year  before  that. 
8  B.  ii.,  chap,  iv.,  Cath.  Hist. 


REDMOND  O'GALLAGHER,  MARTYR-BISHOP  OF  DERRY      9 

15th  day  of  March;'  and  Mooney  writes  :  'Kedmund  Galchur, 
martyr,  died  in  1601,  the  8th  of  March,  being  an  old  man, 
and  as  was  considered  the  oldest,  by  ordination,  of  all  the 
bishops  of  Europe.'1 

It  is  strange  that  none  of  all  these  writers  mention  the 
place  where  he  was  murdered,  except  the  Four  Masters,  and 
even  they  make  only  a  vague  reference  to  it ;  yet  on  the 
strength  of  that  reference  some  modern  writers  fix  the  place 
as  midway  between  Limavady  and  Dungiven.  Notwith- 
standing repeated  inquiries,  the  present  writer  could  never 
discover  any  reliable  authority  for  this  statement.  He 
believes,  however,  that  he  can  now  fix  the  exact  spot  of  the 
murder,  and  the  burial  of  the  martyred  bishop,  as  well  as 
give  many  details  of  his  life  not  hitherto  published.  In  the 
library  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  there  is  an  unpublished 
manuscript  of  Dr.  Lynch,  the  author  of  Cambrensis  Eversus, 
in  which  he  gives  a  tolerably  good  summary  of  the  life  of 
O'Gallagher,  and  furnishes,  moreover,  the  details  of  his 
death,  and  where  it  occurred,  with  a  minuteness  which 
enables  an  investigator  to  fix  almost  to  a  certainty  on 
the  very  spot  where  it  took  place.2  Though  some  of  the 
facts  already  given  will  of  necessity  be  repeated  in  this 
extract  from  Lynch,  yet  even  at  the  risk  of  repetition  it 
seems  better  to  give  the  text  in  its  entirety.  He  writes 
as  follows  : — 

We  see  from  the  Eecords  at  Borne  that  Eedmond  O'Gallagher, 
one  of  the  clergy  of  the  diocese  of  Eaphoe,  the  son  of  Gilduff, 
was  on  the  6th  Nov.,  1545,  when  he  was  only  twenty-four  years 
of  age,  or  rather  somewhat  less,  created  bishop  of  Killala,  then 
vacant  by  the  death  of  Bichard  Barret.  The  Kecords  speak 
of  Bedmond  as  of  noble  family.  It  may  well  be  that,  as  Pliny 
says  about  Macrinus,  in  merit  he  could  compete  with  those 
more  advanced  in  years,  in  whose  dignity  he  was  a  partner. 
At  any  rate  he  was  not  the  only  person  we  read  of,  who  for 
unusual  merit  was  elevated  before  the  age  of  thirty  to  the 
episcopal  rank,  whose  progress  in  virtue  far  outstripped  their 

1  See  note  to  O'Sullivan  Bear's  Cuth.  Hist. 

2  The  MS.  is  numbered  1445,   is  written  in  Latin,  bound  in  two  largo 
volumes,  and  a  note  prefixed  to  it  states  that  it  was  transcribed  in  1863,  by 
Mr.  John  Rathbone,  from  the  original  in  the  Bodleian  Library.     Its  title  is  : — 
Historic*  Eccletiastica  Hibernite  or  De  Frcesnlibus  Hibirnice. 


10  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

progress  in  years.     The  Pope  wrote  to  him  in  the  year  1553. 

Beyond  all  that,  it  appears  to  me  to  be  a  powerful  testimony  to 

his  worth,  that  during  a  period  when  the  most  of  the  bishops 

of  Ireland,  not  only  those  that  were  appointed  by  the  king,  but 

those   who   were   appointed    by   the    Pope,  were   infected   and 

corrupted   by   the  guilt  of  the  revolt  of  the   State  against  the 

Church,    Kedmond,  who  had  been  made  bishop   by  the   Pope, 

when   Henry   VIII.   was   still    reigning,   faithfully   fulfilled   his 

duties  as  bishop  of  Killala  during  the  reigns  of   Edward   and 

Mary,  and  until  far  on  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth.     The  legislation 

of  Edward  against  the  faith  never  obtained  power  or  validity  in 

Ireland,  or,  at  any  rate,  was  not  enforced  in  the  distant  parts  of 

the  country.     It  was  told  to  me,  that  Eedmond,  strange  to  say, 

had  detached  from  the  see   lands   a   farm,   and  conveyed  it  to 

his    sister's    husband.      The    time    of   this    transaction   is    not 

mentioned,  and  I  am  of  opinion   that   it   took  place  (that  is  if 

ever  it  took  place)   during    the   reign   of   Edward.     Kedmond, 

seeing  that  Edward  was  making  over  the  church  lands  to  lay 

persons,  preferred  to  have  the  farm  in  the  hands  of  his  sister 

than  of  a  stranger,  to  whom  certainly  the  king  would  give  all  the 

lands  of  the  see  of  Killala  that  he  could  get  hold  of  by  open  war 

or  private  violence.     Accordingly  Eedmond  is  in  nowise  touched 

by   the  excommunication  issued  by  Victor  II.,  in    the   Council 

of  Florence  against  those  who  alienate  church   lands  ;  neither 

does  he  incur  the  rebuke  of  Peter  Damian,  that  '  the  reverence 

for  the  sanctuary  is  weakened  when  by  alienation  of  this  kind 

its  ministers  are  in  miserable  want,  when  the  poor,  the  widow, 

the  orphan,  and  the  pilgrim  cry  out :  '  We  are  being  cut  off  by  the 

sword  of  hunger  from  the  face  of  the  earth ; '  adding  that  a  bishop 

of  Bologna  lost  the  power  of  his   speech  for  having   alienated 

ecclesiastical  property.     Eedmond's  great  zeal  for  the  repression 

of  heresy,  and  for  the  spread  of  the  Catholic  faith,  was  shown 

by  his  holding,  in  1566,  in  conjunction  with  Andrew  O'Crean, 

bishop  of  Elphin,  and  Eugene  O'Hart,  bishop  of  Achonry,  a  large 

assemblage  of    the  clergy  in   the  form   of   a  provincial  Council 

(at  which,  it  appears,  he  presided  as  senior  bishop),   and  they 

there  passed  a  decree,  that  their  observance  in  their  full  integrity 

of  the  decrees  of  the  Council  of  Trent  was  of  universal  obligation. 

Later  on  provincial  Councils  were  held  to  enforce  the  observance 

of  those  decrees  on  the  subjects  of  these  three  dioceses. 

On  the  plea  that  there  was  a  suspicion  of  undue  familiarity 
between  Eedmond  and  the  wife  of  a  certain  man  of  the  nobility, 
he  was  imprisoned,  his  goods  confiscated,  and  himself  exiled 
from  his  diocese  by  Sir  John  Burke,  son  of  Oliver,  who  had 
obtained  the  dignity  of  the  Mac  William,  and  the  presidency  of 
lower  Connaught,  attached  to  that  dignity,  and  who  died  in 
1580  ;  and  by  Sir  Edmund  Burke.  So  Sanders  is  correct  enough 
in  saying,  that  he  was  either  imprisoned  or  exiled,  not  for  any 


REDMOND  O'GALLAGHER,  MARTYR-BISHOP  OF  DERRY  11 

crime,  but  that  what  he  suffered,  whether  exile  or  imprisonment, 
was  because  he  was  a  Catholic  and  a  bishop ;  suggesting  that 
what  he  wrote  he  had  heard,  and  had  no  other  foundation  for 
believing  it  beyond  the  common  proverb  :  '  There  is  usually  truth 
in  a  rumour.'  The  misfortunes  that  befel  the  descendants  of 
those  who  persecuted  Bedmond,  seem  to  clear  him  of  that 
wicked  and  malicious  suspicion,  especially  when  we  take  into 
consideration,  that  had  a  stain  of  so  gross  a  nature  attached  to 
him,  he  never  would  have  been  translated  to  the  see  of  Derry, 
or  dignified  with  the  title  of  Vice-Primate.  I  do  not  know  the 
year  in  which  he  was  translated,  but  he  was  bishop  of  Derry, 
when  Gregory  XIII.,  as  we  know,  wrote  to  him,  6th  June,  1575, 
the  fourth  year  of  his  pontificate.  In  that  letter  the  Pope  gives 
instructions  about  promoting  to  holy  orders,  and  to  benefices 
some  persons  who  had  been  born  out  of  lawful  wedlock. 

In  Ulster,  at  any  rate,  the  public  exercise  of  the  Catholic 
religion  was  at  that  time  unmolested  and  prosperous.  The 
princes  and  nobles  of  Ulster  continued  by  force  of  arms  to 
exclude  heresy  from  their  dominions.  Now,  Eedmond,  it  seems, 
was  the  tower  of  strength  of  the  Ulstermen  and  their  bond  of 
union,  and  to  him  was  due  the  long  continuance  of  their  indepen- 
dence. At  any  rate,  the  heretics  believed  him  to  be  the  person 
who  kept  alive  the  war  and  kept  up  the  spirit  of  the  forces,  for 
they  singled  him  out  as  the  one  person  for  whose  destruction  all 
their  efforts  were  to  be  combined. 

Many  a  work  he  engaged  in,  in  rooting  up  the  thorns  and 
brambles  of  heresy,  and  in  planting  the  true  vine  of  the  Catholic 
faith ;  nor  was  his  zeal  confined  to  Ulster,  for  by  a  letter  of 
8th  August,  1596,  from  Belhena,  by  virtue  of  his  power  as  Vice- 
Primate,  he  appointed  Bernard  Macaghowan  Vicar-General  of 
Tuam  and  Mayo,  and  John  O'Dongal  Guardian  of  Mayo. 

The  defeat  of  the  Ulster  forces  left  him  unprotected — a 
mark  for  the  enemy's  vengeance.  The  following  year,  abandoned 
by  Neil  Garve  O'Donnell,  who  (as  Coppinger  states)  then  took 
part  with  the  heretics,  Henry  Docwra,  with  the  Lough  Foyle 
garrison,  got  on  his  track,  and  at  last  seized  him  in  Cumalia,  an 
out-of-the-way  hamlet  about  a  mile  from  Derry,  on  the  way 
which  leads  to  Strabane,  where  there  was  a  parochial  church. 
A  short  time  before  the  bishop  had  learned  the  arrangements  the 
enemy  had  made  for  getting  hold  of  him,  and  had  in  consequence 
hid  himself  in  a  bog,  winter  though  it  was ;  but  the  bitter  cold  and 
his  enfeebled  old  age  compelled  him  to  slip  into  a  house  at  the 
dead  of  night.  On  the  approach  of  the  enemy  all  in  the  house 
took  to  flight,  except  himself.  Unable  to  fly,  he  hid  himself  among 
some  sheaves  of  corn.  The  enemy  having  got  up  to  the  house, 
and  having  laid  hold  on  a  woman  and  boy,  slaughtered  them 
both,  and  went  away.  The  people  of  the  place  then  went  into 
the  house,  and  asked  was  there  anyone  there  still  alive.  The 


12  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

bishop,  from  his  hiding-place,  answered  that  he  was  still  alive. 
One  of  the  army  scullions  of  the  enemy,  who  was  lurking  close 
by,  overhearing  the  voice,  hurries  off  to  his  party  with  his  utmost 
speed,  urges  them  to  come  back,  which  they  do  without  delay, 
fall  upon  the  bishop,  thus  taken  by  surprise,  mangle  him  with 
many  a  wound,  and  leave  him  lifeless.  That  was  in  1602. 

It  is  believed  that  God  inflicted  punishments  on  the  authors 
of  this  foul  murder ;  that  is,  Neil  and  Docwra ;  for  Docwra  was 
set  aside,  and  Henry  Folliat  was  made  Governor  of  Ballyshannon 
in  his  place — an  event  which  was  miraculous,  even  in  the  eyes 
of  the  English,  that  the  very  man  who  regained  Ballyshannon 
should  be  dismissed  from  being  governor.  Neil  was  so  indignant 
that,  after  all  his  loyalty  to  the  English,  Eory  O'Donnell  should 
be  set  over  him,  that,  rushing  headlong  to  his  own  destruction, 
he  took  to  himself  the  title  of  O'Donnell,  and  thereupon 
obtained  a  prolonged  abode  in  the  Tower  of  London,  wherein  he 
kept  his  abode  till  his  death. 

The  bishop  was  buried  in  the  graveyard  of  the  parochial 
church  I  mentioned,  at  the  side  where  the  eastern  window  stood, 
the  interior  of  the  church  having  been  desecrated. 

From  this  passage  we  learn  of  the  zeal  of  O'Gallagher 
in  introducing  the  Tridentine  regulations,  and  in  enforcing 
the  rules  of  morality  and  religion,  a  zeal  which,  no  doubt, 
provoked  the  anger  of  the  irreligious,  and  excited  their 
malice  against  the  saintly  bishop.  We  know  the  lawless 
nature  of  some  of  the  Irish  chieftains,  and  the  lax  notions  of 
virtue  that  prevailed  among  not  a  few ;  and  woe  to  the  cleric 
that  dared  to  upbraid  them  for  their  vices.  O'Gallagher,  as 
Bishop  of  Killala,  probably  found  it  his  duty  to  reprove 
some  of  those  chiefs  for  their  loose  lives,  or  for  their 
defection  from  the  faith,  and  in  return  they  determined  to 
check  his  virtuous  zeal,  as  the  Arians  of  the  fourth  century 
did  with  the  great  St.  Athanasius.  They  resorted  to  the 
same  species  of  calumny  as  did  the  Arians,  and  added 
violence  to  their  defamation ;  but  God  vindicated  his 
innocence  as  He  did  that  of  Athanasius,  and  his  fellow- 
bishops,  as  well  as  the  Supreme  Head  of  the  Church, 
manifested  their  faith  in  his  virtue  by  his  promotion  to 
the  see  of  Derry.  To  this  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  soon 
afterwards  added  the  dignity  of  Vice-Primate. 

His  labours  in  the  cause  of  faith  and  fatherland,  'while 
Bishop  of  Derry,  made  him  a  tower  of  strength  to  the 


REDMOND  O'GALLAGHER,  MARTYR-BISHOP  OF  DERRY    13 

Catholics  of  the  north,  and  a  terror  to  his  enemies.  No 
wonder,  then,  that  the  English  incessantly  sought  his  life. 
The  O'Cahans  and  other  chieftains  of  the  district  protected 
him  as  long  as  they  had  the  power,  but  their  territory  had 
become  the  prey  of  the  invader,  and  the  life  of  the  aged 
bishop  was  no  longer  secure  in  the  mountains  of  Dungiven 
or  Magilligan.  His  only  safety  was  in  flight.  He  was  pro- 
bably sojourning  at  his  house  in  the  city  of  Derry — for  as  we 
saw  above  he  sometimes  resided  in  the  city,  and  sometimes 
at  Fahan,  as  well  as  in  the  O'Cahan  country — when  he 
discovered  the  machinations  of  Docwra  against  his  life.  If 
he  could  escape  to  his  native  Tyrconnell  he  might  elude  the 
bloodhounds  of  Docwra,  and  obtain  protection  among  his 
own  kith  and  kin.  This  would  seem  to  have  been  his  object 
in  taking  the  route  he  did  when  flying  from  the  city.  Lynch's 
minute  description  at  this  point  enables  us  to  follow  the 
aged  fugitive  step  by  step  to  the  spot  where  he  met  his 
doom.  He  went  from  the  city,  says  Lynch,  by  the  road 
that  leads  to  Strabane.  The  only  road  then  leading  from 
Derry  to  Strabane  was  that  on  the  western  side  of  the 
Foyle,  which  passes  through  the  towns  of  Carrigans 
and  St.  Johnston,  and  thence  to  Lifford  No  bridge  then 
spanned  the  river  at  Derry,  and  consequently  there  was  no 
communication  between  the  city  and  the  eastern  side  of  the 
Foyle,  except  by  means  of  a  ferry.  To  attempt  to  cross 
this  ferry  with  the  soldiers  of  the  garrison  on  the  look  out 
for  him,  and  with  Protestants  manning  the  ferry-boats, 
would  have  been  sheer  madness  on  the  part  of  the 
bishop.  Besides,  the  route  was  the  very  opposite  to  that 
he  should  have  taken,  if,  as  we  suppose,  he  intended  going 
to  Tyrconnell. 

Setting  out  by  night,  he  reached  a  hamlet  which,  Lynch 
says,  was  about  a  mile  from  Derry,  and  where  there  was  a 
parochial  church.  Here  he  at  first  concealed  himself  in  a 
bog,  but  the  intense  cold  induced  him  to  slip  into  a  house 
about  midnight  to  get  himself  warmed.  Now  the  only 
parochial  church  in  that  direction  was  the  church  of  Killea, 
which  was  one  of  five  rural  churches  which  depended  on  and 
were  attached  to  the  great  church  in  Derry.  Killea  is  three 


14  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

miles  from  the  city ;  but  we  could  not  expect  Lynch,  a 
stranger  to  the  locality,  to  know  the  exact  distance.  His 
meaning,  clearly,  is,  that  the  place  was  a  short  distance 
from  Derry.  Evidently  the  place  was  well  known  to 
O'Gallagher,  as  he  betook  himself  there  for  safety,  and  he 
felt  he  could  trust  himself  in  the  cottages  of  the  poor 
Catholics  there.  Killea  corresponds  exactly  with  Lynch's 
description.  There  was  the  bog  in  which  he  concealed 
himself  at  first.  The  bog  is  now  exhausted,  but  in  the 
present  writer's  early  days  it  was  still  extensive,  and 
supplied  the  entire  neighbourhood  with  fuel.  The 
church  stood  on  a  gentle  slope  above  this  bog,  and  its 
ruins  were  standing  until  a  few  years  ago,  when  they  were 
taken  down,  and  the  materials  used  in  building  a  new  wall 
around  the  graveyard.  The  latter  is  still  used  for  inter- 
ments. The  church  gives  its  name  to  the  adjoining  parish 
of  Killea,  which  in  the  Protestant  division  is  still  a  distinct 
parish,  but  in  the  Catholic  division  is  amalgamated  with  a 
number  of  other  small  parishes  to  form  what  is  called 
the  parish  of  Taughboyne  and  All  Saints.  The  parish  of 
Killea  is  in  the  diocese  of  Raphoe,  but  the  townland  and 
church  of  Killea  are  in  the  diocese  of  Derry.  The  north- 
west Liberties,  which  extend  three  miles  in  every  direction 
from  the  city,  on  the  western  side  of  the  Foyle,  were  cut  off 
from  Donegal  by  Docwra,  and  added  to  the  county  of  Derry. 
This  explains  the  reason  of  the  parish  being  at  present  in 
a  different  county  from  the  church  which  gave  it  its  name; 
and  this  too  may  explain  the  expression  of  the  Four  Masters, 
that  O'Gallagher  was  killed  in  O'Cahan's  territory,  since  the 
Liberties  were  now  part  of  the  county  Derry.  More  likely, 
however,  they  took  it  for  granted,  that  it  was  in  county 
Derry  he  had  been  killed,  since  it  was  there  he  had 
generally  dwelt  during  the  time  of  his  episcopate.  The 
hamlet  of  which  Lynch  speaks,  like  most  of  our  old 
Irish  villages,  has  disappeared,  though  a  number  of 
houses  are  still  scattered  around  the  vicinity  of  the  old 
church. 

In  Lewis's  Topographical  Dictionary  mention  is  made 
of  two  cairns  in  the  townland  of  Killea,  one  of  which,  the 


REDMOND  O'GALLAGHER,  MARTYR-BISHOP  OF  DERRY    15 

writer  says,  is  in  the  bed  of  a  rivulet  called  the  4  Priest's 
Burn,'  from  a  tradition,  that  a  priest  was  killed  on  the  spot. 
This,  too,  helps  to  indicate  the  place  where  O'Gallagher  was 
slain ;  for  from  the  testimony  of  a  native  of  the  place,  now 
in  his  ninety-third  year,  the  present  writer  has  learned, 
that  there  was  a  cairn  formerly  at  Killea  Burn  a  few 
hundred  yards  below  the  church,  at  the  edge  of  the  bog, 
where  he  believes  the  hamlet  stood  which  Lynch  describes, 
and  where  the  aged  bishop  was  done  to  death  by  the  brutal 
soldiers  of  Elizabeth. 

If  for  nothing  else  this  MS.  of  Dr.  Lynch  is  of  the 
utmost  value  as  furnishing  data  for  fixing  on  the  place  of 
O'Gallagher' s  martyrdom  and  burial,  and  for  giving  so  many 
details  of  his  life.  The  topography  is  so  accurately  described 
that  no  doubt  whatever  remains  on  the  mind  of  the  writer 
as  to  the  spot  where  the  saintly  bishop  fell  and  was  interred. 
That  he  fell  by  Killea  Burn,  and  was  interred  in  Killea 
graveyard  by  the  ruins  of  the  old  church,  at  the  side  where 
the  eastern  altar  stood,  seems  to  be  beyond  a  doubt  if  we 
are  to  accept  the  history  given  by  Lynch ;  and  there  is  no 
reason  for  calling  its  accuracy  into  question.  At  the  time 
of  his  martyrdom  he  was  in  his  eightieth  year,  having  been 
twenty-four  at  the  time  of  his  appointment  to  Killala,  and 
having  exercised  jurisdiction  for  fifty-six  years  afterwards. 

His  was  an  eventful  and  fruitful  episcopate.  Ever 
battling  for  the  Church,  rebuking  when  necessary  the  vices 
of  the  great,  even,  as  we  have  seen,  at  the  risk  of  defamation 
and  loss  of  liberty ;  supporting  the  weak,  strengthening  the 
wavering,  bringing  hope  and  consolation  to  the  sick  and 
dying,  urging  the  chieftains  to  fight  strenuously  against  the 
inroads  of  heresy,  he  was  truly  another  St.  Paul  to  the  perse- 
cuted flock  over  whom  he  ruled,  and  a  tower  of  strength  to  the 
Catholics  of  Ulster.  His  heartless  and  brutal  murder  was 
but  one  in  the  long,  dark  catalogue  of  crimes  which  charac- 
terized the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  but  one  sufficient  in  itself  to 
mark  an  epoch.  In  the  same  month,  two  years  afterwards, 
she  followed  him  to  her  final  account  ;  but  how  widely 
different  the  death  of  the  bishop  and  the  death  of  the 
queen  !  The  one,  after  a  long  and  faithful  stewardship  in 


10  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

the  vineyard  of  the  Lord,  after  preaching  Christ's  Gospel, 
and  putting  into  practice  its  precepts,  gives  up  his  life  for 
the  Church  and  the  faith  which  he  had  so  long  and  so 
vigorously  defended ;  the  other,  after  a  regime  stained  by 
every  crime,  after  overthrowing  the  religion  of  her  ances- 
tors, murdering  the  innocent  Queen  of  Scots,  slaying  the 
ministers  of  God's  Church,  assuming  to  herself  the 
prerogatives  of  Christ's  Vicar  on  earth,  '  drunk  with  the 
blood  of  the  saints  and  with  the  blood  of  the  martyrs 
of  Jesus,'  sinks  at  last  despairing  into  the  arms  of  death, 
not  daring  to  invoke  the  name  of  that  God  against  whom 
she  had  warred  during  life,  nor  permitting  a  prayer  to 
be  breathed  by  her  bedside  as  she  went  before  the 
judgment  seat  to  receive  her  final  sentence.1 

The  murder  of  Eedmond  O'Gallagher  was  but  the 
prelude  to  the  martyrdom  of  a  host  of  priests,  both  secular 
and  regular,  who  were  slain  in  Derry  during  the  reign  of 
James  I.  and  his  successors,  till  the  catalogue  was  closed  by 
the  death  of  the  Kev.  Clement  O'Colgan,  O.P.P.,  who, 
after  an  imprisonment  of  two  years,  died  for  the  faith  in 
Derry  jail,  as  late  as  the  year  1704.  If  sword  and  flame, 
confiscation  of  property,  outlawry  of  priests  and  bishops, 
destruction  of  churches  and  monasteries,  could  have 
destroyed  Catholicity,  it  might  well  have  been  extin- 
guished in  the  city  of  Columbkille  and  in  the  diocese  of 
St.  Eugene ;  but  it  still  survived  with  that  indestructible 
life  which  Christ  promised  to  His  Church  on  earth.  The 
storm  of  persecution  became  exhausted  by  its  own  fury ; 
fanaticism  grew  weary  of  its  tyranny,  and  bigotry  learned 
to  be  ashamed  of  its  atrocities.  Happier  days  began  to 
dawn,  and  with  them  came  the  revival  of  religion  and  the 
reconstruction  of  its  sacred  edifices.  Just  like  some  valu- 
able palimpsest,  from  whose  page  the  skill  of  the  modern 
chemist  has  effaced  the  writing  of  the  later  scribe,  restoring 
thereby  to  the  world  the  priceless  characters  first  written  on 
the  parchment,  so  the  purifying  hand  of  time  has  obliterated 


1  For  a  description  of  the  last  days  of  this  queen,  see  Dr.  Lee's  Church 
-  Elizabeth. 


REDMOND  O'GALLAGHER,  MARTYR-BISHOP  OF  DERRY  17 

from  the  Church  of  Derry  the  handwriting  of  evil  men,  and 
has  restored  to  the  light  of  day  the  beauty  and  glowing 
fervour  of  its  ancient  faith. 

Redmond  O'Gallagher  has  long  since  gone  to  his  ever- 
lasting crown  ;  his  heartless  and  cowardly  murderers  have 
passed  to  their  account ;  but  the  faith  which  they  endea- 
voured to  destroy,  and  for  which  he  fought,  the  Church 
which  they  blindly  hoped  to  crush,  and  for  which  he  shed 
his  blood,  still  live  on,  purified  and  strengthened  by  the 
ordeal  through  which  they  have  passed.  Ezechiel's  vision 
has  again  been  fulfilled ;  for  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  has 
breathed  once  more  over  the  dry  bones  of  the  plain,  and  a 
new  race  has  arisen  to  fill  up  for  Mother  Church  in  Derry 
the  place  of  her  martyred  dead. 

K.    O'DOHEBTY. 


VOL.  III. 


THE   CONTINUITY   THEORY 

T)EFOBE  entering  upon  the  subject  of  this  essay,  I  think 
J3  it  will  make  my  task  lighter,  if  I  begin  by  stating 
exactly  what  I  am  going  to  do.  I  am  going  to  compare  the 
Church  of  England  as  it  existed  before  the  sixteenth 
century  with  the  Church  of  England  as  it  exists  to-day. 
I  call  the  first  the  '  Pre-Eeformation  Church,'  and  the 
second  the  '  Post-Keformation  Church.'  But  what  kind  of 
comparison  am  I  going  to  institute  ?  Am  I  going  to  prove 
that  the  one  is  true,  and  the  other  false?  No.  Am  I  going 
to  prove  that  the  one  is  a  divine,  and  the  other  a  human 
institution  ?  No,  nothing  of  the  kind.  My  purpose  is  far 
more  simple.  I  am  going  to  prove  merely  that  the  one 
Church  is  not  the  other. 

The  issue  is,  therefore,  very  simple.  The  sole  question 
before  us  is  this  :  Is  the  '  Pre-Beformation  Church '  the 
same  Church  as  the  '  Post-Beformation  Church,'  or  is  it  a 
different  one  ?  Is  the  faith  professed  by  the  English 
sovereigns  and  people  in  the  twelfth,  thirteenth,  and  four- 
teenth centuries  the  same  as  that  professed  by  the 
sovereigns  and  people  in  the  seventeenth,  eighteenth,  and 
nineteenth  centuries  ?  Have  the  same  doctrines  and  eccle- 
siastical government  continued  century  after  century,  or 
has  there  been  a  rupture,  a  severance,  a  breaking  away,  a 
dislocation  ?  In  a  word,  has  there  been  a  distinct  interrup- 
tion, or  has  there  been  an  unbroken  continuity?  We,  as 
Catholics,  answer  emphatically  that  there  has  been  a  most 
decided  interruption ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  certain  of 
our  Anglican  friends  declare  with  equal  emphasis  that  there 
has  not. 

Take  note  that  we  are  concerned  with  doctrine,  faith, 
religious  observance,  and  ecclesiastical  government ;  not 
with  mere  external  possessions.  "When  pagan  Borne 
was  converted  to  Christianity  the  Christians,  in  many 
instances,  transformed  the  pagan  temples  into  places  of 


THE   CONTINUITY   THEORY  19 

Catholic  worship.  But  because  they  occupied  the  same 
territory,  lived  in  the  same  towns,  and  retained  the  same 
buildings,  we  cannot  upon  that  ground  argue  that  there 
was  any  real  '  continuity,'  in  doctrine  or  religious  belief, 
between  paganism  and  Christianity.  So,  for  a  like  reason, 
when  the  Reformers  took  possession  of  the  Catholic 
cathedrals  and  churches,  and  of  the  abbeys  and  the  abbey 
lands,  and  clothed  themselves  with  the  spoils  of  the  monas- 
teries, we  can  no  more  argue  that  they  were  on  that  account 
of  the  same  creed  as  the  monks  and  priests  whom  they 
turned  adrift,  transported,  or  hanged,  than  we  can  argue 
that  the  wolf  is  of  the  same  nature  as  the  sheep,  on  the 
ground  that,  having  slain  the  sheep,  he  now  wears  its 
fleece.  He  is  still  as  much  a  wolf  as  ever. 

We  are  perfectly  well  aware  that  the  grand  old  English 
cathedrals,  such  as  those  of  Bath  and  Wells,  of  Canterbury 
and  Durham,  of  Gloucester  and  Hereford,  of  York  and 
Ely,  and  Worcester,  Lincoln,  Salisbury,  Winchester,  and 
Norwich,  and  many  more  (though  designed  by  Catholic 
artists,  built  by  Catholic  hands,  and  paid  for  by  Catholic 
gold)  have  been  appropriated  by  that  Protestant  Reformed 
religion,  established  by  law,  which  King  William  and  Queen 
Mary,  and  presumably  all  English  sovereigns  since,  in  their 
coronation  oaths,  have  solemnly  sworn  to  defend.1 

We  are  well  aware  that  the  Universities  of  Oxford  and 
Cambridge,  together  with  the  moneys  and  emoluments, 
and  the  sums  left  as  bequests  for  Masses,  and  many  other 
things  of  a  material  and  pecuniary  value,  which  once 
belonged  to  the  '  Pre-Reformation  Church,'  were  taken 
away,  and  have  now  become  the  property  of  the  '  Post- 
Reformation  Church.'  But  the  religion  and  faith  of  the 
'  Pre-Reformation  Church ' — that  is  to  say,  that  which 
constitutes  its  very  essence,  its  innermost  spirit  and  life — 
have  not  descended  to  the  English  as  a  nation.  The  wolf 


i  CORONATION  OATH,  1689-1702. 

To  King  William  and  Queen  Mary. 

Archbishop. — '  Will  you,  to  the  utmost  of  your  power,  maintain  the  laws 
of  God,  the  true  profession  of  the  Gospel,  and  the  Protestant  Reformed 
Religion,  established  by  law  ?  ' 

'  We  -will,'  &c.— (The  Book  of  Riyhts.    By  Edgar  Taylor,  p.  215.) 


20  THE  IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

has  got  the  fleece.  True  !  But  there  still  remains  a  mighty 
and  essential  difference  between  the  wolf  and  the  sheep. 
But  how  does  it  happen  that  all  Protestants,  as  well  as 
Catholics,  are  not  agreed  upon  this  point  ?  Well,  let  us 
see. 

People  read  history  very  differently,  according  to  the 
manner  in  which  the  facts  may  affect  their  own  particular 
interests  ;  and  we  cannot  but  feel  that,  whether  consciously 
or  unconsciously,  the  upholders  of  the  theory,  which  we 
are  examining  here  to-day,  are  not  impartial,  but  so  strongly 
biassed  in  its  favour  as  to  think  they  see  proofs  even  where 
none  exist.  Of  such  men  may  be  said,  with  the  alteration 
of  a  single  word,  what  Shakspeare  says  of  the  jealous  : 
'  Trifles  light  as  air  are  to  the  biassed  (jealous)  confirmation 
strong  as  proofs  of  Holy  Writ.' 1 

But  is  there  a  strong  motive  to  maintain  the  continuity 
theory  at  any  cost  ?  Well,  I  think  we  shall  find  there  is. 
Indeed,  Anglicans  must  cling  to  this  theory,  because  it  is 
essential  to  their  position — I  might  almost  say  to  their 
very  existence.  It  may  be  an  improbable  theory,  it  may 
be  an  impossible  theory,  it  may  be  a  theory  which 
history,  loud  and  trumpet  toned,  denies  and  contradicts ; 
a  theory  derided  and  scouted  by  the  overwhelming 
body  of  Christians  throughout  the  world ;  but  it  is  essential 
to  the  position  of  the  little  local  Church  that  defends  it. 
Therefore,  in  mere  self-defence,  and  in  virtue  of  the 
natural  instinct  of  self-preservation,  these  good  people 
close  their  ears  to  every  argument,  and  remain  blind 
to  the  most  unassailable  evidence.  They  have  ears, 
but  hear  not ;  eyes,  and  see  not,  because  they  really  cannot 
afford  either  to  see  or  to  hear.  To  do  so  would  be  to  admit 
themselves  in  the  wrong.  To  give  up  continuity  is  equiva- 
lent to  affirm  that  their  Church  is  less  than  four  hundred 
years  old ;  it  is  implicitly  to  admit  that  it  is  not  the  Church 
of  Christ,  which  was  established  in  this  land  more  than  a 
thousand  years  earlier ;  and,  if  not  the  Church  of  Christ, 
then,  of  course,  not  a  true  Church  at  all.  Further,  it  is  to 

1  Othel.,  iii  3. 


THE   CONTINUITY   THEORY  21 

admit  that  they  have  no  real  right  to  the  doweries  and 
emoluments  and  the  ecclesiastical  legacies  and  Church 
lands.  No,  no  more  than  a  supposed  heir  to  a  property  has 
a  right  to  that  property  when  it  is  discovered  that  he  is, 
after  all,  no  true  son,  but  only  a  bastard.  The  thought  of 
these  and  many  other  consequences  puts  religiously-minded 
men  in  a  position  in  which  we  can  no  more  wonder  at  their 
clinging  to  any  vestige  of  an  argument,  and  to  any  shred  or 
shadow  of  a  proof,  than  we  can  wonder  at  a  drowning  man 
clasping  and  snatching  at  any  floating  straw  or  drifting 
weed  that  comes  within  his  reach. 

But,  even  in  spite  of  all  this,  so  clear  and  so  irresistible 
is  the  evidence  against  the  continuity  theory,  that  the  more 
clear-headed,  learned,  honest,  and  impartial  of  Anglicans 
themselves  have  felt  obliged  to  admit  that  there  has  been 
really  no  true  and  real  'continuity'  in  the  Church  of 
England  at  all.  They  admit,  in  a  word — and  the  admission 
being  so  contrary  to  their  own  interests  is  of  quite  excep- 
tional value — that  the  Church  of  England,  as  now  existing, 
is  radically  different  from  the  Church  of  England  of  four 
hundred  years  ago — that,  in  a  word,  the  present  Church  of 
England  started  into  existence  only  as  late  as  the  sixteenth 
century,  and  was  the  creation  of  Henry  VIII.  and 
Elizabeth. 

Now,  it  is  not  our  purpose  to  try  and  force  our  own 
belief,  however  certain,  down  anybody's  throat ;  nor  need 
we  accuse  any  individual  of  dishonesty  because  evidence 
which  convinces  others  does  not  convince  him.  The  law 
courts  afford  us  innumerable  cases  of  evidence  completely 
satisfying  eleven  jurymen,  and  yet  altogether  failing  to 
convince  the  twelfth.  So  it  may  be  in  the  case  of  contin- 
uity. Now,  there  are  at  present  in  my  mind  theological 
reasons  which,  altogether  independently  of  historical  facts, 
absolutely  satisfy  me  that  the  English  Church  of  to-day  is 
totally  distinct  from  the  English  Church  of  St.  Thomas  of 
Canterbury  and  of  Archbishop  Chicheley;  but  I  am  not 
going  to  produce  any  theological  arguments  now.  As  there 
is  not  time  for  everything,  I  will  confine  myself  to  the 
evidences  of  history,  and  I  will  call  up  various  weighty 


22  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

witnesses.  Nay  more;  in  order  to  give  my  Anglican  friends 
every  advantage,  I  will  pack  my  witness-box,  and  select  my 
witnesses,  not  from  among  Catholics,  who  might  be  thought 
biassed  against  the  continuity  theory,  but  from  among 
non-Catholics,  and  non-Catholics  alone. 

The  first  I  will  summon  is  Mr.  E.  A.  Freeman,  Eegius 
Professor  of  Modern  History,  Oxford,  whom  Canon  Bright 
calls  '  a  great  master  of  English  history.'  He  witnesses  as 
follows : — l 

England  was  the  special  conquest  of  the  Roman  Church, 
the  first  land  which  looked  up  with  reverence  to  the  Eoman 
Pontiff,  while  it  owed  not  even  a  nominal  allegiance  to  the 
Roman  Caesar.  .  .  .  The  English  folk  were  first  called  to  cast 
aside  the  faith  of  Woden,  and  to  embrace  the  faith  of  Christ  by 
men  who  came  on  that  errand  from  Rome  herself,  at  the  bidding 
of  the  acknowledged  father  of  Western  Christendom. 

I  will  now  call  upon  the  Rev.  F.  C.  Warren,  a  recognised 
Anglican  authority  on  the  liturgy  of  the  ancient  British 
Church.  He,  like  Freeman,  emphatically  testifies  to  the 
essentially  Eoman  character  and  condition  of  the  early 
English  Church  : — 

Roman  [he  says]  in  origin,  owing  her  existence  to  the  fore- 
sight of  one  of  the  greatest  Popes,  and  fostered  at  first  by 
Roman  missionaries  and  bishops,  the  Church  of  England  had 
been  constantly  and  loyally  Roman  in  doctrine  and  practice.  Her 
liturgical  books,  as  well  as  her  vestments,  and  church  ornaments 
came  direct  from  Rome,  being  sent  from  Gregory  to  Augustine. 
Her  archbishops,  from  the  very  first,  applied  for  and  wore  the 
pall.2 

This  is  pretty  strong  evidence,  as  coming  from  an 
Anglican  clergyman.  But  let  us  now  dismiss  him  and 
call  our  next  witness. 

What  has  the  Protestant  historian,  Child,  to  say  on  the 
subject  ?  Turning  to  his  well-known  work,  we  come  across 
the  following : — 

When  Henry  died,  a  complete  revolution  had  been  effected  in 
the  history  of  the  Church.  Instead  of  the  Church  in  England,  it 

1  Eniycl.  Brit.,  art.  'England,'  pp.  277-278. 

2  Intro,  to  Leofric's  Missal,  p.  24.     Rev.  F.  C.  Warren. 


THE   CONTINUITY   THEORY  23 

had  become  in  good  truth,  the  Church  of  England ;  instead, 
that  is,  of  an  integral  part  of  that  great  western  province  of 
Christendom,  to  which  it  owed  its  first  conversion,  and  with 
which  it  had  been  one  ever  since,  for  nearly  a  thousand  years,  it 
had  become  for  the  first  time  in  its  history,  a  separate  Christian 
community,  of  which  little  could  be  affirmed,  but  that,  for  the 
time  being  at  any  rate,  it  agreed  with  no  other;  that  it  retained 
an  anomalous  and  decapitated  form  of  Catholicism  ;  and  that,  in 
practice,  if  not  in  theory  too,  it  owed  its  doctrine  as  well  as 
whatever  of  discipline  it  retained  to  its  lay  supreme  head.1 

So  much  for  Mr.  Child.  We  will  now  ask  his  Lordship 
the  Eight  Eev.  Protestant  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph,  Dr.  Short, 
to  state  his  honest  conviction  upon  this  interesting  point  : — 

The  Englishman  [writes  Bishop  Short]  who  derives  his  blood 
from  Saxon  veins  will  be  ungrateful  if  he  be  not  ready  to  confess 
the  debt  which  Christian  Europe  owes  to  Borne ;  and  to  confess 
that  whenever  she  shall  cast  off  these  innovations  of  men,  which 
now  cause  a  separation  between  us,  we  shall  gladly  pay  her 
such  honours  as  are  due  to  the  country  which  was  instrumental 
in  bringing  us  within  the  pale  of  the  Universal  Church  of 
Jesus  Christ. 

And  further  on  Dr.  Short  admits  that  the  existence  of 
the  Church  of  England,  as  a  distinct  body,  and  her  final 
separation  from  Home,  may  be  dated  from  the  period  of  the 
(Henry's)  divorce. 

This  is  an  unequivocal  testimony.  If  the  English 
Church  separated  from  Eome  in  Henry's  time,  then  she 
must  have  been  united  with  Eome  before  Henry's  time. 
The  historian,  Gardiner, in  his  Student's  History  of  England? 
also  states,  that  '  The  English  Church  was  in  all  outward 
matters  regulated  in  conformity  with  that  of  Eome.' 

Herzog  affords  us  yet  another  testimony.  In  his 
Encyclopcedia  of  Theology,  article  '  Church  of  England,' 
though  he  impartially  state,  that  many  Anglicans  advance  a 
claim  to  antiquity  for  their  Church,  he  expresses  his  own 
opinion  :  '  Its  history  begins  with  the  reign  of  Henry  VIIL, 
when  breaking  with  the  Pope,  he  was  declared  the  head  of 
the  Church  in  his  dominions.'3 

1  Church  and  State  under  the  Tudors,  pp.  264-5. 

2  Page  50. 

3  History  of  the  Church  of  England  to  the  Revolution,  1668,  p.  8. 


24  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

We  now  call  upon  another  witness,  the  learned  author 
of  a  work  entitled  Celtic  Scotland.1 

Now  Mr.  Skene  testifies  to  the  identity  of  doctrine  and 
practice  in  the  Koman  and  ancient  British  Churches  in 
these  words  :  — 

Suffice  it  to  say  that  during  the  Eoman  occupation  the 
Christian  Church  in  Britain  was  a  part  of  the  Church  of  the 
Empire.  It  was  immediately  connected  with  that  of  Gaul,  but 
it  acknowledged  Eome  as  its  head,  from  whom  its  mission 
was  considered  to  be  derived,  and  it  presented  no  features 
of  difference  from  the  Konaish  Church  in  the  other  western 
provinces.  We  find  it  in  close  connection  with  the  Gallican 
Church,  and  regarding  the  Patriarch  of  Eome  as  the  head  of  the 
Western  Church,  and  the  source  of  ecclesiastical  authority  and 
mission,  and  with  the  exception  of  the  temporary  prevalence  of 
the  Pelagian  heresy  in  Britain,  we  can  discover  no  trace  of  any 
divergence  between  them  in  doctrine  or  practice. 

Some  of  our  antagonists  would  have  us  make  a  dis- 
tinction between  Protestantism  and  Anglicanism,  but  as 
the  Archbishop  of  Melbourne  truly  observes  :  '  This  distinc- 
tion has  no  foundation  in  the  history  of  the  Reformation.' 
The  following  statement  of  historical  facts,  written,  not  by 
Catholic,  but  by  the  Protestant  historian  Child,  will  satisfy 
every  impartial  reader.  He  says  :  — 

It  is  difficult  to  study  the  actual  facts  of  the  sixteenth 
century  history,  putting  apart  preconceived  ecclesiastical 
theories,  without  arriving  at  the  conclusion  that  the  English 
National  Church  was  as  completely  the  creation  of  Henry  VIII., 
Edward's  Council,  and  Elizabeth,  as  Saxon  Protestantism 
was  of  Luther,  Swiss  of  Calvin,  or  of  Zwingle.  2 

The  history  of  the  Church  in  England  was  continuous  from 
the  mission  of  Augustine,  or,  if  we  prefer  it,  from  the  Synod  of 
Whitby,  to  the  time  when  Henry  VIII.,  upon  a  disagreement 
with  the  Pope  about  his  divorce,  cast  off  his  allegiance  to  the 
Papacy.  From  that  time  to  the  present,  with  the  short  interval 
between  the  reconciliation  under  Mary  and  Elizabeth's  first 
Parliament,  it  has  been  severed  and  excommunicated  by  the 
great  body  of  the  Catholic  Church  ;  and  as  the  latter  was  before 
precisely  that  which  it  has  continued  since,  it  is  clear  that  the 
former  must  have  been  something  not  the  same.  And  it  is  not  the 
mere  retention  of  a  few  names  and  titles,  used  in  a  kind  of  '  second 


.  ii.,  pp.  2,7.  "  Church  and  State,  &c.,  pp.  272-4 


THE  CONTINUITY  THEORY  25 

intention,'  and  a  few  more  or  less  amputated  rites,  which  will 
ever  make  persons,  intelligently  instructed,  believe  that  an 
establishment  which  obviously  is  a  mere  creature  of  a  single 
state,  is  the  legitimate  and  adequate  representative  of  that 
imposing  Western  Church,  which  is  older  than  any  existing 
state  in  Europe,  and  grander  than  anything  the  world  has  ever 
seen,  and  which  has  been  picturesquely  described  by  an  old 
writer  as  '  the  ghost  of  the  old  Boman  Empire,'  sitting  robed 
and  crowned  upon  the  grave  thereof.1 

A  fair  consideration  of  the  actual  facts  of  the  Tudor  history 
serves  to  show  that,  a  theory  like  that  which  prevails  so  widely 
at  present,  which  represents  the  English  Church  in  any  other 
light  than  that  of  one  (though  it  may,  perhaps,  be  admitted,  the 
greatest  and  most  dignified)  of  the  Protestant  Churches  which 
arose  in  the  sixteenth  century,  is  a  novelty  which  took  its  very 
earliest  rise  some  half  century  or  more  after  the  separation  from 
Eome,  as  a  direct  consequence  of  Elizabeth's  determination  to 
give  no  quarter  to  the  early  Puritans,  and  which  made  little  or 
no  progress  for  another  half  century  still.  The  evidence  is  simply 
overwhelming,  which  shows  that,  during  the  whole  period  from 
1552  onwards,  the  English  Church  was  considered  by  friends 
and  foes  alike  to  be,  for  all  intents  and  purposes,  one  with  the 
Swiss  Churches  of  Zurich  and  Geneva.2 

The  truth  upon  this  subject  is  so  patent  to  the  unpre- 
judiced mind  that,  not  in  serious  histories  merely,  but  even 
in  the  daily  press,  and  on  the  public  platforms  it  is  taken  as 
a  matter  of  course.  An  instance  or  two  here  will  not  be 
out  of  place. 

Taking  up  a  Protestant  paper3 1  came  across  an  account 
of  a  meeting  at  which  Sir  G.  Osborne  Morgan,  M.P., 
took  the  chair.  Though  a  Protestant  himself,  and  son 
of  the  Kev.  M.  Morgan,  Protestant  Vicar  of  Conway, 
Carnarvonshire,  he  nevertheless  delivered  himself  in  the 
following  words  : — 

What  was  the  Church  of  England  as  by  law  established? 
He  would  answer  the  question  in  the  words  of  the  highest 
legal  authority  in  the  land.  '  The  Established  Church,'  says  the 
Chief  Justice  of  England,  '  is  a  political  institution,  established, 
created,  and  protected  by  law,  absolutely  dependent  upon 
Parliament.'  Why,  every  student  of  English  history  knew  that 

1  Child,  Church  and  State,  pp.  272-4. 

2  Ibid.,  pp.  272-4. 

3  The  Manchester  Guardian,  Sept.  21st,  1893. 


26  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

if  a  very  bad  king  had  not  fallen  in -love  with  a  veiy  pretty 
woman,  and  desired  to  get  divorced  from  his  plain  and  elderly 
wife,  and  had  not  compelled  a  servile  Parliament  to  carry  out 
his  wishes,  there  would,  in  all  human  probability,  never  have 
been  an  Established  Church  at  all.  Last  year,  just  before  the 
General  Election,  he  had  stated  this  fact,  upon  which  a  reverend 
gentleman,  Canon  West,  of  Manchester,  had  offered  4*10  towards 
his  election  expenses  if  he  could  name  the  Act  of  Parliament  by 
which  the  Church  of  England  was  established.  He  had  named 
six  of  these  Acts,  but  he  never  got  his  £10. 

The  baronet  then  went  on  to  say  that — 

When  the  Established  Church  said,  '  Orthodoxy  is  my  doxy, 
and  heterodoxy  is  everybody  else's  doxy,'  it  could  not  claim, 
like  the  Church  of  Eome,  a  divine  mandate,  but  only  a  Parlia- 
mentary mandate  for  the  assertion. 

The  Puseyites  of  the  last  generation,  or  the  Anglo-Catholics, 
as  they  called  themselves,  insisted  that  the  Church  of  England 
was  the  only  true  Catholic  Church,  and  that  the  Church  of  Home 
was  nothing  but  a  corrupt  and  heretical  departure  from  the  same 
primitive  Church.  But  when  they  came  to  look  around  them, 
and  saw  from  one  pulpit  a  man  preaching  Calvinism  and 
another  Deism,  and  found  that  their  only  protection  against  their 
errors  was  a  human  tribunal — i.e.,  the  Privy  Council,  upon  which 
Jews  and  infidels  might  sit — everyone  of  them  who  had  a  grain 
of  honesty  in  his  nature  went  over  with  Cardinal  Newman  to 
the  Church  of  Eome — a  Church  which,  at  least,  rested  its  claim 
to  infallibility  on  something  higher  than  an  Act  of  Parliament  or 
a  judicial  committee. 

I  will  now  make  an  extract  from  a  Protestant  London 
daily.1  In  a  conspicuous  leader,  this  influential  paper 
expresses  its  opinion  in  these  outspoken  words  : — 

The  Anglicans  may  still  persist  in  patronizing  the  Roman 
Catholics  as  a  new  set  of  modern  dissidents  under  the  old  name. 
It  is  the  sort  of  vengeance  which,  under  favourable  circumstances, 
the  mouse  may  enjoy  at  the  expense  of  the  elephant.  If  he  can 
mount  high  enough  by  artificial  means,  the  smallest  of  created 
things  may  contrive  to  look  down  on  the  greatest,  and  to  affect 
to  compassionate  his  want  of  range.  For  purposes  of  contro- 
versy the  Anglican  could  talk  of  himself  as  a  terrestrial  ancient 
of  days,  and  regret  the  rage  for  innovation  which  led,  not  to  his 
separation  from  Eome,  but  to  Rome's  from  him.  So  might  the 
pebble,  if  determined  to  put  a  good  face  on  it,  wonder  what  had 
become  of  the  rock,  and  recite  the  parable  of  the  return  of  the 
prodigal  to  the  Atlas  range. 

1  T)iv  Daily  Xews,  Sept.  19th,  1893. 


THE   CONTINUITY   THEORY  27 


Thus  far  we  have  quoted  merely  the  serious  judgment  of 
a  few  among  the  many  Protestant  bishops,  clergymen, 
historians,  and  ecclesiastical  authors,  as  well  as  the  common 
press  and  platform  utterances,  which  sometimes  indicate 
more  clearly  than  history,  the  common-sense  view  of  any 
question  before  the  public  mind.  Now,  we  shall  not  call  up 
any  more  living  authorities,  for  they  can,  at  best,  but  declare 
what  the  result  of  their  study  of  the  Keformation  period 
may  be,  and  what  conclusions  they  have  come  to ;  but  I 
will  turn  to  simple,  undeniable  contemporary  facts.  I  am 
going  to  invite  you,  my  readers,  to  pass  your  own  judgment 
upon  these  facts,  and  ask  you  candidly  whether  these  facts 
support  the  continuity  theory,  or  whether  they  utterly 
destroy  it.  As  the  very  touch-stone,  I  will  select  the 
attitude  of  the  early  English  Church  to  the  Vicar  of  Christ, 
the  Pope. 

(A.)  English  history  tells  us  that  in  1245  the  English 
bishops  and  clergy,  assembled  in  convocation,  wrote  to 
Pope  Innocent,  and  in  their  letter,  which  anyone  who 
understands  Latin  can  read  for  himself,  assured  him  that 
the  '  said  kingdom  of  England  was  specially  devoted  to  the 
Most  Holy  Koman  Church ;  '  and,  further,  that  amongst  the 
glories  of  the  '  English  Church '  was  the  fact  that  she  was 
'  a  special  member  of  the  Most  Holy  Church  of  Koine.' 
They  add  that  they  themselves  are  '  devoted  sons  of  the 
Most  Holy  Eoman  Church. ' 

(B.)  About  the  same  year  the  nobles  of  England  sent  an 
address  to  the  Pope,  complaining  of  the  monetary  exactions 
of  the  Curia,  in  which  they  protest  in  these  words  : — 

Our  mother,  the  Eoman  Church,  we  love  and  cherish  with 
all  our  hearts,  as  our  duty  is  ;  and  we  seek  her  honour,  increase, 
welfare,  with  all  the  affection  of  which  we  are  capable. 

They  also  declare  that  the  King  of  England  is  not  '  the 
head '  of  the  Church,  but  '  a  most  dear  son  of  the  Koman 
Church.'  Now,  let  me  pause  here  to  ask,  will  the  represen- 
tative of  the  continuity  theory  assert  that  men  who  wrote 
and  spoke  these  words  were  not  '  Koman  Catholics '  ?  Does 
he  mean  us  to  believe  that  a  Church  can  be  '  a  special 


28  THE    IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

member  of  the  Most  Holy  Church  of  Borne,'  and  yet  not 
Koman  Catholic  ?  Or  does  he  expect  us  to  hold  that  the 
clergy  and  nobles  of  England  were  not  Koman  Catholic, 
although  they  themselves  declare  that  they  are  '  faithful  and 
devoted  sons  of  the  Most  Holy  Eoman  Church '  ?  We  want 
a  plain,  straightforward  answer.1 

(C.)  The  English  Primate,  Arundel,  in  1413,  with  the 
advice  and  assistance  of  convocation,  drew  up  the  following 
profession  of  faith,  to  be  used  as  a  test  to  the  Catholic 
creed,  as  then  professed  in  England,  against  the  doctrines 
of  the  Lollards.  We  retain  the  old  spelling : — 

Christ  ardeyned  Seint  Petir  the  Apostell  to  ben  His  Vicarie 
here  in  erthe,  whose  See  ys  the  Church  of  Rome,  ordeyning  and 
graunting  the  same  power  that  He  gaf  to  Petir  should  succeede 
to  all  Petir's  successours,  the  wychh  we  now  callyn  Popes  of 
Eome,  by  whos  power  in  Churches  perticuler  special  be  ordeyned 
prelates  as  archbysshopes,  bysshopes,  curates,  and  other  degrees, 
to  whom  all  Chrysten  men  ought  to  obey  after  the  lawes  of  the 
Church  of  Rome.2 

If  Archbishop  Arundel,  writing  to  his  clergy,  had  but 
declared  that  '  the  Pope  hath  no  jurisdiction  in  this  realm  of 
England,'  the  Anglican  of  to-day  might  claim  him  and  the 
English  Church  of  that  period.  But,  since  he  did  nothing 
of  the  kind,  since,  in  plain  truth,  he  said  precisely  the 
opposite,  and  what  every  Boman  Catholic  in  England  says 
and  believes  at  this  moment,  will  he  explain  how  the 
Primate  and  Convocation  were  not  Boman  Catholics  ? 

(D.)  In  1427  the  Bishops  of  England  addressed  a 
letter  to  Pope  Martin  V.  on  behalf  of  Chicheley,  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  who  had  been  accused  at  Borne.  Now, 
hearken  to  their  words,  and  say  are  they  the  words  of 
genuine  Boman  Catholics  or  of  Anglicans.  They  run  as 
follows : — 

Most  Blessed  Father,  one  and  only  undoubted  Sovereign 
Pontiff,  Vicar  of  Jesus  Christ  upon  earth,  with  all  promptitude 
of  service  and  obedience,  kissing  most  devoutly  your  blessed 
feet,  &c. 

1  Matthew  Paris,  pp.  992  and  930,  edit.  1571. 

2  This  test  declaration  may  be   seen   in  the  record  of   Convocation  in 
Wilkins's  Concilia,  vol.  iii.,  p.  355. 


THE  CONTINUITY   THEORY  29 

They  then  proceed  to  defend  their  Archbishop,  and  in 
doing  so  bear  witness  that  '  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury 
is,  Most  Blessed  Father,  a  most  devoted  son  of  your  Holiness 
and  of  the  Holy  Eoman  Church.'  Nay,  cnore  ;  they  declare 
that — 

He  is  so  rooted  in  his  loyalty,  so  unshakable  in  his  allegiance, 
especially  to  the  Roman  Church,  that  it  is  known  to  the  whole 
world,  and  ought  to  be  to  the  city  [of  Rome],  that  he  is  the  most 
faithful  son  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  promoting  and  securing 
with  all  his  strength  the  guarantees  of  her  liberty. 

Again,  will  our  continuity  friends  explain  how  a  man 
can  be  '  the  most  faithful  son  of  the  Church  of  Home,'  so 
rooted  in  his  loyalty  to  her  that  '  his  allegiance  is  known  to 
the  whole  world,'  and  yet  not  be  a  Roman  Catholic  ?  The 
bishops  add  that  '  they  go  down  upon  their  knees  to 
beseech  the  Pope's  favour  for  the  Archbishop,  and  in  doing 
so  declare  that  they  are  '  the  most  humble  sons  of  your 
Holiness  and  of  the  Koman  Church.' 

(E.)  So  much  as  regards  the  bishops.  Let  us  now  appeal  to 
the  University  of  Oxford.  That  renowned  seat  of  learning, 
at  the  same  time,  wrote  to  the  Pope,  declaring  itself  the 
'  handmaiden  of  your  Holiness,'  and  adds  : — 

We,  with  united  hearts,  undoubtedly  recognise  you  as  the  one 
Sovereign  Pontiff,  the  Vicar  of  Christ  upon  earth,  and  the  most 
true  successor  of  St.  Peter. 

Kecalling  the  favours  the  University  had  received  from 
the  Pope,  it  adds  : — 

Thence  on  bended  knees,  and  prostrate  with  all  obedience,  at 
the  feet  of  your  Most  Holy  Papacy,  from  our  hearts  we  pay  you 
the  tribute  of  our  thanks.  Casting  ourselves,  Most  Blessed 
Pather,  at  your  blessed  feet,  with  the  utmost  humility. 

They  then  entreat  that  the  Pope  will  not  listen  to  any 
accusation  against  the  Archbishop,  and  in  their  turn  bear 
witness  that  '  he  is  a  trusty  son  of  your  Holiness  and  of  the 
most  Holy  Eoman  Church.'  Bear  in  mind  that  this  is  not 
the  sentiment  of  a  mere  individual,  or  of  an  ignorant  body, 
but  of  the  picked  men  of  the  greatest  university  in  England. 
The  letter  is  signed :  '  The  most  devoted  sons  of  your 
Holiness,  the  Chancellor  and  the  unanimous  body  of  the 


30  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

Masters  of  the  University  of  Oxford.'  Such  was  the 
language  of  the  men  whom  we  are  asked  by  certain 
Anglicans  to  believe  were  not  Koman  Catholics  ! 

(F.)  Finally,  Archbishop  Chicheley  himself  wrote  at  the 
same  time  to  the  Pope,  addressing  him  in  the  following 
terms : — 

Most  Blessed  Father,  kissing  most  devotedly  the  ground 
beneath  your  feet,  with  all  promptitude  of  service  and  obedience, 
and  whatsoever  a  most  humble  creature  can  do  towards  his  lord 
and  master  (domino  et  creatori),  &c.,  &c. 

He  then  assures  the  Pope  that,  he  has  been  at  all  times 
most  faithful  to  the  Apostolic  See,'  and  that  there  is  not  a 
'  scintilla  '  of  grounds  for  the  rumours  spread  against  him. 
He  adds : — 

Long  before  now  were  it  not  for  the  perils  of  the  journey 
and  the  infirmities  of  my  old  age,  I  would  have  made  my  way, 
Most  Blessed  Father,  to  your  feet,  and  have  accepted  most 
obediently  whatsoever  your  Holiness  would  have  decided.1 

Imagine  the  present  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  writing  in 
such  a  strain  to  Leo  XIII.  !  Will  our  continuity  friends 
kindly  and  frankly  declare  whether  the  above  is  the  speech 
and  attitude  of  a  member  of  the  present  Church  of  England, 
or  of  a  Koman  Catholic? 

(G.)  Or,  take  the  following  letter,  not  from  bishop, 
nor  priest,  nor  university,  but  from  the  dread  King  and 
Sovereign  of  England  himself,  and  say  is  it  the  letter  of  a 
Koman  Catholic  King  or  of  an  Anglican  king.  It  was 
written  nearly  a  hundred  years  before  the  letter  just  quoted 
viz.,  A.D.  1339  (An.  Eegni  xiii.  Edward  III).  The  King 
addresses  the  Pope  in  these  terms : — 

Let  not  the  envious  information  of  our  detractors  find  place 
in  the  meek  mind  of  your  Holiness,  or  create  any  sinister  opinion 
of  a  son  who,  after  the  manner  of  his  predecessors,  shall  always 
firmly  persist  in  amity  and  obedience  to  the  Apostolic  See.  Nay, 
if  any  such  evil  suggestion  concerning  your  son  should  knock  for 
entrance  at  your  Holiness's  ears,  let  no  belief  be  allowed  it,  till  the 
son  who  is  concerned  be  heard,  who  trusts  and  always  intends 


1  WilkinB,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  471-486. 


THE   CONTINUITY   THEORY  31 

both  to  say  and  to  prove  that  each  of  his  actions  is  just  before  the 
tribunal  of  your  Holiness,  PKBSIDING  OVER  EVERY  CREATURE,  WHICH 
TO  DENY  is  TO  MAINTAIN  HERESY.  And,  further,  this  we  say, 
adjoining  it  as  a  further  evidence  of  our  intention  and  greater 
devotion,  that  if  there  be  anyone  of  our  kindred  or  allies  who 
walks  not  as  he  ought  in  the  way  of  obedience  towards  the 
Apostolic  See,  we  intend  to  bestow  our  diligence  ''and  we  trust  to 
no  little  purpose),  that,  leaving  his  wandering  course,  he  may 
return  into  the  path  of  duty,  and  walk  regularly  for  the  future. 

Alluding  then  to  some  supposed  unkindness  on  the  part 
of  the  Pope,  the  King  thus  continues  : — 

That  the  Kings  of  England,  our  predecessors,  those  illustrious 
champions  of  Christ,  those  defenders  of  the  faith  (fide  athletas), 
those  zealous  asserters  of  the  right  of  the  Holy  Eoman  Church, 
and  devout  observers  of  her  commands,  that  they  or  we  should 
deserve  this  unkindness,  we  neither  know  nor  believe.  And 
though,  for  this  very  reason,  many  do  say  (we  say  not  so)  that 
this  aiding  of  our  enemies  against  us  seems  neither  an  act  of  a 
father  nor  a  mother  towards  us,  but  of  a  stepmother ;  yet  not- 
withstanding we  constantly  avow  that  we  are,  and  shall  continue 
to  be,  to  your  Holiness  and  your  seat  a  devout  and  humble  son, 
and  not  a  stepson. 

He  speaks  also  of  '  the  pre-eminence  of  your  sacred 
dignity,'  and  in  another  place  of — 

Your  Holiness,  who  best  knows  the  measure  of  good  and 
just,  and  in  whose  hands  are  the  keys  to  open  and  to  shut  the 
gates  of  heaven  on  earth,  as  the  fulness  of  your  power  and  the 
excellence  of  your  judicator  requires  .  .  .  We  being  ready  not 
only  from  your  sacred  tribunal,  which  is  over  all,  humbly  receive 
information  of  the  truth,  &c. 

In  his  reply  Pope  Benedict  XII.  says  : — 

Being  desirous  that  you  should  follow  the  commendable  foot- 
steps of  your  progenitors,  kings  of-  England,  who  were  famous 
for  the  fulness  of  their  devotion  and  faith  towards  God  and  the 
Holy  Eoman  Church,  &c. 

In  King  Edward  III.'s  letter  to  Pope  Clement,  the  Holy 
Father  is  styled  '  by  divine  Providence,  Chief  Bishop  of 
the  Holy  Koman  and  Catholic  Church.'  The  King  not 
only  addresses  the  Pope  '  Most  Holy  Father,'  and  '  Your 
Holiness,'  but  speaks  of  him  as  'supplying  the  place  of  the 


32  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

Son  of  God  on  earth,'  and  '  having  the  care  of  the  souls  of 
all  Christians,'  &C.1 

Now  if  a  king  of  England  could  indite  such  a  letter  as 
that,  and  express  himself  in  such  terms,  and  yet  not  be  a 
Roman  Catholic,  then,  all  I  can  say  is,  no  Roman  Catholic 
ever  yet  existed  either  in  England  or  out  of  it. 

(H.)  For  several  centuries  before  the  Reformation,  cen- 
turies during  which  the  Pope  was  the  Supreme  Court 
of  Appeal  for  the  English  Church,  and  decided  hundreds 
of  disputed  ecclesiastical  elections,  the  majority  of  the 
bishops  in  every  see  were  appointed  summarily  by  the 
Pope,  who  issued  Bulls  of  provisions  for  this  purpose. 
During  that  period  every  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and 
every  suffragan1  bishop  took  solemnly  and  publicly  on 
the  day  of  his  consecration  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the 
Pope. 

Whoever  reads  over  the  oath  will  find  thai  it  contains 
the  following  passages,  passages  which,  it  appears  to  me, 
knock  the  bottom  out  of  the  continuity  theory  altogether. 

I  [name] ,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  will  be  from  this  hour 
henceforth  faithful  and  obedient  to  St.  Peter,  and  to  the  Holy 
Apostolic  Eoman  Church,  and  to  my  lord  the  Pope  [name]  and 
to  his  canonical  successors.  Neither  in  counsel,  or  consent,  or 
deed  will  I  take  part  in  aught  by  which  they  might  suffer  loss  of 
life,  or  limb,  or  liberty.  Their  counsel  which  they  may  confide 
to  me,  whether  by  their  envoys  or  their  letter,  I  will,  to  their 
injury,  wittingly  disclose  to  no  man.  The  Eoman  Papacy  and 
the  royalty  of  St.  Peter  I  will  be  their  helper  to  defend  and  to 
maintain,  saving  my  order,  against  all  men.  When  summoned 
to  a  synod  I  will  come,  unless  hindered  by  a  canonical  impedi- 
ment. The  Legate  of  the  Apostolic  See  I  will  treat  honourably 
in  his  coming  and  going,  and  will  help  him  in  his  needs.  Every 
third  year  I  will  visit  the  thresholds  of  the  Apostles,  either  per- 
sonally or  by  my  proxy,  unless  I  am  dispensed  by  Apostolic 
licence.  The  possessions  which  pertain  to  the  support  of  my 
archbishopric  I  will  not  sell,  nor  give  away,  nor  pledge,  nor 
re-enfeoff,  nor  alienate  in  any  way,  without  first  consulting  the 
Roman  Pontifi 

(I.)  A  plain  and  very  sure  evidence  of  the  Romanism 

1  PagcH  126,  130,  History  of  Edward  III.,  by  J.  Barnes,  Fellow  of 
Emmanuel  College,  Cambridge,  1668.  Sir  T.  Sykes  Library. 


THE   CONTINUITY  THEORY  33 

of  the  English  Church  in  the  same  period  is  the  fact, 
that  during  the  trials  for  heresy,  the  test  approved 
and  applied  by  the  English  bishops,  and  convocation  as  the 
touchstone  of  orthodoxy  was  a  formula  in  which  the  person 
was  made  to  declare  their  adherence  to  the  Catholic  faith 
'according  to  the  determination  of  the  Church  of  Rome.' 
These  words  may  be  seen  over  and  over  again  in  the  process 
of  the  fifteenth  century.  A  similar  test  is  also  inserted  in 
the  form  for  the  abjuration  of  heresy,  drawn  out  in  the 
Exeter  Pontifical,  used  at  the  same  period. 

Will  any  Anglican  say  that  a  Church  that  was  ready  to 
send  men  to  the  stake  who  would  not  accept  the  Catholic 
faith  '  according  to  the  determination  of  the  Church  of 
Rome'  was  not  Roman  Catholic ? 

If,  indeed,  we  wish  to  know  whether  the  generations  of 
Englishmen  and  women  who  lived  and  died  here  before  the 
Reformation  were  or  were  not  Roman  Catholics,  how  are 
we  to  find  out  ? 

Surely  the  simplest  thing  to  do  is  to  ask  the  people 
themselves.  If  we  wish  to  ascertain  what  religion  a  man 
professes  we  just  question  him.  We  think  he  ought  to  be  the 
best  authority  upon  what  he  himself  believes:  if  he  is  not, 
who  is?  And  we  feel  that  his  free  and  serious  statement 
upon  the  point,  ought  to  be  decisive.  For  instance  :  were 
my  supposed  Anglican  objector  to  tell  me,  as  no  doubt 
he  would,  that  he  is  'a  member '  of  the  present  English 
Church,  or  that  he  is  a  '  faithful  and  devoted  son '  of  the 
present  Church  of  England,  I  and  everyone  else  would 
know  precisely  what  he  means,  and  no  one  would  dream  of 
doubting  him.  But,  if  further,  we  were  to  stand  and  hear 
him  actually  swear  a  solemn  oath  of  allegiance  to  the 
Established  Church,  our  certainty  on  the  point  would  be 
doubly  certain. 

Now  if  we  put  this  question  to  the  English  nation  before 
the  Reformation,  we  shall  find,  as  I  have  already  pointed 
out,  that  in  Parliament,  in  Convocation,  in  the  Universities, 
the  King,  the  Lords,  the  Bishops,  the  Clergy,  on  behalf  of 
themselves  and  their  people,  declared  in  1245,  as  well  as 
at  other  epochs,  that  they  were  '  the  faithful  and  devoted 

VOL.  III.  C 


34  THE  IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

sons  of  the  Holy  Koman  Church  ; '  and  that  the  Church  in 
this  country  was  a  'special  member  of  the  Holy  Church  of 
Rome.'     Why  will  not  the  Anglican  of  to-day  accept  their 
cwn  declaration  of  their  own  belief  1     He  believes  they  were 
Catholics  ;  he  hears  them  testify  that  they  were  '  members,' 
and  '  sons,'  and  '  most  devout  sons '  of  the  Church  of  Eome. 
Now,  will  anybody  explain  how  a  man  can  be  a  Catholic, 
and  a  member  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  yet  not  a  Roman 
Catholic,  or  will  he  have  the  hardihood  to  deny  that  they  were 
Catholic  ?     No,  he  cannot !     Will  he  deny  that  they  were 
'members  '  and  '  sons'  of  the  Church  of  Rome?     Impossible, 
unless  he  contradicts  his  own  words,  and  practically  tells 
whole  generations  of  Englishmen,  that  he  knows  all  about 
their   religion   far  better   than  they  do  themselves !     Will 
he  then  persuade  us  that  it  is  possible  to  be  a  Catholic  and 
not  a  member  of  the  Church  of  Rome  ?    If  so,  I  certainly,  for 
one,  would  not  care  to  carry  such  a  brief  before  the  common 
sense  of  an  English  jury.     Nor  is  this  steadfast  declaration 
of  the  English  nation  in  any  sense  a  '  fugitive  utterance,' 
as  some  Anglicans  try  to  make  out.     We  find  it  in  docu- 
ments which  just  precede  the  Reformation.     We  find  it  in 
the  declaration   made    by    the   kings,  Parliament,  bishops, 
and   University   of   Oxford   in   1427.      We   find  it   in   the 
records  of  Convocation  in  1440.     We  find  it  again  in  the 
declaration  of  the  King,  Parliament,  bishops,   and    clergy 
in  1245.     We  find  equivalent  expressions  in  the  letters  of 
Peckham,  Beckett,  Anselm,   and  Lanfranc.      And  if  any- 
thing more  plainly  still,  in  the  dutiful  letter  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  King,  Kenulf,  in  which  (long  before  the  existence  of 
the  false  Decretals,  to  which  our  continuity  friends  love  to 
refer),  he  declares  himself  the   '  son  of  His  Holiness  .the 
Pope,  whom  he  embraces  in  all  the  strength  of  obedience.' 
Is  our  continuity  friend  still  incredulous  ?     Then  let  us  take 
the  long  line  of  bishops  and  archbishops  in  every  see,  for 
centuries,   who   corne   one   by   one,   swearing  the   oath   of 
allegiance  to  the  Pope,  and  to  the  '  Church  of  Rome.'     If 
this  host  of  English  bishops  cannot  be  believed,  even  upon 
their  oath,  as  to  the  fidelity  to  the  Roman  Church,  and  if 
such  a   declaration   does   not   mean   'Romanism,'   then  I 


THE   CONTINUITY   THEORY  35 

really  fail  to  see  what  kind  of  testimony  would  avail  to 
convince  him.  To  crown  this,  we  have  the  tests  adopted 
by  the  bishops  and  clergy  in  Convocation,  by  which  the 
Church  in  England  refused  to  recognise  any  man  as  a 
Catholic  unless  he  '  assented  to  the  Roman  Church,'  and 
received  all  the  articles  of  the  Catholic  faith,  '  according  to 
the  determination  of  the  Church  of  Rome.' 

We  Roman  Catholics  feel  that  this  is  Roman  Catholicism. 
If  it  is  not,  will  somebody  tells  us  what  it  is?  Nor  was 
this  a  '  fugitive  utterance  ; '  for  we  find  it  not  only  repeated 
again  and  again  in  the  documents  of  Convocation,  but  in 
a  standing  form  in  the  English  ritual  (vide  the  Exeter 
Pontifical),  and  it  therefore  took  its  place  in  the  permanent 
usage  of  the  Church  life  of  the  country. 

It  may  be  well  to  remark  here,  that  much  is  made  by 
some  of  our  antagonists  about  the  disputes  concerning  what 
is  known  as  the  '  statute  of  pro  visors,'  an  important  episode 
of  governmental  friction  between  the  English  Parliament 
and  the  Court  of  Rome.  But  it  must  be  borne  in  mind 
that  the  Act  never  received  the  assent  of  the  bishops.  The 
archbishops  formally  entered  their  protest  on  the  rolls  of 
Parliament  against  it.  Over  and  over  again,  Convocation 
petitioned  for  its  repeal.  The  English  Crown  at  the 
treaty  of  Bruges  practically  recognised  the  Pope's  right  to 
provide  bishops,  and  the  English  kings  themselves  frequently 
petitioned  the  Pope  to  exercise  this  right.  Finally,  so  much 
was  the  statute  a  dead  letter,  that  as  a  matter  of  fact  the 
Popes  provided  far  more  bishops  after  the  passing  of  the 
statute  than  they  did  before  it. 

We  do  not  expect  educated  and  honest  men  to  descend 
to  the  childish  plea  of  the  mere  Qhurch  Defence  lecturers, 
whose  practice  is  to  pass  off  cases  of  friction  between 
England  and  the  Roman  Curia,  as  proof  that  England  was 
not  Roman  Catholic.  No  doubt,  English  Roman  Catholics, 
in  those  times,  complained  of  and  resented  the  heavy 
monetary  exactions  of  the  Papal  Court,  and  the  intrusion 
of  foreigners.  But  so  should  we,  had  we  been  in  their 
place,  and  we  should  have  held,  that  we  were  not  one  whit 
less  loyally  Roman  Catholic  for  doing  so.  Besides,  any 


36  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

reflective  mind  would  naturally  ask,    '  If  there  be  any  weight 
in  this  argument,  where  is  it  to  stop?'     "Where,  throughout 
the  whole  of  Christendom,  is    the    Catholic   nation  to  be 
found  which  has  not  had  its  quarrels  with  the  .Roman  See  ? 
France,  and   Spain,  Hungary,  Germany,  Florence,  Venice, 
and   Naples,   and   Genoa :    who   has    not    heard    of    their 
numerous   conflicts  with  Legates   and   Bulls,  and  Eoman 
excommunications?    Every  historian  and  politician  knows 
that  such  elements   enter  into   the   staple   of  the  history 
of  the  most  loyal  Catholic  nations.     Catholic  England  was, 
of  course,  no  exception ;  or,  if  an  exception  at  all,  an  excep- 
tion only  in  the  sense  of  being,  if  anything,  somewhat  more 
patient,  forebearing,  and  reverential  and  devoted  towards 
the  Holy  See  than  the  continental  nations,  and  somewhat 
more  favoured  by  Eome  in  return,  as  Archbishop  Peckham 
himself  tells  us.     If  this  fact  of  friction  can  prove  that  a 
nation  is  not  Koman  Catholic,  it  would  also  prove,  that 
there  never  was,  and  never  will  be  such  a  thing  as  a  Koman 
Catholic  country  at  any  time,  or  any  place,  in  Europe,  or 
out  of  it,  and  consequently  that  the  Eoman  Catholic  Church 
never  existed   at  all.     When  the  Ecclesia  Anglicana  (the 
technical  term  which  Eome  still  uses  to  denote  the  province 
of  the  Catholic  Church  which  lies  in  England)  protests,  in 
the  thirteenth  century,  and  at  other  times  along  the  line  of 
her  history,  that  she  is  a  '  member  of  the  Church  of  Eome,' 
will  someone  be  good  enough  to  tell  us  why  she  should  be 
disbelieved    any  more    than    the    Ecclesia  Gallicana,   the 
Ecclesia  Hispanica,  the  Ecclesia  Florentina,  or  the  Ecclesia 
Neapolitina  of  the  same  period?    In  a  word,  it  amounts  to 
this.     Are  we  to  believe  the  modern  Anglican,  who  says 
that  our  ancestors  were  not   Eoman  Catholics,  and  loyal 
sons  of  the  Eoman    Church ;   or    are  we   to   believe    the 
generations    of   pre-Eeformation    Englishmen   themselves, 
when  they  protest  that  they  were,  and  when  their  bishops 
for  centuries  come  forward    to   attest  the  fact  upon  their 
solemn  oath  before  the  Church  and  before  the  country  ? 

In  conclusion,  I  will  put  to  any  favourer  of  the  con- 
tinuity theory  three  simple  questions  : — 

1.  For  more  than  four  centuries  before  the  Eeformatiou, 


THE   CONTINUITY   THEORY  37 

did,  or  did  not  the  bishops  and  archbishops  of  the  English 
Church  publicly  swear  an  oath  of  obedience  and  allegiance 
to  the  Roman  See  ? 

2.  Are,  or   are  not   Catholic  bishops    and   archbishops 
who  swear  obedience  to  the  See  of  Rome,  Roman  Catholics  ? 

3.  If   the   bishops    and     archbishops    of   the    English 
Church  for  centuries  before  the  Reformation  were  Roman 
Catholics,  is  it,  or  is  it  not  absurd  to  maintain  that  the 
English  Church  was  never  Roman  Catholic? 

Are  these  sufficiently  plain  questions,  and  is  it  unreason- 
able to  expect  equally  plain  answers  ? 

The  action  and  oath-taking  of  the  whole  of  the  bishops 
of  the  Church  in  this  country  for  four  centuries  is  a  tangible 
fact  and  testimony.  Let  us  then  keep  fast  to  the  point.  I 
want  the  objector  to  fix  his  attention  on  those  four  hundred 
years,  and  then  to  say  straightly — Yes  or  No — were  those 
bishops  who  took  the  oath  for  those  four  centuries,  Roman 
Catholics  or  not  ?  And  if  not,  then  explain  how  a  man  can 
be  a  Catholic,  and  in  sworn  obedience  to  (not  in  mere 
communion  with)  the  Roman  See  and  not  be  a  Roman 
Catholic  ? 

JOHN  S.  VAUGHAN. 


[    38    ] 


PHOENICIA    AND    ISRAEL 

THE  natural  advantages  of  Phoenicia  having  been  such 
as  we  described,  the  people  who  now  occupied  it 
were  in  every  sense  well  qualified  to  make  good  use  of 
such  conveniences  as  the  land  afforded.  Their  great 
source  of  power  as  a  nation  was  their  navy.  Cradled 
as  they  were  on  the  shores  of  the  Erythraean  sea,  they 
were  accustomed  from  very  early  years  to  a  life  on  the 
ocean,  and  the  name  of  the  'world's  first  sailors'  is  quite 
their  due.  They,  and  they  alone,  seem  to  have  possessed 
a  navy  at  a  time  when  other  great  powers,  such  as 
Egypt  and  Assyria,  could  not  build,  much  less  efficiently  man, 
a  fleet  of  vessels.  Their  migration  from  the  shores  of  the 
Persian  Gulf  did  not  extinguish  these  tastes,  and  their  new 
homes  only  tended  to  foster  them  more.  Their  skill  as 
sailors  and  navigators  earned  for  them  the  respect  of  more 
powerful  nations,  who  made  use  cf  them  when  conducting 
expeditions  by  sea,  though  the  Phoenicians  themselves  did  not 
use  their  fleet  so  much  to  acquire  new  territorial  possessions, 
except  when  founding  some  fresh  colony,  as  for  the 
development  of  their  trade.  That  the  Egyptian  monarch s 
made  use  of  their  fleet  we  have  good  proof  in  the  fact  that 
in  those  places  where  we  know  Phoenician  colonies  existed, 
we  find  also  relics  of  Egyptian  domination  which  date  back 
to  the  time  of  the  latter  country's  greatest  influence  abroad, 
namely,  to  the  reigns  of  Thothmes  III.  and  his  successors 
of  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  dynasties.  Such  is  the 
case  at  Cyprus,  also  along  the  north  coast  of  Africa  and 
among  the  islands  of  the  -ZEgean  Archipelago.  This  idea  is 
confirmed  by  the  fact  that  Egypt  had  at  that  time  no  fleet 
of  her  own,  and  yet  supported  a  large  fleet  upon  the  Ked 
Sea,  the  navigation  of  which  is  very  difficult ;  many  years 
later  too  we  find  the  Bible  recording  that:  '  King  Solomon 
made  a  fleet  in  Asiongaber,  which  is  by  Ailath  on  the  shore 
of  the  Ked  Sea  in  the  land  of  Edom.  And  Hiram 


PHOENICIA  AND  ISRAEL  39 

sent  his   servants   in  the   fleet,   that    had    knowledge    of 
the  sea.'1 

It  is  probable  then  that  the  Egyptian  sovereigns  availed 
themselves  of  the  services  of  these  skilled  navigators,  and 
by  their  means  opened  up  trade  with  Yemen,  and  the 
almost  fabulous  Ormuz  and  Ophir,  which  were  such  sources 
of  wealth  to  the  potentates  of  those  days.  Their  merchants 
thronged  the  markets  of  Tyre,  as  the  prophet  tells  in  his 
description  of  the  glories  and  riches  of  the  city  :  '  The  men  of 
Dedan  were  merchants  in  tapestry  for  seats.  Arabia,  and 
all  the  princes  of  Cedar,  they  were  the  merchants  of  thy 
hand ;  thy  merchants  came  to  thee  with  'rams,  and  lambs, 
and  kids.  The  sellers  of  Saba  and  Keema,  they  were  thy 
merchants ;  with  all  the  best  spices  and  precious  stones,  and 
gold,  which  thy  set  forth  in  thy  market.'2  The  power  which 
thus  accrued  to  Pho3nicia  can  easily  be  imagined.  They 
became  the  great  carriers  of  the  world,  the  trade  of  all  the 
great  nations  passed  through  their  hands ;  there  was  no  other 
power  to  compete  with  them;  they  were  welcome  everywhere, 
for,  as  we  have  seen,  they  did  not  seek  territorial  aggrandise- 
ment, but  only  commercial  influence;  they  brought  wealth, 
ease,  and  refinement  wherever  they  went,  and  the  surround- 
ing nations  depended  almost  exclusively  upon  them  for  the 
luxuries  of  life.  When  Sidon  fell  and  Tyre  took  her  place, 
the  latter's  wealth  and  magnificence  became  the  wonder  of 
the  world,  and  Ezechiel  thus  describes  the  fittings  of  her 
vessels  :  '  With  fir-trees  of  Sanier  they  have  built  thee,  with 
all  thy  decks  for  the  sea ;  they  have  taken  a  cedar  from 
Libanus  to  make  thee  a  mast ;  they  have  cut  thy  oars 
from  the  oaks  of  Basan ;  and  they  have  made  thee  benches 
of  Indian  ivory,  and  cabins  with  things  brought  from  the 
islands  of  Italy.  Fine-broidered  linen  from  Egypt  was 
woven  for  thy  sail  to  spread  on  the  mast ;  blue  and  purple 
from  the  lands  of  Elisa  were  made  thy  covering.  The 
inhabitants  of  Sidon  and  Aradians  were  thy  rowers;  thy  wise 
men,  O  Tyre,  were  thy  pilots.  The  ancients  of  Gebal  and  the 
wise  men  thereof  furnished  mariners  for  the  service  of  thy 

1  3  Kings  ix.  26,  27.  2  Ezech.  xxvi.  20-22. 


40  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

various  furniture,  all  the  ships  of  sea  and  their  mariners 
were  thy  factors.'1  Tin,  the  metal  requisite  for  making 
bronze,  was  only  to  be  obtained  through  the  hands  of 
the  Phoenicians.  Babylon,  it  is  true,  had  her  own  native 
supply ;  but  their  intercourse  with  Babylon  was  difficult,  the 
distance  was  great,  and  caravans  were  at  the  mercy  of  the 
roving  desert  tribes.  The  Phoenicians  devoted  their  energies 
to  opening  up  new  sources  for  the  supply  of  this  precious 
metal,  and  then  quest  led  them  to  the  shores  of  the  Euxine, 
and  thus  commenced  their  immense  trade  with  Armenia, 
and  the  Caucasus.  Spain  too  was  visited,  and  mines  opened 
there,  while  the  search  for  the  same  metal  drew  them  in 
after  years  to  our  own  Cornwall. 

Nor  while  their  ships  were  thus  busy  at  sea,  were  they 
idle  on  land.  Jerusalem,  according  to  Rabbinical  tradition, 
is  the  centre  of  the  earth,  and  be  this  as  it  may,  the  Holy 
Land  was  certainly  the  centre  of  the  then  inhabited  world. 
Day  by  day  caravans  filed  forth  from  Tyre  and  Sidon,  and 
the  Phoenician  cities ;  some  wended  their  way  southwards, 
passing  through  Palestine  and  Egypt,  or,  turning  aside  at 
Jerusalem,  crossed  the  burning  desert  to  the  south-east  and 
directed  their  steps  to  Arabia,  carrying  spices,  perfumes, 
and  precious  stones,  as  long  ago  we  know  the  Midianite 
merchants  did  when  they  bought  Joseph  and  sold  him  into 
Egypt.  Others,  again,  leaving  Phoenicia  would  pass  through 
Damascus,  and  halting  at  Palmyra,  would  strike  thence 
across  the  desert  for  the  Euphrates,  and  so  find  their  way 
to  Nineveh  and  Babylon  ;  while  a  third  party  would  go 
Northward,  and  entering  Hamath  would  turn  aside  to  the 
land  of  the  Hittites,  to  Tipsah  on  the  Euphrates,  till  they 
came  to  Armenia  and  the  shores  of  the  Black  Sea.  Even 
India  was  not  unvisited,  but  yielded  its  quota  to  their 
markets.  Ingots  of  gold  and  bars  of  silver,  rare  and 
precious  woods,  strange  animals,  apes  and  peacocks,  spices 
and  perfumes,  cloth  and  tapestries,  ivory  in  the  shape  of 
huge  elephant  tusks,  and  other  trophies,  constituted  their 
trade.  Nor  must  we  omit  slaves,  whom  they  supplied  to 

1  Ezech.  xxvii.  5-9. 


PHOENICIA   AND   ISRAEL  41 

the  surrounding  countries.  Circassia,  then  as  now,  yielded 
a  rich  harvest  in  this  respect,  and  the  beauty  and  grace 
of  the  Circassian  maidens  ensured  a  high  price  to  their 
Phosnician  captors. 

And  we  must  not  imagine  that  these  great  merchants 
were  merely  the  carriers  of  other  nations.  They  had  their 
own  wares  and  their  own  produce  to  barter.  Glass  has 
been  claimed  as  their  invention,  though  this  can  hardly  be, 
since  we  find  it  mentioned  in  Egyptian  inscriptions  which 
date  back  so  early  as  the  fourth  and  fifth  Dynasties.  But 
though  we  may  not  cede  to  the  Phrenician  the  glory  of  having 
first  invented  a  commodity  without  which  we  should  now 
find  life  hardly  tolerable,  we  can  yet  safely  and  fairly  say 
that  in  the  hands  of  these  unrivalled  artists,  glass  became  a 
medium  for  obtaining  the  finest  possible  results  in  design 
and  colouring.  Certain  processes  for  the  production  of 
variegated  patterns  are  said,  indeed,  to  have  perished  with 
their  inventors,  and  those  who  are  learned  in  such  matters 
affirm  that  the  relics  of  Phoenician  glass-work  which  remain 
to  us,  surpass  in  elegance  of  design  and  beauty  of  colouring 
the  best  work  of  the  great  Venetian  glass-makers.  They 
seem  to  have  possessed  certain  secrets  of  their  art,  which 
were  handed  down  from  generation  to  generation,  and 
kept  as  a  precious  deposit — an  heirloom  perhaps— in  certain 
families,  just  as  the  Scriptoria  and  colouring-rooms  of  the 
monasteries  jealously  guarded  their  secret  processes  and 
quaint  recipes  from  the  vulgar  gaze,  with  the  result  that 
no  modern  art  can  give  us  stained  glass  which  for  richness 
of  tint  and  fixedness  of  colour  may  vie  with  the  work  of 
our  cunning  predecessors.  For  embroidery  too  and  tapestry 
work,  the  Phoenician  women  were  famous  in  Homer's  time. 
The  poet  often  mentions  Sidonian  work  as  of  an  especial 
value,  an  offering  fit  for  the  gods.  Thus  Hecuba  offers 
Minerva  a  garment  embroidered  by  Sidonian  women  : — 

She  meanwhile 

Her  fragrant  chamber  sought,  wherein  were  stor'd 
Kich  garments  by  Sidonian  women  worked. 

Again,  the  tin  which  they  imported  so  largely  was  not 
1  Iliad,  vi.  334-336  (Earl  of  Derby's  translation), 


42  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

destined  merely  for  Egypt,  nor  to  fashion  weapons  of  war 
for  the  use  of  their  less  peaceably-disposed  neighbours,  for 
they  themselves  were  expert  workers  in  all  kinds  of  metals, 
particularly  bronze.  It  might  seem  from  the  words  of 
Ezechiel  that  it  was  the  peculiar  province  of  Carthage  to 
supply  Tyre  with  the  various  ores  required  in  this  branch  of 
the  arts.  '  The  Carthaginians,  thy  merchants,  supplied  thy 
fairs  with  a  multitude  of  all  kind  of  riches,  with  silver,  iron, 
tin,  and  lead.' l  For  a  long  time  the  Phoenicians  seem  to  have 
been  the  sole  providers  of  bronze  implements,  and  statuary, 
and  ornaments  wrought  in  this  metal  together  with  bronze 
vessels  and  instruments,  were  exchanged  by  them  in  lands 
which  had  not  yet  emerged  from  the  comparative  thraldom 
of  the  stone  age.  Nor  were  they  less  expert  in  carving 
ivory ;  and  many  beautiful  examples  of  their  skill  in  working 
in  this  material  have  been  discovered  in  the  islands  of  the 
Mediterranean  ;  monuments  of  their  work  both  in  bronze 
and  ivory  may  be  seen  in  the  Vatican  at  the  Louvre. 

These  commercial  instincts  of  the  Phoenicians  had  two 
main  results.  One  we  have  already  noticed,  viz. :  the 
establishment  of  a  vast  naval  power,  whose  rule  over  the 
waters  was  well-nigh  despotic ;  the  other,  the  natural 
outcome  of  the  former  when  used  by  a  great  trading  power, 
was  the  gradual  formation  of  a  series  of  colonies  at  a  com- 
paratively short  distance  from  each  other,  and  bound  to  the 
mother  city  by  the  ties  of  mutual  support,  and  the  bonds  of 
commerce.  These  colonies  were  spread  over  the  whole 
littoral  of  the  Mediterranean,  and,  though  at  first  merely 
small  trading  stations,  became  in  time  the  nuclei  of 
great  cities  and  commonwealths  such  as  Utica  and  Carthage. 
The  great  work,  however,  which  they  achieved,  though  all 
unconsciously,  was  the  civilization  of  the  Western  world. 
The  spread  of  the  arts  which  they  practised  so  assiduously, 
and  the  gradual  diffusion  of  the  more  luxurious  commodities 
of  life,  exerted  a  softening  influence  upon  the  rude  nations  of 
the  West.  Greeks  and  Bomans,  Gauls  and  Britons,  all  alike 
came  under  the  sway  of  these  bold  sailors  and  merchants, 

1  Ezech.  xxvii.  12. 


PHOENICIA  AND   ISRAEL  43 

till  bit  by  bit,  first  one  barrier  then  another  melted  away, 
new  modes  of  thought,  new  ideas  of  the  good  and  beautiful 
replaced  the  rough  and  uncouth  manners  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  Morea  and  Italy,  preparing  them  for  the  day  when 
Rome  and  Athens,  not  Thebes  or  Tyre,  Nineveh  or  Babylon, 
should  be  the  centre ;  indeed,  disregarding  for  the  moment 
all  supernatural   ends,  we  may  look  upon  this  as  the  special 
purpose  for  which  the  Phoanicians  were  raised  up.     What 
would  have  become  of  the  arts  and  treasures  of  Babylon, 
Nineveh,  Thebes,  and  Memphis,  had  not  the  Tyrian  sailors 
disseminated  them  abroad  ?     It  was  through  them  that  the 
nations  dwelling  on  the  Northern  coast  of  Africa  or  peopling 
the  isles  of  the  .ZEgean  Sea  became  more  amenable  to  the 
softening  influences  of  literature  and  art.     Sculpture  and 
architecture,  embroidery  and  weaving,   found  not   only   a 
home  among  the  Phosnicians,  as  in  Egypt  and  Assyria,  but 
also  a  ready  channel  through  which  they  might  diffuse  them- 
selves abroad  amongst  the  rude  and  still  unpolished  peoples 
of  the   Western   Hemisphere.      Moreover,    their    skill    as 
navigators  enabled  them  to  penetrate  into  portions  of  the 
world  which  had  hitherto  been  unknown  to  the  peoples  of 
the  East.     For  many  years,  indeed,  they  had  confined  them- 
selves to  the  Mediterranean  and  to  the  Bed  Sea ;  they  seem 
to  have  had  a  strange  fear  of  passing  the  Pillars  of  Hercules, 
and  for  a  long  time  the  rivalry  subsisting  between  Tyre  and 
Carthage   prevented   the    sailors   of  the    former  city  from 
prosecuting  their  efforts  in  this  direction  ;  but  their  genius 
for  discovery  and  exploration   led   them   to    face   dangers, 
which  the  mere  love  of  gain  could  never  have  overcome, 
and  we  find  them  exploring  for  a  considerable  distance  along 
the   western  coast  of  Africa,  in  spite  of  the  rough  and  heavy 
seas  to  which  they  were  probably  but  little  accustomed. 

This  then  was  the  nation  whose  future  destinies  were  to 
be  so  closely  linked  with  those  of  the  Israelites,  and  we 
have  given  at  some  length  the  foregoing  account  of  what 
we  may  call  their  physical  and  commercial  history,  because 
we  felt  that  a  knowledge  of  this  lends  an  additional  interest 
to  that  portion  of  their  domestic  history  with  which  we  are 
immediately  concerned. 


44  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

At  the  time  of  the  Exodus,  the  Phoenician  towns  were 
evidently  at   the  height  of  their  power ;  Josue   speaks  of 
'  Great  Sidon  .  .  .  and  the  strong  city  of  Tyre,' l  and  though 
these  cities  were  assigned  to  the  tribe  of  Aser,  it  seems  doubt- 
ful whether  the  latter  was  not  rather  subject  to  his  formidable 
vassals :  '  Aser,  his  bread  shall  be  fat,  and  he  shall  yield 
dainties  to  kings,'2  prophesied  Jacob;  while  Moses  said  of 
him :  '  Let  him  dip  his  foot  in  oil ; ' 8  words  which  hardly 
imply  those  warlike  qualities  requisite  for  the  conquest  of 
Tyre  and  Sidon.    The  relations  subsisting  between  Phoenicia 
and  Israel  are  of  a  very  different  kind  from  those  which 
at  different  times  prevailed  between  the  latter  country  and  the 
surrounding  nations.  Egypt,  Assyria, and  Babylon,  when  they 
interfered  in  Jewish  affairs,  were  always  masters,  and  always 
claimed   the   rights   of  suzerains   over  the  chosen  people. 
Philistia  and  Syria,  by  turns  conquerors  and  conquered,  and 
when  conquerors  hard  taskmasters,  were  never  really  subject 
to  the  Hebrews ;  if  the  latter  rallied  under  some  one  of  their 
numerous  Judges,  the  invader  was  merely  driven  back,  the 
Israelite  did  not  conquer  him  and  sell  him  into  slavery,  as  they 
did  the  peoples  of  Moab,  Ammon,  and  Midian.    These  latter, 
indeed,  generally  appear  in  a  state  of  subjection,  incomplete 
indeed,  and  not  inconsistent  with  a  smouldering  discontent 
which  showed  itself  in  an  occasional  raid  into  their  neighbour's 
territory  when  bloodshed  and  rapine  marked  their  route. 
But  of  a  very  different  kind  was  the  relationship  of  Phoenicia 
to  Israel.     The  former  never  domineered  over  the  Israelite, 
nor  was  she  ever  his  superior.     Her  influence  upon  him 
was  of  a  totally  different  stamp.     Rivalry  there  must  always 
have  been  between  the  two  nations,  but  war  was  not  a 
Phoenician  pastime,  nor  was  territorial  aggrandisement  her 
aim.     If  she  warred  against  Judaea,  her  caravans  might  be 
cut  off  on  their  way  to  Ormuz  and  Ophir,  and  her  inter- 
course with  Egypt  by  land  might  be  seriously  affected ;  hence 
the  two  peoples  remained  on  friendly  terms,  at  least  in 
outward  appearance.     But  at  the  bottom  of  all  this  external 
show,  there  lay,  at  least  on  the  part  of  the  Phoenicians,  a 

1  Jos.  six.  28,  29.  *  Q.eni  xijX(  2Q.  »  Deut.  xxxiii.  24. 


PHOENICIA  AND  ISRAEL  45 

deep-seated  hatred  which  betrayed  itself  when  Jerusalem 
lay  humbled  in  the  dust  before  Nabuchodonosor.  Tyre, 
though  the  fallen  city's  ally  against  the  Babylonian,  could 
ill  conceal  her  joy  at  the  awful  destruction  of  the  ill-fated 
city,  and  her  ill-timed  exaltation  brought  down  upon  her 
the  terrible, denunciation  of  Ezechiel :  '  Because  Tyre  hath 
said  of  Jerusalem  :  Aha,  the  gates  of  the  people  are  broken, 
she  is  turned  to  me  ;  I  shall  be  filled,  now  she  is  laid  waste  : 
therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  .  . .  she  shall  be  a  drying-place 
for  nets  in  the  midst  of  the  sea.' 1  And  this  hatred  cannot 
have  sprung  from  commercial  jealousy ;  rather  the  contrary, 
for  Jerusalem  bought  wealth  to  Tyre  as  all  the  other  nations 
did :  '  Juda  and  the  land  of  Israel,  they  were  thy  merchants 
with  the  best  of  corn,  they  set  forth  balm  and  honey  and  oil 
and  rosin  in  thy  fairs.' 2 

What,  then,  was  its  origin  ?  If  we  read  the  Book  of 
Josue  attentively  we  think  the  clue  to  this  deadly  enmity 
will  appear.  The  Holy  Land  was  promised  to  the  Israelites, 
with  the  proviso  that  they  should  destroy  the  Chanaanites 
from  the  land,  and  the  Book  of  Josue  is  little  more  than  a 
list  of  Israeli tish  successes  against  them  ;  the  abominations 
practised  by  these  nations  had  roused  the  wrath  of  the 
Lord,  and  He  had  determined  to  extirpate  them;  the 
Israelites,  with  Josue  at  their  head,  were  but  His  humble 
instruments ;  and  hence  He  said  to  them  :  '  Hear,  0  Israel : 
Thou  shalt  go  over  the  Jordan  this  day,  and  shall  possess 
nations  very  great  and  stronger  than  thyself  .  .  .  say  not 
in  thy  heart  when  the  Lord  shall  have  destroyed  them  in 
thy  sight :  For  my  justice  has  the  Lord  brought  me  in  to 
possess  this  land,  whereas  these  nations  are  destroyed  for 
their  wickedness.  For  it  is  not  for  thy  justice  and  the 
uprightness  of  thy  heart,  that  thou  shalt  go  in  to  possess 
their  land ;  but  because  they  have  done  wickedly  they  are 
destroyed  at  thy  coming  in.' 3  One  after  another  their  kings 
were  slain,  and  their  people  put  to  the  sword:  'All  tic- 
kings,' that  Josue  slew,  'thirty  and  one.'4  And  who  were 
these  Chanaanites  ?  We  saw  at  the  outset  that  they  were 

1  Ez.  xxvi.  3-5.        a  Ez.  xxvii.  17.        3  Deut.  ix.  1-5.         *  Jos.  xii.  24. 


46  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

one  division  of  that  large  body  which  emigrated  into  Pales- 
tine from  the  shores  of  the  Erythraean  Sea.  The  Phoenicians 
formed  the  other  division  of  this  body ;  they  settled  on  the 
sea-shore  between  Lebanon  and  the  Mediterranean,  while 
their  companions  chose  the  plain  for  their  dwelling,  and 
were  cut  off  by  the  sword  of  the  Hebrews.  Thus  the 
Chanaanites  whom  Josue  slew  were  own  brothers  to  the 
Phosnicians. 

Now  we  see  the  cause  of  the  hatred  which  rankled 
under  the  external  friendliness  of  the  Tyrian  and  the  Jew. 
Though  the  Phoenicians  had  themselves  escaped,  yet  the 
fear  of  the  Hebrews  had  fallen  upon  them  as  upon  all  the 
other  nations  :  '  Now  when  all  the  kings  of  the  Amorrhites, 
who  dwelt  beyond  the  Jordan  westward,  and  all  the  kings 
of  Chanaan  who  possessed  the  places  near  the  great  sea, 
heard  that  the  Lord  had  dried  up  the  waters  of  the 
Jordan  before  the  children  of  Israel,  till  they  passed  over, 
their  hearts  failed  them,  and  there  remained  no  spirit 
in  them,  fearing  the  coming  in  of  the  children  of  Israel.' 1 
The  roving  tribes  of  the  desert  were  then  as  now  the  carriers 
and  postmen  of  the  country.  Here  to-day,  there  to-morrow, 
coming  and  going  mysteriously,  living  from  hand  to  mouth, 
and  shifting  their  quarters  according  to  the  supply  of  forage 
and  water,  they  made  themselves  acquainted  with  every- 
thing that  was  doing,  and  we  can  well  believe  that  the  news 
thus  transmitted  from  one  scout  to  another,  and  passed  on 
from  camp  to  camp  and  from  tribe  to  tribe,  was  strangely 
distorted  by  the  time  it  had  gone  the  round.  The  Amalecite 
would  hear,  as  he  hung  upon  the  skirts  of  the  wearied  bands, 
how  the  Hebrews  had  been  fed  miraculously  with  bread 
which  came  down  from  heaven ;  he  would  hear  of  waters 
gushing  from  a  rock  in  a  place  which  he  had  always  known 
to  be  parched  and  arid,  but  which  now  tempts  him  to  give  its 
fortunate  possessors  battle,  and  claim  it  for  his  own  ;  while 
lastly,  some  straggler  would  tell  him  of  the  marvellous 
scenes  on  Mount  Sinai,  and  of  the  promises  made  to  the 
people ;  they  were  going  to  claim  a  land  which  they  said 

1  Jos.  v.  i. 


PHOENICIA  AND   ISRAEL  47 

was  theirs  by  right  of  promise  from  God ;  they  were  to  drive 
out  and  put  to  the  sword  all  its  occupants,  because  they  had 
offended  against  that  same  God,  and  their  coming  was  to  be 
the  signal  for  fear  and  horror  and  dread  which  should  fall 
upon  all  their  foes.  Thus  would  the  tale  pass  like  lightning 
from  mouth  to  mouth,  growing  daily  with  each  successive 
victory  gained  by  the  Israelites.  '  I  know,'  said  Kahab, 
'  that  the  Lord  hath  given  this  land  to  you  :  for  the  dread 
of  you  has  fallen  upon  us  and  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  land 
have  lost  all  strength.'1  And  as  the  list  of  the  slaughtered 
kings  and  pillaged  towns  daily  swelled  ;  as  the  danger  and 
the  terror  came  nearer  to  Phoenicia ;  as  they  heard  of  now 
one  familiar  tribe,  now  another,  falling  into  the  hands  of  the 
invader,  how  deadly  a  hatred,  begotten  of  fear,  would  they 
conceive  for  this  seemingly  ruthless  destroyer  whose  power 
was  evidently  supernatural,  whose  sword  seemed  to  know 
no  dulness,  whose  heart  no  pity ;  who  slew  women  and 
children  like  sheep  and  oxen,  who  levelled  towns  to  the 
ground  after  one  day's  siege,  or  blew  his  trumpets  and 
gained  an  entrance  into  the  city  over  its  prostrate  wall. 

But  Josue's  successes  came  to  an  end  at  last ;  the  want 
of  rest  and  repose,  the  hitherto  unknown  joys  of  a  country 
flowing  with  milk  and  honey  enervated  the  Israelites,  and 
they  settled  down  to  the  enjoyments  of  their  new  possession 
ere  their  work  was  completed.  The  Chanaanite  by  the  sea- 
shore had  escaped  his  doom,  and  henceforward  was  to  dwell 
side  by  side  with  the  destroyer  of  his  brethren.  Generation 
after  generation  would  pass  away,  but  can  we  think  that  the 
story  of  that  night  of  horror  would  fade  from  the  Phoenician 
heart '?  '  Who  are  the  Israelites  ?  '  would  the  Phoenician 
child  ask.  And  the  answer  would  be  the  oft-told  tale  of  the 
Exodus,  of  the  crossing  of  the  Jordan,  and  of  the  slaughter 
of  the  tribes  ;  garnished  it  would  be,  doubtless,  with  strange 
and  fanciful  additions,  but  still  a  tale  sufficient  to  kindle 
the  flame  of  hatred  in  the  Phoenician  heart,  sufficient  to 
make  the  Tyrian  of  many  years  after  rejoice  in  the  fall  of 
Jerusalem.  A  contributor  to  Kitto's  Biblical  Encyclopedia 

1  JOB.  ii.  9. 


48  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

mentions  a  Phoenician  inscription  which  runs  as  follows : 
'  We  are  those  who  fled  before  the  face  of  Joshua  the  robber 
the  son  of  Nun.'  Another  inscription  is  given  by  Suidas  : 
'We  are  the  Canaanites  whom  Joshua  the  robber  perse- 
cuted.' There  seems  to  be  some  doubt  regarding  the 
authenticity  of  the  latter ;  but  even  so,  the  two  are  interest- 
ing as  bearing  witness  to  the  reality  of  the  terror  inspired 
by  the  Israelite  invasion,  a  terror  which  was,  doubtless,  part 
of  the  punishments  intended  for  them  by  Almighty  God  as 
a  penalty  for  their  crying  offences. 

And  now  Phoenicia  has  a  part  to  play  :  '  An  angel  of  the 
Lord  went  up  from  Galgal  to  the  Place  of  Weepers,  and  said, 
I  made  you  go  out  of  Egypt,  and  have  brought  you  into  the 
land  for  which  I  swore  to  your  fathers ;  and  I  promised  that 
I  would  not  void  my  covenant  with  you  for  ever,  on  condition 
that  you  should  not  make  a  league  with  the  inhabitants  of 
this  land,  but  should  throw  down  their  altars ;  and  you  would 
not  hear  my  voice.    Why  have  you  done  this?     Wherefore 
I  would  not  destroy  them  from  before  your  face,  that  you 
may  have  enemies,  and  their   gods  may   be   your  ruin.'  x 
Phoenicia  was  to  be  a  thorn  in  the  side  of  Israel,  an  instru- 
ment in  the  Lord's  hands,  slowly  but  surely  working  out 
the  punishment  which  His  erring  people  had  incurred.     It 
was  not  to  be  by  force  of  arms  ;  it  was  not  to  be  by  intriguing 
against  her  with  foreign  enemies;  it  was  not  to  be  by  cutting 
off  her  supplies,  or  by  destroying  her  trade  with  the  surround- 
ing nations ;  it  was  not  to  be  by  harassing  guerilla  warfare ; 
but  it  was  to  be  by  the  consuming  canker-worn  of  idolatry, 
the  seeds  of  which  they  planted  in  the  Israelitish  heart. 
Though  it  is  certain  that  all  the  surrounding  nations  had 
contributed   their  share  towards  the  corruption  of  Israel, 
whose  children  had  been  initiated  into  the  rites  of  innumer- 
able strange  gods,  yet  to  none  was  this  leavening  with  heathen 
superstitions  so  directly  due  as  to  the  Tyrians  and  Sidonians. 
They  thus  revenged  themselves  upon  the  destroyers  of  their 
brethren;  but  they  were  the  all-unconscious  instruments  of 
the  offended  God  of  Israel.    He  had  put  life  and  death  before 

1  Judges  ii.  1-3. 


PHOENICIA  AND  ISRAEL  49 

them  :  '  I  call  heaven  and  earth  to  witness  this  day,  that  I 
have  set  before  you  life  and  death,  blessing  and  cursing. 
Choose,  therefore,  life  that  both  thou  and  thy  seed  may 
live.'  x  And  they  chose  death. 

How,  then,  was  this  brought  about  ?  Shortly  after  the 
fall  of  Sidon,  which  we  have  described  as  taking  place  in 
the  year  1209  B.C.,  the  Phoenician  towns  entered  into  an 
offensive  and  defensive  alliance  against  the  Philistines.  Of 
this  league  Tyre  gradually  assumed  the  hegemony,  a  position 
which  she  was  to  retain  for  many  years  to  come.  It  is  from 
this  time  that  her  influence  upon  Israel  dates.  In  the  year 
1015  B.C.,  when  Solomon  was  preparing  to  carry  out  his 
father  David's  behest,  and  build  the  temple  so  long  promised 
to  the  Lord,  he  made  a  commercial  treaty  with  Hiram, 
King  of  Tyre,  who  had  been  a  friend  of  his  father  and 
himself,  sought  this  alliance  with  Solomon.2  Perhaps  he  was 
led  to  this  by  the  increased  power  of  Israel,  for  Solomon's 
dominions  now  entered  from  Ailath  on  the  Bed  Sea  to 
Tipsah  on  the  Euphrates,  and  the  kingdom  was  at  the 
height  of  its  commercial  fame  and  military  renown.  For 
the  Phoenicians,  however,  the  strip  of  land  constituting 
Phoenicia  proper  was  sufficient  :  the  seas  were  their 
inheritance,  and  their  indifference  to  territorial  possessions 
in  Palestine  was  shown  by  Hiram's  disregard  for  the  gift 
which  Solomon  made  him  in  return  for  his  assistance  in 
the  building  of  the  temple.  The  king  offered  him  twenty 
cities  in  Galilee,  but  when  the  Tyrian  monarch  came  to  look 
at  them,  '  they  pleased  him  not,  and  he  called  them  the 
land  of  Cabul  (displeasure)  unto  this  day.'  3  A  cursory 
reading  of  the  Third  Book  of  Kings  might  tempt  us  to 
think  very  little  of  this  famous  friendship  as  affecting  the 
future  of  Israel,  but  readers  of  the  Bible  must  have  been 
struck  by  the  seemingly  sudden  and  inexplicable  reversion 
of  the  people  to  idolatry  at  the  mere  call  of  Jeroboam  ;  and, 
perhaps,  the  clue  is  to  be  sought  in  this  friendly  alliance 
between  Solomon  and  Hiram.  First  of  all  we  are  told  that 
over  one  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  men  were  employed 


1  Deut.  xxx.  19.  2  3  Kin^s  v.  1.  3  3  Kings  ix.  12,  13. 

VOL.  III.  \) 


50  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

in  the  forests  of  Lebanon,  cutting  down  trees  and  hewing 
stones  for  the  intended  building;  and  as  Solomon  was 
occupied  in  building  during  the  best  part  of  his  reign  of 
thirty-nine  years,  we  can  safely  assign  twenty-five  years  as 
the  period  during  which  this  fellowship  lasted.  Besides  this 
we  read  of  united  fleets  of  the  two  nations  trading  in  the 
Red  Sea,  and  even  visiting  Tharsis  together ; 2  and  further, 
Phoenician  and  Jewish  tradition  have  it  that  Solomon  at 
this  time  married  one  of  Hiram's  daughters.  Does  not  such 
an  intimacy  as  this  explain  the  ready  response  to  Jeroboam's 
call?  Nay,  was  not  this  apostacy  the  natural  result  of  so 
deep  and  so  persistent  a  leavening  with  idolatrous  notions 
and  superstitions  ? 

The  curse  comes  upon  King  Solomon  because  he  has 
worshipped  Astarte,  the  goddess  of  the  Sidonians ;  adversaries 
are  raised  up  against  him,  and  the  end  of  his  reign  is  sorrow 
and  affliction.  Meanwhile  Hiram  dies,  and  a  period  of  wild 
anarchy  succeeds.  Usurper  after  usurper  strives  to  establish 
a  new  dynasty  in  Tyre,  until  at  last  Ethbaal,  priest  of  Astarte, 
places  himself  upon  the  throne,  and  succeeds  in  transmitting 
it  to  his  son.  Juda  and  Israel  too  are  torn  asunder,  and 
living  at  feud  with  one  another ;  Jeroboam  dies,  and  after 
seme  years  there  succeeds  to  the  throne  of  Samaria  a  man 
whose  wickedness  was  to  surpass  even  Jeroboam's:  'Achab, 
the  son  of  Amri,  did  evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  above  all 
that  were  before  him.' 8  The  advent  of  Achab  marks  the 
flood-tide  of  Phoenician  influence  over  Israel.  He  cemented 
the  already  existing  alliance  with  Tyre  by  marrying  the 
impious  Jezabel,  daughter  of  Ethbaal,  and  from  that  time 
onward  his  career  was  one  of  crime  and  idolatry,  than  which, 
excepting,  perhaps,  that  of  Manasses,  we  have  none  worse 
depicted  for  us  in  the  pages  of  Scripture.  '  He  did  more  to 
provoke  the  Lord,  the  God  of  Israel,  than  all  the  kings 
that  were  before  him.' 4  And  so  universal  was  the  idolatry 
which  these  two  companions  in  iniquity  encouraged  by  their 
example,  that  the  Prophet  Elias,  who  seems  to  have  been 
especially  raised  up  to  combat  their  evil  influence,  could  cry 

1  3  Kings  v.  13,  16.  »  3  Kings  xvi.  30. 

2  3  Kings  ix.  27,  and  x.  22.  *  3  Kings  xvi.  33. 


PHOENICIA   AND   ISRAEL  51 

to  the  Lord :  '  The  children  of  Israel  have  forsaken  Thy 
covenant,  they  have  destroyed  Thy  altars,  they  have  slain 
Thy  prophets  with  the  sword,  and  I  alone  am  left,  and  they 
seek  my  life  to  take  it  away.' 1 

And  what  was  this  idolatry  which  exercised  so  peculiar 
a  fascination  for  the  Israelites  ?  Was  it  connected  with  a 
ritual  more  gorgeous  or  more  marvellous  than  that  of  the 
law?  Was  it  more  joyous  in  its  celebration,  or  better 
calculated  to  appeal  to  the  senses  than  the  religion  of 
Jehovah?  With  our  tastes  and  ideas  so  different  from 
those  of  the  Jews  of  old,  it  is  hard,  perhaps,  to  give  an 
absolutely  fair  answer  to  this  question,  but  from  the  little 
we  know  of  the  Pho3nician  religion  we  should  be  inclined 
to  give  a  decidedly  negative  reply.  Baal-worship  means 
the  worship  of  Baalim  or  Gods,  for  Baal  is  a  Hebrew 
word  meaning  '  master,'  and  each  god  was  a  master  or  Baal 
in  the  sense  that  each  ruled  in  his  own  particular  sphere  of 
influence.  This  sphere  of  influence  is  sometimes  philo- 
sophical, sometimes  religious,  but  more  often  merely  local. 
Hence  we  hear  of  Baal-Phegor,  Baal-Tsour  (Tyre),  Baal- 
Sidon,  and  even  of  Baal-Zebub  (the  Lord  of  Flies).  All 
these  Baalim  were,  however,  but  personifications  of  one 
Primordial  Deity,  who  at  Tyre  was  known  under  the 
name  of  Melkartb.  This  name  Lemormant  thinks  to  be 
merely  a  corruption  of  trrv&p,  Melek-Erath,  the  king 
or  Baal  of  the  city.  Melkarth  retains  this  name  merely 
as  the  tutelar  deity  of  the  city,  but  according  as  he 
assumes  other  functions  so  he  assumes  other  names,  and 
we  hear  of  Baal-Chon  (the  Lord  of  Life),  and  of  the 
awful  Baal-Moloch  (the  Lord  of  Destruction).  The  rites 
and  ceremonies  of  this  Baal-worship  seem,  with  few 
exceptions  to  have  been  of  a  very  gloomy  description. 
Fanaticism  and  superstition  were  the  order  of  the  day,  and, 
as  we  see  in  the  contest  between  Elias  and  the  prophets  of 
Baal,  the  latter's  votaries  were  compelled  to  cut  themselves 
severely,  while  many  of  the  gods  were  thought  to  demand 
from  their  devout  clients  frequent  and  terrible  scourgings. 

r3  Kings  xix.  14. 


52  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

One  rite,  however,  stands  out  from  amidst  the  surrounding 
gloom,  and  excites  our  attention  by  the  poetical  myth  with 
which  it  is  connected.  Famous  amongst  the  sidereal  gods 
of  the  Phosniciaus  stands  Adonis  or  Thammuz.  According 
to  the  legend,  he  is  beloved  by  the  goddess  known  as 
Baalith ;  but  at  the  end  of  spring,  when  summer  killed  the 
spring,  Adonis  was  slain,  funeral  gatherings  took  place, 
women  wept,  and  lamented  for  Adonis,  and  offered  funeral 
baked  meats  to  the  goddess  until  the  god  was  brought  back  to 
life.  Again  he  died  in  the  autumn,  when  the  autumn  killed 
the  summer,  and  at  this  season,  in  order  to  aid  the  people  in 
their  fantastic  devotions,  the  priests  took  advantage  of  a 
curious  phenomenon,  frequently  observable  during  the  year, 
but  more  especially  during  autumn :  for  then  the  rivers 
were  at  flood,  and,  charged  with  the  rich  red  soil  of  the 
hill  country,  poured  their  seemingly  blood-stained  waters 
into  the  sea,  tinging  the  azure  waves  of  the  Mediterranean 
with  blood,  for  many  miles  down  the  coast.  This  was  the 
blood  of  Adonis,  and  consequently  lamentations  for  his 
untimely  fate  occupied  the  time  of  flood,  till  the  waters  at  the 
river's  mouth  regained  their  normal  colour,  and  the  priests 
declared  that  the  god  had  risen  again  and  rejoined  his  bride. 
Upon  this  announcement  a  scene  of  licentious  revelry 
replaced  the  gloomy  celebrations  of  the  preceding  days,  and 
the  whole  country  round  was  given  up  to  orgies  of  the 
wildest  and  most  revolting  description.  Such  was  the  story 
of  Adonis,  and  the  ceremonies  connected  with  his  worship 
are  alluded  to  by  the  prophet  Ezechiel :  *  And  he  said  to  me, 
If  thou  turn  tbee  again,  thou  shalt  see  greater  abominations 
which  these  commit.  And  he  brought  me  in  by  the  door  of 
the  gate  of  the  Lord's  house,  which  looked  to  the  north ;  and 
behold  women  sat  there  mourning  for  Adonis.'1  But  this 
legend,  which  has  some  of  the  glamour  of  poetic  imagery 
thrown  around  it,  stands  out  by  the  way  of  contrast  with  the 
surrounding  abominations.  Fire  was  supposed  to  be  the 
principle  of  many  of  their  deities,  and  hence  arose  the 


iJEzech.  viii.  13, 


PHOENICIA  AND  ISRAEL  53 

awful   sacrifice    to   Moloch,  which    Milton    so    powerfully 
describes : — 

First  Moloch,  horrid  king,  besmeared  with  blood 
Of  human  sacrifice  and  parents'  tears, 
Though  for  the  noise  of  drums  and  timbrels  loud, 
Their  children's  cries  unheard,  that  passed  through  fire 
To  his  grim  idol. 

It  is  awful  to  think  that  so  hideous  an  idol  should  ever 
have  reared  its  ghastly  head  near  to  God's  temple  in 
Jerusalem ! 

This,  then,  was  the  gloomy  religion  which  the  Phoenicians, 
combined  indeed  with  other  nations,  introduced  into  Israel ; 
and  it  is  hard  to  understand  how  so  awful,  so  depressing, 
and  so  licentious  a  form  of  worship  can  ever  have  taken  hold 
of  a  religious-minded  people  like  the  Hebrews.  Terrible 
indeed  was  the  denunciation  fulminated  by  the  Lord  against 
the  guilty  couple  who  had  led  all  Israel  astray :  '  And  of 
Jezabel  also  the  Lord  spoke,  saying :  The  dogs  shall  eat 
Jezabel  also,  in  the  field  of  Jesrahel.  If  Achab  die  in  the 
city,  the  dogs  shall  eat  him ;  but  if  he  die  in  the  field,  the 
birds  of  the  air  shall  eat  him.  Now,  there  was  not  such 
another  as  Achab.  who  was  sold  to  do  evil  in  the  sight  of  the 
Lord,  for  his  wife  Jezabel  set  him  on.'1  But  the  evil  was 
not  to  cease  with  them.  If  Israel  was  steeped  in  Baal- 
worship  ;  Juda  had  as  yet  escaped  comparatively  unscathed, 
though  tainted,  indeed,  by  the  idolatry  introduced  by 
Solomon.  But  in  an  evil  day,  Joram,  the  son  of  Josaphat 
married  the  daughter  of  Achab  and  Jezabel.2  He  was  head- 
strong and  wilful,  but  Jezabel's  daughter  had  inherited  all 
her  mother's  wickedness,  and,  if  possible,  a  double  share  of 
her  strength  of  character.  In  both  these  daughters  of  Tyre 
we  see  the  same  domination  over  their  husbands  :  the  weak 
Achab  was  led  on  by  Jezabel,  the  headstrong  Joram  was 
ruled  by  Athalia  :  '  He  walked  in  the  ways  of  the  kings  of 
Israel  as  the  house  of  Achab  had  done,  for  his  wife  was  a 
daughter  of  Achab,  and  he  did  evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord.'3 
Baal-worship  is  established,  the  temple  is  profaned,  the 
sacrifice  ceases,  the  whole  land  groans  under  the  curse  of 

1  3  Kings  xxi.  23-25.  24  Kings  viii.  18.  »  2  Paralip.  xxi,  6. 


54  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

idolatry.  But  worse  is  to  follow,  Jorain  dies  and  is  succeeded 
by  Ochozias  his  son.  '  He  also  walked  in  the  ways  of  the 
house  of  Achab,  for  his  mother  pushed  him  on  to  do  wickedly.' 
He,  however,  met  his  death  at  the  hands  of  the  Syrians ;  and 
his  mother,  worthy  daughter  of  Jezabel,  added  to  the  already 
long  list  of  her  crimes  by  a  butchery  which  has  but  few 
rivals  in  the  blood-stained  history  of  oriental  despotism.2 
'  Athalia,  his  mother,  seeing  that  her  son  was  dead,  rose  up 
and  killed  all  the  royal  family  of  the  house  of  Jorarn.' 
She  then  established  herself  upon  the  throne,  and  for  six 
years  was  free  to  indulge  her  idolatrous  tastes  till  she  met 
her  well-merited  death  at  the  hands  of  Joiada,  the  High 
Priest,  who  had  sheltered  Joas,  the  son  of  Ochozias,  when 
he  escaped  the  slaughter  of  his  brethren.3  Such  were  the 
evils  which  this  Tyrian  alliance  had  brought  upon  the  chosen 
people.  The  curse,  as  foretold  long  ago,  had  come  upon 
them  : — '  If  you  will  embrace  the  errors  of  these  nations 
that  dwell  among  you,  and  make  marriages  with  them,  and 
join  friendships  ;  know  ye  for  a  certainty  that  the  Lord  your 
God  will  not  destroy  them  before  your  face,  but  they  shall 
be  a  pit  and  a  snare  in  your  way,  and  a  stumbling-block  at 
your  side,  and  stakes  in  your  eyes,  till  He  take  you  away  and 
destroy  you  from  off  this  excellent  land  which  He  hath  given 
you.'  *  The  day  of  retribution  was  coming  on  apace.  The 
second  Assyrian  Empire  was  daily  gathering  strength, 
Salmanaser  and  Sargon  would  soon  be  before  the  walls  of 
Samaria ;  the  terrible  name  of  Sennacherib  would  soon  strike 
terror  to  the  heart  of  Ezechias,  and  Jerusalem  was  preparing 
for  Nabuchodonosor  and  Babylon. 

To  return  to  the  history  of  Tyre.  From  the  fall  of  Sidon, 
in  1209  B.C.,  to  the  foundation  of  Carthage,  in  872  B.C.,  may 
be  reckoned  the  period  of  Tyre's  greatest  glory.  But  just  as 
Sidon  yielded  to  the  growing  importance  of  her  daughter, 
so  Tyre,  in  turn,  paled  before  the  splendour  of  Carthage. 
The  history  of  the  foundation  of  Carthage  is  briefly  as 
follows :  King  Ethbaal,  as  we  have  seen,  had  succeeded  in 
founding  a  dynasty  which  endured  for  four  generations.  The 

1 2  Paralip.  xxii.  3.  »  2  Paralip.  xxiii.  16. 

3  2  Paralip.  xxii.  10.  *  Jos.  xxii.  12,  13. 


PHOENICIA   AND  ISRAEL  55 

third  of  these  was  that  of  Mathan,  who  died  leaving  two 
children,  Piimelioun  and  Elissar:  the  former  is  better  known 
as  Pygmalion,  the  latter  as  the  famous  Dido  of  the  Aeneid. 
Their  father  had  wished  them  to  reign  conjointly,  but  this 
the  democratic  party  in  the  state  refused  to  allow,  and 
seated  Pygmalion  on  the  throne  to  the  exclusion  of  his 
sister.  The  latter  married,  but  her  husband  was  shortly 
afterwards  slain  by  her  brother's  orders,  and  Elissar,  in  fear 
of  a  like  fate,  fled  with  great  numbers  of  the  aristocratic 
party  to  Cambe  in  Africa.  Cambe  had  been  founded  a  few 
years  before  by  Sidon,  but  was  as  yet  undeveloped  owing  to 
the  flourishing  condition  of  the  neighbouring  Tyrian  colony 
of  Utica;  it  was  now,  however,  to  be  changed  into  the  historical 
city  of  Carthage,  which  name  is  probably  a  corruption 
of  nnnTy — New  City.  From  this  time  Tyre's  importance 
gradually  waned :  she  was  still  rich  and  opulent  for  many 
years,  but  Carthage  was  a  rival  power  in  the  heart  of  her 
colonies. 

Hitherto  the  only  troubles  which  we  have  seen  inter- 
fering with  the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  Phrenicia  have 
been  either  periods  of  revolution  and  anarchy  amongst 
themselves,  or  occasional  predatory  incursions  on  the  part 
of  the  Philistines.  With  the  Egyptians  the  Phosnicians 
always  managed  to  remain  at  peace,  even  when  the  former 
marched  year  by  year  through  Palestine  to  fight  against  the 
warlike  Hittites  on  the  Orontes ;  for  they  never  despised  the 
easy  though  ignoble  means  of  pacifying  such  formidable  foes, 
and  prompt  submission  with  large  payments  from  their 
treasury  always  enabled  them  to  rest  in  security.  But  a 
power  now  comes  upon  the  scene  which  is  to  change  the 
destinies  of  the  nations.  About  the  year  900  B.C.  the  king- 
dom of  Assyria  awoke  from  the  state  of  lethargy  in  which 
it  had  so  long  lain,  and  its  kings  began  a  career  of  conquest 
which  lasted  for  close  upon  three  hundred  years.  Year  after 
year  the  barbarian  monarch  would  cross  the  Euphrates  at 
the  head  of  his  army  and  direct  his  steps  to  Syria  or  Palestine 
or  Asia  Minor.  Towns  were  burned  and  pillaged,  cities 
levelled  to  the  ground,  and  whole  peoples  carried  of  into 
a  cruel  captivity.  About  the  year  880  B.C.,  Assurnazipal, 


56  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

the  reigning  monarch,  turned  his  attention  to  Phoenicia  and 
exacted  a  heavy  tribute  from  the  cities  of  the  district  in 
silver  and  gold,  steel  and  bronze,  besides  implements  of 
iron,  curious  woods  and  rich  stuffs.  From  that  time  till 
the  end  of  the  Assyrian  Empire,  Phoenicia  was  forced  to 
acknowledge  its  sovereignty,  with  the  exception  of  one 
short  interval ;  and  when  Nineveh  crumbled  away,  its 
place  as  the  '  hammer  of  nations,'  was  taken  by  Babylon, 
whose  king,  Nabuchodonosor,  wreaked  a  fearful  vengeance 
upon  the  luckless  Tyre  for  refusing  to  pay  the  tribute  yearly 
demanded  of  her.  From  the  year  720  B.C.  the  history  of 
Tyre  is  practically  the  history  of  her  sieges  ;  and  perhaps  no 
city  in  the  world,  not  even  excepting  Troy,  ever  endured 
such  terrible  blockades  or  defied  for  so  many  years  the  efforts 
of  a  beleaguering  army.  In  that  same  year,  720  B.C.,  the 
famous  Sargon  appeared  before  the  city  walls.  The  other 
Phoenician  cities,  and  even  Palae-Tyrus  itself,  the  portion 
of  the  city  which  stood  upon  the  mainland,  bowed  before  the 
invader,  and  even  helped  him  in  his  assault  upon  the  island 
citadel.  Perhaps  the  reason  of  this  defection  may  be  sought 
in  the  hegemony  of  Tyre  :  she  may,  as  head  of  the  league, 
have  exacted  a  deference  and  submission  wThich  galled  upon 
the  neighbouring  towns.  But,  though  everywhere  else 
successful,  and  fresh  from  the  storming  of  Samaria,  which 
his  predecessor  Salmanasar  had  been  besieging  for  nearly  three 
years,  Sargon  was  not  so  successful  here.  For  five  years 
his  armies  encompassed  the  beleaguered  city,  but  the  island- 
fortress  defied  all  his  efforts,  and  the  baffled  monarch  was  at 
length  compelled  to  draw  off  his  forces  and  retire  discomfited. 
A  few  years  afterwards,  however,  the  city  succumbed  before 
the  terrible  Sennacherib,  who  stormed  the  city  in  the  year 
700  B.C.  Elouli,  the  same  king  who  had  so  successfully 
withstood  Sargon  twenty  years  before,  threw  himself  into 
his  citadel,  and  prepared  to  defend  it  with  the  same  vigour  as 
he  had  shown  against  his  assailant's  father ;  but  the  assault 
of  Sennacherib  overwhelmed  him,  and  the  unhappy  island 
was  compelled  to  surrender.  Sidon,  as  soon  as  the  avenger 
had  departed,  claimed  the  hegemony  which  she  had  lost 
more  than  six  hundred  years  before,  and  after  a  few  years 


PHOENICIA   AND   ISRAEL  57 

she  ventured  to  refuse  the  annual  tribute  demanded  by  the 
Assyrian  Court ;  but  the  reigning  monarch,  Assurbanipal, 
stormed  the  town  and  decimated  the  inhabitants. 

But  Tyre,  though  beaten,  was  not  destroyed.  She  still 
retained  her  fleet,  and  Sennacherib  would  seem  to  have 
treated  her  with  leniency.  Her  trade  and  her  wealth 
remained  to  her,  and  she  pursued  her  commerce  beyond  the 
seas  with  the  same  ardour  as  before.  Yet  the  end  of  her 
disasters  had  not  come,  she  had  still  to  endure  a  siege  which 
surpassed  all  its  predecessors  in  severity.  The  despotism  of 
Nineveh  had  been  succeeded  by  that  of  Babylon,  and  from 
the  year  609  to  588  B.C.  the  Chaldeans  kept  up  a  continual 
succession  of  incursions  into  Palestine  ;  until  finally,  in  588, 
they  took  Jerusalem,and  carried  its  inhabitants  into  captivity. 
Jerusalem  had  leagued  with  Egypt  and  Tyre  against  the 
oppressors,  and  Nabuchodonosor  was  bent  on  the  destruction 
of  the  coalition.  As  soon,  therefore,  as  he  had  crushed 
Judaea,  he  turned  his  arms  against  Tyre.  Ezechiel  had 
prophesied  the  siege  with  all  its  horrors,  for  Tyre  had 
rejoiced  at  her  rival's  fall,  and  therefore  the  wrath  of  God 
was  directed  against  her  :  '  Behold,  I  will  bring  against  Tyre, 
Nabuchodonosor,  king  of  Babylon,  the  king  of  kings.  .  .  . 
and  he  shall  set  engines  of  war  and  battering-rams  against 
thy  walls,  and  shall  destroy  thy  towers  with  his  arms  .  .  . 
with  the  hoofs  of  his  horses  he  shall  tread  down  all  thy 
streets ;  thy  people  he  shall  kill  with  the  sword,  and  thy 
famous  statues  shall  fall  to  the  ground.  They  shall  waste 
thy  riches,  they  shall  make  a  spoil  of  thy  merchandise  ;  and 
they  shall  destroy  thy  walls,  and  pull  down  thy  fine  houses  ; 
and  they  shall  lay  thy  stones,  and  thy  timber,  and  thy  dust, 
in  the  midst  of  the  waters/  *  For  thirteen  years  the  hapless 
city  resisted  all  the  efforts  of  the  besiegers,  but  the  end 
came  at  last.  According  to  ecclesiastical  historians 
Nabuchodonosor  succeeded  in  taking  the  city  in  the  year 
574  B.C.;  but  Chaldean  accounts,  which  the  Greek  historians 
follow,  say  that  the  mighty  Assyrian  found  the  task  beyond  his 
power,  and  had  to  retire  from  before  the  walls  as  Sargon  had 

1  Ezech.  xxvi.  7-12. 


58  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

done  more  than  one  hundred  years  before.  Ezechiel, 
however,  distinctly  prophesied  the  capture  of  the  city  by 
Nabuchodonosor,  as  we  have  seen,  and  St.  Jerome  states  it 
explicitly  in  his  introduction  to  his  commentary  upon  that 
prophet .  At  the  same  time  it  may  be  pointed  out,  that  one 
passage  in  Ezechiel  would  seem  to  imply  that  the  city  was 
taken  after  all  by  the  Assyrian  monarch :  '  Son  of  man, 
Nabuchodonosor,  king  of  Babylon,  hath  made  his  army  to 
undergo  hard  service  against  Tyre;  every  head  was  made 
bald,  and  every  shoulder  was  peeled ;  and  there  hath  been 
no  reward  given  him  nor  his  army  for  Tyre,  for  the  service 
that  he  had  rendered  me  against  it.'1  It  is  quite  certain  that 
Nabuchodonosor  would  not  have  in  any  way  spared  the 
city  or  its  unfortunate  inhabitants  if  he  had  once  penetrated 
within  its  walls  after  such  a  lengthy  and  exhausting  siege;  and 
hence  it  may  be  well  supposed  that  the  city  was  so  impoverished 
as  to  afford  little  or  no  booty  to  the  expectant  soldiery. 

It  has  been  even  suggested  that  an  earthquake  resulting 
in  the  total,  or  at  least  partial  submersion  of  the  city,  similar 
to  that  which  took  place  in  the  year  1837,  bore  an  important 
part  in  the  reduction  of  the  place  ;  and  certainly  the  prophet's 
words  would  seem  to  bear  this  out :  '  For  thus  saith  the 
Lord  God,  when  I  shall  make  thee  a  desolate  city,  like  the 
cities  that  are  not  inhabited,  and  shall  bring  the  deep  upon 
thee,  and^many  waters  shall  cover  thee ; ' 2  and  again  :  '  Now 
thou  art  destroyed  by  the  sea,  thy  riches  are  at  the  bottom 
of  the  waters,  and  all  the  multitude  in  the  midst  of  thee  is 
fallen.' 3  This  would  explain  why  Tyre  yielded  no  reward 
to  Nabuchodonosor — '  thy  riches  are  at  the  bottom  of  the 
waters.'  But  Ezechiel's  prophecy  does  not  end  with  the 
capture  of  the  city  by  the  Assyrian,  as  St.  Jerome  seems  to 
have  expected,  when  he  remarked  with  astonishment,  that  in 
his  days,  Tyre,  in  seeming  defiance  of  the  prophet,  was  the 
most  beautiful  city  in  Phoenicia.  The  destruction  of  the 
city  by  the  sea  may  be  only  now  accomplished,  and  certainly, 
in  spite  of  her  reverses,  Tyre  seemed  possessed  of  a  hydra- 
like  vitality  which  only  the  incursion  of  the  sea  could  crush. 
In  the  year  538  B.C.,  she  came  under  the  Persian  domination, 

1  Ezech.  xxiv.  18.  «  Ezech.  xxvi.  19.  3  Ezech.  xxvii.  34. 


PHOENICIA  AND  ISRAEL  59 

and  though  possessing  only  a  shadow  of  her  formsr  greatness, 
she  was  still  comparatvely  free  and  wealthy ;  she  even 
ventured  to  rebel  against  Xerxes  when  he  wasted  the 
Phoenician  fleet  in  his  attack  upon  Greece ;  but  the  Persian 
despot  at  once  crushed  the  revolt  and  punished  the  city, 
Sidon,  which  had  joined  with  Tyre,  suffering  severely.  Two 
hundred  years  later  we  find  the  indomitable  city  ready  to 
stand  another  historical  siege  at  the  hands  of  Alexander. 
He  succceeded  in  taking  the  stronghold  by  filling  up  the 
intervening  sea  with  a  gigantic  mole ;  he  then  garrisoned  it 
with  a  body  of  Carian  soldiery,  who  made  such  good  use  of 
the  immense  strength  of  its  naturally  impregnable  position, 
that  eighteen  years  later  it  was  hotly  besieged  and  equally 
stoutly  defended  by  Alexander's  rival  generals.  From  this 
time  we  hear  but  little  of  Tyre  till  the  time  of  our  Lord. 
But  how  sad  a  change  is  revealed  by  St.  Luke's  words  in  the 
Acts  !  How  terrible  a  fall !  How  awful  a  fulfilment  of  the 
prophecy  !  Accustomed  to  domineer  over  Jerusalem  and 
the  neighbouring  cities,  the  canker-worm  of  pride  had  eaten 
its  way  into  her  heart :  '  Thy  heart  was  lifted  up  with  thy 
beauty ;  thou  hast  lost  thy  wisdom  in  thy  beauty ; ' '  the 
prince  of  Tyre  had  said :  '  I  am  God,  and  I  sit  in  the  chair  of 
God  in  the  heart  of  the  sea,' 2  but  now  he  hails  his  Idumean 
conqueror  with  fulsome  praise  : '  It  is  the  voice  of  a  god.'3 

And  so  the  glory  of  Tyre  gradually  waned.  In  the  time 
of  the  Crusaders  it  lived  to  endure  yet  another  siege,  bat  has 
since  dwindled  away,  till,  in  the  year  1837,  it  was  almost 
completely  submerged  by  the  inrush  of  the  sea  consequent 
upon  an  earthquake.  Some  forty  years  ago  but  little  re- 
mained beyond  a  few  scattered  fishermen's  huts,  whose 
owners  unconsciously  fulfilled  the  ancient  prophecy :  '  She 
shall  be  a  drying-place  for  nets  in  the  midst  of  the  sea, 
because  I  have  spoken  it,  saith  the  Lord  God.' 4  '  What  city 
is  like  Tyre,  which  is  become  silent  in  the  midst  of  the 
sea  ? ' 5 

HUGH  POPE,  O.P. 


1  Ezech.  xxviii.  17.  2  Ezech.  xxviii.  2.  3  Acts.  xii.  22. 

4  Ezech.  xxvi.  5.  5  Ezech.  xxvii.  32. 


THE  ORIGIN  AND  CONSERVATION  OF 
MOTION1 

WHAT  a  grand  idea  of  motion  must  arise  in  the  mind 
of  a  man  who  watches  the  sun  and  the  innumerable 
other  orbs  in  the  heavens  and  fancies  that  all  are 
revolving  round  him !  But  cruel  astronomy  tells  him 
that,  though  magnificent,  it  is  all  a  dream  ;  that  it  is  he 
that  moves  with  the  earth  while  it  spins  round  on  its  axis ; 
and  that  the  apparent  motion  of  the  heavenly  bodies  is, 
consequently,  a  mere  illusion.  One  solid  fact,  however,  he 
has  got :  the  earth  moves  on  its  axis.  Other  real  motions, 
also,  he  may  find  in  sufficient  abundance  to  enable  him  to 
paint  anew,  as  it  were,  a  lasting  picture  of  far  greater 
grandeur  than  the  one  that  was  shattered.  The  earth,  in 
company  with  the  other  planets,  moves  round  the  sun  ;  and 
it  is  not  unlikely  that  the  solar  system  is  only  a  unit  in  a 
grand  sidereal  or  cosmic  system  revolving  round  some  undis- 
covered centre.  Earthquakes  and  volcanic  eruptions  are 
violent  motions  and  proofs  of  more  violent  motion  in  the 
earth's  interior.  And  on  the  earth's  crust  what  an  amount 
of  motion  is  discernible  !  The  restless  waves  and  the  resist- 
less tides  show  forth  most  convincingly  the  motion  of  the 
illimitable  sea.  What  a  cycle  of  motion  there  is  in  the 
water  that  rises  in  vapour  from  the  ocean,  falls  in  soft  flakes 
of  beautiful  crystals  on  the  ground,  is  melted,  and  again 
carried  off  to  its  source  !  The  storm  that  dashes  the  angry 
breakers  against  the  rocky  shore,  and  the  cyclone  that  tears 
up  trees  and  overthrows  houses  in  its  course,  proclaim  that 
there  can  be  considerable  motion  even  in  the  impalpable  air. 
In  the  vegetable  world  what  an  amount  of  motion  there  is 
in  the  unceasing  production  and  decaying  of  plants  I  What 
a  flow  of  motion  there  is  in  the  springtime,  and  what  an 

1  Motion :  Its  Origin  and  Conservation.  An  Essay  by  the  Rev.  Walter 
McDonald,  D.D.,  Prefect  of  the  Dunboyne  Establishment,  St.  Patrick's  College, 
Maynooth.  Browne  &  Nolan,  Ltd.,  Nassau-street,  Dublin. 


THE  ORIGIN  AND  CONSERVATION  OF  MOTION      61 

ebb  in  the  autumn !  Who  can  count  the  motions,  or  even 
varieties  of  motions,  of  animals  ?  And,  then,  in  each 
animal  and  plant  there  is  another  cycle  of  motion  from  the 
time  matter  is  taken  in  as  food  until  it  is  discharged  as 
waste.  All  this  science  tells  to  the  disillusioned  star-gazer, 
as  if  to  compensate  him  for  the  vision  of  glory  she  dashed 
from  him.  She  tells  him,  moreover,  that  the  several  chemical 
and  physical  phenomena  of  gravitation,  electricity,  and  the 
rest,  are  all  modes  of  motion,  and  that  even  the  most 
unsuspected  and  quiescent  particles  of  matter  are  simply 
seething  with  motion.  And,  above  and  beyond  all,  there  is 
the  motion  of  man,  who  not  only  moves,  but  is  master  of 
his  motion.  Everywhere  and  in  everything  motion  may  be 
discerned.  What  is  the  nature  and  origin  of  motion,  and 
how  is  it  kept  on  ?  These  are  the  main  questions  discussed 
in  the  volume  under  review. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  Dr.  McDonald's  book  is  a 
condensation  of  the  various  physical  treatises,  with  a  little 
metaphysics  thrown  in  to  give  consistency,  and  that  conse- 
quently one  need  only  obey  the  index  to  find  a  convenient 
explanation  of  any  physical  phenomenon  such  as  capillary 
attraction  or  the  Rontgen  rays.  Motion,  in  general,  is  the 
subject  of  the  essay,  not  the  particular  kinds  of  motion.  These, 
however,  are  frequently  referred  to  either  as  illustrations  or 
to  serve  as  the  basis  of  an  argument.  The  term  motion 
has  two  meanings.  In  its  wider  sense  it  means  any  change 
of  state  or  condition ;  in  its  stricter  and  ordinary  sense  it 
means  merely  change  of  place.  As  all  other  motions  are 
either  founded  on  or  analogous  to  local  motion,  the  consi- 
deration of  the  latter  alone  is  regarded  as  of  fundamental 
importance.  Accordingly  the  author  restricts  the  inquiry; 
though,  indeed,  as  may  be  expected,  he  frequently  passes  the 
bounds  he  has  set  himself. 

How,  then,  is  motion  to  be  accounted  for  ?  To  answer 
this  question  two  theories  are  propounded — the  dynamic 
and  the  kinetic.  It  would  be  a  mistake  to  assume  that 
these  names  are  well  known  in  the  schools,  and  that  a 
formal  comparison  of  their  merits  is  to  be  found  in  every 
hand-book  of  scholastic  philosophy.  Dr.  McDonald,  in 


62  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

contrasting  them,  has,  to  a  large  extent,  broken  new  ground. 
He  has,  at  all  events,  given  a  name  to  the  theory  he  advo- 
cates. This  theory  he  outlined  in  a  paper  read  at  the 
International  Catholic  Scientific  Congress,  held  at  Freiburg 
last  August.  After  the  newspaper  accounts  appeared  he 
had  ample  reason  to  complain,  with  Mr.  Balfour,  that  the 
title  of  his  essay  had  attracted  more  notice  than  the  con- 
tents. Everybody  was  inquiring  what  a  kinetic  theory  of 
activity  meant.  One  curious  wight  from  the  antipodes  even 
went  so  far  as  to  ask  :  '  Who  was  Kinetic  ?  '  The  reprint  of 
the  paper  in  the  October  issue  of  the  I.  E.  RECOKD  disclosed 
to  the  lonely  traveller  and  all  other  inquirers  the  inmost 
nature  of  the  kinetic  theory. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  repeat  here  the  expositions  of 
the  rival  theories.  The  question  at  issue  is :  Is  there  in 
nature,  corresponding  to  the  idea  of  force,  an  active  capacity 
not  merely  notionally,  but  really  distinct,  on  the  one  hand, 
from  the  motion  it  causes,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  from  the 
substance  and  its  quality  ?  All  Catholic  philosophers,  except, 
perhaps,  a  few  followers  of  Descartes,  agree  that  substance, 
qualities,  and  motion  have  a  real  existence.  The  only 
controversy  is  about  the  existence  of  '  force.' 

In  writing  this  essay  Dr.  McDonald  had  two  objects 
in  view.  He  wished,  of  course,  to  prove  that  the 
kinetic  theory  is  true;  but  his  primary  object  was  to 
show,  that  it  is  not  opposed  to  Catholic  teaching;  and 
that,  consequently,  the  door  of  the  Church  is  not  to  be 
shut  against  men  of  science  who  are  driven,  or  fancy  they 
are  driven,  by  scientific  investigations  to  hold  that  there  is 
no  such  thing  as  force.  There  is,  unfortunately,  too  great 
a  tendency  to  brand  with  some  severe  censure  all  with 
whom  we  cannot  agree.  The  stern  legislation  of  the 
Church  is  an  indication  of  the  extent  to  which  this  tendency 
prevailed  even  in  the  holy  men  who  carried  on  the  con- 
troversy De  Auxiliis.  Whether  Dr.  McDonald  has  proved 
his  theory  or  not,  he  has  shown,  at  least,  that  it  is  not 
uncatholic,  and  that  anyone  who  will  be  censured  for  holding 
it  will  suffer  in  excellent  company;  for,  by  an  examina- 
tion of  several  passages  from  Aristotle  and  St.  Thomas, 


THE  ORIGIN  AND  CONSERVATION  OF  MOTION      63 

he  shows,  that  the  great  masters  of  philosophy  did  not 
believe  in  the  existence  of  a  reality  called  force.  Clearly 
the  passages  cannot  be  cited  and  examined  here.  One 
extract,  however,  must  not  be  omitted.  It  is  the  distinction 
of  Ferrariensis  which  is  so  useful  in  explaining  and  defend- 
ing the  kinetic  theory : — 

God  causes  the  act  of  the  will  immediately  with  an 
immediateness  of  virtue,  but  not  with  an  immediateness  of 
supposit,  as  has'  been  already  shown  with  regard  to  the 
other  faculties.  On  the  other  hand,  the  will  causes  the 
same  volition  immediately  with  an  immediateness  of  supposit, 
but  not  with  an  immediateness  of  virtue. 

Some  persons  may  be  tempted  to  despise  Ferrariensis 
as  an  obscure  theologian ;  but  the  present  Supreme  Pontiff 
commends  him  specially  as  a  channel  through  which  the 
pure  stream  of  St.  Thomas's  doctrine  is  transmitted  to 
succeeding  generations.  The  above  extract  is  found  in 
page  70 ;  the  preceding  page  contains  the  same  truth 
worded  differently  by  St.  Thomas  himself.  The  distinc- 
tion made  by  Ferrariensis  is  so  clear,  to  anyone  who  knows 
the  meaning  of  the  technical  philosophical  terms  employed, 
that  explanation  is  unnecessary.  His  manifest  meaning  is, 
that  just  as  God  creates  the  substance  and  its  faculty,  so,  too 
He  puts  into  them  the  motion  in  virtue  of  which  the  substance 
is  moving.  The  actual  motion,  then,  is  immediately  from 
God  and  the  creature,  but  with  the  difference  already 
indicated.  Fr.  Dummermuth's  attempt  to  explain  the 
distinction  from  a  dynamist's  point  of  view  only  strengthens 
one's  convictions  that  Ferrariensis  clearly  believed  in 
the  truth  of  the  kinetic  theory.  From  the  testimony 
of  the  physical  experts  and  witnesses  cited  in  the 
seventh  chapter,  even  dynamists  ought  to  be  convinced 
that,  at  least,  modern  scientists  are  against  them.  The 
word  'force'  is  almost  banished  already  from  scientific 
terminology,  and  '  potential  energy '  is  fast  sharing  the 
same  fate.  The  undoubted  tendency  is  to  reduce  all 
physical  activity  to  kinetic  energy,  or  energy  of  motion. 
Hence  Dr.  McDonald  has  done  good  service  in  informing 
men  of  science,  that  they  are  merely  returning  to  the 


64  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

teaching  of  the  Angelic  Doctor;  and  that,  accordingly,  even 
the  most  conscientious  Catholic  scientist  may  pursue  his 
investigations  on  these  lines  without  fear  of  incurring 
theological  censure. 

Apart  from  the  weight  of  authority,  ancient,  mediaeval, 
and  modern,  in  favour  of  the  kinetic  theory,  there  is  a  great 
profusion  of  what  may  be  called  intrinsic  arguments  scattered 
throughout  the  essay.  The  publication  of  some  of  these 
reasons  in  the  Freiburg  paper  makes  it  unnecessary  to 
advance  proof  here,  except  for  form's  sake. 

In  the  first  place,  then,  the  very  simplicity  of  the  kinetic 
theory  ought  to  recommend  it  considerably,  especially  to 
those  who  respect  the  principle  of  parcimony,  or  '  Ockham's 
razor,'  as  it  is  sometimes  called :  '  Beings  are  not  to  be 
multiplied  beyond  necessity.'  Unless  the  existence  of  a  being 
is  evident  to  some  one  of  our  faculties,  it  must  be  proved ; 
and  unless  valid  proof  be  forthcoming  nobody  ought  to 
assert  that  the  being  exists.  Now,  force  is  surely  of  this 
class.  None  of  our  faculties  tells  us  of  its  existence.  Its 
ardent  advocates  may  be  beguiled  into  the  belief  that 
consciousness  is  a  witness  in  its  behalf;  but  they  are 
mistaken.  Its  existence,  then,  must  be  proved  ;  a  case  must 
be  made  out  in  its  favour.  To  establish  the  kinetic  theory 
one  has  only  to  rebut  that  case. 

Dynamists  would  say  that  if  there  is  nothing  in  the 
acting  agent  but  its  substance  and  faculty,  created  by  God, 
and  its  motion,  infused  by  God,  occasionalism  must 
be  admitted,  and  the  freedom  of  the  human  will  cannot 
be  defended  ;  and,  consequently,  there  is  a  manifest  neces- 
sity for  something  in  addition,  namely,  force.  In  reply  it 
is  urged  that  the  admission  of  force  militates  very  strongly 
against  one  of  the  most  important  dogmas  in  theology, 
namely,  the  universality  of  the  immediate  Divine  concur- 
rence with  second  or  created  causes  in  their  actions.  Thus 
though  introduced  for  the  purpose  of  smoothing  away 
difficulties,  it  is  naughty  enough  to  excite  new  troubles. 
Is  not  semi-pelagianism  as  false  as  occasionalism  ?  Moreover, 
the  charges  against  the  kinetic  theory  cannot  be  sustained; 
for  according  to  that  theory  bodies  really  act  efficiently,  and 


THE  ORIGIN  AND  CONSERVATION  OF  MOTION      65 

man  may  act  freely.  As  an  agent  exists  by  the  being  God 
has  given  it,  why  may  it  not  act  by  the  motion  God  has 
given  it  ?  We  get  our  bodies  and  souls  from  God,  yet  we 
call  them  our  own.  The  motion,  too,  that  God  gives  us  we 
may  call  our  own.  Hence  as  we  truly  are,  we  truly  act. 
Where,  then,  is  the  occasionalism  or  the  Calvinism  ?  One 
may  be  assisted  in  forming  a  judgment  in  this  matter 
by  reflecting  on  the  distinction  of  Ferrariensis,  and  by 
meditating  on  the  words  of  St.  Paul,  Phil.  ii.  13,  "  For  it  is 
God  who  worketh  in  you  both  to  will  and  to  accomplish 
according  to  His  will." 

The  charge  of  destruction  of  human  liberty  is  equally 
unfounded.  What  is  required  for  liberty  ?  In  this  case,  as 
in  the  case  of  force,  consciousness  may,  like  a  most  obliging 
witness,  give,  or  appear  to  give,  information  suggested  by 
the  questioner.  Hence  we  ought  to  be  on  our  guard.  From 
a  consideration  of  the  free  act  of  the  will  we  might  easily 
be  led  to  believe  in  the  existence  of  a  cluster  of  subsidiary 
acts,  and  from  frequently  thinking  over  them  we  may  be  con- 
vinced that  consciousness  testifies  to  their  actual  existence. 
May  it  not  be  that  the  charge  of  destruction  of  liberty  that 
is  levelled  against  the  kinetic  theory  is  based  on  a  misleading 
analysis  of  the  free  act  itself?  What,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
is  required  for  liberty?  Is  not  the  agent  acting  freely  when 
at  each  moment  of  his  action  he  may  cease  to  act  ?  If  that 
be  so,  the  kinetic  theory  certainly  does  not  clash  with  the 
doctrine  of  human  liberty.  Minor  counts  in  the  indictment 
against  it  may  be  easily  disposed  of.  Where,  then,  is  the 
necessity  for  this  mysterious  entity  called  force  ?  Notwith- 
standing all  its  persistence,  it  does  not  stand  the  application 
of  the  old  Franciscan's  '  razor.' 

In  proving  and  rendering  intelligible  the  received 
doctrine  of  the  positive  conservation  of  all  things  by  the 
Creator,  the  kinetic  theory  has  a  great  advantage  over  its 
rival.  One  of  its  upholders  would  have  no  difficulty  in 
giving  the  desired  reply  to  the  question  of  St.  Paul  (1  Cor.  iv.)  : 
'  What  hast  thou  that  thou  hast'  not  received  ?  '  A  reservation 
need  not  be  made  in  favour  of  the  actual  exercise  of  that 
active  capacity  called  force.  An  examination  of  the  Divine 

VOL.  III.  K 


6(5  THE  IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

concurrence,  too,  is  rendered  less  perplexing  when  one  is 
spared  the  necessity  of  inquiring  how  God  immediately 
concurs  with  the  creature  in  that  something,  whatever  it  is, 
contributed  by  that  same  active  capacity. 

The  only  other  argument  that  need  be  discussed  is  the 
argument  from  resistance.  The  argument  is  given  at  length 
in  the  October  number.  The  reasons  given,  together  with 
the  authority  of  Aristotle,  St.  Thomas,  and  Suarez,  ought  to 
place  beyond  doubt  the  proposition  that  resistance  is  due, 
not  to  motion,  but  to  absence  of  motion ;  so  that,  if  a  body 
were  perfectly  immovable,  it  would  offer  absolute  resistance. 
How,  then,  can  resistance  be  a  force  ?  Just  imagine  the 
very  perfection  of  active  capacity  exerting  all  its  energy  in 
doing  absolutely  nothing  ! 

But  someone  may  say  Dr.  McDonald's  argument  was 
wide  of  the  mark.  Formal  resistance  clearly  is  not 
a  force  ;  dynamists  could  not  say  that ;  they  can  only  mean 
that  the  complex  phenomenon — the  rebound — is  caused  by 
force.  Let  us  summon  as  a  witness  Father  Tillrnan  Pesch, 
one  of  the  most  recent  and  most  outspoken  of  the 
dynamists.  In  the  Institutiones  Philosopliiae  Naturales, 
vol.  i.,  n.  69,  this  scholion  is  found  : — 

All  forces  of  (inorganic)  bodies  are  conveniently  reduced 
to  three :  nistive  force  (cohesion,  expansion,  resistance, 
elasticity,  repulsion),  conserving  force  (inertia,  reactio),  communica- 
tive force  (chemical  affinity,  attraction,  impulsion).1 

This  evidence  of  Father  Pesch,  this  enumeration  of 
resistance,  cohesion,  and  elasticity,  as  three  distinct  forces, 
drives  home  and  clinches,  as  it  were,  Dr.  McDonald's 
argument. 

Almost  innumerable  points  in  the  essay  call  for  special 
notice.  There  is  scarcely  an  interesting  question  in  theology, 
philosophy,  or  what  some  persons  would  call  the  philosophy 
of  physics,  that  is  not  referred  to.  A  volume  would  be 
required  for  even  a  brief  survey  of  them  all.  Only  a  few 
can  be  selected,  and  the  consideration  of  these  must  be  very 
meagre. 


.THE  ORIGIN  AND  CONSERVATION  OF  MOTION      67 

Theological  questions,  such  as  the  physical  causality  of 
the  sacraments,  may  be  left  to  theologians.  To  them,  too, 
may  be  entrusted  an  appropriate  response  to  the  strictures 
passed  in  the  8th  chapter,  especially  on  moral  theologians, 
for  their  treatment  of  that  "most  shamefully  ill-used "  word, 
occasion.  The  ultimate  explanation  of  motion — God  creates 
a  body  now,  now,  &e.,  or  here,  here,  &c.,  in  adjacent 
moments  or  places,  as  it  were — seems  to  reduce  motion  to 
mere  resultance.  This  conclusion,  however,  is  not  the 
genuine  view  of  the  author,  for  he  repeatedly  insists  on  the 
reality  of  motion — the  '  form  in  flux'  of  St.  Thomas. 

His  notion  of  moral  causes,  and  the  explanation  of 
physical  phenomena  that  arises  from  that  notion,  are,  to  say 
the  least,  wonderfully  novel.  According  to  the  ordinary 
acceptation  of  the  term  a  moral  cause  is  one  that  causes  an 
effect  through  the  medium  of  the  free-will  of  another  agent, 
i.e.,  by  persuading,  threatening,  or  otherwise  inducing  a  free 
agent  to  produce  the  effect.  In  Dr.  McDonald's  view  any- 
thing that  may  have  a  right  may  be  a  moral  cause,  and 
everything,  and  perhaps  even  nothing,  may  have  a  right. 
An  example  from  page  230  will  make  the  view  and  its 
application  clearer.  The  question  is — how  is  the  reflection 
of  light  to  be  explained  ? — 

We  find  ...  it  is  a  question  of  right.  Now,  of  these  rights 
there  are  two  :  one  in  the  vibrating  ether  to  continue  to  exist 
somewhere ;  the  other  in  the  mirror,  to  exclude  the  ether  from 
its  place.  .  .  .  (God)  is  bound  to  act  in  such  a  manner  as  will 
secure  to  both  substances  the  rights  He  gave  to  each. 

In  the  next  page  he  explains  this  seemingly  ridiculous 
use  of  the  term  right  :— 

Conservation  is  natural,  and  therefore  due,  in  some  way,  even 
to  brute  matter.  ...  If  a  vibration  or  a  mirror  may  have  some- 
thing due  to  it,  it  has  the  same  thing  undoubtedly  in  some  way  as 
its  right. 

Even  granting  the  lawfulness  of  using  the  term  right  in 
this  sense,  what  does  the  explanation  of  the  phenomenon 
amount  to  ?  Simply  this  : — It  is  natural  to  the  ray  of  light 
to  go  on  in  its  course  :  it  is  natural  to  the  mirror  to  block 
the  way ;  hence  God  must  reflect  the  ray  of  light.  Not 


68  THE  IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

merely  that,  but  God  sends  back  the  ray  of  light  in  such  a 
manner  that  the  incident  and  reflected  ray  have  a  common 
plane  with  the  normal  to  the  reflecting  surface,  and  both 
make  equal  angles  with  that  normal.  Surely  this  solution 
merely  leaves  the  question  as  it  found  it. 

This  same  doctrine  of  rights  is  applied  to  solve  another 
difficulty.  All  Catholics  hold  that  this  material  universe  is 
limited  in  extent ;  actual  space,  therefore,  is  finite  : — 

Thus  far  extend,  thus  far  thy  bounds ; 
This  be  thy  just  circumference,  O  World  ! 

On  the  other  hand,  according  to  the  kinetic  theory, 
motion  is  never  converted  into  potential  energy  or  into 
force ;  whenever  a  body  in  motion  strikes  another  body,  the 
two  form  one  for  the  time  being ;  the  motion  of  the  first 
passes  into  the  second,  which  then  has  motion  in  itself. 
Whether  it  will  move  with  molar  or  molecular  motion  after 
that,  depends  on  its  qualities;  but  move  it  will,  assuredly. 
Thus  motion  is  never  lost ;  it  is  always  conserved  by  the 
Prime  Mover.  When  this  motion  arrives  at  the  '  just 
circumference  '  of  the  world,  what  happens  ?  Is  the  motion 
lost  ?  or  does  the  moving  mass  protrude  beyond  the 
bounds  ? ' 

No,  answers  Dr.  McDonald,  and  rightly ;  but  his 
reason  seems  queer.  The  '  pure  space '  beyond  is  endowed 
with  impenetrability,  resists  the  vibrations,  and  back  they 
go,  as  from  a  most  perfect  reflector,  with  undiminished 
vigour  '  to  journey  through  the  aery  gloom,'  until  they  are 
again  repelled  at  some  other  point  of  the  impassable  '  cir- 
cumference.' The  ultimate  reason  of  this  is,  of  course,  the 
decree  of  the  Creator  and  Conservor  of  the  universe.  As  a 
more  proximate  reason  the  impenetrability  of  '  pure  space  ' 
is  useless ;  for  '  pure  space  '  is  nothing,  and  how  can  nothing 
sustain  an  accident  ?  In  exploring  the  mystery  of  the 
Eucharist  Dr.  McDonald  confounds  'pure  space'  with 
'  real  space.'  In  the  Eucharistic  species  there  is  actual 
extension,  and  therefore  real  space.  The  impenetrability 
of '  pure  space '  is  not  an  explanation  of  the  extraordinary 
phenomenon  described  above.  Impenetrable  nothingness 


THE  ORIGIN  AND  CONSERVATION  OF  MOTION      69 

is  a  fine  expression,  but  it  has  no  meaning.  A  more  satis- 
factory explanation  may,  perhaps,  be  derived  from  an  inquiry 
into  the  optical  phenomenon  known  as  total  reflection  by 
refraction. 

.  The  finiteness  of  the  space  allotted  to  this  review  is  an 
insuperable  obstacle  to  the  working  out  of  that  explanation, 
as  well  as  to  the  consideration  of  several  most  interesting 
subjects  discussed  in  the  essay,  such  as  the  production  of 
forms  accidental  and  substantial,  the  nature  of  vital  actions, 
the  temporal  beginning  of  mechanical  motion,  the  possibility 
of  an  infinite  series,  and  its  effect  on  the  dynamists'  proofs 
of  the  existence  of  God. 

The  reader  may  not  embrace  the  author's  conclusions  ; 
he  may  even  regard  them  as  not  merely  unproved  and 
opposed  to  the  traditional  teaching  of  the  schools,  but  as 
utterly  subversive  of  the  most  sacred  and  fundamental 
truths.  He  cannot,  however,  deny  that  the  attempt  to 
harmonize  the  immutable  great  truths  of  religion  with  the 
findings  of  the  physical  sciences  is  a  noble  work  ;  that  it 
was  undertaken  in  obedience  to  a  noble  and  most  charitable 
motive ;  that  extensive  research,  prolonged  labour,  and 
vigorous,  penetrating  thought  were  lavished  upon  it ;  that 
an  earnest  desire,  at  all  hazards ,  to  discover  and  embrace 
the  truth  is  manifested  from  beginning  to  end.  Neither  can 
he  withhold  a  tribute  of  gratitude  to  one  who  made  him 
think  for  himself,  not  merely  by  force  of  brilliant  example, 
but  by  taking  him  by  the  hand,  as  it  were,  and  in  a  simple, 
familiar,  almost  colloquial  style,  leading  him,  confident  and 
undismayed,  into  a  consideration  of  the  most  profound  and 
perplexing  problems  that  can  engage  the  attention  of  the 
human  mind.  He  must  be  very  exceptional,  too,  if  he  can 
lay  down  the  essay  without  regret,  or  without  giving  expres- 
sion to  an  ardent  wish  that  the  distinguished  head  of  the 
Theological  Faculty  of  Maynooth  may,  at  no  distant  date, 
favour  him  with  another  intellectual  treat  by  publishing  his 
views  on  some  one  of  the  many  subjects  of  interest,  that, 
like  nuggets  in  a  gold  mine  of  surpassing  richness,  are  met 
with  in  such  abundance  in  this  remarkable  volume. 

M.  BARRETT. 


[     70     ] 

IHotes   anb  (Queries 

THEOLOGY 

COMMUNION  OF  THE  SICK 

EEV.  DEAR  SIR, — "With  reference  to  the  concluding  remarks 
of  your  reply  to  '  Sacerdos  Americanus,'  in  the  November  issue 
of  your  valuable  journal,  may  I  ask  what  construction  ought  to 
be  put  on  No.  54  of  the  Acts  and  Decrees  of  the  Synod  of 
Maynooth. 

In  virtue  of  the  3rd  Statute  of  the  Dublin  Dioc.  Synod  of 
1879,  the  old  rule  or  principle,  '  de  S.  Viatico  ministrando,' 
as  given  in  Dublin  Dioc.  Synod  of  1831,  seems  to  have  been 
modified  or  abrogated  to  make  room  for  the  above  No.  54. 

As  the  old  text  of  1831  clearly  embodied  one  of  the  opinions 
of  theologians — allowing  Communion  but  once  a-week — the 
communior  opinio,  says  St.  Alphonso,  the  only  admissible  one 
according  to  de  Lugo,  the  question  seems  to  me  to  arise,  which  of 
the  remaining  more  benign  opinions — three,  I  think — might  more 
likely  be  understood  as  aimed  at,  and  thus  recommended  in 
practice  to  the  Dublin  priests,  secular  and  regular,  under  the 
Synodal  enactment  (No.  54)  now  in  force  'that  Communion  or 
Holy  Viaticum  may  be  given,  not  only  once  a  week,  as  formerly, 
but  iterum  et  saepius,'  yositis  pomendis,  of  course. 

I  beg  you,  therefore,  to  kindly  give  your  readers  the  advantage 
of  some  statement  on  the  above. 

NEMO. 

The  Statute  of  1831,  to  which  our  correspondent  refers, 
was  promulgated  in  all  the  dioceses  of  the  Dublin  province. 
It  was  as  follows  : — 

Durante  eadem  infirmitate,  Eucharistia,  semel  tantum,  per 
modum  Viatici  administrari  debet ;  sed  singulis  hebdomadis, 
infirmis  dari  potest  per  modum  communionis,  etiam  non  sint  jejuni, 
si  adhuc  in  pei'iculo 'mortis  versentur.  (See  '  Statuta  Diocesesana, 
per  Provinciam  Dublinensem  observandum,'  etc.,  p.  95.) 

It  will  be  observed  that  there  is  question  of  those  who, 
during  a  long  illness,  remain  in  danger  of  death — adhuc  in 
periculo  mortis  versentur.  Two  things  are  laid  down  in 


NOTES   AND    QUERIES  71 

connection  with  the  administration  of  the  Eucharist  to  such 
persons — (1)  In  the  same  illness,  i.e.,  in  eodem  periculo 
mortis,  the  Eucharist  should  be  administered  once,  and 
once  only,  per  modum  Viatici,  i.e.,  with  the  special  form 
assigned  in  the  Eitual  for  the  administration  of  the  Via- 
ticum ;  (2)  the  Eucharist  might  be  afterwards  administered 
— etiam  non  jejunis — once  a  week — not,  it  would  appear, 
more  frequently — per  modum  communionis,  i.e.,  with  the 
ordinary  form,  as  long  as  these  same  persons  remained  in 
periculo  mortis. 

It  may  be  assumed  that  the  Synod  of  Dublin  fairly  reflected 
the  common  teaching  of  the  time  ;  but  the  question  is  now  of 
purely  speculative  interest.  A  distinct  departure  from  the 
teaching  of  1831  was  made  at  the  Plenary  Synod  of  Thurles, 
in  1850.  Among  the  decrees  of  the  S)'nod  of  Thurles  we 
read  : — 

In  eadem  infirmitate,  si  longius  protrahitur,  parochi  saepius 
sacro  Viatico  aegrotos  reficiant,  cum  illud  iterum  et  saepius  licite 
dari  possit.  (Decreta  Syn.  Plen.  Eps.  Hibern.  apud  Thurles  1850.) 

The  Plenary  Synod  of  Maynooth,  in  1875,  repeated  this 
decree  unchanged.  And,  of  course,  the  decrees  of  these 
Synods  have,  as  our  correspondent  points  out,  since  found  a 
place  in  various  Diocesan  Synods,  and  have  moulded  the 
universal  practice  of  this  country. 

As  against  the  Synod  of  1831,  the  Synods  of  Thurles  and 
Maynooth  clearly  convey,  in  the  decree  above  quoted,  that  the 
Viaticum  may,  in  the  same  protracted  illness  or  danger  of 
death,  be  administered,  not  once  only,  but  frequently — iterum 
et  saepius-  In  the  later  Synods,  too,  it  will  be  remarked  that 
the  restriction  insinuated  in  the  clause  'singulis  hebdomadis' 
is  omitted.  No  time  is  defined  for  lawfully  repeating  the 
administration;  it  merely  said,  saepius  licite  dari  possit; 
and,  lastly  the  words  used  in  the  decrees  of  Thurles  and 
Maynooth — 'parochi  saepius  sacro  Viatico  aegrotos  reficiant,' 
might  seem  to  indicate  that,  while  danger  of  death  lasts,  Com- 
munion should  be  administered,  not  in  the  ordinary  form,  but 
per  modum  Viatici.  However,  many  theologians  hold — for  no 
solid  reason  that  we  can  see — that  Communion  should  be 
administered  per  modum  Viatici  only  once  in  the  same  danger 


72  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

of  death.  According  to  this  teaching,  once  the  Viaticum  has 
been  administered,  Communion — whether  the  recipient  be 
fasting  or  not — should  be  administered  with  the  ordinary 
form  Corpus  Domini,  &c. 

How  often  may  Communion  be  given  to  those  in  danger 
of  death  ?  The  Synod  of  Maynooth  says,  saepius  daripotest, 
and  leaves  the  confessor  to  determine  how  often,  accord- 
ing to  the  needs  and  dispositions  of  the  sick  person.  The 
confessor  must,  therefore,  rely  on  his  own  judgment.  He 
should  remember,  however,  that  Communion  should  be  more 
freely  conceded  to  persons  at  the  hour  of  death  than  during 
life.  Moreover,  he  is  perfectly  safe  in  giving  even  daily 
Communion  to  the  sick  person,  if  he  thinks  that  the 
devotion  of  the  sick  person  is  such  as  to  render  so  frequent 
Communion  profitable.  In  giving  Communion  so  frequently 
the  confessor  may  be  acting  against  the  opinion  of  certain 
theologians — even  modern  theologians;  but  he  will  have 
amply  sufficient  authority  in  his  favour,  and  he  certainly  will 
violate  no  law,  divine  or  ecclesiastical.  Lehmkuhl  puts  the 
whole  matter  briefly  and  well : — 

Durante  periculo,  toties  quoties  devotio  et  dispositio  poeni- 
tentis  hoc  suadit,  S.  Communio  eodem  raodo  [i.  e.,  aegroto  non 
jejuno]  repeti  potest,  jejunio  neglecto.  Neque  quod  aegrotus, 
quum  sanus  erat,  S.  Communionern  non  tarn  frequenter  sumpsit, 
ratio  est  cur  etiarn  nunc,  modo  satis  dispositus  sit,  raro  ad  earn 
admittatur  (ii.  n.  161). 

NOVEMBER    OFFERINGS 

EEV.  DEAR  SIR, — I  should  feel  grateful  for  an  answer  to  the 
following  question  : — 

To  what  return  are  clergy  bound  who  receive  from  their 
people  '  November  offerings '  ?  In  some  parishes  it  is  announced 
that  people  may  send  in  the  names  of  deceased  friends  to  be 
specially  commemorated  on  All  Souls  day.  An  offering  is  always 
expected  to  accompany  the  names  sent  in,  and  in  some  cases  the 
sum  of  such  offerings  is  very  considerable.  To  what  are  the  clergy 
receiving  these  offerings  bound  ?  Is  it  enough  to  offer  the  Mass 
on  All  Souls  day  ?  Or  should  other  Masses  be  offered,  and  if  so 
what  proportion  should  the  number  of  Masses  bear  to  the  offerings 
received  ?  SACERDOS. 

The  conditions  on  which  these  November  offerings  are 


NOTES   AND   QUERIES  73 

given  and  accepted  are,  we  believe,  regulated  in  some 
dioceses  by  local  legislation.  Such  laws,  wherever  they 
exist  should,  of  course,  be  respected.  But,  apart  from  special 
local  legislation,  the  clergy  should  let  their  people  clearly 
understand  what  return  may  be  expected  for  offerings  made. 
Needless  to  say,  the  undertaking  given  should  be  faithfully 
and  scrupulously  fulfilled.  Further  than  this  there  is  no 
obligation. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  give  here  a  reply  of  the  Congre- 
gation of  Propaganda,  30th  July,  1877,  to  a  question  very 
similar  to  that  of  our  correspondent.  We  quote  from 
Collectanea  Cong,  de  Prop.  Fide  : — 

.  .  .  Invaluit  consuetude  ut  pro  unica  Missa,  quae  in  die 
commemorationis  omnium  fidelium  defunctorum  cantatur,  fideles 
contribuant  pecuniam.  Summa  autem  pecuniae  sic  collecta 
ordinarie  tanta  est  ut  pluriurn  centenarum  missarum  eleemosynas 
facile  exaequet.  Inter  eos  qui  pecuniam  hoc  modo  contribuunt, 
plurimi  sunt  de  quibus  dubitari  merito  possit  utrum  earn  hoc 
modo  collaturi  forent  si  rite  edocerentur  animabus  purgatorii, 
quas  sic  juvare  intendunt,  melius  provisum  iri  si  tot  Missae  pro 
iis  licet  extra  diem  commemorationis  omnium  fidelium  celebra- 
rentur.  Quot  juxta  taxam  diocesanam  continentur  stipendia  in 
summa  totali  sic  contributa  ut  erroneae  opinioni  occuratur,  in 
quibusdam  dioecesibus  statute  synodali  cantum  est  ut  nisi 
singulis  annis  praevia  totius  rei  explicatio  populo  fiat,  missio- 
nariis  earn  fidelium  pecuniam  pro  uuica  ilia  Missa  accipere 
non  liceat.  Quae  .  .  .  precor  ut  .  .  .  ad  dubia  sequentia 
respondere  dignetur  (1)  utrum  praedicta  consuetude  absolute 
prohibita  sit.  Quod  si  negative  (2)  utrum  tolerari  possit  casu 
quo  quotannis  praevia  diligens  totius  rei  explicatio  populo  fiat. 
Quod  si  affirmative  (3)  utrum  si  timor  sit  ne  missionarii  praeviam 
illam  diligentem  eamque  plenam  totius  rei  explicationem  populo 
praebeant,  vel  populus  non  satis  intelligat,  Ordinarius  istam 
consuetudinem  prohibere  possit  et  missionariis  injungere  ut,  pro 
tota  summa  contributa,  intra  ipsum  mensem  Novembris 
tot  legantur  vel  cantentur  Missae  quot  in  ea  continentur 
stipendia  pro  Missis  sive  lectis  sive  cantatis.  Quod  si  affirmative 
(4)  utrum  ob  rationem  quod  Missae  illae  intra  ipsum  mensum 
Novembris  legendae  vel  cantandae  sint,  Ordinarius  consuetum 
Missarum  sive  ligendarum  sive  cantandarum  ob  etipendium  pro 
aequo  suo  arbitrio  pro  illis  Missis  possit  augere. 

S.  Cong.  .  .  .  rescribendum  censuit :  nihil  innovetur  ;  tantum 
apponatur  tabella  in  Ecclesia  qua  fideles  doceantur  quod  iJlis  ipsis 
eleemosynis  una  canitur  Missa  in  die  com-nemorationis  omnium 
fidelium  defunctorum. — (Vid.  Collect.  Cong.  Prop.  Fid.,  n.  893.) 

D.  MANNIX. 


CORRESPONDENCE 

THE  ANCIENT    IRISH    CHURCH 

EEV.  DEAR  SIR, — Dr.  MacCarthy  having  made  a  second 
attack  on  The  Ancient  Irish  Church  as  a  Witness  to  Catholic 
Doctrine,  I  have  again  to  solicit  the  editorial  indulgence  while  I 
reply.  In  doing  so  I  shall  not  mould  my  manners  to  his  model. 
I  shall  continue,  in  what  I  have  to  say,  to  give  him  his  name. 
He,  however,  not  to  dwell  upon  the  general  discourtesy  of  his 
tone,  has  never  once  given  me  mine,  but  perseveres  in  the 
designedly  (though  feebly)  offensive  substitute  for  it  to  which  I 
drew  passing  attention  in  my  previous  article.  Evidently  the 
opinions  of  a  mere  layman  are  of  sovereign  indifference  to 
Dr.  MacCarthy  ;  yet  I  cannot  help  observing  that  his  studied 
disregard  of  all  politeness  is  a  defect  in  his  constitution  as  a 
critic  that  has  very  often  been  remarked  upon  in  the  past,  and  one, 
too,  that  redounds,  whatever  Jie  may  think  of  it,  more  to  his  own 
discredit  than  it  does  to  the  disparagement  of  the  various 
writers,  myself  the  latest  and  least  distinguished  of  the  number, 
upon  whom  he  has,  from  time  to  time,  vented  his  spleen  and  his 
bad  grammar.1 

With  some  curiosity  I  have  been  asking  myself  in  what  way 
can  I  have  contributed  to  arouse  the  initial  ire  of  Dr.  MacCarthy, 
for  he  is  the  originator  of  this  controversy,  and  began  it  with 
regretable  taste  and  temper.  The  same  question  is  being  put  to 
me  by  my  friends  among  the  clergy.  I  know  not  what  to  answer. 
I  am  unconscious  of  any  manifestations  of  ill-will  towards 
Dr.  MacCarthy.  I  refer  to  him  in  my  book  as  '  the  learned 
Dr.  MacCarthy.'2  There  is  nothing  uncomplimentary  in  that.  In 


1  As  a  sample  of  Dr.  MacCarthy's  grammar,  take  the  following  from  his 
review  of  the  Li  res   of  Saints  from  the  Rook  of  Litmote,  edited  by  Dr.  Whitley 
Stokes : — '  Thereby,   however,  he  has  let   slip    an   opportunity    which    those 
foreigners  which  he  fawns  upon  so   would    (if  they   had  the  wit  to  perceive 
it)     give    a    deal    to  perceive    it,   give    a     deal    to     possess.'        'Foreigners 
which '  !         The  '  it '  after  '  perceive  '  is  an  ungrammatieal  redundancy  ;  and 
the  sentence  would  have  stumbled  less  had  he  placed  the  '  so  '  before  '  fawns. ' 
See  the  I.  E.  RECOHD,  3rd  series,  xii.,  p.  15."> :  Dublin,  1891. 

2  Tin  Am- tent  Irish  C/tuicJt  ax  <i  Jl'Hiiess  to  Catholic  Doctrine,  p.  93  :  Dublin, 
1897. 


CORRESPONDENCE  75 


no  manner  do  I  run  across  him  in  it.  Can  it  be — but,  surely,  it 
cannot — that  he  became  angry  with  me  when  he  found  me 
tacitly  preferring  (as  some  critics  do  openly)  the  Oxford  Edition 
of  the  Stoive  Missal  to  that  for  which  he  is  himself  responsible  ? 
Be  this  as  it  may,  my  little  volume,  undertaken  in  the  interest  of 
the  faith,  has  earned  Dr.  MacCarthy's  contempt  ;  and  I  must 
only  console  myself  with  the  reflection  that  cardinals,  arch- 
bishops, bishops,  &c.,  have  condescended  to  put  pen  to  paper  to 
commend  it.  As  to  any  practical  effect  that  has  so  far  resulted 
from  Dr.  MacCarthy's  strictures,  all  I  can  say  is,  that  he  has 
sent  up  my  sales  by  hundreds.  For  this  I  am  his  not  ungrateful 
debtor.  As  an  advertising  agant  I  pronounce  him  a  success. 

And  now  to  consider  the  substance  of  his  last  communication. 

The  Bobbio  Missal  is  again  prominent.  To  keep  matters 
clear,  the  point  in  debate  may  be  repeated.  It  is  this  :  Is  it,  or 
is  it  not,  allowable  to  adduce  that  ancient  document  as  evidence 
of  the  dogma  of  the  early  Irish  Church?  As  the  foundation- 
stone  of  an  argument  for  the  affirmative,  I,  in  the  November 
I.  E.  RECOED,  brought  forward  Dr.  MacCarthy's  admission  : 
'  The  Bobio  [sic']  Missal,  in  transcription,  was  the  work  of  an 
Irishman.'  He  now  complains,  as  of  something  serious,  that  I 
gave  no  indication  of  what  appears  in  the  next  paragraph  to  that 
from  which  I  quoted.  It  is  this  :  '  But  it  does  not  follow,  because 
the  writing  is  Irish,  that  a  MS.  was  written  in  Ireland  ;  much 
less  upon  Irish  subjects.  In  the  present  case  the  Mass  of 
St.  Martin  and  the  names  introduced  into  the  Canon  tell  as 
plainly  as  the  most  explicit  Colophon  that  the  Missal  was  drawn 
up  for  a  church  in  Gaul.'  I  must  confess  that  I  fail  to  discern 
how,  or  in  what  particular,  I  have  misrepresented  Dr.  MacCarthy. 
Take  his  belief  that  the  Bobbio  Missal  is  of  Gaulish  origin.  That 
was  made  sufficiently  manifest  by  me,  along  with  my  own  assent 
to  the  proposition,  when  I  said,  in  the  November  I.  E.  EECOED  : 
'My  critic  contends  (p.  367)  that  the  Missal  in  question  "  was 
drawn  up  for  a  church  in  France,  most  probably  in  Burgundy." 
Be  it  so.  I  am  sure  I  have  nothing  to  say  to  the  contrary.  I 
am  so  far  of  his  opinion,  as  my  Appendix  shows.'  On  this  point, 
then,  there  has  been  no  misrepresentation  of  Dr.  MacCarthy.  As 
to  the  rest  of  the  unquoted  matter,  I  had,  and  could  have,  no 
object  in  suggesting,  as  Dr.  MacCarthy's  opinion,  anything 
contrary  to  what  is  therein  expressed ;  for  it  certainly  formed 
no  part  of  my  argument,  for  the  propriety  of  appealing  to  the 


76  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

Bobbio  Missal  as  an  indication  of   early  Irish  faith,  that  the 
Bobbio  Missal,  because  of   its   Irish  writing,  '  was  written  in 
Ireland  ; '  neither  did  it  form  any  part  of  my  argument  that 
the  Bobbio  Missal  is  '  a  MS.  upon    Irish    subjects.'      For   the 
moment  I  have  no  interest  in  ascertaining  where  the  MS.  was 
written.     Parvo  contentus,  I  am  satisfied  to  have  the  broad  fact 
admitted  that  the  writing  in  tJie  MS.  is  Irish.     On  that  I  base  the 
conclusion  that  the  doctrine  traceable  in  the  Bobbio  Missal  is  in 
perfect  harmony  with  ancient  Irish  doctrine.     I  am  not  prepared 
to  picture   Irish    monastic    scribes,  even   in  vinous  Burgundy, 
where    the    scribe    of    the    Bobbio    Missal   wrote,    as    utterly 
indifferent    to    what    theological    scripts    they    employed  their 
pens  upon,  like  printers,  who  care  not  to  what  description  of 
religious  works,  Catholic  or  Protestant,  they  lend  their  type,  or 
as  at  all  disposed  to  perpetuate  documents  which  they  could  not 
but  consider  pernicious  and  heretical,  if  the  contents  were  in 
doctrinal  opposition  to  what  they  had  learned  in  Ireland  to  regard 
as  the  true  faith.     The  soundness  of  the  principle  thus  implied, 
namely,  the  writing  in  certain  ancient  ecclesiastical  MSS.  being 
Irish,  the  dogma  inculcated  in  them  is  the  same  as  that  professed 
by  our  early  forefathers,  is  very   easily   brought  to   the   test. 
What  is  entirely  to  the  present  purpose,  it  is  triumphantly  con- 
firmed in  the  individual  instance  of  the  Bobbio  Missal  itself ; 
for  there  is  not  a  single  dogmatic  point,  such  as  the  Canon  of 
Scripture,  the  Petrine  privileges,  the  reality  and  efficacy  of  the 
Eucharistic  Sacrifice,  prayer  for  the  dead,  invocation  of  saints, 
devotion  to  our  Blessed   Lady,   veneration  of  relics,   &c. ,   on 
which  the  text  of    that    famous    Missal    has    been    copiously 
extracted  in  my  book,  that  is  not  equally  established  there,  as 
Irish   faith,   by   direct  quotations    from    what,    for    distinction 
sake,  I  shall  call  }wme  material,  to  the  relevancy  of  which  even 
the  captiousness  of   Dr.  MacCarthy  might  be  invited  to  take 
exception. 

To  continue  to  afford  proof  of  the  propriety  of  citing  the 
Bobbio  Missal  as  evidence  of  Irish  doctrine,  though  further 
proof  is,  perhaps,  not  really  necessary,  a  strong  presumption  that 
this  MS.  was  actually  used  at  the  celebration  of  Mass  by  Irish 
clergy  (though  out  of  Ireland)  is  found  in  the  fact  that  on  one  of 
its  folios  the  name  '  Munubertus  '  is  written,  and  on  another 
'  Elderatus ; '  the  first  a  Latinised  Irish  name ;  the  other  a 
Latino-Hebraisation  (meaning  the  Servant  of  God)  of  the  name 


CORRESPONDENCE  77 

of  St.  Deicolus,  or  Deicola,  one  of  the  twelve  companions  who 
accompanied  St.  Columbanus  from  Ireland  to  Gaul,  to  share  in 
his  apostolic  labours. 

I  had  said,  in  my  November  article,  that  the  Bobbio  Missal 
was  in  use  at  Bobbio  itself,  where  for  a  long  time  there  were 
always  Irish  monks ;  and  Dr.  MacCarthy,  I  thought,  would  not 
have  traversed  either  statement.  But  he  traverses  the  first  one, 
and  appeals  to  Mabillon  to  maintain  his  opinion.  The  same 
Mabillon,  however,  will  inform  him  that  the  name  '  Bertulfus '  is 
to  be  read  on  one  of  the  folios  of  the  MS.,  and  he  (Mabillon) 
believes  this  Bertulfus  to  have  been  the  Abbot  of  Bobbio  of  that 
name  who  ruled  the  monastery  in  the  middle  of  the  seventh 
century.1  I  take  this  circumstance  to  denote  temporary  posses- 
sion of  the  MS.  by  Bertulfus,  and  as  suggestive  of  a  reasonable 
presumption  that  the  Missal  was  in  use  at  Bobbio,  at  least  in  his 
time.  Nor  is  it  at  all  certain  that  Mabillon  thought  anything  to 
the  contrary.  When  Mabillon  says  that  the  Missal  was  not  ad 
usum  monachorum  Bobiensium,  he  may  only  have  meant  to  convey 
that  it  was  not  for  Bobbio  that  the  Missal  was  drawn  up.  He 
extends  his  view  to  other  monasteries,  and  gives  his  reasons. 
But  the  probability  of  use  by  the  Bobbio  community  is  not  thereby 
absolutely  excluded.  Mabillon,  it  is  to  be  noted,  employs  the 
same  expression,  ad  usum,  when  he  expresses  his  opinion  as  to 
the  locality  that  the  Missal,  he  believes,  was  drawn  up  for,  namely, 
the  Province  of  Besan9on,  containing  the  monastery  of  Luxeuil, 
one  of  the  foundations  of  St.  Columbanus,  A.D.  590  or  591,  from 
which  the  saint  proceeded  to  found  Bobbio,  A.D.  612  or  613. 2 
And  now  here  is  a  question  which  I  should  very  much  like 
Dr.  MacCarthy  to  answer.  For  what  purpose  was  this 
Missal  brought  from  Luxeuil  to  Bobbio,  by  some  disciple  of 


1 '  BEBTULFUS  alicubi  legitur  in  ora  folii  cujusdam,  quem  putamus  ease 
ipsum  Bertulf um  loci  abbatem  medio  sseculo  septimo.  In  alio  folio  ELDEEATUS  ; 
item  in  alio  MUNTJBEETUS,'  See  Mabillou,  Museum  Italicum,  i.,  pt.  ii,,  p.  276  : 
Paris,  1724. 

2  '  Cujus  porro  provincise  f uerit  hoc  Missale,  non  obvium  3st  definire. 
Forte  ad  usum  erat  Provinciae  Maximse  Sequanorum,  id  est  Vesontionensis,  in 
qua  situm  est  Luxoviense  monasterium,  unde  Columbanus  Bobium  migravit. 
Favethuic  conjecture  Alissa  de  sancto  Sigismundo  rege  Burgundionum.  Certe 
hie  codex  non  fuit  ad  usum  monachorum  Bobiensium.  Nihil  enim  in  eo  de 
sanclis  Bobiensibus,  Columbano,  ejusve  discipulis.  Nihil  item  de  rebus 
monasticis;  non  benedictio  Abbatis,  aut  monachorum;  non  benedictiones  pro 
monasterii  officials,  in  ejusmodi  libris  jnonasticis  usitatae:'  See  Mabillon, 
Museum  Italicum,  i.,  pt.  ii.,  p.  276;  Paris,  1724. 


78  THE  IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

St.  Columbanus,  perhaps  the  Burguudian  Bertulf,  *  if  not  to 
be  used  at  Mass?  To  be  made  a  mere  curiosity  of?  To  be 
tossed  into  the  armariitm  as  a  thing  of  lumber?  Surely  not. 
And  as  to  the  absence  of  any  reference  in  the  Bobbio  Missal  to 
monastic  matters,  that  may  be  accounted  for  by  supposing,  with 
Dr.  Lanigan ,  that  it  was  '  a  general  Missal  for  the  clergy  both 
secular  and  regular ;  and  in  such  case  there  was  no  necessity 
for  specifying  monastic  matters,  or  introducing  into  it  the  name 
of  St.  Columbanus,  &c.  Besides,  that  copy  was  probably  written 
before  the  death  of  St.  Columbanus.'2  The  latter  circumstance 
is  strongly  borne  out  by  some  parallelism  of  idea  and  language, 
between  the  Missal  and  St.  Columbanus,  which  I  place  in  the 
notes. 3 

In  the  opinion  of  Dr.  0' Conor,  the  Bobbio  Missal  was  a 
portable  Missal,  employed  by  the  Irish  missionaries  of  Luxeuil  and 
Bobbio  in  their  labours  among  the  Burgundians  and  Lombards.* 
'  Be  this  as  it  may,'  says  Dr.  Lanigan,  '  we  may  be  sure  from  its 
having  been  copied  by  an  Irishman,  that  it  was  used  by  Irish 
priests.'  5  With  what  object  in  view,  I  ask,  does  Dr.  MacCarthy 
differ  radically,  not  partially  only  and  on  a  secondary  point  as  I 
do  from  some  of  them,  from  the  O'Conors,  the  Lanigans,  the 
Morans,  the  Malones,  the  Healys,  the  Greiths,  and  seek  to  deprive 
the  Irish  Church  of  its  powerful  testimony  ? 

And  now  for  another  matter.  Before  passing  away  from  this 
portion  of  the  subject,  I  am  curious  to  know  from  Dr.  MacCarthy, 

1 '  De  hoc  eximio  Missale,  unum  et  idem  sentiunt  ambo  [Mabillon  and 
Ruinart].  Sacramentarium  esse,  sive  Missale,  ante  annos  inille  exaratum,  quod  e 
Luxoviense  S.  Columbani  Monasterio  Hibemico,  a  quodam  S.  Columbani  Din- 
cipulo  allatum  fuit  Bobium,  steculo  Vllmo,  forte  a  Bertulfo,  qui  fuit  teriius, 
post  Magistrum  Columbanum,  Monasterii  i.stius  Abbas,  et  Missale  fitisse  portatile 
<td  Sacra  in  ipsis  itineribus  cflebranda,'  See  O'Conor,  Rerum  Hibcrnicanim 
Scriptores  Veteres,  Epistola  Nuncupatoria,  i.,  p.  cxxx. :  Buckingham,  1814-1820. 

3  Lanigan,  Ecclesiastical  Hixtory  of  I  i  eland,  iv.,  p.  373-374:  Dublin,  1S29 

:t  From  the  Bobbio  Missal  (italics  mine) : — '  Oremus  Dominum  dilectissimi 
nobis,  quia  amara  nobis  adveniunt  tempora  &  periculosi  adproximant  ainii. 
Mtttantur  regwi,  vacant ur  (rentes,'  See  Mabillon,  Museum  Italicum,  i.,  pt.  ii., 
p.  371  :  Paris,  1724. 

Compare  with  the  Epistloof  St.  Columbanus  to  Pope  Boniface  the  Fourth: — 
'  Dominus  appropinquat,  et  prope  jam  in  fine  consistimus  inter  tempora  pcri- 
ciilota.  Ecce  contnrbantnr  gentes,  inclinanttir  regna.'  See  Migne,  Patrologia 
Latitia,  Ixxx.,  col.  277;  Paris.  1863. 

4 '  Ex  dictis  satis  conwtare  opinor,  Codicem  Bobiensem  de  quo  agimus,  esse 
Missale  Portatile  Hibernorum  Luxoviensium  et  Bobiensium,  qui  exeunte 
Saeculo  VI..  fidem  Christi  Burgundiis  et  Longobardis  pnedicavere.'  See 
O'Oonor,  Kcnnn  Hibcrnicai"uin  Scriptores  Veteres,  Epistola  Nuncupatoria,  i., 
pp.  cxli.-cxlii. :  Buckingham,  1814-26. 

5  Lanigan,  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Ireland,  iii.,  p.  336:  Dublin,  1829, 


CORRESPONDENCE  79 

who  carps  so  hypercritically  at  some  of  my  translations  from  the 
Latin,  whether,  in  the  passage  which  he  produces  and  translates 
from  Mabillon  on  the  Bobbio  Missal,  Nihil  enim  in  eo  de  sanctis 
Bobiensibus  is  satisfactorily  rendered,  as  to  its  full  meaning  and 
point,  by — '  For  there  is  nothing  in  it  of  Bobio  '  [sic]. 

A  word  also  on  the  orthography  of  '  Bobbio. '  I  had  put  it  to 
Dr.  MacCarthy  whether  '  Bobio,'  the  spelling  which  characterises 
his  essay  On  the  Stoive  Missal,  has  the  sanction  of  Italian  writers, 
who  are  the  proper  judges  of  what  it  ought  to  be,  seeing  that  the 
place  is  in  Italy.  In  the  tail-end  of  a  note  he  mentions  'Bobiensis,' 
'  Bobiensibus,'  and  '  Bobio '  (the  ablative,  in  the  case  specified, 
of  'Bobium'),  and,  in  a  faint  voice,  says  : — '  Note  the  single  b  ; 
never  bb.'  But  the  Latin  language,  though  the  parent  of  the 
Italian,  is  not  to  be  allowed  to  decide  how  Italian  place-names 
are  to  be  written,  any  more  than  the  Anglo-Saxon  language,  the 
parent  of  the  English,  is  to  be  allowed  to  decide  how  we  ought  to 
spell  the  names  of  localities  in  England ;  otherwise,  we  should 
all  commence  to  write  '  Theocsbyrig '  for  'Tewkesbury,'  '  Gypes- 
wic'  for  'Ipswich,'  'Med-waege'  for  the  'Medway,'  'Medweagestun' 
f  or  '  J\l  aidstone '  (enough  of  itself  to  give  one  the  typhoid  fever), 
'  Scrobbes-byrig '  for  'Shrewsbury,'  '  Searsysbyrig '  for  'Salis- 
bury,' and  demonstrate  our  pedantry  in  five  hundred  similar  ways. 
I  append  a  couple  of  extracts  from  Italian  books,  just  to  show 
how  Bobbio  is  written.1  It  would  be  a  veritable  puzzle  to 
discover  a  single  Italian  work  in  which  the  name  appears  as 
'Bobio.'  In  practice,  Dr.  MacCarthy  now  admits  his  error. 
He  spells  Bobbio  correctly  all  through  his  last  letter,  except 
where  he  is 'translating  from  Mabillon,  and  then,  with  amusing 
inconsistency,  he  reverts  to  the  single  b — I  suppose,  in  hazy 
compliment  to  his  author's  Latin. 

St.  Cummian's  Penitential  is  Dr.  MacCarthy's  next  point. 
Its  authorship  is  matter  of  doubt.  A  Vatican  MS.  of  the  ninth 
or  tenth  century  attributes  it  to  St.  Cummian  the  Tall,  referring 
to  it  as  inquisitio  Acumiani  Longii  [sic]  '-',  and  this  St.  Cummian 

1 '  Fra'  monaci  ancora  vi  f urono  alcuni  che  coltivarono  a  questi  tempi  gli 
studi  sacri ;  e  un  monastero  singolarmente  .-i  rendette  sopra  gli  altri  illustre, 
dico  quello  di  Bobbio,  etc.'  See  Tiraboschi,  Storia  dclla  Lettcratura  Italiana,  iii. , 
pp.  189-190  :  Milano,  1822-26. 

'Bobbio — Citta  della  Liguria  cisappeunina,  frammezzo  le  Alpi  Cozie 
distante  circa  quaranta  miglia  da  Pavia,'  etc.  See  D'Avino,  Enciclopedia  dell', 
Ecclf.siastico,  i.(  p.  376  :  Torino,  1863-66. 

2  Moran,  Essays  on  the  Origin,  Doctrines,  and  Discipline  of  the  Early  Irish 
Church,^.  252:  Dublin,  1864. 


80  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

wrote  in  Ireland.  Some  authorities  give  it  to  St.  Cummian  the 
Fair.  Nevertheless — for  argument  sake — I  am  not  unwilling 
to  assume  that  this  Penitential  was  composed  by  another 
St.  Cummian — the  St.  Cummian  who,  at  seventy-five,  went  to 
Bobbio,  and  died  there  at  upwards  of  ninety-five,  somewhere  in 
the  reign  of  Luitprand,  King  of  the  Lombards,  A.D.  711-744,1  and 
that  the  Penitential,  so  far,  is  '  continental  in  its  origin  and 
application. '  What  then  ? 

Granting  all  this,  and  granting  too  that  extracts  are  given  in 
it  from  Penitentials  which  are  not  Irish,  may  it  not  be  cited  as 
illustrating  the  nature  of  ancient  Irish  doctrine  and  discipline  ? 
Though  possibly  the  production  of  an  exile,  is  it  not  still  that  of 
a  typical  Irishman?  Or  is  a  religious  work,  penned  (say)  by 
Cardinal  Moran  in  Sydney,  even  with  some  Antipodean  applica- 
tion, to  be  no  indication  whatever  of  what  the  Irish  ecclesiastics 
of  to-day,  and  Irish  Catholics  generally,  adhere  to  as  the  faith  ? 
I  certainly  fall  short  of  the  sublimated  intelligence  that  could 
appreciate  an  argument  which,  on  the  score  of  irrelevancy,  would 
seek  to  shut  out  this  or  any  analogous  evidence.  The  Bobbio 
St.  Cummian,  when  he  proceeded  to  the  Continent,  an  old  man, 
and  wrote  this  Penitential,  if  he  really  did  write  it,  did  not  then, 
surely,  learn  for  the  first  time  to  recognise  the  Sacraments  of 
Confirmation  and  Penance,  the  utility  of  praying  for  the  dead, 
the  necessity  of  clerical  celibacy,  the  use  of  altar-cloths,  or  any 
of  the  other  doctrinal  and  disciplinary  points  upon  which  its 
testimony  is  quoted  by  me,  and  which  are  all  equally  substan- 
tiated, as  in  the  case  of  the  Bobbio  Missal,  by  citations  from  what 
has  already  been  denominated  home  material. 

With  regard  now  to  a  certain  correspondence  which  is  to  be 
traced  between  portions  of  St.  Cummian' s  Penitential  and  the 
Penitential  of  Theodore,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  A.D.  668-690, 
it  in  no  way  affects  my  position — again  for  the  sake  of  argument — 
to  allow  that  St.  Cummian  took  extracts  from  Theodore.  This, 
apparently,  could  not  well  be  true  of  any  but  the  Bobbio 
St.  Cummian.  The  opinion,  however,  may  be  mentioned — an 
opinion  not  unknown  to  Wasserschleben,  and  held  by  Theiner, 
Kunstmann,  Cardinal  Moran,  and  others — that  matters  were 
another  way  about,  and  that  one  of  the  St.  Cummians — some 
say  St.  Cummian  the  Fair,  some  St.  Cummian  the  Tall — was  the 

1  Wassercchleben,  Die  Bussordnnngen  der  abemUandischen  Eirche,  pp.  64-65: 
Halle,  1851. 


CORRESPONDENCE  81 


unnamed  Irish  author  whose  libellus  was  among  the  sources  of 
Theodore's  Penitential,  according  to  the  ancient  preface  of  that 
Penitential  itself.1  This  is  made  probable  by  the  fact  that  in  the 
seventh  chapter  of  the  first  book  of  Theodore's  Penitential, 
following  a  series  of  canons  almost  literally  agreeing  with 
enactments  in  the  Cummian  Penitential,  there  is  this  ancient 
annotation : — Ista  testimonia sunt  de  eo,  quod  in praefatione  diximus 
de  'libello  Scottorum,  in  quo,  ut  in  ceteris,  aliquando  inibi  fortius 
firmavit  de  pesslmis,  aliquando  vero  lenius,  ut  sibividebatur,  modum 
imposuit  pusillanimis. 2 

As  a  proof  that  heresy  was  not  unknown  in  Ireland  when 
St.  Cummian's  Penitential  was  drawn  up,  and  that  I  was  justified 
in  citing  St.  Cummian's  canons  in  token  of  how  heretics  were 
regarded,  I,  inasmuch  as  dispute  prevails  as  to  which  of  the 
three  St.  Cummians  wrote  the  Penitential,  in  giving  some 
extrinsic  references  to  heresy  and  heretics,  purposely  made  those 
references  sufficiently  elastic  to  fall  in  with  the  life  of  all.  If 
however,  Dr.  MacCarthy  now  believes  that  the  Penitential  belongs 
to  the  seventh  century  rather  than  the  eighth,  why  has  he  not 
dealt  with  the  Roman  letter,  written  in  640,  in  which  the  appear- 
ance of  the  Pelagian  heresy  in  Ireland  is  referred  to  ?  Why  has 
he  not  even  ventured  to  parade  the  good  old  stock  answer,  that 
the  native  Annals,  &c.,  are  silent  on  the  subject  ?  But,  doubtless, 
he  knows  better  than  to  submit  such  a  rebutting  argument  to  a 
serious  trial  of  its  worth. 

He  next  glances  at  the  St.  Gall  Ordo  of  Penance.  Of  this 
there  is  another  copy  among  the  Irish  MS 3.  at  Basle.  In  August, 
Dr.  MacCarthy  asserted  that  this  Ordo  was  '  purely  Anglo-Saxon.' 
As  a  matter  of  notoriety,  the  form  is  one  that  was  pretty  general. 
The  Anglo-Saxons  had  not  the  monopoly  of  it.  Now,  he  allows 
that  the  writing  in  the  St.  Gall  Ordo  is  Irish.  The  Irish,  it 
should  almost  seem,  according  to  him,  were  always  copying 
Missals,  Ordines,  &c.,  which  they  never  used  themselves !  He 
still  insists  that  I  have  libelled  our  forefathers.  Why  ?  Because 
the  Ordo  alludes  to  incestuous  practices.  But  I  adverted  to  the 


1  'In  istorum  quoque  adminiculum  est,  quod  raanibus  vilitatis  nostre  divina 
gratia  similiter  praevidit,  quae  iste  vir  ex   Scotorum  libello  sciscitasse  quod 
difEamatum  est,  de  quo  talem  senex  fertur  dedisse  sententiam,  ecclesiasticus 
homo  libelli  ipsius  fuisse  conscriptor.'     Sec  "Wasserchleben,  Die  Bmsordhtuigen 
der  alcndlandischen  Kirchc,  p.  18:>  ;  Halle,  1851. 

2  Wasfiersehleben,  iJie   Tiiisuwdnxnyen   der  abcndlandischen   Kirche,  p.  191: 
Halle,  1851. 

VOL.  III.  t' 


82  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

fact  that  the  forbidden  degrees  were  not  always  sufficiently 
observed  in  Ireland ;  that  marriage  with  the  widow  of  one's 
brother  was  not  unknown  ;  that  this  Jewish  practice  was 
condemned  in  an  ancient  Irish  Synod ;  hence  toleration  of  it 
must  have  previously  characterised  some  of  the  Irish  clergy  ; 
that  its  lawfulness  was  maintained  by  a  certain  heretical  bishop, 
a  countryman  of  ours ;  *  that  disregard  of  spiritual  affinity  con- 
stituted incest ;  and  Dr.  MacCarthy  makes  not  the  least  attempt 
to  meet  all  this,  or  to  show  now  where  the  libel  comes  in. 

It  is  to  make  up  for  this  evasion,  perhaps,  that  the  typo- 
graphical errors  of  my  book  are  again  well  to  the  front. 
Excluding  the  last  two  pages,  which  contain  the  Irish  Litany, 
the  little  volume  is  as  clear  of  faults  of  the  press  as  I  believe 
most  books  are  usually  found  to  be  ;  and  I  explained,  as  far  as 
I  am  called  upon  to  explain,  how  those  that  do  exist  in  it  arose. 

Few  objects  are  beneath  the  notice  of  Dr.  MacCarthy,  who 
seems  to  have  been  tracking  my  footsteps  very  closely.  He  now 
produces  three  mistakes  in  pagination,  two  of  which  were  already 
known  to  me ;  and  there  my  impeachment  stands.  If  he  could 
even  discover  the  grave  total  of  one  per  cent,  of  such  slips  in 
over  eleven  hundred  minute  references,  it  would  be  still  no  great 
matter.  Page  258  for  257  ;  page  237  for  257 ;  page  120  for  220, 
are  errors  which  anyone  might  fall  into ;  and  Dr.  MacCarthy 
may  magnify  and  make  the  most  of  them.  I  would  only  say,  of 
him,  what  Gibbon  says,  in  regard  to  some  similar  petty  oversights 
objected  to  by  that  historian's  critic,  the  Rev.  H.  E.  Davis  : — 
'  I  sincerely  admire  his  -patient  industry,  which  I  despair  of  being 
able  to  imitate ;  but  if  a  future  edition  should  ever  be  required, 
I  could  wish  to  obtain,  on  any  reasonable  terms,  the  services  of 
so  useful  a  corrector.'  a 

We  turn  now  to  the  question  whether  Bishop  O'Coffey  is  to 
be  considered  Archbishop  O'Murray's  father,  on  the  strength  of 


1  Lest  Dr.  MacCarthy  should  deny  that  Clemens  was  a  bishop,  I  quote  a 
distinguished  Church  historian  : — '  Bei    eiuem    andern     Widersacher,     dem 
Trlandischen    Bischof    Clemens,   mit    welchem    sich    jene    Synode     zugleich 
beschuftigte,  zeigte  sich  eine  ungleich  grossere  Besonnenheit ;    ihm  war  die 
Kirohe,  wie  sie  damals  im  alttestamentlich  theokratischen  Principe  erschien  und 
wirkte,  anstossig."   See  Alzog,  Universalgeschichte  der  christlichen  Kirche,  p.  400  : 
Mainz,  1844. 

:ilso  the  characterisation  of  Clemens  in  O'Hanlon,  Lives  of  the  Irish 
Saints,  vi.,  p.  173  :  Dublin,  n.  d. 

2  Gibbon,    A   Vindication  of  some  Passages  in  the   Fifteenth  and  Sixteenth 
Chaptuts  of  The  Decline  nnd  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  p.  16:  London,  1779. 


CORRESPONDENCE  83 

the  term  athair,  applied  to  him  in  the  Annals  of  Ulster.  The 
surnames  being  different,  it  has  been  suggested  that  O'Murray 
may  have  been  the  Archbishop's  mother's  name ;  but  proof  was 
challenged  by  me,  that  in  the  Ireland  of  the  twelfth  century, 
children,  especially  sons,  ever  received  or  took  their  mother's  name 
instead  of  their  father's.  None  is  forthcoming.  Dr.  MacCarthy, 
like  others,  is  unable  to  supply  any.  He  lays  it  down,  however, 
that  had  the  Annals  of  Ulster  intended  to  convey  that  Bishop 
O'Goffey  was  only  Archbishop  O'Murray's  fosterer  or  tutor,  they 
would  have  employed  not  athair,  but  aite,  a  word  which  lives 
under  the  form  of  oide  in  the  spoken  language.  As  if  languages 
that  have  words  for  '  fosterer '  and  '  tutor '  do  not  sometimes 
express  that  office  by  the  very  same  word  as  that  by  which  they 
denote  a  father  in  the  full  parental  sense !  Take  the  Latin. 
I  place  a  remarkable  example  of  pater,  in  its  secondary  signifi- 
cation, in  the  notes ;  extracted  from  a  sermon  in  which 
St.  Gaudentius  of  Brescia  introduces  the  name  of  his  patron  and 
predecessor  in  that  see,  Philastrius,  who,  certainly,  was  not  his 
natural  father.1  Does  Dr.  MacCarthy  mean  to  intimate  that 
athair,  the  Irish  for  the  male  parent,  is  never  used  except  to 
signify  an  actual  progenitor  ?  Like  its  equivalent  in  other 
languages,  is  it  not,  for  instance,  applied  to  a  priest  ?  My  view 
of  the  point  being  at  least  probable,  why  does  Dr.  MacCarthy 
impugn  it?  And  what,  I  am  curious  to  divine,  is  his  special 
object  in  wishing,  so  strenuously,  to  give  Bishop  O'Coffey  a  son  ? 

At  page  104  I  said : — '  Public  confession  is  alluded  to  in  some 
of  our  ancient  canons ;'  and  to  this  statement  I  attached  a  reference 
to  the  Penitentials  published  by  Wasserschleben.  It  appears  in 
the  foot-notes  as  follows : — Arreum  anni  triduanus  in  ecclesia 
sine  cibo  et  potu  et  somno  et  vestitu  sine  sede  et  canticum  psalmorutn 
cum  canticis  et  oratione  horarum  et  in  eis  XII.  geniculationes  post 
confessionem  peccatorum  coram  sacerdote  et  plebe  post  votum. 
This  passage  I  produced  for  the  sake  only  of  the  concluding 
portion,  which  establishes  what  1  affirmed.  Dr.  MacCarthy 

1 '  Quonam  ergo  haec  spectat  tractatio  ?  Nempe  ut  vestra  dilectio  evi- 
denter  intelligat,  quanta  vis  meara  compulerit  parvitatem  arduis  obsecundare 
prseceptis,  atque  aperire  os  meum  sub  tantorum  prsesentia  sacerdotum,  & 
inaxime  post  illam  venerandse  memoriae  p-itris  mei  (italics  mine)  Philastrii 
eruditissimam  vocem,'  etc.  See  Sancti  Gandenlii  Brixice  Epitcopi  Sermonet, 
pp.  158-159:  Augsburg,  1757. 

2  '  AcAij\,  gen.,  ACAJ\,  a  father,  a  general  title  by  which  the  clergy  are 
addressed  in  Ireland.'  See  O'Donovan,  Supplement  to  0'Reilly'&  Irish-English 
Dictionary,  s.  v. :  Dublin,  1864. 


84  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

now  entertains  himself  with  a  gratuitous  criticism  of  the  ancient 
Arrea  or  Commutations  themselves.  '  Triduanns,'  he  says,  '  is  a 
vox  nihili  in  this  case ; '  and  he  substitutes  triduum  from  another 
copy,  a  Paris  codex.  Triduanus  is  simply  a  scribal  corruption  of 
triduana,  a  three  days'  fast.1  He  then  goes  into  what  he  takes 
to  be  conveyed  by  the  entire  passage — a  matter  not  dwelt  upon 
by  me  at  all.  From  sine  vestitu  he  conceives  that  a  year's 
penance  was  to  be  commuted  by  standing  three  days  in  a  church 
without  clothing,  and  says : — '  One  has  heard  of  gods  and 
goddesses  standing  naked  in  the  open  air;  but  to  read  of 
Christian  men  and  women  in  that  condition  in  a  church  some- 
what strains  one's  trust  in  the  informant.'  That  informant, 
however,  is  neither  myself  nor  the  Arreum:  it  is  Dr.  MacCarthy's 
own  imagination.  I  see,  like  Lowell's  '  John  P.  Robinson  he,' 
that  they  don't  '  know  everything  down  in  Judee.'  A  little  light 
may  be  advantageously  let  in  on  the  subject.  In  the  document 
quoted,  sine  vestitu  no  more  means  naked  than  plain  nudi  itself 
does,  which,  let  me  inform  Dr,  MacCarthy,  is  to  be  sometimes  met 
in  ancient  decrees  of  penance.2  It  only  implies — not  in  the 
ordinary  array.  In  what  condition  then  ?  The  public  penitent 
might  be  (1)  either  partially  stripped,  of  which  we  have  instances, 
or  (2)  clad  in  a  penitential  vesture.  This  last  is  what  is  conveyed 
by  the  Paris  version  of  the  Commutations,  which  reads  that  he 
was  to  stand  in  the  church  cum  vestimento  circa  se.  Now,  from 
the  words  cum  vestimento  circa  se,  meaning  that  the  penitent 
was  to  stand  in  the  house  of  God  with  a  garment  around  him,  I 
might  just  as  well  foolishly  gather  that  when  he  was  not  in  the 
church,  or  was  about  his  daily  avocations,  he  wore  nothing  at  all, 
as  Dr.  MacCarthy  that  he  was  entirely  naked,  or,  at  least,  is 


rDucange  exemplifies  triduana  (tridui  jejunium")  from  St.  Jerome.  See 
his  Olotsariinn  Media;  it  InfimcK  Latliiitatis,  viii.,  p.  182:  Niort,  1883-87. 

Biduano,  from  bidnanus,  a  similar  barbarism  for  biduana,  is  found  in  the 
ft 'modus  AgiiHonalit  Eritanniae  in  Wasserchleben,  fhe  Bussordnungcn  der  abend- 
landischfn  Kirche,  p.  103:  Halle,  1851. 

1  Carpentier,  in  his  Supplement  to  Ducange,  gives  the  following  from  an 
episcopal  document  dated  1224 : — '  Robertus  et  Herveus  publicam  Pcenitentiam 
fuciant  nudi  (italics  mine)  et  discalciati,  virgas  in  manibus  portantes  ad  pro- 
ressionem  in  ecclesia  Carnotensi  in  instant!  Ascensione  Domini,  et  per  manum 
episcopi  Carnotensis  vel  sacerdotis,  secundum  consuetudinam  ecclesise  accipiant 
discipfinam,'  etc.  It  is  plain,  however,  from  another  decree  which  he  quotes, 
containing  the  words  dincalciati  et  nudi,  braccis  tanttt»i»ir>Jo  retmtis,  that  public 
penitents  were  not  absolutely  naked,  and  that  tnidi,  wherever  it  appears  alone, 
is  to  be  interpreted  with  a  modification.  See  Ducang.-,  (Jlostarinin  M 
Infinite  Latinitatis,  vi.,  p.  384:  Niort,  1883-87. 


CORRESPONDENCE  85 


represented  as  entirely  naked,  in  the  sacred  edifice,  because  it 
is  stated  in  the  other  copy  of  the  Arreum  that  the  penitent  was 
to  appear  there  sine  vestitu.  Both  expressions  amount  to 
the  same  thing—  divested  of  his  customary  raiment  and  in 
penitential  garb. 

Following  the  above,  exception  is  taken  to  my  manner  of 
dealing  with  the  Memento  of  the  Dead  in  the  Bobbio  Missal. 
It  exhibits,  I  am  told,  my  '  textual  recension  and  grammatical 
knowledge.'  Here  is  the  entire  passage  referred  to,  agreeing, 
to  a  comma,  with  Mabillon's  printed  text1  of  the  Missal  in 
question  :  —  '  MEMENTO  ETIAM  DOMINE,  &  eorum  nomina,  qui  nos 
praecesserunt  cum  signo  fidei  &  dormiunt  in  somno  pacis.  Com- 
memoratio  defunctorum.  Ipsis  &  omnibus  in  Christo  quiescentibus 
locum  refrigerii,  lucis,  &  pacis  ut  indulgeas  deprecamur,  per 
Christum  dominum  nostrum.'  This  I  translate  thus:  —  '  Eemem- 
ber  also,  0  Lord,  the  names  of  those  who  have  gone  before  us 
with  the  sign  of  faith,  and  sleep  in  the  sleep  of  peace.  [Com- 
memoration of  the  Dead.]  To  these,  and  to  all  resting  in  Christ, 
grant,  we  beseech  Thee,  a  place  of  refreshment,  light,  and  peace, 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.' 

As  verbs  of  remembering  and  forgetting  sometimes  take  an 
accusative  case,2  Dr.  MacCarthy  can  hardly  object  to  my  render- 
ing Memento  nomina,  '  remember  the  names,'  on  the  mere  score 
of  grammar.  But  he  pronounces  nomina  a  rubric.  Well,  the 
great  Benedictine  Mabillon,  who  edited  the  Bobbio  Missal,  was 
as  learned  a  rubricist  as  Dr.  MacCarthy,  and  evidently  he  did  not 
consider  nomina  a  rubric  in  this  case.  His  punctuation,  to  be 
seen  above,  is  against  any  supposition  that  he  did  :  besides,  we 
have  the  fact  that  he  in  no  way  distinguishes  the  word  nomina, 
or  marks  it  out  from  the  text  by  either  italics  or  brackets.  The 
real  rubric  is  at  the  end  of  the  sentence,  i.e.,  Commemoratio 
defunctorum.  This,  and  this  alone,  he  italicizes.  To  him,  more- 
over, all  the  recensional  details  belong.  I  am  satisfied  to  have 
a  Mabillon  on  my  side,  and  a  Dr.  MacCarthy  against  me. 

My  rendering  of  Quorum  meritis  precibusque  concedas  ut  in 
omnibus  protectionis  tuae  muniamur  auxilio  per  Christum  Dominum 
nostrum,  '  To  whose  merits  and  prayers  grant  that  we  may  be 


1  Mabillon,  Museum  Italicum,  i.,  pt  ii.,  p.  281  ;  Paris,  1724. 

2  On  such  a  point  it  is  superfluous  to  quote  an  authority  ;  nevertheless,  see 
Donaldson,  Complete  Latin  Grammar,  p,  279:  Cambridge,  1867;  also  additional 
examples,  in  Andrews,  Latin  Lexicon,  s.  v.  memitii  ;  London,  1375. 


86  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

defended  with  the  help  of  Thy  protection  in  all  things,  through 
Christ  our  Lord,'  is  then  carped  at.  '  To  whose  merits  and 
prayers/  it  is  said,  should  be  '  By  whose  merits  and  prayers.' 
Well,  in  point  of  Latin  grammar,  it  might  be  either.  In  point  of 
the  sense,  too,  it  might  be  either.  But  if  there  is  any  superiority 
as  between  the  two  versions,  mine,  if  I  mistake  not,  has  it.  The 
protection  asked  for  is  granted  us  by  God,  and  to  the  merits  and 
prayers  of  the  saints.  To  their  merits  and  prayers  means — in 
consideration  of  them. 

In  '  Sunday  within  the  Octave  of  Easter,'  the  word  '  within  ' 
(p.  220)  crept  in  inadvertently. 

Dr.  MacCarthy  criticises  me  for  saying  :  '  The  mode  of  com- 
puting Easter  is  an  astronomical  .  .  .  question.'  He  might  as 
well  have  quoted  me  in  full,  and  given  the  three  words  which  he 
represents  by  three  dots.  What  I  said  (p.  41)  was  this  :  '  The 
mode  of  computing  Easter  is  an  astronomical,  not  a  theological 
question.'  He  adduces  Ideler  to  tell  me  that  Easter  is  computed 
by  cycles,  as  if  I  had  never  mentioned  such  things.  At  p.  42  I 
say,  speaking  of  the  variation  of  the  old  Irish  Easter  from  the 
Eoman  :  '  It  was  occasioned  by  using  different  cycles  ;  the  Celtic 
and  British  Churches  calculating  the  paschal  date  by  a  discarded 
system — the  cycle  of  84  years— while  Rome,  and  the  Christian 
world  in  general,  proceeded  by  a  cycle  of  19  years,  which  was 
more  astronomically  correct.'! 

Does  Dr.  MacCarthy  hold  that  astronomy  has  nothing  what- 
ever to  do  with  Easter,  as  he  finds  fault  with  my  characterisation 
of  the  question  ?  Dr.  Lingard  agrees  with  me.  He  says  :  '  The 
time  of  Easter  was  not  a  theological  question  ;  it  could  be  solved 
only  by  astronomical  calculation.' ]  Dr.  Lanigan,  too,  says  :  '  It 
was  a  dispute  of  mere  astronomical  calculation,  similar  to  that 
between  the  abettors  of  the  Gregorian,  or  new  style,  and  those  of 
the  old  one.  Neither  faith  nor  morals  were  in  any  wise  connected 
with  it.'  3 

There  are  one  or  two  other  points  in  Dr.  MacCarthy's 
criticism  upon  which  I  might  say  something  ;  but  this  letter  is, 
perhaps,  already  too  long.  For  the  present,  then,  I  must  post- 
pone my  observations. 


1  Lingard,  History  and  Antiquities  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  Church,  L,  p.  381  : 
London, 1845. 

2  Lanigan,  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Ireland,  iii.,  p.  67:  Dublin,  1829. 


CORRESPONDENCE  87 

In  conclusion,  and  to  place  facts  in  their  legitimate  light,  I  am 
not  the  aggressor  in  this  controversy.  My  book  was  undertaken  in 
response  to  numerically  strong  and  influential  solicitation  ;  and  I 
have  never,  in  my  experience,  heard  of  a  work,  written  in  defence 
of  Catholic  truth,  that  was  assailed,  on  such  trivial  grounds,  by 
a  Catholic  priest  before.  Eeliable  authorities  among  the  clergy 
have  been  pleased  to  say,  since  this  correspondence  began, 
that  my  small  volume  fills  a  void  for  which  even  the  learned 
Dr.  MacCarthy,  in  his  life-long  literary  labours,  has  made  no 
provision. — Yours,  &c 

JOHN  SALMON. 


[    88    ] 


DOCUMENTS 

LEO    XIII.   TO    GOD    AND    THE    VIRGIN    MOTHER 

DEO     ET    VIRGINI     MATEI 

EXTBEMA   LEONIS   VOTA 

Extremum  radiat,  pallenti  involvitur  umbra 
lam  iam  sol  moriens ;  nox  subit  atra.  Leo, 

Atra  tibi :  arescunt  venae,  nee  vividus  humor 
Perfluit  ;  exhausto  corpore  vita  perit. 

Mors  telum  fatale  iacit ;  velamine  amicta 
Funereo,  gelidus  contegit  ossa  lapis. 

Ast  anima  aufugiens  excussis  libera  vinclis, 
Continue  aethereas  ardet  anhela  plagas  ; 

Hue  celerat  cursum  ;  longarum  haec  meta  viarum 
Expleat  oh  clemens  anxia  vota  Deus  ! 

Oh  caelum  attingam  !  supremo  munere  detur 
Divino  aeternum  lumine  et  ore  frui. 

Teque,  o  Virgo  frui ;  rnatrem  te  parvulus  infans 
Dilexi,  flagrans  in  sene  crevit  amor. 

Excipe  me  caelo  ;  caeli  de  civibus  unus, 
Auspice  te,  dicam,  praemia  tanta  tuli. 

LEO  PP,  XIII. 


[     89     ] 


NOTICES    OF    BOOKS 

THE  LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  CARDINAL  WISEMAN.  By  Wilfrid 
Ward.  London  :  Longmans,  Green  &  Co,  Two  Vols. 

As  a  full  review  of  this  work  is  being  written  for  the 
February  number  of  the  I.  E.  RECORD,  by  the  Rev.  William 
Barry,  D.D.,  we  need  not  do  more  at  present  than  to  express  the 
very  great  satisfaction  with  which  we  have  read  every  page  of  the 
two  volumes.  For  Catholic  readers,  no  more  fascinating  work  has 
issued  from  the  press  for  many  a  year.  The  biography  of  the  great 
Cardinal  could  not  have  been  entrusted  to  abler  hands.  Men  might 
have  been  found  to  write  the  Life  of  Wiseman,  who  could  do  justice 
to  him  as  an  ecclesiastical  ruler  and  prince  of  the  Church,  but  who 
would  be  incapable  of  appreciating  other  aspects  of  his  character, 
his  proficiency  in  oriental  studies,  his  deep  theological  knowledge, 
his  interest  in  archaeology,  in  art,  in  science,  in  literature,  his 
intercourse  with  men  of  distinction  at  home,  and  abroad,  his  wide 
range  of  sympathies  and  broad  views  on  all  matters  that  stirred 
the  passions  and  the  interest  of  his  cotemporaries.  Mr.  Ward 
seems  as  much  at  home  in  dealing  with  one  phase  of  the 
Cardinal's  life  as  with  another.  He  embraces  them  all  in  these 
two  volumes  ;  and,  we  think,  we  could  not  recommend  to  our 
readers  a  more  enjoyable  occupation  during  their  leisure  hours  of 
the  new  year  than  the  perusal  of  a  work  which  brings  -out  in  such 
striking  relief  the  noble  figure  of  the  man  who  fought  the  battle 
of  the  Church  in  England  at  one  of  the  turning-points  of  its 
existence.  We  can  also  promise  those  who  read  the  biography 
that  their  admiration  will  not  be  confined  to  Cardinal  Wiseman, 
but  that,  in  its  own  measure,  it  will  extend  as  unreservedly  to 
Mr.  Ward.  J.  F.  H. 

THE  IRISH  DIFFICULTY,  SHALL  AND  WILL.  By  Gerald 
Molloy,  D.D.,  D.  Sc.  London,  Glasgow,  and  Dublin  : 
Blackie  and  Son. 

As  the  greater  part  of  this  work  has  already  appeared  in  the 
pages  of  the  I.  E.  EECOBD,  it  needs  no  introduction  to  our 
readers.  The  proper  use  of  '  shall  and  will '  has  exercised  the 
minds  of  English  grammarians  since  English  grammars  were 


90  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

invented  ;  but,  as  Dr.  Molloy  justly  remarks,  there  was  no  book 
in  which  the  subject  was  treated  with  any  approach  to  complete- 
Bess.  This  can  certainly  be  said  no  longer  ;  and  we  are  much 
mistaken  if  Dr.  Molloy 's  interesting  volume  does  not  remain  for 
future  ages  a  standard  work  on  the  subject  not  only  for  Irishmen 
but  for  Englishmen  as  well.  There  are  some  people,  it  appears, 
who  think  that  Irishmen  have  no  difficulty  in  the  employment 
of  these  auxiliaries.  We  imagine  that  these  are  just  the  people 
who  would  profit  by  a  careful  perusal  of  the  volume  before  us. 
Their  public  utterances  might  gain  something  by  the  study  in 
correctness  if  not  in  elegance  of  diction.  Again,  we  are  told 
that  Dr.  Molloy's  elaborate  treatment  of  the  subject  tends  to 
confuse  the  minds  of  those  who  endeavour  to  get  at  the  root 
and  cause  of  the  difficulty.  Such  people  are,  it  must  be 
admitted,  rather  easily  confused,  and  we  fancy  that  Dr.  Molloy 
will  not  be  greatly  surprised  at  their  trouble.  Anyone  who 
reads  the  work  in  a  spirit  that  is  not  captious,  even  though 
the  author  were  entirely  unknown,  should  admit  that  it  is  the 
production  of  an  accomplished  scholar.  In  precision  and  correct- 
ness of  expression,  as  well  as  in  the  elegant  and  dignified 
manner  in  which  the  author  deals  with  a  subject  so  dry  we 
have  a  fine  example  of  literary  refinement.  A  careful  perusal 
of  the  numerous  quotations  from  the  best  authors  will  of  itself 
be  an  admirable  help  to  all  except  to  those  who  are  above  such 
aid.  How  far  the  latter  can  afford  to  dispense  with  Dr.  Molloy's 
assistance  their  readers  are  possibly  better  judges  than  they  are 
themselves. 

We  are  happy  to  think  that  this  is  not  the  only  work  of 
the  learned  Eector  of  the  Catholic  University  which  first 
appeared  in  instalments  in  the  pages  of  the  I,  B.  EECOBD. 
Nobody,  of  course,  will  think  of  comparing  a  study  which 
has  been  only  one  form  of  literary  recreation  indulged  in 
persistently  for  many  years  with  the  important  volume  on 
Geology  and  Revelation  which  first  appeared  in  the  pages  of 
the  I.  E.  KECOBD,  and  made  Mgr.  Molloy's  name  known  and 
honoured  in  the  schools  of  many  countries  besides  Ireland. 
We  are,  nevertheless,  thankful  for  the  fruits  of  grammatical 
investigation  as  for  the  earlier  and  more  precious  fruits  of 
scientific  and  theological  study ;  and  we  are  convinced  that  our 
readers  at  home  and  abroad  will  ever  welcome  anything  that 
comes  from  one  whom  they  have  so  many  reasons  to  honour  and 
revere.  J.  F.  H. 


NOTICES   OF   BOOKS  91 

BIBLIA  SACEA  JUXTA  VULGATAE  EXEMPLAEIA  ET  COEEEC- 
TOEIA  EOMANA  DENUO  E  DIBIT,  DIVISIONIBUS  LOGICIS 
ANALYSIQUE  CONTINUA  SENSUM  ILLUSTRANTIBUS  OENAVIT 
A.  C.  FILLION.  Paris  :  Letouzey,  Ane  &  Cie. 
WE  have  given  the  title  of  this  work  in  full,  because  it 
indicates  at  once  the  scope  and  method  of  Professor  Pillion  in 
preparing  this  edition  of  the  Latin  Vulgate.  Each  of  the  sacred 
books  is  divided  into  parts,  sections  and  paragraphs,  in  accordance 
with  what  Professor  Fillion,  after  consulting  the  best  commen- 
tators, considers  to  be  the  logical  division  of  the  book.  Thus, 
to  take  as  an  example  the  Gospel  of  St.  Matthew,  the  book  is 
divided  into  an  introduction  and  four  parts.  The  genealogy  of 
our  Lord  constitutes  the  introduction  (i.  1-17)  ;  the  first  part 
deals  with  the  infancy  and  private  life  (i.  18-ii.  23)  ;  the  second, 
with  the  public  life  (iii.  1-xx.  34)  ;  the  third,  with  the  last  days 
of  Jesus,  or  week  of  the  Passion  (xxi.  1-xxvii.  66) ;  the  fourth, 
with  our  Lord's  resurrection  (xxviii.  1-20).  Each  of  these 
divisions  is  so  clearly  marked  that  the  reader  cannot  fail  to  per- 
ceive at  once  the  broad  outlines  of  the  Gospel  history,  Then  the 
parts  are  subdivided  into  various  sections,  and  these  again  into 
well-defined  paragraphs,  with  a  marginal  indication  of  at  least 
the  pith  of  each  paragraph. 

No  one  can  fail  to  see  how  much  better,  at  least  for  the  ordinary 
student,  this  arrangement  is  than  that  usually  adopted  in 
editions  of  the  Vulgate.  The  summaries  usually  given  at  the 
heads  of  chapters  are  often  jejune,  and  generally  of  small  utility, 
while  the  bold  division  into  chapters  instead  of  sections  frequently 
breaks  the  continuity  and  mars  the  sense.  We  are  glad  also 
to  see  that  Fr.  "Fillion  discards  the  mischievous  practice  of 
beginning  each  verse  with  a  new  line,  as  is  the  case  in  the 
ordinary  editions  of  the  Vulgate,  as  well  as  in  our  Catholic 
English  Version.  If  only  the  recognised  numbering  of  the  verses 
is  retained,  such  a  practice  is  wholly  unnecessary,  while  it 
undoubtedly  tends  frequently  to  obscure  the  logical  connection. 
In  the  poetical  books  and  parts  the  verses  are  so  printed  by 
Fr.  Fillion  as  to  exhibit  at  once  the  Hebrew  parallelism,  the 
most  distinctive  feature  of  Hebrew  poetry. 

The  labour  involved  in  preparing  an  edition  of  the  Vulgate  like 
that  before  us,  is  much  greater  than  might  appear  at  first  sight. 
A  careful  analysis  of  every  book  of  the  Bible  implies  much 
study  and  thought,  and  we  are  sincerely  glad  to  find  that  Father 


92  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

Fillion's  labour  has  beeii  appreciated.     The  present  is  the  fourth 
edition  in  ten  years. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  there  is  room  for  much  difference 
of  opinion  as  to  the  propriety  of  some  of  the  paragraphic 
divisions  ;  but  in  no  case,  as  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  see,  is 
any  division  adopted  that  is  not  supported  by  good  authority. 
Occasionally,  as,  for  example,  in  the  twenty-fourth  chapter  of 
St.  Matthew,  one  might  fairly  expect  in  the  margin  a  clearer 
indication  of  the  editor's  views  ;  but,  on  the  whole,  the  work  is 
well  and  conscientiously  done,  and  will  help  much  to  a  better 
understanding  of  God's  inspired  word.  J.  M'K. 

A    GENEBA.L    INTRODUCTION    TO    THE    STUDY    OF    HOLY 
SCRIPTURE.     By  A.  E.  Breen,  D.D. 

THIS  is  an  important  contribution  from  the  New  World  to 
Catholic  Biblical  literature.  The  author,  Dr.  Breen,  is  Professor 
of  Sacred  Scripture  in  St.  Bernard's  Seminary,  Eochester,  New 
York.  The  work  is  a  royal  octavo  volume  of  606  pages  ;  and,  with 
the  exception  of  Biblical  antiquities,  which  are  not  mentioned, 
discusses  the  various  subjects  that  we  should  expect  to  find  dealt 
with  in  a  General  Introduction.  The  nature  and  extent  of 
inspiration,  the  question  of  the  Canon  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ment, the  history  of  the  original  texts  and  of  the  various  ancient 
versions  of  the  Bible,  the  origin  and  authority  of  the  Vulgate, 
the  history  of  modern  English  versions,  the  various  senses  of 
Scripture,  and  how  to  find  them — all  these  questions  are  discussed 
fully,  fairly,  and  reverently,  yet  with  an  American  independence 
that  does  credit  to  the  honesty  and  judgment  of  the  author. 

The  treatment  of  the  Canon  is  particularly  full ;  but  consider- 
ing that  the  work  is  intended  for  a  class-book,  it  would  have  been 
much  better,  in  our  judgment,  if  the  author  had  contented 
himself  with  summarizing  results  regarding  the  Canon,  and 
published  the  extended  treatment  of  the  subject,  with  the  nume- 
rous quotations,  in  a  separate  volume.  In  a  work  of  606  pages 
we  should  hardly  expect  to  find  340  pages  devoted  to  this  one 
subject,  especially  if  the  work  is  to  serve  as  a  class-book. 

On  page  33,  in  the  treatment  of  the  question  of  Obiter  Dicta, 
there  is  some  confusion,  to  which  we  feel  it  our  duty  to  call 
attention .  The  author  raises  two  questions — 1 .  Whether  Obiter 
Dicta  are  inspired.  2.  Whether  it  is  of  faith  kthat  they  are 
inspired.  The  first  question  he  rightly  answers  in  the  affirma- 


NOTICES   OF   BOOKS  93 

tive  ;  but  when  he  comes  to  discuss  the  second  question,  strangely 
enough,  it  is  the  first  question  he  raises  again,  and  again  he 
answers  in  the  affirmative.  Had  he  really  dealt  with  the  second 
question — that  is,  whether  the  inspiration  of  Obiter  Dicta  is 
of  faith— the  whole  context  and  the  authorities  he  quotes 
approvingly,  force  us  to  believe  that  he  would  have  answered 
iu  the  negative. 

We  cannot  agree  with  the  author  that  '  the  Deuterocanonical 
books  of  the  Old  Testament  primarily  existed  in  the  collection 
of  the  Jews  of  Palestine/  If  they  did,  why  were  they  afterwards 
excluded  ?  It  cannot  have  been  on  account  of  their  Messianic 
character,  for  it  has  been  truly  said  that  a  single  psalm  often 
contains  as  much  that  is  Messianic  as  all  the  Deuterocanonical 
books  taken  together.  In  the  chapter  on  English  Versions  we 
are  surprised  to  find  that  no  mention  is  made  of  the  two  Catholic 
translations  of  the  New  Testament,  by  Drs.  Nary  and  Witham 
respectively.  The  former  was  published  in  London,  in  1705,  and 
the  latter  at  Douay,  in  1730,  as  may  be  seen  by  a  reference  to 
Dr.  Dixon's  General  Introduction.  We  trust  these  omissions 
will  be  supplied  in  a  second  edition,  for  our  Catholic  English 
translations  are  so  few  that  we  can  ill  afford  to  pass  by 
any  of  them  unnoticed. 

Naturally  so  large  a  work  is  not  entirely  free  from  slips  and 
misprints,  but  those  that  occur  are  of  trifling  importance.  Thus, 
in  the  note  on  p.  55,  the  Apostolic  Constitutions  are  referred  to 
the  second  century,  while  from  the  note  on  p.  122  it  might  be 
supposed  that  the  author  is  doubtful  whether  they  are  earlier 
than  the  third  century.  It  is,  of  course,  owing  to  an  oversight 
that  the  Prologus  Galeatus,  or  helmeted  prologue  of  St.  Jerome, 
is  spoken  of,  in  p.  145,  as  the  Prologus  Galeaticus. 

Notwithstanding  the  points  to  which  we  have  thought  it  right 
to  direct  attention,  we  welcome  the  work  as  one  of  considerable 
value,  the  result  of  much  conscientious  labour,  and  a  decided 
boon  to  Catholic  students. 

J.  M'R. 

THE  LIFE  OF  ST.  AUGUSTINE,  BISHOP  AND  DOCTOE.  A 
Historical  Study.  By  Philip  Burton,  C.M.  Third  and 
enlarged  edition.  Dublin  :  M.  H.  Gill  &  Son.  5s. 

TEN  years  have  now  elapsed  since  this  '  Historical  Study  ' 
first  appeared.  In  the  meantime  it  has  had  a  large  circulation, 


94  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL    RECORD 

and  has  engaged  a  large  share  of  public  patronage.  Two  editions 
having  been  exhausted,  the  author  has,  with  commendable  zeal, 
undertaken  and  accomplished  the  onerous  task  of  bringing  out 
a  new  and  enlarged  edition  to  meet  the  demands  of  an  ever- 
growing circle  of  readers.  A  work  that  has  been  accorded 
so  signal  a  mark  of  general  approbation  scarcely  needs  any 
critical  notice,  so  that  we  feel  we  shall  best  do  our  duty  in 
emphasizing  its  claims  to  a  still  warmer  reception  at  the  hands 
of  an  admiring  public. 

St.  Augustine's  personality  has  a  distinct  and  decided  charm 
peculiarly  its  own.     The  study  of  his  varied  and  versatile  career 
appeals  to  us  with  an  almost  fascinating  interest.     With  varying 
feelings  we   follow  him  through  the  strange  vicissitudes  of  his 
strange  life  :  from  innocent  childhood  to  sinful  boyhood  ;  and, 
again,   from  a  boyhood  steeped   in   degrading    excesses    to    a 
manhood  elevated  by  faith  and  ennobled  by  virtue.     In  its  way, 
nothing  can   be   more  interesting  than  to  read  how  the  erring 
youth    became    the    brightest   ornament    of    the   Church,    the 
greatest  of  her  doctors,  and  the  most  vigorous  defender  of  her 
doctrines.       From     the    back-ground     of    the    early    fathers, 
St.    Augustine   stands  forth  in    high   relief,  first   and    foremost 
of  that  noble  band,  unsurpassed  in  the  penetrating  subtilty  of  his 
genius,  and  unrivalled  hi  the  fervour  and  glow  of  his  faith.     In 
portraying,  then,  such  a  subject  our  author  has  found  a  theme 
worthy  of  his  powerful  pen.     And  it  is  but  paying  him  a  well- 
deserved  compliment  to  say  that  he  has  acquitted  himself  in  a 
manner  eminently  successful.     He  brings  to  the  accomplishment 
of  his  design  a  ripe  scholarship,  a  sound  and  impartial  judgment, 
and  a  deep  research,  calculated  to  render  his  biography  thoroughly 
appeciative.      Not  only  has  he  a  mind  well   stored  with  the 
details  of  St.  Augustine's  life,  and  well  informed   by  personal 
observation,  as  to  all  its  manifold  surroundings  ;  but  he  has  also 
a  keen  insight  into   the   history  of  the  age  in  which  the  saint 
played  so  prominent  a  part,  a  mastery  of  the  nature  of  the 
heresies  he  had  to  combat,  and  a  grasp  of  the  spirit  that  ruled 
in  the  early  African  Church.     On  the  face  of  it,  Father  Burton's 
volume  bears  evidence  that  it  is  the  outcome  of  a  philosophic 
mind.      He  weighs  his  facts  carefully,  but  he  does  not  forget 
to  put  their  circumstances  into  the  scales  also.     Perhaps  the 
most    characteristic    feature  of    the   biography  is  the   intimate 
knowledge   which  Father    Burton   displays  of  the  voluminous 


NOTICES   OF   BOOKS  95 

writings  of  St.  Augustine.  The  number  and  aptness  of  quotations 
given  lead  us  to  believe  that  he  must  have  made  a  life-long 
study  of  these  beautiful  works.  And  here  we  may  invite  atten- 
tion to  the  rules  he  lays  down  (pp.  330,  331)  for  correctly 
interpreting  the  great  Doctor.  If  these  rules  were  observed  many 
of  the  gross  misrepresentations  of  St.  Augustine's  views  and 
writings  would  be  effectively  obviated.  In  an  additional  chapter, 
which  has  not  appeared  in  the  earlier  editions,  the  author 
criticizes  St.  Augustine's  views  on  the  Bible.  To  many  this 
will  not  be  the  least  interesting  portion  of  his  readable  book. 

We  are  grateful  to  Father  Burton  for  supplying  us  with  such 
a  charmingly  written  biography  of  a  saint  that  holds  a  high 
place  in  all  Christian  hearts,  and  we  wish  his  book  a  still  larger 
share  of  popularity  than  it  has  yet  secured. 

P.M. 


THE  FIKST  CHRISTIAN  MISSION  TO  THE  GREAT  MOGUL.  Or 
The  Story  of  Blessed  Acquaviva  and  his  Companions  in 
Martyrdom  of  the  Society  of  Jesus.  By  James  Goldie,  S.  J. 
Dublin:  M.  H.  Gill  &  Co.  London:  Art  and  Book 
Company. 

WHILE  the  Spanish  conquests  in  America  opened  a  way  for  the 
introduction  of  Christianity  into  the  New  World,  the  arms  of 
Portugal  in  the  Indian  Peninsula  afforded  a  means  for  the 
evangelization  of  that  benighted  land.  Under  King  John  III. 
of  Portugal,  St.  Francis  Xavier  preached  the  Gospel  to  the 
Indians,  and  all  Europe  rejoiced  in  the  marvellous  success  that 
attended  his  labours.  When  the  grave  closed  over  the  remains 
of  that  glorious  missionary,  his  apostolic  spirit  still  lingered  in 
the  breasts  of  many  of  his  brothers  in  religion,  aud  there  were 
several  members  of  the  great  society  to  which  he  belonged, 
whose  one  great  desire  and  ambition  in  life  was  to  convert  the 
heathen  or  win  a  martyr's  crown  in  the  attempt.  Accordingly, 
in  the  sixteenth  century  missionary  volunteers  were  numerous. 
Scarcely  a  ship  left  the  southern  ports  bound  for  India  that  did 
not  include  among  its  passengers  some  few  souls  whose  mission 
was  to  illumine  those  that  sit  in  the  darkness  of  unbelief.  To 
such  a  class  belonged  the  Blessed  Acquaviva  and  his  four 
martyred  companions,  whose  history  is  graphically  described  in 
these  pages  under  notice.  Descended,  nearly  all  of  them,  from 


96  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

the  very  first  families  of  Italy,  they  renounced  the  world  for  the 
seclusion  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  and,  burning  with  a  thirst  to 
win  souls  from  infidelity  to  God,  they  became  missionaries,  a 
district  in  India  being  appointed  them  as  the  seat  of  their  opera- 
tions. With  what  zeal  they  worked  in  this  vast  vineyard  ;  with 
what  fearless  intrepedity  the  Blessed  Acquaviva  penetrated  into 
the  heart  of  the  mighty  empire,  and  even  to  the  court  of  the 
Great  Mogul ;  how  the  five  were  appointed  to  a  dangerous 
position  in  Salsette;  and  how,  in  fine,  they  were  here  brutally 
murdered  by  the  fanatic  Brahmins,  we  leave  our  readers  to 
glean  from  the  very  beautiful  and  pathetic  narrative  of 
Mr.  Go! die.  The  cause  for  the  martyrdom  of  these  five 
missionaries  was  pleaded  as  early  as  1598,  but  it  was  early 
in  1893  that  the  process  was  completed,  when  the  Congregation 
decreed  the  beatification  might  take  place. 

A  word  of  thanks  is  due  to  the  writer  of  this  instructive 
history  for  preserving  these  honoured  names  from  oblivion,  and 
to  the  publishers  for  the  neatness  and  taste  displayed  in  the 
bringing  out  of  the  book. 

P.  M. 


TARA,   PAGAN   AND   CHRISTIAN 


M 


Y  purpose — at  least  my  main  purpose — in  selecting 
this  subject  for  my  address  this  evening  is  to 
create  and  foster  in  the  minds  of  the  students 
of  this  college  a  deep  and  abiding  love  for  the 
historic  sites  and  ancient  monuments  of  our  native  land. 
In  the  highest  sense  of  the  words,  you  are  the  heirs,  and 
you  ought  to  be,  as  it  were,  ex  officio  the  custodians,  of  the 
historic  monuments  of  the  Gael.  It  would  be  strange, 
indeed,  if  the  British  Parliament  should  deem  it  its  duty  to 
preserve  many  of  these  monuments  at  the  public  expense, 
and  that  an  Irish  priest  should  be  either  ignorant  of  their 
history,  or  show  himself  indifferent  to  their  defacement  or 
destruction.  No  man  can  do  more  than  a  priest  to  aid  in 
their  preservation,  and  every  sentiment  of  genuine  patriot- 
ism, of  national  honour,  and  even  of  professional  zeal, 
should  move  him  to  aid  in  the  noble  work  of  illustrating 
the  history  and  guarding  the  integrity  of  these  ancient 
monuments,  which  are  at  once  eloquent  witnesses  of  our 
vanished  glories  in  the  past,  and  hopeful  emblems  of  a 
higher  national  life  in  the  not  distant  future. 

Now,  my    young   friends,   of  all   the   historic  sites  in 
Ireland,  there  is  no  other  that  can  at  all  approach  the  Hill  of 


1  Lecture  delivered  to  the  students  of  Maynooth  College,  Nov.  25,  1897. 
FOURTH  SERIES,  VOL.  III. — FEBRUARY,  1898.  G 


98  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

Tara,  either  in  antiquity,  in  historic  interest,  or  in  the  variety 
and  suggestive  significance  of  its  ancient  monuments.  If  we 
are  to  accept,  even  in  substance,  the  truth  of  the  bardic 
history  of  Ireland — and  I  see  no  good  reason  to  question  its 
substantial  truth — there  was  a  royal  residence  on  the  Hill 
of  Tara  before  Rome  was  founded,  before  Athena's  earliest 
shrine  crowned  the  Acropolis  of  Athens ;  about  the  time, 
perhaps,  that  sacred  Ilium  first  saw  the  hostile  standards 
of  the  kings  of  Hellas.  But  before  I  sketch  the  history  of 
the  Royal  Hill,  I  must  first  tell  you  something  of  its 
physical  features,  which  alone  have  remained,  through  all 
the  changeful  centuries,  unchanged  and  unchangeable. 

I.    PHYSICAL  ASPECTS 

Tara  is  not  a  high  hill,  its  elevation  above  the  sea  being 
only  about  five  hundred  feet.  It  is  rather  broad  and  flat- 
topped,  with  gently  sloping  declivities.  Still  it  commands 
a  far-reaching  prospect  of  surpassing  beauty.  On  the  north- 
east the  hill  of  Skeen  rises  to  the  sky-line,  and  shuts  out  a 
wider  view  of  the  swelling  plains  beyond ;  but  on  every 
other  side  the  prospect  from  Tara,  of  a  fine  summer's  day, 
is  one  of  enchanting  loveliness.  Nearly  the  whole  of  the 
great  limestone  plain  of  Ireland  lies  in  view,  with  all  its 
varied  scenery  of  grassy  plain,  and  deep  embowering  woods, 
and  noble  mansions  peeping  through  their  sheltering  foliage. 
Then  there  are  the  towers  of  Trim,  and  the  silvery  wind- 
ings of  the  Boyne,  stealing,  serpent-like,  through  sunlit 
meadows,  with  glimpses  of  the  hoary  walls  of  Bective  and 
Columcille's  ancient  shrine,  whose  sweet-toned  bells  once 
tolled  across  the  fertile  fields  and  populous  villages,  where 
herds  of  cattle  now  roam  in  what  is  almost  a  primitive, 
though  still  a  rich  and  grassy  wilderness.  Then,  far  away 
to  the  south-east,  the  Wicklow  mountains  rise  up  like  giant 
ramparts  against  the  blue  of  the  sunlit  sky.  The  smoke  of 
Dublin  shrouds  its  spires  in  the  distance.  Beyond  Dnndalk 
the  hills  around  Cuchullin's  ancient  home  are  distinctly 
visible.  To  the  north  and  north-west  the  peaks  of  Cavan 
and  Monaghan  are  well  defined  against  the  sky,  while  to 
the  south  and  south-west  the  isolated  hills  of  the  great 


TARA,   PAGAN   AND   CHRISTIAN  99 

plain  rise  in  solitary  grandeur,  with  the  immense  range  of 
Slieve  Bloom  on  the  southern  horizon,  which  the  men  of 
old  regarded  as  nature's  barrier  between  the  Hy-Niall  and 
the  warriors  of  Leagh  Mogha.  It  is  difficult  to  get  any- 
where else  in  Ireland,  except,  perhaps,  from  the  Hill  of 
Usnach,  in  Westmeath,  and  that  is  somewhat  similar,  a 
prospect  to  equal  the  view  from  Tara  Hill  in  extent,  in 
variety,  in  picturesque  beauty,  and  historic  interest.  You 
may  get  grander  and  wilder  scenes,  but  nothing  more  attrac- 
tive to  the  eye,  or  more  suggestive  to  the  mind,  than  the 
matchless  landscape  revealed  from  the  summit  of  Tara 
Hill. 

It  is  no  wonder,  then,  that  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  and 
the  beauty  of  the  prospect  from  Tara  Hill,  attracted  the 
attention  of  even  the  earliest  colonists  in  Ireland.  These 
ancient  men  of  barbarous  times,  in  one  thing,  at  least, 
showed  far  more  taste  and  judgment  than  the  cultured 
people  of  this  nineteenth  century.  They  chose  for  their 
dwellings  and  strongholds  the  breezy  summits  of  fertile 
hills,  which  at  once  gave  them  health  and  security,  and 
above  all  a  far-reaching  vision  of  picturesque  grandeur. 
No  doubt  it  was  necessary  for  them  to  see  the  country  far 
around  them,  so  as  to  be  able  to  notice  the  approach  of  the 
foe,  and  take  measures  for  their  own  defence  in  unsettled 
times.  But  I  think  there  was  something  else  in  their  minds 
besides  this  idea  of  self-defence.  They  appreciated,  in  their 
own  simple  way,  the  manifold  beauties  of  their  island -home  ; 
they  loved  to  see  them  and  enjoy  them ;  and  the  vision 
gave  them  loftier  thoughts  and  bolder  hearts.  They  would 
not  dream — no,  not  the  smallest  Irish  chief — of  building 
his  dun  in  a  swampy  plain  or  secluded  valley.  You  will  not 
see,  in  any  part  of  the  country,  an  ancient  rath  occupying 
such  a  site.  No ;  they  were  in  their  own  land,  and  they 
built  their  homes  on  the  windy  crests  of  the  swelling 
uplands,  where  they  could  see  their  wide  domains,  their 
flocks  and  herds,  the  approach  of  the  foe,  and  the 
gathering  of  the  warriors  to  defend  their  hearths  and 
homes. 


100  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

II.    HISTORY   OF   TAKA  HILL 

Of  the  colonists  that  came  to  stay  in  the  land,  the 
Firbolgs  were  the  earliest ;  and  the  bards  tells  us  that  Slainge, 
the  first  high  king  of  that  race,  chose  Tara  Hill  as  the  site  of 
his  royal  palace,1  and  called  it  Druim  Caein  or  the  Beautiful 
Hill.  If  we  can  trust  the  chronology  of  the  Four  Masters, 
Slainge  was  contemporary  with  Abraham  in  the  Land  of 
Canaan :  so  that  we  must  go  back  some  nineteen  hundred 
years  before  the  Christian  era  for  the  first  dun  that  crowned 
the  Eoyal  Hill.  I  do  not  ask  you  to  believe  this.  I 
merely  quote  the  statement ;  and  it  is  probably  as  well 
founded  as  a  good  deal  of  what  is  set  down  as  ancient 
history.  0 'Flaherty's  chronology,  however,  which  fixes  the 
advent  of  the  Firbolgs  about  the  year  1250  B.C.  is  far  more 
probable. 

It  is,  however,  to  the  second  colony  that  occupied 
Ireland — the  Tuatha  de  Danann  that  the  origin  of  the 
Koyal  City  of  Tara  is  more  commonly  traced.  Nine  kings 
of  the  Firbolgs,  it  is  said,  ruled  the  land ;  but  as  they  reigned 
in  all  only  thirty-seven  years,  they  could  not  have  done 
much  for  Tara.  It  was  the  new  colony — a  more  civilized 
and  powerful  people — who  brought  the  ogham  lore  to  Erin 
and  the  Lia  Fail  to  Tara,  which  they  made — so  the  bardic 
story  tells  us  —their  Cathair,  or  capital  city.  Stone-buildings 
were  certainly  not  abundant  at  Tara ;  but  still  as  it  is  called 
a  Cathair  by  the  poet  Kineth  O'Hartigan,  in  the  tenth 
century,  we  need  not  hesitate  to  adopt  the  term. 

Tara  was  called  Cathair  Crofinn  even  before  it  was 
called  Tara  ;  and  Crofinn  is  said  to  have  been  a  queen  of 
the  Tuatha  de  Danann,  remarkable  both  for  her  talents 
and  her  beauty.  Doubtless  she  was  buried  within  the 
precincts  of  the  Royal  Rath,  to  which  she  gave  her  name ;  that 
is,  if  she  did  not,  like  many  others  of  her  people,  take  up  her 
abode  in  the  Land  of  Youth,  either  under  the  grassy  slopes 
of  Tara,  or  some  other  of  the  beautiful  enchanted  hills 
of  Erin. 

i  Poem  ascribed  to  Caoilte  MacRonain. 


TARA,  PAGAN   AND  CHRISTIAN  101 

They  were  a  strange  people,  these  Tuatha  de  Danann, 
dark-eyed  and  brown-haired,  of  unknown  origin,  but  of  much 
culture,  ingenuity,  and  weird  mysterious  power,  who  left  no 
survivors  in  the  land  of  Erin,  at  least,  amongst  the  children 
of  mortal  men.  Would  they  had  not  vanished  so  completely, 
for  the  bardic  story  that  tells  of  their  advent  and  depar- 
ture is  full  of  a  strange  subtle  interest  which  takes  and 
keeps  the  mind  by  a  secret,  silent  influence  that  cannot 
be  measured  or  analysed.  It  pervades  alike  our  history 
and  our  romance,  the  tales  of  our  childhood,  and  the 
wanderings  of  our  maturer  fancy  in  mystic  realms  of  a 
fairyland  that  is  not  all  a  fable. 

It  was  the  Tuatha  de  Danann  who  brought  to  Tara  that 
wonderful  Lia  Fail,  the  Stone  of  Destiny,  of  which  you  all 
have  heard  something.  Some  say  it  is  still  in  Tara,  others 
that  it  is  under  the  Coronation  Chair  in  Westminster 
Abbey.  I  shall  speak  of  it  presently,  but  it  is  quite  natural 
that  the  enchanted  stone  should  be  the  gift  of  the  enchanted 
people ;  and  its  history — part  fact  and  part  fable — is  as 
strange  and  mysterious  as  their  own. 

So  when  the  Milesian  colony  came  to  Erin,  Tara, 
though  not  yet  called  by  that  name,  was  already  the  chief 
royal  seat  of  the  monarchy.  Heremon  was  married  to  his 
cousin,  a  beautiful  and  accomplished  princess  named  Tea, 
and  she  asked  her  lord,  even  before  they  landed,  to  give  her 
as  her  dower  her  choice  hill  in  Erin,  "  that  she  might  be 
interred  therein,  and  that  her  mound  and  grave-stone  might 
be  raised  thereon,"  and  "  where  every  prince  to  be  born  of 
her  race  should  dwell  for  ever."  This  favour  was  guaranteed 
to  her  ;  and  then  we  are  told  that  she  chose  Druim  Caein, 
called  also  Laeth-Druim,  the  Beautiful  Hill,  which  from 
her  is  called  Tea-Mur,  i.  e.,  Tara,  the  Mound  of  Tea,  and 
therein  she  was  interred-  The  Irish  form  was  Tea-mur, 
latinized  Temora,  which  by  a  kind  of  metathesis  has 
become  Tara  in  the  genitive  case.  Other  explanations  of 
the  name  have  been  also  given  ;  but  this  is  at  once  the  most 
ancient,  the  most  natural,  and  the  most  poetic.  The  pillar 
stone  still  standing  on  Tara  Hill,  over  the  Croppies'  grave, 
which  Petrie  thinks  was  the  original  Lia  Fail,  was  in  my 


102  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

opinion  the  gravestone  raised  over  Tea's  monument  more 
than  three  thousand  years  ago.  We  know  that  such 
monumental  pillars,  '  hoary  inscrutable  sentinels  of  the 
past,'  were  raised  elsewhere  over  royal  graves,  as  at  Rath- 
croghan  over  the  grave  of  King  Dathi,  and  at  Roscam,  near 
Galway,  over  the  grave  of  King  Brian,  the  great  ancestor 
of  the  Connaught  kings ;  and  in  some  cases  they  came  to  be 
worshipped  as  idols.  So  Tea's  pillar-stone  was  raised  at 
Tara  over  her  mur  or  grave  mound,  from  which  it  was 
removed  after  1798,  but  only  a  few  paces,  to  place  over  the 
Croppies'  grave,  where  the  foolish  insurgent  youths  made 
their  last  vain  stand.  And  still  it  stands  through  all  the 
changeful  centuries,  and  the  ashes  of  Tea's  offspring,  who 
died  for  the  land  she  loved,  now  rest  in  peace  beneath  its 
shadow. 

III.   THE    FEIS   OF    TAEA 

One  hundred  and  twenty  kings  of  the  Scotic  or  Milesian 
race  reigned  in  Erin  from  Heremon  to  the  cursing  and 
desolation  of  Tara  in  A.D.  565 ;  and  it  may  be  regarded  as 
fairly  certain  that  all  these  high-kings  kept  their  court  (at 
least  for  a  time)  on  the  Royal  Hill.  The  history  of  Tara 
would,  in  fact,  during  all  this  time,  be  the  history  of  Ireland. 
So  we  can  only  refer  to  a  few  of  the  most  noteworthy  events 
in  its  annals  specially  connected  with  the  place  itself. 

Ollarnh  Fodhla,  the  fortieth  in  the  list  of  Irish  kings,  after 
a  reign  of  forty  years,  died,  we  are  told  by  the  Four  Masters, 
'  in  his  own  house  at  Tara.  He  was  the  first  king  by  whom 
the  Feis,  or  Assembly  of  Tara,  was  instituted ;  and  by  him 
also  a  Mur  Ollamhan  was  erected  at  Tara.'  The  king's  real 
name  was  Eochy,  the  term  Ollamh  Fodhla,  or  Doctor  of 
Erin,  being  given  to  him  as  an  agnomen  on  account  of  his 
learning.  There  are  not  wanting  critics  who  doubt  of  the 
existence  of  this  ancient  king ;  but  the  entry  proves  at  least 
one  thing,  that  the  '  Feis  Tara '  was  in  popular  estimation 
of  very  ancient  origin.  Reference  is  frequently  made  to  this 
famous  assembly  in  all  our  ancient  literature,  both  sacred 
and  profane.  It  was,  in  fact,  the  national  parliament  of  the 
Celtic  tribes  in  Ireland,  and  as  such  must  have  exercised  a 
very  great  influence  on  the  national  life.  It  was  held  trien- 


TARA,   PAGAN   AND   CHRISTIAN  103 

nially  for  one  week  at  Samhaintide,  that  is  three  days  before 
and  three  days  after  November  Day.  It  is  probable  that  in 
fine  weather  the  chiefs  met  in  council  on  the  green  of  Tara 
in  the  open  air  ;  but  if  the  weather  were  inclement  then  the 
meeting  was  held  indoors,  and  most  likely  in  the  great  ban- 
quetting  hall,  which  was  the  largest  building  in  Tara.  Its 
object  was  to  discuss  all  matters  of  national  importance, 
especially  the  enactment  of  new  laws,  the  assessment  of 
tribute,  the  examination  and  purification  of  the  national 
annals,  the  settlement  of  tribal  disputes,  and  the  mainten- 
ance of  a  militia  for  the  preservation  of  the  peace  and  the 
protection  of  the  nation.  All  broils  between  individuals  or 
factions  during  its  sessions  were  punishable  with  death, 
without  the  option  of  an  eric,  and  it  would  seem  that  it 
was  forbidden  to  bear  deadly  weapons,  or  engage  in  martial 
exercises,  lest  they  might  lead  to  strife  amongst  the 
champions.  The  place  of  every  king  and  chief  was  fixed  by 
the  public  heralds  with  the  greatest  exactness,  and  his  arms 
and  shield  hung  above  the  head  of  the  chieftain,  but  were  not 
worn  in  the  hall.  When  the  day's  work  was  done  the  revels 
were  begun,  the  feasting  and  drinking  being  often  prolonged 
to  a  late  hour  of  the  night ;  and  they  sometimes  found  it  con- 
venient to  sleep  beneath  the  couches  on  which  they  sat. 

The  next  famous  reign  in  connection  with  the  history  of 
Tara  is  that  of  Tuathal  Teachtmar.  In  connection  with 
Tara  his  most  important  proceeding  was  to  take  a  portion 
from  each  of  the  old  provinces  to  form  a  mensal  kingdom 
for  the  high-king.  These  united  together  formed  the  new 
province  of  Meath,  which  henceforth  was  reserved  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  royal  court  and  royal  levies  of  the  high- 
king.  The  ancient  Feis  of  Tara  was  preserved  ;  but  Tuathal 
directed  that  yearly  assemblies  should  be  held  in  each 
of  the  four  parts  of  his  dominions  taken  from  the  other  pro- 
vinces. So  he  ordained  that  at  Tlachta,  near  Athboy,  a 
religious  festival  should  be  held  at  Beltane;  that  a  great  fair 
should  be  held  at  Usnach  about  mid-summer;  and  that  a 
marriage-market,  with  sports  and  games,  should  be  estab- 
lished at  Taillteann  on  the  first  Sunday  of  August,  called  in 
consequence  Lugnasa ;  but  this  latter  was  probably  of  far 


104  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

earlier  origin.  He  also  required  an  oath  from  the  kings  and 
chiefs  assembled  at  the  Feis  Tara,  that  they  would  be  loyal  to 
his  house  for  ever,  and  never  set  up  a  king  from  the  Attacots, 
or  even  from  any  rival  house.  These  were  all  just  and  wise 
regulations,  which  tended  to  concentrate  and  consolidate 
the  royal  authority  over  the  whole  nation  in  a  single  royal 
family — a  thing  greatly  needed  and  much  to  be  desired  in 
Erin.  But  he  was  also  partly  responsible  for  another  insti- 
tution, which  caused  much  bloodshed  in  Tara  and  much 
strife  in  Erin  for  many  centuries,  and  contributed  long  after- 
wards, at  least  indirectly,  to  bring  it  under  foreign  domina- 
tion. This  was  the  establishment  of  the  celebrated 
Borrumean  Tribute. 

IV.   ORIGIN  OF  THE  BORRUMEAN   TRIBUTE 

It  arose  in  this  way.  Tuathal  had  two  daughters  '  more 
beautiful  than  the  clouds  of  heaven,'  The  King  of  Leinster 
sought  the  eldest  in  marriage,  and  obtained  his  request ;  but 
after  a  while  he  heard  that  the  younger  was  the  more  beauti- 
ful. So  he  sent  a  false  message  to  Tara,  saying  that  the 
elder  sister  had  died,  and  that  he  now  wished  to  marry  her 
younger  sister.  This  request  was  also  granted ;  but  after  a 
little  the  two  sisters  happened  to  meet  face  to  face  in  the 
dun  of  Naas.  Then  the  eldest,  heart-broken  at  the  deceit 
practised  against  herself  and  her  sister,  died  of  shame,  and 
the  younger  shortly  afterwards  died  of  grief  at  the  cruel  fate 
of  her  unhappy  sister. 

Word  of  these  proceedings  was  soon  brought  to  Tara, 
and  to  the  kings  of  Ulster  and  Connaught,  who  were  the 
foster-fathers  of  the  maidens  in  question.  A  great  army 
was  raised;  Leinster  was  harried  with  fire  and  sword;  the 
wicked  king  was  slain;  and  its  princes  and  people  were 
required  to  pay  annually  a  tax  of  1,500  sheep,  1,500  pig?, 
1,500  kine,  with  many  other  things  also  ;  amongst  the  rest, 
a  brazen  boiler  large  enough  to  boil  twelve  oxen  and  twelve 
pigs  at  one  go  for  the  hosts  of  Tara.  For  more  than  five 
hundred  years  this  oppressive  tax  was  the  cause  of  con- 
tinuous bloodshed.  It  was  often  levied,  but  never  without 
a  fight ;  it  was  oftener  successfully  resisted,  but  always 


TARA,   PAGAN   AND   CHRISTIAN  105 

caused  hatred,  strife,  and  slaughter  between  the  two  king- 
doms until  its  final  remission  through  the  prayers  and 
diplomacy  of  St.  Moling.  One  enduring  effect  it  produced 
was  a  great  estrangement  between  the  men  of  Leinster  and 
Conn's  Half,  which  was  not  without  its  influence  in  induc- 
ing the  Lagenians  to  side  with  the  Danes  at  Clontarf,  and 
at  a  later  date  in  moving  false  Diarmaid  MacMurrough  to 
bring  in  the  Norman,  in  order  to  be  revenged  on  his  own 
countrymen.  Such  are  the  far-reaching  consequences  of 
public  crime  and  injustice. 

V.    COEMAC   MAC   ART 

One  hundred  and  twenty  years  later  the  majestic  figure 
of  Cormac  Mac  Art  is  seen  on  Tara  Hill ;  and  Tara  never  saw 
another  king  like  him — neither  his  grandsire  Conn,  nor 
Niall  of  the  Hostages,  nor  any  other  pagan  monarch  of 
Ireland.  If  he  had  an  equal  at  all  it  was  Brian  Boru,  who 
may  justly  be  regarded  as  the  greatest  of  the  Christian  kings 
of  Erin,  even  as  Cormac  was  of  the  pagan  kings.  The 
monuments  of  Tara  especially  were  the  creation  and  the 
glory  of  Cormac.  Most  of  its  monuments  were  erected  or 
restored  by  him;  he  appears  as  the  central  figure  in  its 
history,  the  hero  of  its  romantic  tales,  the  guardian  of  its 
glories,  and  the  champion  of  its  prerogatives.  For  forty 
years  he  reigned  in  Tara ;  he  drank  delight  of  battle  with 
his  peers  in  a  hundred  fights;  but  he  was  not  only  king  but  a 
sage,  a  scholar,  and  lawgiver,  whose  works,  at  least  in  outline, 
have  come  to  our  own  times,  and  have  challenged  the 
admiration  of  all  succeeding  ages.  When  he  came  to  die  he 
refused  to  be  laid  with  his  pagan  sires  in  Brugh,  but  told 
them  to  bury  him  at  Rosnaree,  with  his  face  to  the  rising 
sun,  that  the  light  from  the  east  just  dawning  in  his  soul 
might  one  day  light  up  with  its  heavenly  radiance  the  gloom 
of  his  lonely  grave. 

Cormac  appears  first  of  all  as  a  historian  and  chronicler. 
He  it  was  who  assembled  the  chroniclers  of  Ireland,  at 
Tara,  say  the  Four  Masters,  '  and  ordered  them  to  unite 
the  chronicles  of  Ireland  in  one  book  called  the  Psalter  of 
Tara.'  That  great  work  is  no  longer  in  existence;  but 
Cuan  O'Lochan,  a  poet  of  the  tenth  century,  gives  us  a 


106  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

summary  of  its  contents,  which  would  lead  us  to  infer  that 
the  Psalter  of  Tara  was  somewhat  like  the  Psalter  of 
Caskel,  the  contents  of  which  are  embodied  in  the  Book  of 
Rights.  As  a  lawgiver,  Cormac  may  be  regarded  as  the 
original  author  of  the  great  compilation  known  as  the 
Senchus  Mor,  of  course  not  in  its  present  form  ;  but  he  laid 
the  foundations  on  which  that  immense  superstructure  was 
afterwards  erected.  And  it  is  not  improbable  that  in  the 
text,  as  distinguished  from  the  commentary  of  the  older 
work,  we  have  many  of  the  legal  dicta  uttered,  if  not 
penned,  by  Cormac  himself. 

The  learned  work  known  as  Teigasc  na  Eiogli  has  also 
been  attributed  to  Cormac  by  our  antiquaries,  who  say  that 
he  composed  it  for  the  instruction  of  his  son  and  successor, 
Cairbre,  when  he  himself  was  incapacitated  to  reign  from  the 
loss  of  one  of  his  eyes.  He  was  equally  renowned  as  a 
warrior,  and  broke  fifty  battles  against  his  foes,  north, 
south,  east,  and  west.  He  was  the  great  patron  of  Finn 
MacCumhal  and  his  warrior  band,  who  really  composed  his 
staff  and  standing  army ;  and  to  secure  the  friendship  of  that 
great  warrior  Finn,  Cormac  gave  him  his  daughter  Graine 
in  marriage.  The  lady,  however,  was  by  no  means  faithful 
to  her  liege  lord,  and  her  elopement  and  wanderings  with 
Diarmaid  formed  the  theme  of  many  a  song.  Cormac  was 
also  a  great  builder.  He  erected  the  rath,  which  still  bears 
his  name  at  Tara;  he  restored  and  enlarged  the  great 
banquet  hall ;  he  erected  for  his  handmaiden  Carnaid, 
the  first  mill  known  in  Ireland,  and  thus  made  Tara  the 
great  capital  of  all  the  land — the  centre  of  its  strength,  its 
power,  its  grandeur,  and  its  civilization.  An  ancient  writer 
has  preserved  a  picture  of  Cormac  presiding  at  the  feis  of 
Tara,  which  we  have  no  reason  to  think  exaggerated.1  He 
describes  Tara  as  a  beautiful  sunny  city  of  feasts,  of  goblets, 
of  springs,  as  a  world  of  perishable  beauty,  the  meeting- 
place  of  heroes,  with  twice  seven  doors  and  nine  mounds 
around  it,  a  famous  strong  cathair,  the  great  house  of  a 
thousand  soldiers,  lit  up  with  seven  splendid,  beautiful 
chandeliers  of  brass.  Cormac  himself  sat  at  the  head  of  all 

1  Kenneth  0'  Hartigan. 


TARA,  PAGAN   AND   CHRISTIAN  107 

the  princes  of  Erin,  clothed  in  a  crimson  mantle,  with  brooch 
of  gold,  a  golden  belt  about  his  loins,  splendid  shining 
sandals  on  his  feet,  a  great  twisted  collar  of  red  gold 
around  his  neck.  We  might  well  doubt  the  accuracy  of  this 
description,  but  that  the  twisted  collars  of  gold  have  been 
found  at  Tara,  and  a  golden  brooch  of  exquisite  workman- 
ship, with  many  other  ornaments  -not  far  off.  Cormac  was 
a  Connaught-inan  ;  at  least,  his  mother  was  a  Connaught- 
woman  ;  and  he  himself  was  born  and  nurtured  under  the 
shadow  of  Kesh  Corran,  in  the  county  of  Sligo. 

VI.    ST.  PATKICK   AT   TAB  A 

Cormac  was  the  link  connecting  Pagan  and  Christian 
Ireland.  The  next  scene  on  the  Hill  of  Tara  brings  the  two 
religions  face  to  face  in  the  person  of  St.  Patrick  and  the 
Druids  of  King  Laeghaire.  My  description  of  this  meeting 
must  be  very  brief,  yet  it  was  the  most  momentous  event 
that  ever  took  place  in  the  history  of  Ireland,  for  it  was  a 
struggle  to  the  death  between  the  old  religion  and  the  new. 

Here  let  me  observe  that  Druidism  was  not  an  immoral 
and  debasing  superstition,  such,  for  instance  as  now  may  be 
seen  in  many  parts  of  Africa.  It  taught  the  immortality,  or 
at  least  the  transmigration,  of  souls,  it  inculcated  the  necessity 
of  many  natural  virtues;  and,  though  it  was  idolatrous  and 
tolerant  of  fratricidal  strife,  its  very  superstitions  were 
romantic,  for  it  deified  all  nature.  Hence  the  cult,  as  a  whole, 
was  very  dear  to  the  hearts  of  our  Celtic  forefathers,  and 
was  closely  interwoven  with  their  national  life.  As  McGee 
has  well  said  of  the  Druids  : — 

Their  mystic  creed  was  woven  round 

The  changeful  year — for  every  hour 
A  spirit  and  a  sense  they  found 

A  cause  of  piety  and  power, 
The  crystal  wells  were  spirit  springs, 

The  mountain  lakes  were  peopled  under, 
And  in  the  grass  the  fairy  rings 
Excelled  rustic  awe  and  wonder. 

Far  down  beneath  the  western  sea 
Their  Paradise  of  youth  was  laid, 

In  every  oak  and  hazel  tree 
They  saw  a  fair  immortal  maid, — 

Such  was  the  chain  of  hopes  and  fears 
That  bound  our  sires  a  thousand  years. 


108  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

The  battle  then  between  Patrick  and  the  Druids  was  a 
battle  to  the  death;  and  the  saint  could  not  conquer  without 
visible  help  from  on  high.  There  are  critics  that  accept  the 
natural  but  reject  the  supernatural  facts  in  the  narrative. 
The  testimony  for  both  is  precisely  the  same  ;  so  their 
proceeding  is  extremely  foolish;  That  Patrick  could  con- 
quer the  Druids  on  Tara  Hill  without  a  miracle,  would, 
in  my  judgment,  be  a  stranger  thing  than  any  miracle  he 
wrought  there. 

It  was  Easter  Sunday  morning,  A.D.  433.  Laeghaire 
with  the  remnant  of  his  followers  had  returned  at  dawn  of  day 
from  his  disastrous  journey  to  Slane.  He  and  his  chiefs 
and  Druids  were  gathered  together  to  take  a  meal  they 
needed  much  in  the  great  mid-court  or  banquet-hall,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  take  counsel  for  the  future,  when  suddenly 
and  unexpectedly,  although  not  uninvited,  Patrick  with  his 
few  companions  having  divinely  escaped  the  ambushes  of  the 
king,  stood  before  them.  Laeghaire  was  confounded  at  the 
sight,  but  the  laws  of  Irish  hospitality  were  imperative,  and 
being  there,  Patrick  was  invited  to  sit  beside  the  king,  and 
eat  and  drink.  Patrick  accepted  the  invitation;  but  just  before 
he  took  the  cup  the  wicked  Druid  found  time  to  pour  in  a 
drop  of  poison  unnoticed  into  the  ale.  Patrick  blessed  the 
cup  with  the  sign  of  the  cross;  the  poison  curdled,  and  when 
the  cup  was  slightly  turned  fell  out  ;  whereupon  the  Saint 
drained  the  cup  as  if  nothing  had  happened. 

Failing  in  this,  the  Druid  challenged  him  to  work 
wonders.  Patrick  accepted  the  challenge,  and  the  Druid 
brought  a  fall  of  snow  on  the  plain,  but  he  could  not  remove 
it :  he  was  powerful  for  evil,  but  not  for  good ;  whereupon 
Patrick  blessed  the  plain,  and  the  snow  instantly  disappeared. 
Then  the  Druid  brought  on  a  thick  darkness  over  all  the  face 
of  the  country,  yet  he  could  not  at  Patrick's  challenge 
remove  it.  But  the  moment  the  saint  made  the  sign  of  the 
cross  the  darkness  disappeared,  and  the  sun  shone  out  in  its 
splendour.  Still  the  contest  was  not  yet  over. 

Both  sides  had  books — books  of  power — the  Gospel  of 
Patrick,  and  the  magic  rolls  of  the  Druids.  'Fling  them  into 
the  water,'  said  Laeghaire, '  into  the  stream  close  by,  that  we 


TARA,   PAGAN   AND   CHRISTIAN  109 

may  see  which  comes  out  uninjured.'  '  No,'  said  the  Druid, 
'  water  is  his  God.'  '  Then  cast  them  into  the  fire,'  said 
Laeghaire.  '  No,'  said  the  Druid,  '  fire  he  has  also  for  his 
God,'  alluding  to  the  fire  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Then  said 
Patrick  to  the  Druid:  'Let  the  matter  be  settled  in  another 
way.  Let  a  house  be  made,  and  do  thou,  if  thou  wilt,  go 
into  that  house,  which  shall  be  completely  shut  up,  with  my 
chasuble  around  thee,  a  cleric  of  my  household  will  also  go 
in  with  thy  Druid's  tunic  around  him.  Let  the  house  be 
fired ;  and  so  may  God  deal  doom  on  you  both  therein.' 

The  men  of  Ireland  thought  that  a  fair  challenge,  and  it 
was  reluctantly  accepted';  yet  even  there  Laeghaire  was  false, 
for  he  caused  the  Druid's  part  of  the  house  to  be  built  of 
green  timber,  and  Benen's  part  to  be  built  of  dry  wood. 
Then  a  mighty  marvel  came  to  pass  when  the  house  was 
fired;  the  green  part  thereof  was  burned,  and  the  Druid 
within  it  too,  although  Patrick's  chasuble  in  which  he  was 
clothed  was  not  even  singed;  whilst  Benen's  part  of  the 
house  though  dry  was  not  burned  at  all,  only  the  Druid's 
cloak  around  him  was  burnt  to  ashes,  he  himself  being 
untouched  by  the  flames. 

The  site  of  Benen's  house  is  still  shown  on  the  hill.  The 
wicked  king  enraged  at  the  death  of  his  Druid  would  slay 
Patrick,  but  God  scattered  his  men,  and  destroyed  many 
thousands  of  them  on  that  day.  Then  the  king  himself  was 
sore  afraid,  and  he  knelt  to  St.  Patrick,  and  believed  in  God ; 
'  but  he  did  not  believe  with  a  pure  heart,'  and  continued  to 
be  half  a  Pagan  all  his  life,  and  he  died  a  Pagan's  death,  and 
was  buried  like  a  Pagan  in  his  grave.  Many  thousands  of 
the  king's  people  also  believed  on  that  same  day,  when  they 
saw  the  wondrous  signs  wrought  by  Patrick  on  the  Kcyal 
Hill. 

This  was  the  crowning  victory  of  the  Cross  at  Tara ;  but 
it  had  for  a  thousand  years  been  the  chief  seat  of  idolatry 
and  druidism  in  the  kingdom,  and  the  same  spirit  lurked 
there  long  afterwards. 

Oilioll  Molt,  the  immediate  successor  of  Laeghaire,  does 
not  seem  to  have  been  a  Christian ;  Laeghaire's  son, 
Lughaidh,  who  reigned  for  twenty-five  years  towards  the 


110  THE  IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

close  of  Patrick's  life,  was  not  a  Christian,  and  was  struck 
by  lightning  from  heaven  at  Achadh-Farcha  for  his  impiety. 
Draidism  was  not  indeed  finally  destroyed  at  Tara  until  the 
year  A.D.  565,  when  another  memorable  scene  was  enacted 
on  the  Koyal  Hill  to  which  we  must  now  briefly  refer. 

VII.    THE    CUESING  OF   TARA 

The  high-king  at  the  time  was  Diarmaid,  son  of 
Ferghus  Cearrbhoil,  an  able  and  accomplished  prince,  who 
was  resolved  to  maintain  the  king's  peace,  order,  and 
discipline,  throughout  the  land.  His  purpose  was  certainly 
good ;  and  it  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  in  enforcing  his 
authority  he  acted  in  a  very  high-handed  way,  which  brought 
him  into  conflict  with  the  saints  of  Erin  who  triumphed 
over  him. 

In  the  first  place  there  is  strong  evidence  that  Diarmaid, 
though  generous  to  Clonmacnoise,  kept  Druids  in  his 
court  and  army,  and  was  still  secretly  attached  to  the 
druidical  rites.  Then,  again,  he  was  high-handed  in 
carrying  out  his  laws,  without  counting  the  consequences. 
This  led  him  into  conflict  with  his  own  cousin,  the  great 
St.  Columcille,  whose  person  he  insulted  at  Tara  by  tearing 
from  his  arms  a  youth  who  fled  for  refuge  to  the  saint  and 
who  was  not  really  a  criminal,  but,  accidently,  a  homicide. 
This  outrage  raised  all  the  north  against  the  king,  and  led 
to  his  defeat  in  the  bloody  battle  of  Cuildreimhne  ;  but  this 
was  not,  it  seems,  warning  enough  for  him.  He  sent  his 
herald  and  his  high  steward  over  the  country  to  see  that  the 
king's  peace  was  duly  kept  and  the  royal  authority  duly 
respected.  This  official,  to  show  his  own  consequence, 
carried  his  spear  cross-wise  before  him  ;  and  if  the  entrance 
to  a  chief's  dun  were  not  large  enough  to  admit  his  spear 
thus  crossed  before  him,  he  caused  it  to  be  pulled  down,  and 
made  wider  for  the  king's  courier  and  for  all  others.  In  this 
manner  he  came  down  to  the  south  of  the  Co.  Galway,  near 
the  place  now  called  Abbey,  in  Kinelfechin.  The  chief  of 
the  district  who  was  going  to  get  married  and  bring  home 
his  bride,  had  a  short  time  before  strengthened  his  dun,  and 
raised  a  strong  palisade  of  oaken  posts  over  the  earthworks. 


TARA,  PAGAN  AND  CHRISTIAN  111 

But  for  security  sake,  the  entrance  was  narrow,  and  the 
king's  bailiff  could  not  carry  in  his  spear  cross-wise.  '  Hew 
down  your  doors,'  said  the  bailiff.  '  Do  it  yourself,'  said 
Aedh  Guaire,  and  at  the  same  moment  he  drew  his  sword 
and  with  one  blow  struck  off  the  man's  head.  It  was 
treason  against  the  king,  and  Guaire  knew  it  well,  so  he  fled 
for  refuge,  first  to  Bishop  Senach  his  half-brother,  and  after- 
wards to  St.  Euadhan  of  Lorrha,  who  was  also  his  relative. 
But  Kuadhan  also  feared  the  king,  and  advised  the  criminal 
to  fly  for  safety  to  the  King  of  Wales.  But,  even  there,  the 
king  demanded  his  extradition  ;  so  that,  in  despair,  he  came 
once  more  to  Kuadhan.  Then  Euadhan  hid  him  in  a  hole 
under  his  own  cell,  afterwards  called  poll  Euadhan.  Where- 
upon the  king,  hearing  that  Guaire  was  at  Lorrha,  came  in 
person  to  demand  the  criminal.  '  Where  is  he  ?'  said  the  king. 
'  Give  him  up  to  me  at  once.'  '  I  know  not  where  he  is  if  he 
is  not  under  this  thatch,'  said  Euadhan.  As  the  king  could 
not  find  him,  he  departed ;  but  reflecting  that  Euadhan 
would  not  tell  a  lie,  and  that  he  must  therefore  be  on  the 
premises,  he  returned  and  discovered  the  unhappy  fugitive 
whom  he  carried  off  to  Tara. 

Now,  this  was  a  violation  of  the  right  of  sanctuary,  ie., 
monastic  sanctuary,  which,  if  it  were  ever  defensible,  would 
be  most  defensible  in  that  lawless  and  sanguinary  time.  So 
Euadhan,  summoning  to  his  aid  the  two  St.  Brendans,  his 
neighbours,  and  many  other  saints  whom  he  had  known  at 
Clonard,  in  the  school  of  St.  Finnian,  followed  the  king  to 
Tara  to  demand  the  fugitives.  The  king  refused  ;  but  they 
were  not  to  be  put  off.  They  fasted  on  the  king,  and  it 
seems  the  king  fasted  on  them.  One  old  chronicler  says 
that  for  a  full  year  '  they  anathematized  Diarmaid,  and 
plied  him  with  miracles,  he  giving  them  back  prodigy  for 
prodigy.'  This  would  seem  to  imply  that  there  was  once 
more  a  conflict  between  the  Druids  and  the  Saints.  But  in 
the  end  the  Saints  were  completely  victorious.  '  They 
chanted  psalms  of  condemnation  against  him,  and  rang 
their  bells  hardly  against  him  day  and  night ; '  and  several 
of  the  royal  youths  of  Tara  died  suddenly,  without 
apparent  cause.  The  king,  too,  had  a  dream,  in  which  he 


112  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

saw  a  great  spreading  tree  on  Tara  Hill  hewn  down  by 
strangers,  and  the  mighty  crash  of  its  fall  awoke  him.  '  I 
am  that  tree,'  said  Diarmaid,  '  and  the  strangers  who  chop 
it  are  the  clergy  cutting  short  my  life.  By  them  I  am  over- 
thrown.' So  when  he  rose  he  yielded  to  the  clergy,  and 
gave  up  the  prisoner  ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  he  said  :  '  111 
have  ye  done  to  undo  my  kingdom,  for  I  maintained  the 
righteous  cause  ;  and  may  thy  diocese,'  he  said  to  Ruadhan, 
'  be  the  first  one  that  is  ruined  in  Ireland,  and  may  thy 
monks  desert  thee.'  And  so,  says  the  old  tale,  it  came  to 
pass.  Then  upon  the  royal  hearth  Ruadhan  imprecated 
the  blackness  of  ruin — '  that  never  more  in  Tara  should 
smoke  issue  from  its  roof-tree.'  This  certainly  came  to 
pass ;  the  king  died  a  violent  death  before  the  year  was 
over ;  and  no  king  after  him,  though  they  were  called  kings 
of  Tara,  ever  dwelt  on  the  Royal  Hill. 

This,  in  substance  at  least,  is  authentic  history ;  but  it  is 
clear  that  there  is  more  beneath  this  story  than  appears  at 
first  sight.  The  conflict  really  was  not  between  the  king 
and  the  saints  so  much  as  between  the  saints  and  his 
counsellors,  the  Druids  ;  and  it  was  for  that  reason  that  the 
king  was  excommunicated,  and  that  Tara  was  '  cursed,'  or 
interdicted.  Yet  we  cannot  help  feeling  some  sympathy  for 
the  king,  and  greatly  regretting  that  '  never  more  in  Tara 
should  smoke  issue  from  its  roof-tree.'  The  curse  has  been 
marvellously  accomplished  ;  but  what  a  pity  that  the  home 
of  a  hundred  kings,  the  royal  house  of  Tuathal,  and  Cormac, 
and  Niall  should  be  desolate  j1  that  the  grass  'should 
grow  in  its  empty  courts  ;  that  the  cattle  should  herd  where 
the  sages  and  warriors  of  the  Gael  once  held  high  revel.  It 
is  surely  a  sad  thing,  and  it  was,  moreover,  a  fatal  blow  at 
the  unity  and  power  of  the  nation.  With  a  high-king 
ruling  in  Tara  there  was  some  chance  of  welding  the  tribes 
of  Erin  into  one  great  nation ;  but  when  Tara  fell  it  might 
be  said  that  hope  had  disappeared. 

Yet,  though  Tara  was  deserted  by  its  kings,  for  none  of 
them  would  risk  the  penalty  of  dwelling  in  the  accursed  site, 

1  Even  the  author  of  fiacc's  Hymn  said :  '  I  like  not  that  Tara  should  be 
made  desolate.' 


113 


it  was  later  on  chosen  by  St.  Adamnan  and  others  as  a  place 
to  hold  great  ecclesiastical  synods.  It  may  be  that  Adamnan, 
wiser  than  Euadhan,  wished  to  undo  the  ancient  curse,  and 
prepare  Tara  to  become  once  more  the  seat  of  the  monarchy. 
He  certainly  held  a  synod  there  of  the  prelates  and  chiefs 
of  Erin,  about  the  year  697,  in  which  women  were  formally 
and  authoritatively  exempted  from  military  service ;  so  that 
they  became  non-combatants,  entitled  to  the  protection  of 
all  true  Christian  soldiers  on  either  side. 

VIII.   THE  EXISTING  REMAINS  AT   TARA 

The  remains  still  existing  at  Tara,  seen  in  the  light  o( 
the  lamp  of  history,  are  eminently  interesting,  and  well 
worthy  of  a  visit.  I  wish  I  had  a  luminous  map  on  which  I 
could  exhibit  them  to  you ;  but,  failing  that,  I  shall  try  to 
describe  them  as  briefly  as  I  can. 

Now,  suppose  you  approach  the  Koyal  Hill  by  the  great 
road  from  the  south,  anciently  called  Slighe  Dala,  and  still 
in  existence,  at  least  on  the  same  lines,  you  turn  a  little  to 
the  left  at  the  southern  slope  of  the  hill,  .and  first  of  all  you 
meet  the  triple  rampart  of  Bath  Laeghaire.  It  may  have 
been  the  private  residence  of  the  king  ;  but  its  chief  interest 
for  us  is  that  its  outer  rampart  was  certainly  the  burial-place 
of  the  king  himself.  Laeghaire  had  in  his  character  some 
traits  which  we-. cannot  help  admiring — bad  traits,  if  you 
will,  but  still  noteworthy.  He  was,  above  all,  a  steadfast 
Pagan,  and  a  great  hater  of  Leinsterrnen.  '  I  cannot 
believe,'  he  said,  '  for  my  father,  the  great  Niall,  would  not 
allow  me  to  believe,  but  told  me  to  have  myself  buried  like 
a  Pagan  warrior  on  the  brow  of  Tara,  face  to  face  against 
my  foes ;  and  so  shall  I  stand  till  the  day  of  doom.' 

Well,  he  obeyed  his  sire.  He  had  sworn  a  great  Pagan 
oath,  by  all  the  elements,  that  he  would  no  more  exact  the 
Borrumean  tribute  from  the  men  of  Leirister,  and  he  was 
released  by  them  from  captivity  on  the  faith  of  his  oath. 
But  he  did  try  to  exact  it,  and  he  was  slam  by  the  elements — 
by  the  sun  and  wind — on  the  banks  of  Liifey.  But  the 
dying  king  was  still  true  to  his  promise  to  his  father.  '  Carry 
my  body  home  to  Tara,'  he  said,  '  and  bury  me  like  a  king.' 

VOL.  III.  H 


Ill  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

And  so  they  interred  him,  with  all  his  weapons  upon  him,  in 
the  south-eastern  rampart  of  his  own  royal  rath,  standing  up 
with  shield  and  spear,  and  his  face  to  Leinster,  defying 
them,  as  it  were,  from  his  grave  until  the  day  of  doom.  I 
wonder  is  he  still  there,  or  did  they  do  to  him  what  the  men 
of  Tir  Conall  did  to  another  old  hero  who  gave  similar  direc- 
tions— carry  him  off  by  night  from  his  royal  grave,  and  bury 
him  flat  in  a  marsh  with  his  face  down,  that  he  might  no 
more  fight  from  his  grave  against  his  hereditary  foes.  At 
any  rate,  when  Monsignor  Gargan  brings  you  to  Tara  do 
not  miss  Bath  Laeghaire,  and  carefully  examine  its  south- 
eastern rampart. 

Now,  leaving  Rath  Laeghaire,  continue  due  north  about 
one  hundred  paces,  and  you  come  to  the  outer  rampart  of 
Eath  na  Biogh — where  it  was  rather — for  much  of  it  has 
been  carried  away.  "Within  this  outer  rampart  were  all  the 
most  ancient  monuments  of  Tara.  It  was  also  called 
Cathair  Crofinn  from  the  Tuatha  de  Danann  Queen;  and  most 
likely  contains  her  grave.  A  little  to  the  right  within  this 
great  inclosure  on  the  east  was  '  Cormac's  House,'  the 
palace  which  he  built  for  himself,  where  he  dwelt,  and 
which  was  the  scene  of  his  glories.  It  had,  at  least,  a  double 
rampart  round  it  to  separate  the  palace  from  the  other 
buildings  of  the  Koyal  City ;  and  was  of  considerable  extent. 
Further  on,  only  a  few  paces,  was  the  Farradh  or  Hall  of 
Meeting;  the  word  also  means  a  seat,  and  doubtless 
signified  the  place  of  the  royal  seat  or  throne,  where  the 
kings  and  chiefs  of  Erin  assembled  in  council  round  the 
monarch.  Then  beyond  the  Farradh,  still  to  the  north,  we 
find  on  the  right  or  east  side  the  Mound  of  the  Hostages — 
Dumha-na-Giall — where  the  royal  hostages  were  kept  some- 
times in  fetters  of  gold  to  indicate  their  quality,  but  fettered 
all  the  same,  for  otherwise  the  light-limbed  youths  in 
bondage  would  soon  clear  the  ramparts  of  Tara,  and  make 
their  way  to  their  distant  homes.  On  the  left,  but  close  by, 
was  the  site  of  the  famous  Lia  Fail,  or  Stone  of  Destiny.  I 
have  already  indicated  that  there  is  a  great  controversy 
about  the  identity  of  this  stone,  and  I  have  signified  my  own 
opinion.  This  stone  never  could  have  served  the  purpose  of  an 


TARA,  PAGAN   AND   CHRISTIAN  115 

inauguration- stone ;  for  it  is  a  true  pillar-stone,  and  the  king- 
elect  could  not  be  expected  to  stand  upon  it.  The  Lia  Fail, 
we  are  told,  was  the  stone  on  which  the  kings  were 
inaugurated,  and  on  which  they  planted  their  feet  in  symbol 
of  sovereignty.  Then,  if  the  prince  were  of  true  royal  line, 
the  stone  bellowed  loudly  to  signify  approval,  otherwise  it 
was  dumb.  This  stone,  we  are  told,  was  taken  over  to 
Scotland  by  Fergus  Mor  MacEarc,  a  brother  of  the  high- 
king  of  Tara  at  that  time,  the  beginning  of  the  sixth 
century,  that  he  might  be  inaugurated  on  this  ancestral 
stone  as  king  of  the  Scottish  Dalriada.  It  was  taken  from 
Scone,  it  is  said,  in  the  time  of  Edward  I.,  and  is  now  under 
the  coronation  chair  in  Westminster  Abbey.  Petrie's  chief 
objection  to  this  story  is  two-fold — first,  that  we  have  no 
reference  to  this  translation  in  our  ancient  annals;  and, 
secondly,  that  the  Milesian  chiefs  would  never  allow  the 
stone  to  be  carried  out  of  the  kingdom. 

Well,  in  reply  to  the  last  point  we  can  only  say  that  most 
likely  one  brother  lent  the  stone  secretly  to  the  other 
without  consulting  his  chiefs;  and  the  same  thing  would 
account  for  the  silence  of  the  Irish  annalists.  It  is  not 
recorded  in  the  annals  of  the  nation.  The  story  of  the 
translation  came  from  Scotland,  and  is  told  only  by  our  later 
antiquaries.  It  is  a  question,  though  very  interesting,  not 
yet  by  any  means  settled. 

Outside  Bath  na  Riogh,  to  the  north-east,  was  the  well 
Neamhnach,  which  still  flows  away  to  the  north-east.  It  is 
chiefly  interesting  as  the  site  of  the  first  corn  mill  ever 
erected  in  Ireland.  Cormac  had  a  beautiful  handmaiden, 
a  bondswoman  called  Carnaid,  whose  duty  it  was  to  grind 
the  corn  on  the  hand  quern.  He  pitied  the  hard  toil  of  the 
maiden,  and  having  got  some  idea  of  water  mills  during  his 
foreign  wars,  he  erected  this  to  lighten  the  labour  of  the 
maiden.  The  well  still  flows,  and  until  quite  recently  we 
believe  its  waters  turned  a  mill  at  Tara. 

Beyond  the  outer  rampart  of  Rath  na  Riogh,  still  north- 
ward, was  the  Rath  of  the  Synods — Rath  Seanadh — where 
Adamnan,  and  Patrick  before  him,  held  a  synod  of  the  clerics 
and  chiefs  of  Erin.  It  has  been  practically  defaced  by  the 


116  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

wall  of  the  Protestant  Church,  a  recent  structure,  wholly  out 
of  place  on  such  a  site. 

Just  a  little  north-east  of  this  point,  between  the 
Eath  of  the  Synods,  and  the  southern  extremity  of  the 
banquet-hall,  on  the  very  summit  of  the  hill,  the  five 
great  roads  that  led  to  Tara  had  their  meeting-point. 
They  can  still  to  some  extent  be  traced  from  the  crown 
of  Tara  radiating  in  all  directions.  It  is  said  that  they 
were  discovered  on  the  night  that  the  great  Conn  was 
born  ;  but  probably  it  merely  means  that  his  father,  who 
had  finished  their  construction,  declared  them  formally 
open  in  honour  of  that  event.  I  cannot  now  describe  them 
at  length,  but  it  may  be  said  that  in  general  they  ran  in  the 
route  of  the  modern  trunk  lines  of  railway  to  all  parts  of 
ancient  Erin. 

Just  beyond  the  Eath  of  the  Synods  still  going  to  the 
north,  we  find  the  great  Teach-Miodhcuarta,  the  mid-court 
house,  or  the  mead-circling  house,  as  others  have  translated 
it,  by  far  the  most  interesting  of  all  the  existing  monuments 
of  ancient  Tara.  Its  site  can  still  be  distinctly  traced  from 
north  to  south,  and  the  measurements  correspond  with  the 
accounts  of  the  building  given  in  our  ancient  books.  It  was 
no  less  than  eight  hundred  feet  in  length,  and  from  sixty  to 
eighty  feet  in  breadth,  with  six  or  seven  great  entrances  on 
either  side.  You  will  at  once  perceive  that  this  was  an 
immense  hall,  larger  than  one  of  the  sides  of  your  largest 
square,  and  capable  of  accommodating  an  immense  number 
of  chiefs  and  warriors,  either  at  meat  or  in  council.  There 
was  a  great  range  of  couches  all  round  the  walls ;  the  tables, 
loaded  with  meat,  were  in  the  centre;  the  lower  portion 
seems  to  have  contained  a  great  kitchen  for  roasting  and 
boiling,  and  we  are  told  that  some  of  the  large  pots  could 
contain  several  beeves  and  pigs  which  were  boiled  together. 
When  the  meal  was  ready  the  attendants  plunged  huge  forks 
into  the  boilers,  which  carried  out  several  joints  at  once  to 
be  deposited  as  they  were,  without  covers  we  may  pre- 
sume, before  the  assembled  kings  and  warriors.  At  that 
time  and  long  after,  knives  and  forks  were  unknown ;  but  I 
have  no  doubt  skeans  and  daggers  were  called  into 


THE   POLICY   OF   CARDINAL   WISEMAN  117 

requisition,  and  perhaps  did  the  work  of  carving  quite  as 
well. 

I  hope  I  have  said  enough  to  awaken  in  you  a  keener 
interest  to  know  for  yourselves  all  about  the  Eoyal  Hill ;  and 
if  so,  then  I  have  gained  my  purpose  in  speaking  before  you 
here  of  '  Tara,  Pagan  and  Christian.' 

»fr  JOHN  HEALY. 


THE   POLICY   OF   CARDINAL   WISEMAN1 

IT  would  be  a  pleasant  occupation  to  deal  with  volumes  so 
full  of  character  and  incident  as  these  in  the  light  of 
literature,  and  to  compare  them  with  some  other  famous 
biographies  of  celebrated  modern  men.  But  my  task  is  not 
so  easy,  nor  the  scope  at  which  I  shall  aim  so  level  to  the 
apprehension  of  those  who  read  while  they  run  their  several 
ways,  and  who  take  up  The  Life  of  Cardinal  Wiseman  for 
their  amusement.  To  me  it  appears  that  Mr.  Ward  has 
raised  a  vital  issue,  not  only  in  his  last  far-reaching  and 
speculative  chapter  on  '  The  Exclusive  Church  and  the 
Zeitgeist,'  but  from  his  very  setting  out.  In  exhibiting 
Cardinal  Wiseman  as  a  preacher,  a  controversialist,  a  ruler, 
and  a  restorer,  he  has  traced  the  lines  upon  which  the  first 
archbishop  of  a  new  Catholic  England  desired  that  the 
movement  of  recovery  should  go  forward ;  he  has  drawn 
out  a  policy,  and  directed  our  attention  to  principles  of  such 
high  importance,  if  we  once  accept  them  as  our  own,  that 
no  ecclesiastical  statesman  or  student,  no  public  writer  in 
the  orthodox  camp,  no  theologian  or  metaphysician,  who 
dreams  of  being  heard  outside  his  college  walls,  can  afford 
to  pass  them  over  in  silence.  If  the  Cardinal  knew  his  age, 
the  methods  which  he  pursued  in  the  hope  of  winning  it 
deserve  our  closest  examination.  Nor  will  they  lose  in 
power  or  persuasiveness,  should  it  be  demonstrable  that  in 

1  The  Life  and  Times  of  Cardinal  Wiseman.     In  two  volumes.     By  Wilfrid 
Ward.     London  and  New  York  :  Longmans,  Green,  and  Co.     1897. 


118  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

following  them,  as  he  did,  through  a  most  varied  and 
enthusiastic  career,  this  great  cosmopolitan  and  father  of 
the  Church  in  our  day  was  one  of  a  number  whose  thoughts 
and  designs  have  at  length  had  the  seal  of  authority  set 
upon  them  by  Pope  Leo  XIII. 

Not  that  we  can  separate  Wiseman  from  his  work,  or 
leave  him  on  one  side  as  a  msre  abstraction,  as  the  name 
we  attach  to  a  system,  and  an  ens  rationis,  after  the  manner 
of  certain  scholastic  pedants  who,  at  their  best,  were  a 
volume  of  impersonal  syllogisms.     The  Irish  heart  of  this 
lonely  and  sensitive  student  was  exceedingly  human.     He 
suffered  much,  and  knew  that  he  suffered.     With  all  his 
ardours,  enterprises,  and  hopes  he  felt  the  need  of  sympathy, 
which    was  often    denied    him,  and  never,  perhaps,  quite 
answered    his    large    expectations.     He   remained   a   shy 
creature,  this    imposing  and  stately  person,  with  his  six 
feet    two    inches   of  height,  his  breadth   and  bigness,  his 
robes,  and  trains,  and  equipage.     He  was  not  in  the  least 
that  dexterous,  self-confident  '  Bishop  Blougram  '  fished  up 
by  a  pattern  Protestant  in  Italy — I  mean  Kobert  Browning 
—from  the  depths  of  his  early  but  unfounded  imaginations 
of  what  a  Roman  cardinal  must  ever  be — no  fool,  but  more 
than  three  parts  knave,  and    wholly   Epicurean.     In  that 
dark  house  of  the  Via  Monserrato  known  as  the  Collegio 
Inglese,  Wiseman  lived  a  curious,  dreamlike  existence,  free 
to  study  as  he  pleased,  wrapt    up   in  Eastern  books  and 
manuscripts,  bent  over  his  Syriac  and  his  Hebrew,  face  to 
face  with  the  sacred  text  so  little  familiar  to  many  of  those 
about  him ;  and  he  went  through  a  trial  of  fire  that  left  its 
mark  upon  his  spirit,  and  must  have  contributed  towards 
the  shaping  of  his  policy  in  later  years.     I  shall  be  allowed 
to  quote  this  pregnant  passage,  in  which  we  find  the  true 
Wiseman,  simple,  as  he  always  was,  loyal  and  candid  ;  a 
witness    to   the    faith  wherein,  if    he  now  had  his  severe 
difficulties,  yet,  even  thus,  he  could  not  be  shaken  :— 

Many  and  many  an  hour  have  I  passed  [he  writes  to  a  nephew, 
in  1848]  alone,  in  bitter  tears,  on  the  loggia  of  the  English 
College,  when  everyone  was  reposing  in  the  afternoon,  and  I  was 
fighting  with  subtle  thoughts  and  venomous  suggestions  of  a 


THE   POLICY   OF   CARDINAL   WISEMAN  119 

fiendlike  infidelity  which  I  durst  not  confide  to  anyone,  for  there 
was  no  one  that  could  have  sympathized  with  me.  This  lasted 
for  years ;  but  it  made  me  study  and  think,  to  conquer  the 
plague — for  I  can  hardly  call  it  a  danger — both  for  myself  and 
others  .  .  .  But  during  the  actual  struggle  the  simple  submission 
of  faith  is  the  only  remedy.  Thoughts  against  faith  must  be 
treated  at  the  time  like  temptations  against  any  other  virtue — • 
put  away — though  in  cooler  moments  they  may  be  safely 
analyzed  and  unravelled. 

In  another  letter  of  1858  he  speaks  with  painful  feeling 
of  these  years  as  '  years  of  solitude,  of  desolation  .  .  .  years 
of^  shattered  nerves,  dread  often  of  instant  insanity,  con- 
sumptive weakness,  of  sleepless  nights  and  weary  days,  and 
hours  of  tears  which  no  one  witnessed.' l 

Remarkable,  surely,  is  this  disclosure  of  a  depth  below 
the  surface  that  his  friends  did  not  imagine,  and  of  expe- 
riences in  which  they  could  not  share.  Wiseman  writes  at 
all  times  with  transparent  sincerity  ;  but  his  too  florid  style, 
which  is  the  Spanish  of  Gongora  or  the  Italian  of  Marini, 
seldom  touches  the  heart.  In  these  brief  and  broken  words 
it  is  piercing.  We  seem  to  hear  the  accents  of  Lamennais  ; 
nor  would  it  be  difficult  to  detect  in  that  sombre  correspon- 
dence of  the  Breton  cries  which  ascend  in  a  like  enthralling 
strain  of  mingled  faith  and  perplexity.  Are  we  astonished 
at  a  resemblance  which  turned  out  to  be  no  sameness  in  the 
sequel  ?  Those,  certainly,  will  be  far  from  taking  scandal 
who  are  much  travelled  in  the  Lives  of  the  Saints,  and 
who  do  not  forget  the  desolate  hours  of  St.  Ignatius  and 
St.  Theresa.  If  any  man  will  be  a  guide  through  the 
Valley  of  the  Shadow  of  Death,  let  him  first  explore  its 
dolorous  ways,  and  taste  that  darkness  which  may  be  felt. 
Nay,  as  the  most  lightsome  of  moderns  has  told  us — and  he, 
perchance,  by  temper  a  real  Epicurean — whoso  has  not 
eaten  his  bread  with  tears,  shall  never  know  the  heavenly 
powers ;  so  true  is  it  that  sorrow  is  the  beginning  of 
wisdom.  To  have  learned  '  patience,  self-reliance,  concen- 
tration,' to  have  been  '  self  -disciplined '  during  a  conflict 

i  Ward,  i.,  pp.  64-65. 


120  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

so  absorbing — this,  the  Cardinal  affirms,  made  him  what  he 
was: — 

Amid  these  trials  [he  continues]  I  wrote  my  Home  Syriacae, 
and  collected  notes  for  the  lectures  '  On  the  Connection  between 
Science  and  Revealed  Religion  '  and  the  '  Eucharist."  Without 
this  training  I  should  never  have  thrown  myself  into  the  Puseyite 
controversy  of  a  later  period. 

The  testimony  is  clear  as  it  is  striking.  To  days  and 
years  of  a  torture  that,  in  Montaigne's  strong  language, 
'  strips  the  man  to  his  shirt,'  that  burns  up  delusions,  and 
shows  in  what  a  fearful  and  mysterious  world  our  lot  is 
cast — to  this  baptism  by  fire,  and  meditation  in  the  wilder- 
ness, we  owe  the  Cardinal  Wiseman  who  met  the  Oxford 
movement  half  way;  who  realized  that  faith  is  a  gift  of 
grace,  and  not  the  fruit  of  controversy ;  who  was  never  self- 
righteous,  or  hard  upon  the  weak  and  feeble ;  and  who 
would  not  quench  the  smoking  flax  which  others  were 
sometimes  tempted  to  trample  into  its  ashes. 

At  his  only  English  school,  Ushaw,  "Wiseman  describes 
himself  as  a  '  lone  unmurmuring  boy,'  dull  and  friendless, 
fond  of  reading,  overlooked  by  superiors,  but  still  not 
unhappy.  The  journey  to  Borne  stirred  his  imagination. 
He  was  one  of  five  students  from  St.  Cuthbert's  who  began 
the  new  career  of  the  Collegio  Inglese,  which  had  been  shut 
up  since  the  French  depredations  of  1798,  and  was  opened 
now  under  Cardinal  Consalvi's  patronage.  From  that  day 
Eome  laid  a  spell  upon  the  young  Irish-Spaniard,  a  lad  of 
sixteen,  more  at  home  always  on  the  Continent  than  he  felt 
himself  to  be  later  on  at  Oscott  or  York-place,  and  hence- 
forth delivered  from  the  narrowing  influences  that  had  given 
something  harsh  and  stern,  as  well  as  an  insular  tone  of 
thought,  to  the  excellent,  stubborn,  old-world  Catholics 
among  whom  he  might  have  continued  to  vegetate  save  for 
this  unexpected  change  of  situation.  He  became  an  absolute 
Roman. 

The  season  was,  in  Europe  at  large,  a  stormy  spring- 
tide. Old  things  were  passing  away;  the  new  were 
putting  forth  buds  of  promise.  A  mighty  reaction  had  set 
in  with  Joseph  de  Maistre,  with  Chateaubriand,  Lamennais, 


THE   POLICY   OF   CARDINAL   WISEMAN  121 

Gorres,    and   the    Schlegels ;    all   of  whom    quickened    the 
Romantic  movement  which  was  looking  to  the  Middle  Age 
for  inspiration,  and  which  saw  in  the  Catholic  Church  a 
majesty  and  a  charm    unapproachable    by   the    sects,   and 
enhanced  by  her  recent  victory  over  Napoleon.     The  grave 
religious  figure  of  Pius  VII.,  a  suffering  saint,  represented 
to  Wiseman  that  beauty  of  holiness,  that  hidden  strength; 
and  he  went  about  Rome,  studying  it  as  an  open  book,  as  the 
visible  and  most  touching  evidence  of  a  Christianity  which 
gloried  in  its  martyrs,  and  offered  sacrifice  in  its  Catacombs, 
and  dedicated  the  ancient  judgment-halls  as  its  basilicas, 
and  took  over  as  its  inheritance  the  arts,  the  literature,  the 
laws,   and  the  imperial  instincts  of  that  earlier  city,   the 
world's  mistress.     Rome  was  an  epitome  of  the  ages,  not 
more  mediaeval  than  modern,  abounding  in  memories  of  the 
Renaissance,  but  mindful  yet  of  St.  Gregory,  of  St.  Callistus, 
of  the  Apostles  themselves.     Who   could    know    its   ways 
intimately  and  not  be  versatile,  as  a  man  that  has  learned 
how  different  is  one  period  from  another,  how  many  are  the 
tongues  in  which  our  faith  is  chanted,  how  obstinate  and 
distinct  are  the  characters   of  those  countless   tribes  that 
come  on  pilgrimage  to  St.  Peter's  ?     The  government  of  a 
Universal  Church  must  be  conciliatory,  else  it  will  fall  into 
endless  disasters.     Schools  of  thought  exist  in  the  unity  of 
the  creed  which  no  Pope  or  Council  would  allow  to  condemn 
or  to  extirpate  their  rivals ;  and  yet  the  Augustinian,  the 
Jesuit,  the  Dominican,  the   Scotist   and  the  Thomist,  the 
Aristotelian  and  the  Platonist,  agree  to  differ  on  points  which 
are  closely  knit   up  with   principles  of  immense   and  vital 
consequence  to  mankind.     Often  the  Church's  decision  has 
been  that  she  will  not  decide ;  she  sets  bounds  to  human 
rashness,  and  she  leaves  a  wide  domain  for  private  explora- 
tion.    She  keeps  a  steady  gaze  on  past  centuries,  suffers 
their  memorials  to  persist  side  by  side,  is  tolerant  of  many 
forms,  takes  her  language   from  the  current   phraseology, 
chooses  rather  than  creates,  is  willing  to  make  the  best  of 
circumstances,  developes  by  selection,  and  is  at  home  with 
Orientals,  Africans,  Byzantines,  Franks,    Normans,  Celts, 
and  Teutons,  indifferent  to  all  their  varieties,  though  neither 


122  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

supercilious  nor  disinterested;  and  she  cares  at  last  for  one 
thing  only, '  the  unity  of  the  spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace.' 

We  shall  never  grasp  Wiseman's  ruling  idea  if  we  fail 
to  understand  this  politic  but  sincere  acquiescence  in  men's 
human  qualities,  so  long  as  they  did  not  run  counter  to  any 
truth  of  Revelation.  He  was  perfectly  tolerant  because  he 
had  learned  to  be  orthodox  in  the  Roman  sense ;  large  with 
the  exquisite  good-nature  and  the  fine  balance  that  belong 
to  a  system  in  which  every  phase  of  history  has  its  assignable 
position.  His  first  impulse  could  never  be  to  anathematize 
a  novel  growth  in  the  world  around  him,  but  to  see  whether 
it  would  not  bear  grafting  on  the  Roman  olive,  and  give  its 
fruit  and  its  richness  to  the  sanctuary.  The  genuine  Roman 
spirit  is  neither  sectarian  nor  syncretist ;  for  it  relies  upon 
a  tradition  that  knows  its  own  ;  and  by  long  practice  it  has 
learned  the  wisdom  of  waiting,  until  light  descends  from  all 
sides  to  illuminate  the  question  at  issue.  In  matters  so 
delicate,  and  as  momentous  as  they  are  full  of  a  perplexing 
subtlety,  haste  is  more  to  be  dreaded  than  the  longest  delays. 
For  submission  to  the  Church's  magisterium  secures  the 
faith  ;  and  it  lies  in  the  nature  of  development  that  contribu- 
tions of  knowledge  will  be  frequently  made  by  those  without. 
All  judgment,  even  that  of  the  unerring  Master,  has  its 
needful  preliminaries,  which,  while  they  are  indispensable, 
cannot  be  forced,  and  will  not  be  anticipated. 

The  distinction  which  we  may  claim  for  Wiseman  is 
that  he  never  lost  sight  of  either  element  in  Church  history. 
Rome  offered  him  as  a  great  series  of  facts  and  institutions, 
of  memories  and  monuments,  the  philosophy  in  visible 
shape  that  to  others,  like  Newman  writing  his  Development 
of  Christian  Doctrine,  or  Mohler  contemplating  systems  of 
grace  and  summing  up  decrees  of  Councils,  was  an  infer- 
ence painfully  to  be  deduced  from  remote  historical  premises. 
He  could  say,  with  his  future  heroine,  St.  Agnes,  '  Ecce, 
quod  concupivi,  jam  video,  quod  speravi,  jam  teneo ; '  what 
proof  was  equal  to  the  vision  that  came  about  him  on  every 
side,  '  in  splendoribus  sanctorum,'  and  that  refreshed  his 
weary  heart  when  difficulties  and  doubts  assailed  him, 
drawn  these,  not  from  the  facts  which  he  beheld,  but  from 


THE   POLICY   OF   CARDINAL   WISEMAN  123 

a  critical  survey  of  problems  darkened  by  their  immeasur- 
able antiquity  and  scribbled  over  with  the  comments  of 
unbelievers  ?  If  Home  were  one  and  the  same  thing  as  the 
Christian  religion,  for  Wiseman  this  lower  sphere  must  have 
been  simply  the  gate  of  heaven.  And  when  his  '  desolate 
years '  came  to  an  end,  when  the  yawning  gulfs  suffered 
him  to  rise  towards  the  light  once  more,  this  Kome  it  was 
which  he  made  the  centre  of  his  preaching.  He  knew  no 
other  Gospel ;  the  touchstone  of  all  good  was  the  Cathedra 
Petri.  How  would  it  affect  the  doctrines,  customs,  prejudices, 
.aspirations,  activities,  of  those  whom  he  was  intended  to 
convince  or  to  govern  ? 

As  a  boy  he  had  seen  something  of  the  old  English 
Catholics.  Now  he  was  making  acquaintance,  as  a  student 
of  Eastern  languages,  a  writer  upon  questions  of  Bible 
scholarship,  a  professor  and  a  preacher  in  the  Borne  of 
Pius  VII.  and  Leo  XII. ,  with  antiquarians,  tourists,  ambas- 
sadors, and  a  mixed  society,  in  which  we  do  not  hear  of 
sceptics  or  German  philosophers.  Wiseman  spoke  and 
wrote  in  many  dialects.  It  was  too  early  for  Westerns  to 
busy  themselves  about  Russian.  And,  well  as  he  had  learnt 
the  speech  of  the  Fatherland,  it  does  not  appear  that  he  was 
deeply  read  in  the  classics  of  Germany.  I  cannot  find  any 
tokens  of  his  intimacy  with  Kant,  or  Hegel,  or  Goethe,  or 
Lessing.  Abstract  metaphysical  studies  had  no  charm  for 
him;  and  St.  Thomas  Aquinas  occupied  but  a  little  space 
in  the  curriculum  of  the  Roman  University  or  the  Apollinare 
of  those  innocent  days.  The  Romantic  Movement,  which 
suffered  a  severe  defeat  towards  the  middle  of  the  century, 
had  attended  to  letters  more  than  to  science  or  systems  of 
pure  thought,  and  its  promise  went  beyond  its  performance. 
Still,  we  must  remark,  how  liberal,  in  comparison  with  the 
Oxford  of  1830,  was  the  interest  which  Wiseman  displayed, 
not  only  in  exegesis  and  in  the  collation  of  Syriac  manu- 
scripts, but  in  physical  science,  in  the  philosophy  of  language, 
and  in  the  movement  of  ideas  throughout  Europe  at  large. 
He  corresponded  with  Tholuck,  Mohler,  and  Dollinger; 
he  was  an  eager  disciple  of  Mai  and  Mezzofanti ;  with 
Lamennais  he  has  recorded  a  most  significant  conversation ; 


124  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

and  his  friendship  at  the  Prussian  Embassy,  when  Bansen 
resided  there,  led  to  his  first  acquaintance  with  Newman. 
Thus  he  had  come  into  contact,  before  his  thirty-second 
year,  with  old  Catholics,  modern  Liberals  of  many  schools, 
orthodox  as  well  as  heterodox,  and  the  Via  Media  of  the 
Church  of  England.  But  the  school  to  which  he  belonged 
himself  was  at  once  Catholic  and  progressive,  bent  on 
reconstruction,  and  much  more  enamoured  of  conciliation 
than  of  controversy. 

Home  was  larger,  as  he  found  by  an  intimate  experience, 
than  Ushaw,  Oxford,  or  Tubingen.  On  returning  to  England, 
in  1835,  he  was  amazed  as  well  as  saddened  by  the  apathy 
of  which  his  Catholic  friends  everywhere  gave  tokens,  in  the 
presence  of  a  new  world  of  ideas  into  which  they  did  not 
care  to  enter.  Like  the  men  in  Plato's  allegory  of  the  cave, 
their  eyes,  so  long  turned  to  darkness,  could  not  endure 
the  fresh  light  that  was  streaming  in  upon  them  out  of  a 
morning  sky.  They  were  a  remnant,  helpless  and  divided. 
They  lagged  behind  the  age;  but  many  of  them  had  lost 
the  brave  old  spirit  of  their  religion — a  hundred  years  or  so, 
since  the  ruin  of  the  Jacobite  cause,  had  inflicted  grievous 
wounds  upon  them, — the  apostasy  of  great  families,  the 
infection  of  free-thinking,  distrust  or  dislike  of  the  Holy 
See,  a  Gallican  gloom  and  rigour,  a  sense  of  total  frustration 
and  unavailing  fatigue.  They  stood  aloof  as  much  almost 
from  Rome  as  from  England.  Their  devout  men,  with 
honourable  exceptions  like  Milner,  had  fallen  upon  methods 
dry  and  harsh,  foreign  as  they  were  now  become  to  the 
Vita  Mystica  which  is  the  heart  and  soul  of  Catholic  piety. 
Good  priests  cried  out  against  the  Litany  of  Loreto,  would 
not  endure  the  devotion  to  the  Sacred  Heart,  and  looked  on 
the  Benediction  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  as  a  strange 
thing.  Pictures,  statues,  processions, — all  the  outward  and 
visible  signs  of  Catholic  grace, — were  abhorrent  to  their 
feeling.  They  showed  the  irritation  and  the  feeble  con- 
tempt of  invalids  for  healthy  enterprise,  which  seemed  to 
them  fraught  with  peril  and  doomed  to  inevitable  failure. 
Comparison  with  a  more  active  form  of  religion  roused 
them  to  bitterness ;  it  was  cruel,  false,  impertinent.  Yet 


THE   POLICY   OF   CARDINAL   WISEMAN  125 

they  could  not  help  feeling  proud  when  Wiseman's  lectures 
at  Moorfields  drew  all  eyes  upon  him,  stirred  the  country 
to  its  depths,  and  announced  a  champion  whose  learning, 
warmth,  and  courage,  lent  a  charm  that  had  long  been 
absent  to  argument  in  this  ancient  quarrel.  They  presented 
addresses,  and  for  the  moment  stood  up  frankly  in  the  open 
air.  But  it  struck  upon  most  of  them  like  a  biting  east 
wind.  As  soon  as  Wiseman  had  gone  back  to  Kome,  they 
retreated  into  their  catacombs. 

And  yet  the  days  were  bringing  on  a  wonderful  change. 
Wiseman  had  set  in  the  forefront  of  the  battle  not  detached 
squadrons  of  arguments  on  a  hundred  points  of  doctrine,  but 
the  one  argument,  which  was,  and  is,  decisive — namely,  that 
there  must  be,  in  matters  of  religion,  a  supreme,  visible, 
historical  authority  as  the  safeguard  and  the  witness  of 
revealed  dogma,  from  which  authority  there  can  be  no 
appeal.  He  had  not  read  De  Maistre  or  talked  with 
Lamennais,  and  failed  to  apprehend  their  governing  prin- 
ciple. Upon  them  that  principle  had  dawned  in  history,  or 
was  the  secret  of  a  universal  philosophy  ;  Wiseman  knew  it 
as  the  city  which  was  eternal,  his  beloved  Rome.  The  new 
Laudians  of  Oxford  were  still  like  men  in  a  dream ;  slowly 
and  intermittently  they  laid  hands  now  on  one  great  Catholic 
truth,  now  on  another,  feeling  about  in  the  visions  of  the 
night  of  antiquity  for  objects  which  appeared  to  them  as  dim 
but  real,  certain  yet  obscurely  visible,  while  in  Rome  these 
very  truths  were  embodied  in  sacred  rites  and  institutions, 
not  open  to  cavil,  nor  asking  any  subtle  ratiocinations,  in 
order  to  be  recognised.  In  the  British  Critic  Newman  con- 
templated the  discourses  at  Moorfields  as  a  triumph  over 
English  divines  whose  principles  were  still  those  of  the 
Reformation.  He  spoke  of  '  Romanism '  as  having  in  it 
truths  '  which  we  of  this  day  have  almost  forgotten,  and  its 
preachers,'  he  said,  '  will  recall  numbers  of  Churchmen  and 
Dissenters  to  an  acknowledgment  of  them.'  Wiseman  was 
sure  to  win  converts,  and  the  Papal  system  would  spread. 
Tract  71  opens  with  the  admission  that  '  the  controversy 
with  Roman  Catholics  has  overtaken  us  like  a  summer's 


126  THE  IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

cloud  ; '  that  '  from  long  security '  no  preparation  had  been 
made  against  it ;  and  that 

The  same  feelings  which  carry  men  now  to  dissent  will  carry 
them  to  Eomanism  ;  novelty  being  an  essential  stimulant  to 
popular  devotion,  and  the  Eoman  system,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
intrinsic  majesty  and  truth  which  remain  in  it  amid  its  corrup- 
tions, abounding  in  this  and  other  stimulants  of  a  most  potent 
and  effective  character.1 

Sorry  comfort  these  sayings  offered  to  the  multitude, 
who  were  not  unwilling  to  be  disciples  of  Laud,  but  who  for 
years  had  thought  of  Home  as  dead  and  buried.  They  spoke 
their  indignation.  Yet  Newman  was  the  witness  of  an 
influence  far  more  concrete  and  actual  than  he  realized  in 
1836.  Not  only  was  the  ^Reformation  victoriously  borne 
down  in  argument ;  the  foundations  of  the  National  Church 
were  undermined. 

A  singular  and  dramatic  episode  followed  upon  this 
engagement  of  distant  artillery  between  the  two  leaders. 
Wiseman  was  made  president  of  Oscott ;  but  in  his  study 
at  Monte  Porzio,  looking  out  towards  delightful  Tusculum 
and  Camaldoli,  he  had  put  together,  piece  by  piece,  the 
elements  of  a  demonstration  which  was  founded  in  the 
fathers'  writings,  yet  by  one  stroke  passed  out  of  folios  and 
planted  itself  alive  in  the  nineteenth  century.  Mr.  Ward 
has  described  the  whole  situation,  in  1839,  with  candour  and 
insight ;  nor  do  I  hesitate  to  say,  and  the  acknowledgment 
is  surely  due  from  those  who  have  read  his  pages,  that  they 
furnish  no  unworthy  supplement,  at  this  critical  turn,  to 
the  Apologia  itself,  which  keeps  in  view  rather  what  was 
occurring  in  England  than  the  general  hopes  and  fears  of 
Christendom.  Abroad,  the  logic  of  the  matter  was  more 
clearly  seen  on  both  sides ;  authority  made  its  claim  against 
the  omnipotence  of  individual  reason  or  Private  Judgment, 
and  Private  Judgment  resisted.  But  there  was  no  confusing 
issue  of  antiquarianism  which  could  masquerade,  though  a 
disembodied  ghost,  in  the  outward  shows  of  an  Establish- 
ment. Keligious  minds  at  Oxford,  haunting  libraries,  lived 

1  Via  Media,  ii.,  pp.  87-91. 


THE   POLICY  OF   CARDINAL   WISEMAN  127 

in  a  realm  of  shadows;  they  opposed  Antiquity  to  Authority, 
never  observing  that  it  is  only  by  the  power  and  prerogative 
of  Authority  now  present  that  Antiquity  does  not  fade  away 
from  the  millions  of  struggling  mortals  who  cannot  be  scholars 
and  whose  life  is  moulded  by  action,  not  by  erudition  or  the 
fathers.  To  bring  this  controversy,  otherwise  interminable, 
to  an  issue,  Antiquity  itself  must  be  made  to  pronounce,  by 
one  regal  sentence,  in  favour  of  Authority  as  its  living  voice. 
The  sentence  was  extant  in  St.  Augustine.  There  had  been 
Anglicans  of  the  fourth  century,  as  there  were  Donatists  of 
the  nineteenth — bishops  and  churches  and  local  usages,  and 
appeals  to  times  past,  exactly  the  same  in  both  provinces, 
Carthage  and  England.  But  St.  Augustine  was  Antiquity ; 
and  he,  the  greatest  of  the  fathers,  had  cut  through  all  these 
questions  with  a  statement  of  simple  fact.  Schism,  he  said, 
was  apostasy ;  and  to  be  divided  from  the  visible  Church 
was  to  be  a  schismatic  :  '  Quapropter  securus  judicat  orbis 
terrarum  bonos  non  esse  qui  se  dividunt  ab  orbe  terrarum, 
in  quacunque  parte  orbis  terrarum.' 1 

These  miraculous  words  pulverized  the  Via  Media,  and  con- 
verted Newman.  But  I  think  it  has  not  been  remarked 
that  '  securus  judicat  orbis  terrarum'  is  the  very  principle  of 
Lamennais,  translated  from  the  region  of  metaphysics — 
where  it  is  capable  of  doing  harm,  and  may  be  so  handled 
as  to  deserve  condemnation — to  the  domain  of  history  and 
revelation.  It  excludes  private  judgment  from  a  subject  in 
which  that  judgment  can  possess  no  a  priori  axioms  or  self- 
evident  intuitions.  The  Gospel  is  a  treasure  confided  to 
divinely-appointed  keepers ;  if  its  home  i&  not  an  historical 
society  from  which  it  cannot  be  lost,  it  will  have  undergone 
the  fate  of  all  previous  and  subsequent  philosophies,  which 
time  and  tide  have  disintegrated,  broken  up,  and  left  at  the 
mercy  of  mere  speculation.  Dogma  is  a  fact — or  it  is 
nothing  better  than  the  fancies  of  Epicurus  or  Spinoza. 
And,  if  it  is  a  fact,  the  proof  of  its  existence  will  lie  in  the 
meridian  of  facts ;  we  shall  need  only  to  open  our  eyes  and 
see  it,  instead  of  searching  through  a  thousand  volumes  for 

1  Ward,  i.  32:5,  seq. 


128  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

evidence  that  it  once  existed.  The  parallel  to  Lamennais' 
denunciation  of  idealism  is  perfect.  Lamennais  said,  '  You 
cannot  prove  the  world  to  be  a  reality ;  no  proof  is  possible, 
for  none  is  requisite ;  your  belief  in  a  world  is  antecedent  to 
all  proof.'  In  like  manner,  the  Via  Media  was  Idealism  in 
theology.  Given  the  fathers,  said  Oxford,  the  problem  is  to 
arrive  at  an  actual  Church.  Wiseman  replied  by  showing 
that  the  problem  was  far  more  simple,  and  that  its  solution 
lay  close  at  hand  ;  that  the  fathers  judged  between  heretics 
and  Catholics  by  the  test  of  obedience  to  authority  ;  and  that 
they  gave  as  a  sufficient  token  of  authority  the  vincuhtm 
pads,  or  unity  in  visible  communion.  It  was  obvious,  from 
this  point  of  view,  that  no  Church  could  be  at  once  apostolic 
and  schismatical ;  for  schism  abolished,  at  one  blow,  the 
notes  and  prerogatives  of  a  Christian  Church,  and  reduced 
its  disciples  to  a  crowd  of  incoherent  dissenters. 

When  Newman  read  that  famous  article,  he  was 
staggered.  Never  again  did  he  see  his  English  Church  in 
the  same  fair  light ;  and  if  he  was  not  prepared  to  offer  his 
submission,  yet  the  Via  Media  had  disappeared.  His  sole 
ground  of  reluctance  was  a  Protestant  one — belief  in  Roman 
corruptions  which  had  crept  in  since  the  beginning.  But 
were  they  corruptions  ?  How  if  they  should  turn  out  to  be 
not  corruptions  but  developments?  He  yielded  imme- 
diately, as  one  may  say,  to  the  negative  force  of  Wiseman's 
quotation  from  St.  Augustine ;  of  its  positive  or  protecting 
force  as  regards  dogma  he  had  yet  to  be  convinced.  In 
sound  logic — I  mean  if  the  Gospel  was  to  endure  '  usque  ad 
consurnmationem  sseculi ' — the  charisma  of  unit}'  which 
guarded  against  schism  could  not  fail  to  guard  against 
corruption  ;  the  one  Church  must  be  truly  Apostolic,  and 
the  Creed  was,  therefore,  safe  in  her  keeping.  However, 
this  demonstration  from  the  nature  of  the  case  would  not 
satisfy  Newman.  He  resolved  to  work  it  out  in  detail,  so 
far,  at  least,  as  to  realize  for  himself  the  identity,  under  laws 
of  development,  which  existed  between  different  phases  and 
epochs  of  the  society  whose  unbroken  record  lay  before  him. 
And  here,  too,  by  a  most  happy  combination  of  circum- 
stances, Wiseman  led  the  way. 


THE  POLICY  OF  CARDINAL  WISEMAN  129 

It  was  in  October  of  that  same  year,  1839,  at  the  opening 
of  St.  Mary's,  Derby,  that  the  preacher  who  had  just  taken 
the  ground  from  under  Newman's  feet  delivered  a  sermon 
which  might  have  been  printed  in  October,  1845,  as  a 
summary  or  a  preface  of  the  Development.  Mr.  Ward  has 
done  well  to  give  the  long  extracts  from  it  which  we  read  in 
his  first  volume ;  and,  considering  how  significant  is  their 
anticipation  of  the  New  Apologetics,  theological  students 
will  find  their  reward  in  turning  back  to  so  clear  and  unmis- 
takable a  recognition  of  principles,  never,  indeed,  unknown, 
yet  during  this  present  century  brought  home  to  the 
Christian  consciousness  with  startling  vivacity.  We  must 
always  bear  in  mind  that  it  was  not  from  Newman  the 
preacher  had  acquired  his  doctrine  or  his  illustrations.  So 
much  the  more  instructive  is  their  spontaneous  agreement. 
Wiseman's  text,  the  '  grain  of  mustard-seed,'  becomes, 
under  his  calm  and  conclusive  handling,  a  theory,  but  a 
theory  which  as  it  moves  along  calls  upon  the  events  of  past 
ages  to  confirm  all  that  is  advanced.  If  the  Old  Testament 
proceeded  by  way  of  growth  and  expansion — so  runs  his 
argument — the  New  has  not  lost  this  quality  of  life. 

These  principles  [he  observes,  speaking  of  sin  and  the  need 
of  redemption,  on  which  the  Jewish  Dispensation  rested  as  upon 
a  corner-stone]  did  yet  seem  to  be  neglected  until  gradually 
brought  forth  by  circumstances  into  a  clearer  light,  and  made 
leading  ideas  of  the  first  importance. 

This  is  the  very  tone  and  spirit  of  Bishop  Butler's 
Analogy ; l  yet  I  am  disposed  to  think  that  not  Butler  so 
much  as  Joseph  de  Maistre  had  taught  Wiseman  a  view 
which  is  common  to  St.  Augustine  and  St.  Vincent  of 
Lerins.  He  continues  : — 

So,  in  the  New  Law,  we  might  be  led  to  expect  a  similar 
course,  and  not  be  surprised  if  we  have  to  trace  practices  or 
feelings  which  became,  at  particular  times,  the  leading  charac- 
teristics of  religious  thought  to  doctrines  or  principles  which 
originally  lurked  as  one  seed  in  the  furrow  among  others  of 
greater  magnitude.  .  .  Nothing  is  more  common,  yet  nothing  is 
more  mistaken,  than  to  confound  the  greater  manifestation  of 
things  with  their  first  origin. 2 

1  See,  especially,  Butler,  Part  ii  ,  ch.  3,  p.  160.  2  Ward,  i.,  p.  315. 

VOL.  III.  I 


130  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

He  proceeds  to  give  instances  of  '  outward  growth '  and 
1  interior  development ' : — 

Everything  [he  says]  was  gradual.  At  first  the  Jewish 
worship  was  attended,  and  many  of  its  ceremonial  rites  observed, 
with  scrupulous  precision  .  .  .  The  hierarchy  was  not  planted  by 
our  Saviour,  nor  by  the  Apostles  themselves,  in  a  systematic 
form  ;  but  the  episcopal  body,  if  I  may  so  speak,  evolved  from 
itself,  in  due  season,  the  priestly  order  .  .  .  The  very  doctrines 
of  Christianity  were  communicated  with  a  similar  proportion. 

And,  having  laid  down  this  large  principle,  he  applies  it, 
as  Newman  was  to  do  later  on,  to  the  powers  of  the  Holy 
See  and  the  cultus  of  our  Lady.  Religious  belief  does  not 
alter  in  its  essence,  but  it  grows  and  expands,  and  has  its 
full  effect  according  as  circumstances  allow.  '  The  germ 
only  existed  in  the  beginning ;  '  still,  as  that  germ  was  a 
living  thing,  it  contained  within  itself  developments  of  the 
grandest  compass.  '  Through  the  medium  of  the  affections, 
as  much  as  through  dogmatical  investigations,'  the  mysteries 
of  the  faith  reached  their  perfect  stature ;  nay,  heresy  itself 
brought  out  their  meaning.  Moreover,  while 

The  vivid  impressions  of  one  age  grew  faint  under  the  influence 
of  succeeding  agencies,  yet  enough  was  left  of  the  spirit  of  each 
to  be  borne  down  to  succeeding  generations  as  a  record  of  the 
vicissitudes  through  which  their  religion  had  passed.  In  this 
way  the  very  evidences  of  Christianity  partook  of  the  character 
of  all  else  connected  with  it,  being  themselves  capable  of 
increasing  development.1 

Here  is  a  view,  we  may  confidently  pronounce,  which 
for  the  stationary  or  crystallized  Church,  whether  of 
Anglicans  or  Russians,  substitutes  a  doctrine  of  progress 
which  it  makes  not  so  much  a  part  as  the  whole  of  our 
creed,  and  declares  to  be  the  secret  whereby,  as  Catholics, 
we  maintain  ourselves  under  the  stress  of  opposition,  as 
well  as  advance  in  the  spiritual  life.  How  little  Wiseman 
was  afraid  of  drawing  inferences  from  his  own  principles  of 
assimilation  and  evolution,  both  in  dogma  and  ritual, 
was  already  manifest  in  the  Letters  to  Mr.  John  Poynder, 
who  had  assailed  the  Roman  Church  as  at  once  heathen  and 

•Ward,  i.,  p.  318. 


THE   POLICY    OF   CARDINAL   WISEMAN  131 

idolatrous,  on  the  ground  of  her  borrowing  from  Pagan 
antiquity.  The  answer  came,  not  in  the  form  of  denial, 
but  as  a  deliberate  acknowledgment,  for  which  the  justifica- 
tion might  be  found  in  St.  Augustine's  De  Civitate  Dei,  in 
Clement  of  Alexandria's  Stromata,  and  in  St.  Gregory's 
Epistles.  There  was  a  wider  conception  of  Providence 
than  English  Puritan  theology  had  grasped.  Religious 
truths,  and  the  symbolism  by  which  they  are  fittingly 
shadowed  forth,  lie  dispersedly  in  fragments,  suggestions, 
gleams,  and  strange  distorted  figures,  all  over  the  surface  of 
the  world.  Inspiration,  without  antecedents  or  material 
to  work  upon,  is  not  the  power  which  has  established 
Christianity  from  of  old. 

If  Eome  has  borrowed,  so  has  Judea.  The  most  peculiar 
of  the  dogmas  confessed  by  every  Church  throughout  the 
West — the  Incarnation  itself — may  be  paralleled  in  earlier 
forms  of  belief,  and  are  not  unknown  to  those  enormous 
systems  that  have  long  held  sway  among  Hindus  or 
Egyptians.1  In  other  words,  the  principle  once  admitted 
of  a  germ  of  divine  life  which  grows  by  taking  up  into  its 
circulation  all  the  truths  accessible  to  human  intelligence, 
we  cannot  draw  the  line  at  any  given  stage  in  the  Old 
Testament  or  the  New ;  we  must  resolve  the  history  of 
mankind  into  a  series  of  'moments,'  or  of  a  religious 
dynamics,  where  every  single  force  acts  upon  every  other, 
and  nothing  is  so  common  or  unclean  that  it  cannot  be 
purified,  given  the  freedom  of  the  spirit,  and  assumed  into 
the  heavenly  synthesis.  The  sufficient  reason  of  a  method 
which  some  may  think  very  bold  is  laid  down  in  a  hundred 
places  by  St.  Augustine  when  he  is  refuting  the  Manichees.2 
He  had  discovered,  after  years  of  pain  and  anguish,  that  evil 
is  a  negation  of  good,  not  a  substance  in  itself,  nor  a  force, 
nor  anything  real  apart  from  the  truth  which  it  denies  or 
the  virtue  which  it  rejects.  '  Total  depravity  '  is  a  figment 
of  the  imagination  ;  nature  always  keeps  some  element  which 
it  has  received  from  its  Creator,  moral,  physical,  or  rational, 
else  it  would  cease  to  exist.  This,  then,  is  the  underlying 

1  Ward,  L,  pp.  247,248.  2  Contra  Faustitm,  passim. 


132  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

unity,  as  it  is  the  inexhaustible  mine,  from  which  we  draw 
in  assimilating,  on  our  own  principles,  to  a  supernatural 
faith,  capacities  and  acquisitions  hitherto  unblest,  or  standing 
in  need  of  consecration. 

It  is  singular  that  Newman,  who  had  granted  so  much 
of  this  view,  and  expressed  it  with  deep  feeling,  in  his  Arians 
of  the  Fourth  Century,1  where  he  was  an  enthusiastic  disciple 
of  the  Alexandrians  to  whom  he  always  clave,  did  not  per- 
ceive its  bearing  on  controversies  of  lesser  moment.  For 
who  will  compare  the  development  of  Papal  prerogatives 
with  the  effulgence  in  Hebrew  Monotheism  of  a  doctrine  so 
strange  to  it,  in  many  eyes,  as  that  of  a  Logos  incarnate,  of 
one  substance  with  the  Father,  yet  a  Second  Person  in  the 
Trinity?  And  what  is  the  extent  of  the  change  in  our 
religious  attitude  which  the  veneration  of  Mary  brings 
with  it  to  a  mind  already  Christian,  if  we  have  at  all 
measured  the  mental  revolution  that  must  have  taken  place, 
when  those  who  had  adored  an  unseen  Deity  in  Jerusalem 
now  bowed  down  to  a  crucified  man  as  their  God  and 
Saviour  ?  On  the  other  hand,  it  was  a  direct  consequence 
of  the  spirit  in  which  Luther  and  Calvin  approached  history, 
that  when  they  had  bereft  the  Church  of  her  charismata  on 
the  ground  of  abuses,  they  should  go  on  to  divide  between 
the  world  and  its  Maker  in  such  wise  as  effectively  to 
resuscitate  Manicheism.  The  antidote  which  alone  could 
neutralize  that  deadly  influence  was  to  show  the  Catholic 
genius  in  its  true  light,  engaged  from  the  beginning  upon 
its  task  of  redemption,  not  laying  life  itself  under  anathema, 
but  proving  all  things,  and  holding  fast  in  its  own  strength 
to  that  which  was  good. 

This  new  style  of  controversy  perplexed  the  elder  school 
which  had  been  brought  up  on  Bossuet's  Variations,  an 
admirable  though  incomplete  statement  of  the  points  in 
dispute,  now  so  successful  as  to  be  no  longer  needed.  They 
failed  to  perceive  a  Catholic  promise  in  the  Oxford  move- 
ment. To  them  movement  of  any  sort  was  distasteful. 
They  knew  nothing  of  the  philosophy  of  religious  dynamics. 

1  Chap.  i.p  p.  82,  3rd  edit. 


THE   POLICY   OF   CARDINAL  WISEMAN  133 

They  were  not  even  sensible  of  the  loss  which  they  had 
themselves  sustained  by  not  attempting  to  march  onward 
when  their  brethren  in  other  countries  set  them  an  example. 
They  had  ceased  to  assimilate,  and  they  were  ceasing  to 
live.  Wiseman  established  The  Dublin  Review  that  in  its 
pages,  contributed  from  all  parts  of  the  Catholic  world 
as  he  meant  them  to  be,  some  clear  picture  might  emerge 
of  the  great  things  our  religion  had  done  in  former  times, 
and  was  capable  of  doing  still,  if  a  lair  field  were  not 
denied  to  her  children.  It  was  to  '  treat  of  living  questions  ' 
and  'grapple  with  real  antagonists.'  In  all  its  disquisitions, 
antiquarian  or  historical,  the  present  nineteenth  century 
was  to  be  kept  in  view.  But  he  also  desired,  says  Mr.  Ward, 
'to  fashion  a  zealous  and  cultivated  priesthood,'  as  'the 
first  step  in  that  general  reformation  of  the  English  Catholic 
body  on  which  his  heart  had  been  set  since  his  English 
campaign  of  1835.'  And  he  writes  with  unusual  sagacity 
as  regards  this  training  : — 

What  is  principally  to  be  aimed  at  [he  tells  Dr.  Newsham,  of 
Ushaw],  is  accustoming  them  from  the  early  part  of  their  course 
to  think  and  judge,  of  which  they  seem  to  have  little  idea.  They 
do  not  seem  to  know  how  to  make  things  out  for  themselves,  or 
to  make  one  bear  upon  another ;  whatever  they  learn  they  seem 
to  put  up  in  their  heads,  and  not  to  have  it  at  hand  when  wanted 
for  some  other  purpose.1 

He  did  not  reform  the  education  of  the  clergy,  despite 
his  excellent  intentions.  Without  trained  masters,  shut  out 
from  the  universities,  and  themselves  appointed  to  teach 
before  they  had  been  taught,  the  next  generation  differed 
very  little  from  their  predecessors.  Nevertheless,  a  current 
of  life  and  animation  flowed  through  Oscott  while  he  reigned 
over  the  College,  that  made  it  a  centre  not  unworthy  to 
draw  within  its  influence  strangers  from  abroad,  and  the 
Tractarians  who  were  soon  to  help  Wiseman,  or  to  occasion 
him  fresh  anxiety,  in  his  efforts  to  make  of  Catholicism  a 
force  which  should  overcome  the  spirit  of  the  age.  He 
could  reckon  upon  Pugin,  that  powerful  but  erratic  genius, 
when  he  would  restore  the  liturgical  offices  to  their  ancient 

1  Ward,  i.,  p,  268. 


134  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

splendour.  But  he  still  felt  himself  alone.  As  Lord  Acton 
testifies,  the  motley  group  of  men  whom  he  found,  or  brought 
together  at  Oscott,  followed  their  old  instincts,  nor  took 
any  severe  trouble  to  make  his  thoughts  and  projects  their 
own.  Some  of  them  who  survived  the  Cardinal  into  my 
time,  as  I  remember,  did  not  appear  to  be  living  in  the 
nineteenth  century  at  all ;  they  were  shadows  with  faint 
voices,  murmuring  like  pallid  spectres  of  the  only  years  in 
which  they  had  drawn  breath,  long  ago  in  some  other  world 
not  known  to  moderns.  What  they  felt  when  a  being  so 
versatile  and  hopeful  stepped  down  among  them,  it  is  not 
easy  to  imagine. 

He  had  from  his  first  coming  to  Oscott  [says  Mr.  Ward] 
marked  the  place  out,  in  spite  of  the  smiles  of  his  critics,  as  the 
site  of  important  accessions  to  communion  with  the  Holy  See  ; 
but  the  fulfilment  of  his  dreams  had  not  materially  changed  the 
attitude  of  the  English  Catholics  who  opposed  the  movement. 
The  old  fashion  was  to  be  extremely  slow  in  accepting  converts, 
and  even  to  discourage  them.1 

Lingard,  judging  the  Oxford  men  by  their  ancestors 
in  the  time  of  Laud  and  Archbishop  Wake,  cherished  no 
hopes  of  their  submission.  The  Vicar  Apostolic  of  London 
thought  schismatics  never  came  back  to  the  Church. 
Another  talked  of  Newman  as  a  traitor,  whose  kiss  of 
peace  meant  everything  that  was  false  and  dangerous.  The 
missionary  spirit  was  dead  among  English  Catholics.  Oscott, 
says  Wiseman  in  a  touching  fragment  written  at  this  time, 
was  '  a  mere  place  of  education,'  and  how  few  were  willing 
to  see  in  it  '  a  great  engine  employed  in  England's  conver- 
sion and  regeneration  ! '  He,  therefore,  as  Newman  felt, 
was  '  the  chief  or  rather  the  only  promoter '  among  these 
hereditary  Catholics,  of  those  objects  which  all  through, 
however  unconsciously  to  themselves,  the  Tractarians  had 
aimed  at  realizing. 

But  alone,  or  with  Pugin  and  Spencer,  he  did  bring 
them  in  after  an  anxious  interval,  thanks  to  the  spirit  of  com- 
passion and  charity  which  he  had  acquired  in  Rome,  nor 
without  the  aid  and  approbation  of  the  Holy  Father  and  the 

1  Ward,  i.,  p.  447. 


THE   POLICY   OF   CARDINAL   WISEMAN  135 

due  ecclesiastical  authorities.  At  Propaganda  no  difficulties 
were  raised.  His  Letter  to  the  Earl  of  Shrewsbury,  which 
discussed  the  terms  of  what  has  since  been  described  as 
'  corporate  reunion,'  passed  without  censure,  although  it 
came  close  to  Tract  Ninety,  and  suggested,  as  a  basis  of 
negotiation,  the  Thirty-nine  Articles,  subject,  of  course;  to 
explanations  which  were  to  follow  the  Council  of  Trent. 
After  1845  it  was  still  his  task  to  protect  the  neophytes,  who 
were  looked  upon  as  doubtful  Christians  by  many  of  their 
Catholic  brethren — while  they,  in  turn,  experienced  that 
strange,  unpleasant  sensation  which  was  sure  to  spring  up 
within  them  at  the  sight  of  a  people  so  unlike  the  company 
from  which  they  had  separated.  The  cure  for  all  this,  in 
Wiseman's  unalterable  judgment,  was  Home.  Converts 
needed  to  make  a  pilgrimage  thither,  as  St.  Paul  went  up  to 
Jerusalem  to  see  the  Prince  of  the  Apostles,  lest  he  should 
'  have  run  in  vain.'  Old  Catholics  needed  the  establishment 
among  them  of  Koman  devotions,  of  religious  and  ascetic 
communities,  of  the  Vita  Contemplativa  and  the  full  liturgy; 
of  Canon  Law  and  Christian  art,  and  all  they  had  lost  in  this 
long  Babylonish  exile  from  the  life  of  the  Universal  Church. 
We  cannot  but  admire  the  simple  greatness  which  adherence 
to  this  principle  manifested  on  Wiseman's  part.  He  did 
not  exalt  any  article  in  so  large  a  design  out  of  its  relation 
to  every  other ;  he  was  remarkably  well-balanced,  and  saw 
the  whole  as  from  its  proper  centre.  And  there  is  something 
magnanimous,  and,  one  had  almost  said,  philosophical— 
though  he  could  not  claim  to  be  a  philosopher — in  his  view 
of  the  divers  elements  that  go  to  make  up  a  fully-developed 
Catholic. 

Wiseman  did  not  commit  himself  willingly  to  any  violent 
extreme.  He  was  not  the  man  to  overlook  the  importance 
to  Catholicism  in  fact  of  acquaintance  with  modern  criticism, 
with  literature  and  languages,  with  physical  and  mental 
science,  as  it  is  cultivated  in  the  great  schools  of  France  or 
Germany,  with  Oriental  studies,  explorations,  and  documents. 
But  it  was  his  misfortune  that  opportunity  never  came  to 
him  of  training  disciples  or  raising  up  a  succession  of 
learned  men.  His  practice,  like  Newman's  theory,  of 


136  THE  IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

development,  though  surely  destined  hereafter  to  mould  the 
Catholic  spirit  which  will  brine;  in  a  second  and  still 
grander  Middle  Age,  encountered  opposition,  misunder- 
standing, and  the  wrath  of  those  to  whom  their  own  history 
and  antecedents  were  a  book  with  seven  seals.  They  held 
by  the  Creed  with  entire  faithfulness ;  but  how  they  came 
to  have  a  creed  at  all  they  never  had  considered.  They 
were  Ptolemaics  in  doctrine  for  whom  the  earth  stood  still. 

Had  Wiseman  enjoyed  robust  health  after  he  came  to 
Westminster,  and  had  his  life  been  prolonged  another  ten 
or  fifteen  years,  it  is  possible  that  the  Church,  not  only  in 
England,  but  on  the  Continent,  might  have  escaped  some 
grievous  troubles.  For  he  was  the  one  Cardinal  of  European 
fame  who  exercised  a  moderating  influence,  where  modera- 
tion was  the  secret  of  progress.  He  never  would  have 
alienated  Newman,  since,  in  spite  of  remarkable  differences 
in  training  and  temper,  he  understood  that  rare  kind  of 
genius,  and  saw  further  into  the  principles  of  dogmatic 
development  than  his  successor,  Cardinal  Manning,  largely 
as  Manning  was  to  hansel  them  at  the  Council  of  the 
Vatican.  He  could  have  done  much,  and  with  the  best 
grace  in  the  world,  to  keep  in  check  the  Gallic  ardour  of  the 
Veuillots  and  the  Gerbets  and  the  Gaumes,  which  has  cost 
our  dearest  hopes  some  twenty  years  of  superfluous  disap- 
pointment. Perhaps  he  might  have  held  back  the  more 
spiritual-minded  among  the  disciples  of  Munich  from  their 
fatal  step  in  1870.  Given,  at  all  events,  the  strong  constitu- 
tion which  he  never  had,  there  was  no  reason  why  he  should 
not  have  inaugurated  a  scheme  of  Oriental  and  German 
studies,  the  want  of  which  is  telling  now,  as  it  has  told  these 
many  years,  with  disastrous  effect  on  English  theological 
education.  Though  not  himself  deeply  read  in  the  meta- 
physics of  the  School,  he  would  have  held  out  his  right  hand 
to  St.  Thomas ;  but  his  other  hand  would  have  been 
extended  to  modern  research ;  and  the  unsatisfactory  skir- 
mishing which  went  on,  thirty-five  years  ago,  round  the 
Rambler  and  the  Home  and  Foreign  Revieio,  would  have 
given  place  to  a  critical  acquaintance  with  the  text  of  the 
Bible,  and  to  the  sustained  efforts,  by  which  alone  we  shall 


THE   POLICY   OF   CARDINAL   WISEMAN  137 

arrive  at  a  genuine  common  measure,  between  the  language  of 
Eastern  prophets  and  the  exegesis  of  Western  philosophers. 

Wiseman's  last  ten  years  seem  now,  indeed,  a  time  big 
with  calamities  ;  but  they  cannot  be  laid  at  his  door.  The 
worst  charge  ever  brought  against  him  may  remind  us  of 
Newman's  lines  to  St.  Gregory  Nazianzen  :  '  Thou  couldst 
a  people  raise,  but  couldst  not  rule.'  He  was  full  of  plans, 
missionary,  ascetic,  educational ;  but  opposition  threw  him 
back,  and  some  would  call  him  faint-hearted.  There  is 
another  light  in  which  he  appears,  like  a  man  forespent 
with  long  struggling,  and  none  to  help.  Bead,  for  instance, 
his  singularly  touching  letter  on  the  disappointment  which 
was  occasioned  by  those  religious  orders  introduced  solely 
through  his  exertions  into  London,  the  rules  of  which  for- 
bade them  to  take  their  place  in  evangelizing  the  mixed  and 
modern  population  which  lay  on  every  side  of  them.  He 
turned  to  the  Oratorians,  who  did  what  was  asked.  But 
when  he  established,  for  a  like  purpose,  the  Oblates  of 
St.  Charles,  that  weary  campaign  of  old  Catholics  against 
new  began,  which  was  not  to  end  until  a  fresh  generation 
grew  up,  intent  on  larger  prospects.  Our  permanent  loss, 
on  looking  back,  appears  to  have  been  chiefly  in  the  province 
of  literature,  sacred  and  secular.  Catholics  were  debarred 
from  Oxford  until  the  other  day,  though  having  no  university 
of  their  own  in  England  to  which  they  could  resort ;  and  the 
revision  of  the  Bible,  to  which  Newman  had  put  his  hand,  was 
arrested;  on  what  grounds  it  would  be  worth  while  to  inquire, 
though,  doubtless,  they  were  as  petty  and  inadequate  as  the 
reasons  commonly  assigned  for  other  hindrances  to  the 
general  advance  on  the  part  of  hereditary  believers. 

Concerning  this  last  project  Newman  has  a  significant 
passage,  as  early  as  the  first  days  of  1847.  He  tells 
Wiseman : — 

The  Superior  of  the  Franciscans,  Father  Benigno,  in  the 
Trastevere,  wishes  us,  out  of  his  own  head,  to  engage  in  an 
English  authorized  translation  of  the  Bible.  He  is  a  learned 
man,  and  on  the  Congregation  of  the  Index.  "What  he  wished 
was  that  we  should  take  the  Protestant  translation,  correct  it  by 
the  Vulgate,  and  get  it  sanctioned  here.1 

i  Ward,  i.,  p.  354. 


THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

This  was  not  done;  but  an  English  Catholic  Bible  is 
still  indispensable  and  will  some  day  be  attempted.  As  for 
that  '  blessing  of  an  elevated  secular  education,'  as  Wiseman 
himself  terms  it,  in  the  ancient  seats  of  learning,  it  could  be 
denied  only  so  long  as  the  hope  was  held  out  of  a  university 
founded  and  carried  on  with  our  small  resources.  When 
time  bore  witness  against  so  ambitious  a  scheme,  the  doors 
were  unlocked,  always  with  due  caution,  which  admitted 
Catholic  young  men  to  a  share  in  the  culture  and  the  public 
life  of  their  own  generation.  Thus  Wiseman's  original 
thought  has  proved  to  be  the  issue  of  a  perplexed  and  irritat- 
ing question,  kept  open — certainly  not  to  our  advantage— 
for  no  less  than  thirty  years. 

His  lectures  to  mixed  audiences,  upon  subjects  remote 
from  controversy  and  in  their  nature  scientific  or  antiquarian, 
led  to  some  criticism  which  we  now  perceive  was  not  only 
futile  but  extremely  shortsighted.  The  preacher  who  had 
delighted  thousands  at  Moorfields,  found  himself,  after  the 
storms  of  1850,  no  longer  on  friendly  terms  with  his  country- 
men ;  but  the  platform  was  not  inaccessible  on  which  he 
could  win  their  hearts  by  an  eloquence  and  a  frankness 
that  were  among  his  most  taking  qualities.  He  lectured  to 
England,  not  in  vain.  He  would  not  retire  into  his  tent, 
or  abide  cloistered  and  secure,  but  ineffective.  His  literary 
success  made  it  seem  natural  for  the  great  Englishman  who 
came  after  him  to  undertake  a  social  and  humanitarian 
crusade,  not  once,  but  repeatedly,  until  he  attained  the 
memorable  triumph  of  the  Dockers'  Strike.  Between 
Wiseman  and  Manning  there  was  no  difference  of  tactics. 
They  both  knew  and  felt  that  the  day  of  isolation  must 
come  to  an  end.  Nevertheless,  in  range  of  outlook  and  accu- 
racy of  vision,  it  will  be  difficult  to  deny  that  Wiseman  was 
superior.  He  did  not  regard  life  or  literature,  the  arts  or 
the  sciences,  with  a  coldness  such  as  the  born  Puritan  finds 
instinctive  in  himself;  constitutionally,  he  was  more  sanguine 
than  severe,  but  he  would  have  justified  his  views  on  the 
Koman  principle,  which  has  in  it  a  wealth  of  sunshine,  and 
is  tolerant  because  it  has  learned  what  Mark  Pattison  truly 
calls,  '  the  highest  art — the  art  to  live.'  That  is  an  art 


THE   POLICY   OF   CARDINAL   WISEMAN  139 

which,  since  the  Reformation  had  its  way,  is  not  much 
cultivated  among  Englishmen.  They  are  full  of  movements 
and  counter-movements  ;  but  their  Religion  has  too  often 
aimed  at  suppression  instead  of  regulation,  nor  has  taken 
into  account  the  joy  of  life. 

It  would  be  incumbent  on  one  who  was  reviewing 
Wiseman's  policy  at  length  to  show  what  I  shall  here  briefly 
indicate — how  it  was  of  the  same  texture  as  that  which  will 
make  Leo  XIII.  a  great  historical  name  among  popes  and 
reformers.  We  may  describe  it  as  constructive ;  but  who 
can  construct  without  materials,  or  in  the  discarded  and 
obsolete  style  of  another  period,  if  his  purpose  aims  at 
housing  the  present  generation  ?  Again,  it  may  be  termed 
a  missionary  plan,  which  takes  for  its  object  the  winning  to 
Christian  faith  and  practice,  not  of  barbarians,  but  of  the 
civilized  and  the  progressive.  Hence  it  demands  learning, 
sympathy,  largeness,  and  a  delicate  sense  of  what  lies  nearest 
the  hearts  of  moderns.  It  is  universal  in  its  enthusiasm 
for  the  different  yet  beautiful  aspects  of  God's  world,  and 
it  puts  under  anathema  nothing  but  sin.  The  language 
employed  by  Cardinal  Wiseman,  as  by  Pope  Leo,  is 
studiously  self-controlled,  even  where  it  condemns  or  refuses 
assent  to  untenable  propositions.  It  allows  of  immense 
variety  in  tastes,  in  judgments,  in  peculiarities  of  disposi- 
tion, and  while  tolerant  of  parties  will  not  allow  any  of 
them  to  usurp  the  name  or  dignity  of  the  Church.  *  Peace 
within  and  conciliation  without '  may  be  said  to  express  the 
spirit  in  which  the  modern  Catholic  programme  is  drawn 
up.  But  its  designs  cannot  be  fulfilled  except  at  the  cost  of 
unceasing  effort.  When  we  relax  in  the  contemplation  of 
revealed  truths,  and  decline  to  apply  them  in  detail  to  the 
world  in  which  we  find  ourselves,  we  are  already  weakening 
our  hold  upon  them.  Theology  is  not  a  science  of  the  dead 
past,  but  of  the  living  present ;  and  as  it  goes  back  to 
Scripture  in  one  direction,  so  in  another  it  moves  forward 
as  the  ages  move,  taking  and  giving,  learning  and  teaching, 
not  ashamed  to  borrow  from  to-day  for  its  own  high  purpose, 
even  as  it  made  ample  use  of  the  Stoic  and  Platonic  philo- 
sophies, and  knew  how  to  welcome  the  Aristotelians,  and 


140  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

has  been  a  debtor  to  Maimonides,  to  Avicenna,  and  to  the 
Arabians.  Neither  would  it  now  be  impossible  to  point  out 
advantages  which  have  come  to  us  from  a  knowledge  of 
Kant,  Hegel,  and  Schopenhauer.  But  let  these  mere  hints 
suffice.  That  regard  which  we  owe  to  Wiseman's  memory 
will,  it  is  imagined,  be  most  deeply  felt  by  Catholics  who 
pursue,  as  he  did,  the  study  of  the  Bible  by  turning  to  the 
languages  in  which  it  was  written  ;  who  'cultivate  science, 
and  are  alive  to  the  ever-growing  significance  of  art  and 
literature  in  modern  days  ;  and  who  throw  themselves  into 
the  generous  policy  which  Rome  invites  them  to  carry 
onward  into  the  new  age,  under  her  guidance  and  blessing. 

WILLIAM  BAEEY. 


THE    ECONOMIC    ASPECT    OF    SOCIALISM 

II. 


question  before  us  is  a  definite  one.  It  deals  with 
__  but  one  of  the  many  issues  of  socialism.  With  its 
possibility  as  a  political  scheme,  we  have  nothing  to  do.  It 
would  be  difficult  to  say  whether,  in  theory,  the  threads  of 
labour  might  run  unentangled  through  an  intricate  national 
collective  industry.  Practically,  I  think  that  the  details  of 
commerce  could  never  be  controlled  by  any  government, 
centralized  or  federal.  The  socialist  schemes  remind  us,  as 
a  rule,  of  those  chosen  few,  whom,  Lord  Bolingbroke  tells 
us,  are  '  specially  nurtured  in  the  world  by  Providence  for 
the  maintenance  and  spread  of  impossible  ideals.'  Neither 
are  we  concerned  with  the  attitude  of  socialism  towards 
religion  and  the  Church.  Indeed  beyond  the  decided  trend 
of  the  revolution  from  which  it  sprang,  and  the  tone  and 
character  of  its  advocates  and  adherents,  socialism  as  a 
system  does  not  profess  to  have  any  definite  tenet  or  aim  in 
reference  to  doctrinal  matters  at  all.  At  times  the  public 
actions  of  its  leaders  evince  the  action  of  secret  springs 
that  undoubtedly  are  not  of  God.  'Us  aiment,'  says 


THE   ECONOMIC   ASPECT   OF   SOCIALISM  141 

M.  Louis  Eeybaud,  '  s'escrimer  dans  1'ombre,  et,  quand  on 
les  presse  trop  vivement  ils  s'enveloppent  de  leurs  nuages.' 

Such  matters  have  no  interest  for  us  now.  We  are 
occupied  with  but  one  inquiry — the  attitude  of  socialism 
to  the  production  of  wealth.  The  innumerable  questions 
that  this  originates,  the  methods,  aims,  and  promises  of 
socialism ;  its  virtue  as  an  expedient ;  its  adaptability  to  the 
varying  market  tides;  its  subtlety  in  ekeing  out  of  the  holes 
and  corners  of  industry  the  treasures  they  afford  to  skilful 
manipulation,  may  all  be  embodied  in  this  one  inquiry — 
how  will  the  proletarian  fare  when  private  capital  has 
become  effete,  and  collectivism  supervenes  ?  This  is  the 
question  that  concerns  us  now.  To  answer  it  we  shall  have 
to  digress,  at  no  small  length,  from  the  main  topic  under 
consideration. 

To  bring  this  matter  to  a  definite  issue,  we  may  put  it 
thus  hypothetically.  What  would  happen  if  every  half- 
penny of  the  capital  of  England  were  disbursed  from  the 
coffers  of  private  owners,  and  poured  en  masse  into  the 
national  treasury,  that  ensuing  profits  might  be  dealt  out 
evenly,  or  proportionally  to  each  one's  work?  Popular 
feeling  would  certainly  run  high  were  such  a  law  suddenly 
enacted.  And  naturally  so.  No  economic  scheme  yet  known 
offers  to  the  unreflecting  mind  such  rich  and  abundant  fruits 
as  socialism.  It  is  this  that  has  made  it  a  popular  creed.  Now 
we  can  easily  see  how  far  such  promises  are  likely  to  be  realized. 
Let  us  examine  them  briefly.  A  little  reflection  will  enable 
us  to  see,  that  the  nationalization  of  our  whole  capital 
would  be  quite  as  unprofitable  as  the  idea  is  chimerical. 
The  greater  number  of  our  private  concerns  require  for  their 
existence  the  exertions  of  one  who  is  conscious  to  himself, 
that  he  must  sustain  whatever  is  lost,  as  well  as  gain  what- 
ever is  gained.  Then,  too,  to  confiscate  the  land  in  its 
entirety  would  be  quite  useless  on  socialistic  lines.  It 
would  be  much  easier,  in  the  socialistic  state,  for  the 
smaller  landowners  to  draw  their  income  from  the  land 
they  till,  than  to  send  the  products  to  the  national  treasury, 
and  then  receive  their  yearly  divide.  The  abolition  of 
the  richer  landowners  would  quite  fulfil  the  Socialistic  aims, 


142  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

because  their  incomes  are  a  great  deal  in  excess  of  what  they 
could  expect  from  the  national  divide.  Indeed  it  is  to  those 
larger  and  more  permanent  factors  in  our  industry,  such 
as  the  large  estates,  the  railways,  and  (outside  of  industry), 
the  National  Debt,  and  the  expenses  of  royalty,  that  the 
popular  mind  naturally  turns  as  the  centre  of  its  hopes. 
The  workman  is  envious  that  the  greater  part  of  the 
product  of  lands  should  go  into  the  pocket  of  an  idle  land- 
lord, whilst  his  own  daughter  has  to  toil  daily  in  the  din 
and  fluff  of  a  city  factory.  He,  naturally,  hopes  that  at 
some  future  date,  when  rent,  railway  profits,  and  the 
interest  on  the  National  Debt  are  apportioned,  without 
distinction  of  class,  he  maybe  saved,  at  least,  from  the  pinch 
of  hanger,  if  not  from  the  need  to  work.  '  The  first  impres- 
sion of  the  intelligent  population,'  says  Mr.  Kuskin  in  his 
Crown  of  Wild  Olives,  'is  this,  that  as  in  the  dark  ages 
half  the  nation  lived  idle,  in  the  bright  ages  to  come  the 
whole  of  it  may.' 

Let  us  now  suppose,  that  all  these  things  have  been 
effected.  Every  farm  of  over  a  thousand  acres  has  become  the 
property  of  the  nation.  Railways  are  under  government  con- 
trol, and  the  capital  belongs  to  the  whole  people.  Every  soul 
in  the  realm  has  now  its  share  in  the  interest  of  the  National 
Debt.  Eoyalty,  too,  has  disappeared,  and  with  it  the  heavy 
expenses  of  the  court.  What  additions  will  now  accrue  to 
the  incomes  received  under  the  old  system  ?  I  shall  take 
these  items  separately.  The  land  account  would  be  worth 
to  each  a  little  less  than  three  farthings  a  day.  If  the 
whole  rent  were  divided  amongst  us  this  income  would  be 
increased  by  a  penny  farthing.  Eailway  profits  and  the 
National  Debt  would  afford  us  each  about  three  half-pence 
a  day.  If  the  royal  court  were  abolished  to-morrow,  we 
should  each  be  enriched  by  sixpence  a  year,  or  the  one- 
thirty-sixth  of  a  penny  a  day.  Into  such  figures  the  socialist 
Utopia  shrinks  and  dissolves.  With  such  miserable  results 
awaiting  the  proletarian,  his  eyes  are  made  to  swim,  in 
the  delusive  vision  of  future  greatness,  and  wealth,  and  ease. 

This  style  of  argument,  I  must  admit,  smacks  strongly 
of  the  Chrysippean  fallacy.  Items  that,  separately,  are 


THE  ECONOMIC  ASPECT  OF  SOCIALISM          143 

of  little  account,  may  be  formidable  enough  when  taken 
conjointly.  What  then  about  those  lesser  concerns  from 
which  considerable  profits  are  at  present  realized  ?  I  answer, 
first:  that  the  number  of  concerns  it  is  possible  to  nationalize 
is  a  very  insignificant  portion  of  our  industry.  As  I  have 
said  already,  the  greater  number  of  private  concerns  depend 
for  their  existence  on  the  energy  and  tact  of  a  single 
capitalist,  and  can  exist  only  because  he  is  imbued  and 
stimulated  by  the  thought  that  whatever  is  lost,  is  lost  to 
himself,  and  whatever  is  gained  will  be  his  own.  But 
let  us  examine  the  more  chimerical  hypothesis,  and  suppose, 
for  an  instant,  that  the  entire  capital  of  the  British  nation 
is  actually  centralized  in  the  national  treasury.  How 
far,  we  ask,  would  the  ensuing  profits  exceed  the  wages 
apportioned  in  our  industry  for  average  labour  in  an 
average  market?  We  are  not  contemplating  the  division 
of  capital,  but  only  of  profits  furnished  by  its  use.  The 
national  income  of  England  now,  allowance  being  made 
for  second  countings,  is  about  ^£1,200,000,000  a  year.  If 
every  halfpenny  of  this  money  were  divided,  according  to 
gradation  of  age  and  sex,  Mr.  Mallock  computes  that  the 
result  would  be  approximately  as  follows  : — 

s.      d. 

For  each  adult  male  ...  19     6  a  week 

,,         ,,      female  ...  14     6      ,, 

„       youth  ...  10    0      „ 

„       infant  ...       40,, 

Now  each  of  these  with  the  exception  of  the  infant 
would  have  to  work  for  the  amount  received.  Compare 
these  figures  with  the  average  wages  received  for  labour  in 
the  English  markets.  Mr.  Giffen  has  shown  that  the 
average  wage  is  over  20s.  a  week.  Forty-one  per  cent,  of 
the  labouring  population  are  in  receipt  of  more  than  25s. 
Only  twenty-three  per  cent,  earn  less  than  20s.  Few  boys 
and  girls  in  the  English  factories  are  in  receipt  of  less  than 
10s.  a  week.  Most  of  them  earn  a  great  deal  more.  Of 
course,  more  women  would  be  working  than  now,  and  that 
would  be  some  increase  to  trade ;  and  the  support  of  the 
infant  is  not  to  be  despised.  But,  as  I  said,  the  case  is  quite 


144  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

chimerical.  Our  figures  will  fall  on  a  slight  analysis.  I  am 
not  now  referring  to  the  decay  of  industry  that  should 
necessarily  follow  the  introduction  of  socialism.  I  am 
speaking  of  quite  another  matter.  Let  us  examine  the 
nature  of  the  national  income,  and  then  we  shall  see  that 
an  enormous  portion  of  that  same  income  is  really  not 
divisible  at  all,  and  that  consequently  the  figures  given 
above  will  be  found  to  shrink  to  a  smaller  compass.  Of 
the  £1,200,000,000  that  make  up  our  profits,  only  £38,000,000 
are  represented  by  coin.  An  immense  portion  of  what 
remains  could  never  be  divided  as  money  can,  consisting  as 
it  does,  of  service,  transports,  new  works  of  art,  expensive 
furniture,  plate,  &c.  Even  of  that  portion  which  is  actually 
divisible,  more  than  one  half  is  made  up  of  imports  given  in 
exchange  for  goods  exported.  But  such  exchange  will 
last  only  as  long  as  the  untiring  energy  of  capitalist 
and  entrepreneur  can  put  their  products  into  competition 
with  the  best  goods  in  the  world's  markets.  We  shall 
afterwards  see  how  unfavourable  socialism  is  likely  to  prove 
to  the  exercise  of  industrial  energy. 

We  see  now  that  that  portion  of  the  £1,200,000,000 
income,  divisible  into  lots  falls  very  short  of  the  total 
itself,  for  a  picture  cannot  be  cut  in  strips  and  served  out 
to  buyers  like  common  cloth. 

But  a  matter  of  importance  awaits  us  yet.  We  have 
taken  it  for  granted  in  the  computations  made,  that  our 
present  income  would  continue  to  exist  quite  independent 
of  the  industrial  revolution  that  socialism  is  to  bring  about. 
We  have  taken  it  for  granted,  that  the  profits  of  industry 
are  a  constant  quantity,  having  nothing  to  do  with  parti- 
cular systems  of  production,  management,  and  administration 
of  capital.  But  now  I  say  that  a  very  great  part  of  our 
national  income  must  necessarily  vanish  in  the  socialistic 
state.  To  prove  it,  we  must  see  what  is  the  cause  of  the 
immense  additions  that  have  accrued  to  capital  in  the 
century  that  has  just  now  passed.  We  cannot  do  better  in 
answering  this  question,  than  to  follow  the  lines  laid  down 
by  Mr.  Mallock  in  his  account  of  the  growth  of  capital  in 
England.  But  before  doing  so,  there  are  other  matters  that 


THE   ECONOMIC  ASPECT    OF   SOCIALISM  145 

he  has  not  touched,  that  must  claim  the  reader's  closest 
attention.  A  century  ago  the  capital  of  England  amounted 
to  about  £1,600,000,000.  It  now  stands  at  £10,000,000,000. 
What  is  the  origin  of  this  increase  ?  The  answer  is  plain — 
capital  has  increased  because  profits  are  saved.  £200,000.000 
are  put  by  annually,  and  added  to  the  store  of  existing 
capital.  But  profits  are  saved  because  they  belong  to  a  few 
rich  men,  who  cannot  spend  half  of  their  income.  If  each 
could  spend  his  entire  income  very  little  capital  could  be  saved 
at  all.  This  is  the  use  industry  makes  of  the  Rothschilds, 
Vanderbilts,  &c. 

But  now  I  ask,  on  whom  in  reality  do  the  profits  of 
these .  savings  finally  devolve  ?  Who  benefits  most  by  the 
yearly  additions  that  are  made  to  capital  ?  It  is  often  said 
that  the  rich  grow  richer,  and  the  poor  poorer  as  capital 
increases.  This,  of  course,  would  be  a  serious  objection  to 
the  thesis  I  am  defending :  that  socialism  runs  counter  to 
the  workman's  interest,  because  it  is  unfavourable  to  the 
accumulation  of  capital.  But  what  now  are  the  facts  of 
the  case  ?  Since  1843  the  income  of  capital  has  increased 
only  by  one  hundred  per  cent.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
amount  of  capital  has  increased  in  the  time  as  much  as  one 
hundred  and  fifty  per  cent.  Thus  the  income  of  capital  has 
been  steadily  declining  in  relation  to  the  growth  of  capital 
itself.  But  I  have  not  yet  touched  the  crucial  point.  Let 
us  put  out  of  sight  a  few  rich  men  like  Vanderbilts, 
Rothschilds,  Goulds,  &c.  Now  how,  I  ask,  has  capital 
increased  by  one  hundred  and  fifty  per  cent,  in  fifty  years? 
Is  it  by  additions  to  each  man's  capital,  or  by  the  augmenta- 
tion of  the  number  of  capitalists?  Mainly,  I  say,  in  the 
latter  way.  The  number  of  capitalists  has  considerably 
increased,  as  can  be  seen  from  the  statistics  of  probate 
duties.  Capital  then  has  reached  its  present  dimensions, 
principally  because  with  the  progress  of  industry  and 
wealth  the  proletarians  have  become  so  rich  that  a  consider- 
able number  are  enabled  yearly  to  pass  over  to  the  body  of 
capitalists.  This  then  is  the  effect  of  the  accumulation  of 
capital.  The  poor  are  not  poorer,  but  have  benefited 
exceedingly  by  the  increase  of  capital.  But  the  increase  01 

VOL.  III.  h 


14G  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

capital  was  absolutely  necessary  for  the  lii'e  oi'  industry. 
It  will  be  easily  seen,  that  the  prime  condition  of  increase 
of  wealth,  particularly  in  newly-opened  countries,  is  the 
amassing  together  of  sufficient  capital  to  keep  her  thousands 
of  wheels  flying,  and  maintain  the  din  and  roar  of  her 
factories.  How  has  capital  been  increased  in  America  ? 
It  has  increased  because  her  rich  men  cannot  spend  their 
profits.  Not  a  tenth  part  of  the  product  of  their  capital 
could  possibly  be  spent  by  the  most  extravagant  owners. 
The  rest  is  saved,  and  put  out  as  capital,  with  this  result, 
that  in  a  hundred  years  the  wages  of  labour  have  more  than 
quadrupled,  and  that  innumerable  labourers  are  becoming 
capitalists,  renewing  the  vigour  and  life  of  trade,  and  setting 
fresh  industries  afloat. 

But  the  reader  may  object,  if  socialism  were  once 
established,  could  not  such  capital  be  saved  by  the  state, 
before  the  general  distribution  of  the  profits  ?  In  this  she 
might  maintain  her  industries  quite  as  efficiently  as  can 
now  be  done.  This  brings  me  to  the  central  point  of  this 
whole  critique.  We  shall  see  that  the  state  could  not  hoard 
up  capital,  and  for  this  one  reason,  that  socialism  entails  the 
decay  of  industry,  and  the  consequent  decline  of  the  profits 
ot  capital.  We  shall  see  that  the  incentives  that  now 
quicken  trade  will  be  altogether  wanting  in  the  socialistic 
state,  and  that  in  the  vapid  industry  that  will  then  ensue 
the  growth  of  capital  must  be  impeded.  Let  us  remember 
too,  that  in  a  living  industry  the  very  same  process  that 
impedes  the  growth,  must  carry  on  finally  to  industrial 
decay. 

Let  me  briefly  restate  the  question  to  be  treated.  We 
have  just  been  treating  as  a  chimerical  hypothesis  the 
division  of  the  entire  capital  of  England.  We  admitted, 
however,  that  if  such  a  division  could  be  carried  out,  the 
poorer  families  would  be  slightly  richer  than  they  are  under 
our  present  regime.  This  is  quite  natural.  The  levelling 
down  of  the  rich  man's  profits,  the  sum  to  be  divided 
remaining  the  same  naturally  entailed  a  rise  elsewhere. 
The  increase,  however,  was  slight  and  disappointing.  Now 
socalism  would  destroy  the  interest  on  capital,  and  bring  all 


THE   ECONOMIC   ASPECT   OF   SOCIALISM          147 

salaries  to  a  common  level.  To  keep  the  salaries  of  the 
entrepreneur  at  their  present  level,  would  entail  the  accu- 
mulation of  private  capital.  This  must  not  be  in  the  Socialistic 
State.  Salaries  must  fall  to  a  very  low  level,  and  the  poor 
man's  wages  accordingly  rise.  This  is  the  balance  on  which 
socialism  works.  But  now  let  us  notice  that  the  balance 
in  question  rests,  as  on  a  fulcrum,  on  one  condition,  viz., 
that  the  sum  to  be  divided  is  a  constant  factor.  That 
condition  I  must  now  examine.  We  shall  see  that  it  never 
could  be  fulfilled.  We  shall  see  that  the  extinction  of 
private  capital,  and  the  general  levelling  of  wages  for  work, 
will  entail  the  instant  decay  of  industry,  and  the  consequent 
decline  of  profits  and  capital. 

To  what  shall  we  attribute  the  increase  of  profits  in 
the  century  that  is  about  to  close.  A  century  ago  the 
income  of  Great  Britain  was  £140,000,000.  The  labouring 
population  was  then  ten  millions.  To  these  ten  million, 
half  the  income,  that  is  £70,000,000  were  annually  assigned. 
What  is  the  state  of  labour  to-day.  Every  ten"  million 
labourers  to-day  receive  not  £70,000,000,  but  £200,000,000. 
Let  us  mark  this  well.  These  ten  million  labourers  are 
now  in  receipt  of  £60,000,000  a  year  more  than  if  the 
whole  (not  half)  of  the  entire  income  were  divided  amongst 
them  a  century  ago.  These  are  figures  that  ought  to  be 
engraven  on  every  mind.  They  surpass  the  wildest  dreams 
of  socialism.  They  proclaim,  moreover,  an  accomplished 
fact,  whilst  socialism  is  only  tentative.  Let  us  examine 
this  matter  closely.  To  what  are  we  to  attribute  the 
vast  increase  in  our  national  income?  Is  it  to  labour? 
Decidedly  not.  Labour  was  more  skilled  two  thousand 
years  ago  than  it  is  to-day.  The  skilled  labour  of  the 
ancient  Greeks,  as  evinced,  for  instance,  in  the  cutting  of 
gems,  will  be  looked  for  in  vain  in  the  workshops  of  to-day. 
Labour  as  such  is  unprogressive.  What,  then,  is  the  source 
of  the  growth  of  profits?  It  is  not  Labour.  It  is  not  Capital. 
It  is  not  the  Land.  The  economic  factors  in  the  production 
of  wealth  must  henceforth  be  written  Land,  Labour, 
Capital,  and  Ability.  Ability  in  investing,  ability  in  main- 
taining, in  extending  the  range,  and  perfecting  the  methods 


148  THE  IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

and  deepening  the  intensity  and  life  of  our  industries.  Ability 
is  not  mere  idle  genius.  It  is  talent,  and  tact,  and  energy, 
and  prudence  strained  to  the  utmost  in  trade  and  commerce. 
Ability  is  more  than  mere  skilled  labour.  One  stroke  of 
ability  can  reach  to  thousands.  It  increases  the  product  of 
each  man's  labour.  Skilled  labour  affects  one  labourer 
alone-  One  stroke  of  ability,  Cartwright's  invention,  left 
two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men  idle,  with  their 
hand  looms  beside  them  in  the  market-place.  But  ability 
employed  them  and  enriched  them  again.  Skilled  labour 
may  teach  me  to  push  my  barrow,  or  hold  my  file,  or  adjust 
the  tin  sheet  in  the  lamp  stamp;  but  it  cannot  make 
me  facilitate  the  work,  and  increase  the  products  of 
thousands  of  men.  But  inventions  are  barren,  and  often 
destructive  when  not  directed  by  able  men.  The  ability  of 
the  entrepreneur  is  of  more  importance  than  that  of  the 
inventor.  The  terrible  evils  of  over-production,  that  have 
merged  whole  cities  in  the  blackest  ruin,  are  an  instance  of 
what  invention  may  do  without  the  exercise  of  directive 
ability.  Let  diligence  sustain  and  ability  direct  the 
pace  of  industry,  and  then  invention  is  a  source  of  wealth. 
England's  wealth  is  fabulous  to-day ;  but  let  her  keen 
business-men  depart  from  her  shores,  let  her  ceass  to  inspire 
them  with  the  hope  of  gain,  and  her  independence  and 
wealth  would  decline  more  rapidly  even  than  they 
rose.  When  trade  declined  in  '91  cheeks  grew  pale  at 
the  catastrophe  that  threatened.  It  is  the  keen  eye  of 
the  entrepreneur  that  keeps  us  yearly  from  such  calamities.1 
And  what  has  been  eliciting  the  exercise  of  ability  ?  The 
hope  of  gain ;  of  gain  proportioned  to  the  worth  and  work 
of  one  who  knows  that  he  is  worth  more  than  a  hundred 
labourers  in  the  manipulation  of  capital,  and  the  production 
of  profits. 

The  man   who   must   live   from   week    to    week,   who 


1  In  tin  interesting  article,  '  Le  regne  del'argcnt,'  in  the  December  number 
of  Les  deux  Motides,  M.  Anatome  TJeanlieu  writes  as  follows  : — '  S'il  n'y  avait  a 
la  Bourse  que  des  hommes  d'affaires,  des  financiers,  des  banquiers,  les  crises 
seraient  plus  rares,  et  les  chutes  moins  profondes.  Ce  qui  en  fait  la  frequence 
Ct  la  gruvite,  t'est  le  plus  souvent  1'intervention  du  public.' 


THE   ECONOMIC   ASPECT   OF   SOCIALISM          149 

receives  just  what  keeps  him  for  the  week,  and  cannot  make 
capital  out  what  is  left,  who  is  sure  of  the  pittance  that  the 
nation  allots  him,  with  no  overseer  to  spur  his  energies,  or 
with  an  overseer  who  is  paid  like  himself,  as  secure  as 
himself,  as  unaffected  by  loss  as  himself;  will  such  a  man 
spend  sleepless  nights,  and  toil  all  day,  studying,  devising, 
planning  new  modes,  and  selecting  grooves  for  the  industry 
he  directs  ?  '  The  knowledge,'  says  professor  Walker,  '  that 
he  will  gain  what  is  gained,  and  lose  what  is  lost,  is  essential 
to  the  temper  of  a  man  of  business.'  This,  I  repeat,  could 
alone  have  induced  him  to  watch  with  anxiety  the  tides  of 
trade,  to  grasp  the  opportunities  of  fitful  markets ;  and  to 
propel  his  industry  through  dangerous  channels,  when  so 
little  might  have  submerged  it.  Mr.  Dale  Owen  had  lived 
with  the  socialists  at  Nashoba,  and  he  writes  thus  : — 

A  plan  which  remunerates  all  alike,  will,  in  the  present 
condition  of  society,  ultimately  eliminate  from  a  co-operative 
association  the  skilled,  and  efficient,  and  industrious  members, 
leaving  an  ineffective  and  sluggish  residue,  in  whose  hands  the 
expedient  will  fail  both  socially  and  pecuniarily. 

And  Mrs.  Annie  Besant,  apparently  for  the  moment  off 
her  guard,  admits 

That  the  abnormal  development  of  the  gold  hunger  [which 
characterizes  our  present  system]  will  disappear  upon  the 
certainty  for  each  of  the  means  of  subsistence.  Lat  each  indi- 
vidual feel  absolutely  secure  for  his  day's  subsistence.  Lst  every 
anxiety  as  to  the  material  wants  of  the  future  be  swept  away, 
and  the  tyranny  of  pecuniary  gain  will  be  broken,  and  life  will 
begin  to  be  used  in  living,  and  not  in  struggling  for  the  chance  to 
live. 

I  know  that  the  theory  I  have  been  propounding  is  not 
in  accordance  with  that  noble  trust  that  the  socialists  evince 
in  future  man.  The  socialist  heart  revolts  at  the  idea  that 
man  is  moved  by  the  hope  of  gain.  They  deny  that  the 
dynamics  of  the  human  heart  are  naturally  selfish  or 
material.  They  tell  us,  too,  that  socialism  will  come,  not 
with  revolution,  but  with  the  evolution  of  the  human 
ideal,  when  selfishness  shall  have  passed  away.  We  can 
only  say,  that  such  a  process  is  by  no  means  visible  in  the 


150  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

facts  and  periods  of  the  history  of  industry.  Socialists,  like 
Mr.Kirkup,  affirm  that  the  selfish  system  is  of  recent  growth. 
Evolution  then  has  been  working  backwards.  The  poverty 
and  isolation  of  the  proletarian  succeeded  to  happier  feudal 
days.  The  classes  then  separated  more  and  more.  The 
labourer  sank  till  he  could  sink  no  further.  The  capitalist 
fed  him  as  he  fed  his  horse.  He  gave  him  just  what  kept 
him  alive,  that  his  hands  might  not  drop  whilst  he  dug  the 
gold  out  of  the  capitalist's  industrial  gold  mine.  '  0  God,' 
said  Hood,  '  that  bread  should  be  so  dear,  and  flesh  and 
blood  so  cheap.'  And  if  labour  has  advanced  in  recent 
years,  to  what  are  we  to  refer  its  progress  and  power?  To 
what  shall  we  attribute  the  power  of  the  trades-unions  ?  To 
the  evolution  of  the  philanthropic  man  ?  No.  Mr.  Howell, 
their  greatest  advocate,  informs  us  that  trades-unionism  is 
now  recognised  in  the  land  solely  on  account  of  its  '  innate 
strength.' 

I  have  dwelt  on  this,  not  because  it  is  worth  considering 
on  its  own  ground,  but  because  the  socialists  have  been  so 
tenacious  in  offering  their  idea  of  the  '  unselfish  man.' 
Listen  to  this,  from  Mr.  Blatchford's  volume  on  Merrie 
England.  He  speaks  of  those  who  think  men  selfish  :— 

These  flaws  [i.e.,  the  opinions  we  have  been  propounding] 
are  due  to  the  fact  that  the  founders  and  upholders  of  the  system 
of  grab  and  greed  are  men  who  have  never  possessed  either  the 
capacity  or  the  opportunity  for  studying  human  nature.  Mere 
bookmen,  schoolmen,  logic-choppers,  and  business  men  can  be 
no  authorities  on  human  nature.  The  great  authorities  on  human 
nature  are  the  poets,  the  novelists,  and  the  artists  .  .  .  The  only 
books  for  the  study  of  human  nature  are  the  works  of  men  like 
Shakspere,  Hugo,  Cervantes,  and  Sterne,  and  others  who  have 
studied  in  that  school. 

The  day  is  coming,  therefore,  when  poets  and  artists 
shall  direct  our  industries.  Business  men  know  nothing  of 
the  tendencies  and  wiles  of  buyers  and  sellers.  Let  poets 
and  artists,  therefore,  rule  our  factories,  our  imports  and 
exports,  our  markets  and  salehouses  ;  let  them  dream  their 
day-dreams  in  our  banks  and  exchanges ;  let  Hamlet,  and 
Don  Quixote,  and  The  Muleteer  replace  our  weekly  market 
journals  and  financial  reviews.  '  Then  shall  the  eyes  of  the 
blind  be  opened.' 


THE   ECONOMIC   ASPECT    OF   SOCIALISM  151 

Let  us  now  inquire  what  are  the  incentives  which  the 
socialists  substitute  for  the  hope  of  gain.  Mrs.  Annie  Besant 
enumerates  them  thus — (1)  The  starvation  that  would  follow 
on  the  cessation  of  labour ;  (2)  the  determination  of  our 
fellow-workers  not  to  allow  us  to  shirk  our  work  ;  (3)  the 
joy  in  creative  work,  the  longing  to  improve,  the  eagerness 
to  win  social  approval,  the  instinct  of  benevolence,  &c.  Let 
us  review  them  briefly.  But  first  let  me  say  that  these 
incentives  are  supposed  to  stimulate  not  only  ability,  but 
also  the  work  of  the  ordinary  labourer. 

The  first  incentive  I  may  instantly  dismiss  with  this  one 
remark,  that  we  are  not  concerned  with  the  existence  of 
industry,  but  with  its  maturity,  pace,  and  growth.  We  are 
not  questioning  the  cessation  of  labour,  but  only  its  decline. 
Both  managers  and  men  may  cling  on  to  their  employment, 
and  receive  the  wages  appointed  by  the  state;  but  this  is 
not  the  point  at  issue.  The  work  of  the  dilettante  may 
keep  him  from  starvation.  But  what  we  ask  is  this — what 
incentive  has  the  socialist  to  offer  to  that  keen,  unresting, 
untiring  energy  that  has  brought  our  industry  to  its  present 
state  ? 

The  second  incentive  is  the  eye  of  our  companions. 
Life  shall  become  a  system  of  mere  universal  espionage. 
Will  such  a  system  be  welcome  to  mankind?  It  were 
better  to  be  poor,  most  men  would  reply,  than  that  every 
man  should  be  my  keeper. 

Tanti  tibi  non  sit  opaci, 

Oninis  arena  Tagi,  quodque  in  mare  volvitur  aurum 
Ut  somno  careas,  ponendaque  praemia  sumas 
Tristis,  et  a  magno  semper  timearis  amico.1 

But  let  us  consider  the  case  as  it  stands.  Two  men  are 
working  at  the  same  lathe ;  they  both  earn  a  pound  a  week. 
A  idles  most  of  his  time.  He  has  a  right  only  to  ten 
shillings  a  week ;  but  the  state  pays  him  his  full  wages.  It 
is  evident  that  the  divide  will  suffer  by  this.  Now,  to  what 
extent  is  B  injured  ?  To  the  one  seventy-six-millionth 
of  a  pound.  The  same  objection  might  be  put  also  in 

1  Juvenal,  Sat. 


152  THE  IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

another  form — will  it  not  be  a  man's  own  interest  to  work 
his  best?  His  idleness  ultimately  recoils  upon  himself. 
The  profits  to  be  divided  will  not  be  so  large.  The  answer 
is  the  same  as  in  the  last  case.  If  a  man  were  to  live  to 
the  age  of  sixty,  and  during  most  of  that  time,  were  to 
neglect  his  work,  spending  his  time  drinking  and  sleeping  ; 
to  what  extent  would  he  suffer  in  the  end  ?  The  calcula- 
tion is  very  simple.  He  would  lose  about  the  one  forty- 
thousandth  of  a  pound,  or  the  one-hundred-and-sixtieth  part 
of  a  penny.  Such  trivial  effects  are  not  likely  to  stimulate 
either  his  neighbour's  vigilance  or  his  own  energies.  Besides, 
does  he  not  know  that  numerous  workmen  throughout  the 
country  are  wasting  their  time  and  receiving  money,  and 
shall  he  strive  to  do  justice  to  the  nation,  whilst  others 
are  living  at  his  expense? 

Thirdly,  there  are,  the  joy  in  creative  work,  the  longing 
to  improve,  the  eagerness  for  social  honours,  the  instinct 
of  benevolence,  &c.  The  first  two  of  these  could  never 
maintain  or  push  on  our  industries.  They  might  influence 
a  race  of  poets  and  artists,  but  they  have  little  effect  on  the 
mass  of  labourers.  Social  honours  are  much  more  palpable. 
What  these  honours  are  to  be  is  not  yet  decided.  They 
will,  probably,  resemble  the  honours  of  Nashoba,  i.e.,  'the 
very  good,  good,  indifferent,  and  bad,'  indicated  by  the  colour 
of  the  ribbon  on  the  head  ;  such  honours  as  these  have  been 
generally  adopted  in  our  infant  schools,  and  are  found  to 
work  very  effectually.  Even  grown-up  men  have  set  much 
value  on  the  medals  of  the  Humane  Society  ;  but  if  twenty 
millions  were  to  receive  them  yearly  they  would  scarcely 
incite  us  to  deeds  of  heroism.  I  have  already  spoken  of  the 
instinct  of  benevolence.  These  then  are  the  incentives  that 
the  socialists  offer  for  the  maintenance  and  progress  of  our 
industries.  We  can  scarcely  regard  them  as  very  effectual. 

Let  me  sum  up  briefly  what  I  have  been  saying  on  the 
benefits  we  may  expect  from  socialism.  The  present  system 
of  the  market  entails  fixed  wages  for  the  proletarian,  which, 
taken  from  the  varying  product  of  industry,  leaves  for  the 
capitalist  a  varying  and  uncertain  profit.  In  the  socialistic 
state  the  case  is  reversed.  Fixed  wages  for  the  manager, 


THE  ECONOMIC  ASPECT   OF  SOCIALISM  153 

but  a  varying  divide  for  the  mass  of  labourers,  from  a 
very,  changeable  and  uncertain  product,  that  is  supposed 
to  be  kept  at  its  present  level  by  certain  sentimental 
stimuli,  that  for  the  mass  of  men  are  wholly  ineffectual, 
and  for  all  are  necessarily  short-lived. 

I  come  now  to  a  matter  that  has  probably  suggested 
itself  to  the  reader  already.  I  have  been  endeavouring 
to  show,  that  socialism  entails  the  decay  of  industry, 
from  want  of  appropriate  and  adequate  incentives.  But 
does  not  the  existence  of  co-operative  industries  portray 
in  miniature  what  might  be  expected  from  the  socialistic 
state  ?  The  principles  and  results  of  both  are  the  same ;  but 
co-operative  industries  continue  to  exist,  and  afford  their 
shareholders  an  annual  divide.  I  am  not  now  speaking  of 
joint  stock  companies,  with  a  few  capitalists,  and  a  host  of 
efficient  and  well-paid  managers.  I  speak,  for  instance,  of 
co-operative  stores,  where  the  entepreneur  is  almost  dis- 
pensed with.  I  answer,  the  cases  are  very  different.  For 
we  may  store  up  as  capital  whatever  we  reap  from  co- 
operative industries,  and  put  it  out  at  premium,  which 
could  not  be  done  in  the  socialistic  state.  But,  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  what  has  been  the  history  of  co-operative  industries? 
Have  they  succeeded  where  they  have  been  tried?  We 
can  answer  only  by  appealing  to  facts.  The  co-operative 
cotton  mills  that  were  started  in  England  either  failed  or 
were  converted  into  joint  stock  companies.  The  co- 
operative stores  that  were  started  in  France,  after  the 
revolution  of  '48  were  an  utter  failure.  In  Switzerland, 
where  everything  favoured  their  adoption,  the  people  never 
took  kindly  to  them.  Even  joint  stock  companies  with 
a  number  of  capitalists,  where  no  one  has  heavy  stakes  to 
risk,  are  not  likely  to  advance  like  private  concerns.  Studnetz 
informs  us  that,  in  1878,  he  found  the  mills  of  New  York 
all  idle,  and  those  of  Philadelphia  working  away;  and  he 
attributes  the  fact  to  this  alone,  that  the  former  were  under 
joint  stock  companies,  but  the  latter  belonged  to  private 
owners.  It  will  be  readily  seen  that  the  co-operation  of 
which  I  have  been  speaking  has  nothing  to  do  with  that 
co-operation  which  is  advocated  in  agricultural  matters, 


154  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

a   system  that  has  proved   of  use    to    farmers   here    and 
elsewhere. 

I  shall  just  refer  to  one  other  matter.  The  reader  may  say 
I  have  treated  this  question  as  if  socialism  demanded  a 
number  of  centres;  as  if  England,  France,  Germany,  &c., 
were  each  to  possess  its  own  treasury.  But  the  aims  of 
socialism  may  be  wider  than  this.  If  nations  were  linked 
one  to  another,  and  the  whole  world  were  but  one  treasury, 
would  not  depressions  of  trade  in  a  particular  centre  be 
counteracted  by  a  proportional  rise  in  another  department 
of  the  universal  industry,  as  surface  depressions  in  particular 
places  are  followed  by  the  upheaval  of  hills  elsewhere. 
Thus  the  fluctuations  of  local  markets  would  have  no  effect 
in  the  final  divide.  Now,  the  reader  will  admit  that  the 
system  of  industry  here  advocated  is  certainly  one  of  the 
impossible  ideals  of  which  I  spoke  in  the  beginning  of  this 
paper.  But  let  us  examine  it  for  what  it  is  worth.  I  say 
that  the  objection  that  has  just  been  offered  embodies  a 
serious  economic  fallacy,  a  fallacy  that  assumes  many 
different  shapes  throughout  the  course  of  economic  science. 
The  fallacious  principle  involved  is  this — that  any  depres- 
sion in  a  particular  industry,  carried  through  the  easy 
channels  of  commerce  in  a  perfectly  adjusted  organic  system, 
is  necessarily  followed  by  a  rise  elsewhere.  The  principle 
means  that  capital  and  profits  are  a  constant  quantity,  and 
that,  consequently,  whatever  is  lost  to  a  particular  market 
is  gained  by  another,  as  a  matter  of  course.  I  might  call  it 
the  fallacy  of  the  '  profit  fund,'  from  its  close  resemblance  to 
'the  '  wages  fund.'  Now,  I  say  profits  are  not  a  constant 
quantity.  They  are  capable  of  growth  and  diminution.  They 
are  more  unstable  than  capital  itself.  We  know  very 
well  that  the  failure  of  an  industry  in  a  particular  place  will 
often  occasion  its  rise  elsewhere,  as  the  Lancashire  cotton 
famine  some  years  ago  stimulated  to  a  very  large  extent  the 
growth  of  cotton  in  India,  Egypt,  and  Brazil.  But  I  fail  to 
see  why  the  economic  effects  of  over-population  or  of  over- 
production of  market  goods  is  bound  to  enrich  a  market 
anywhere.  Products  often  have  a  limited  market,  inside 
of  which  alone  they  can  sell.  The  surplus  supply  cannot  be 


THE  ECONOMIC   ASPECT   OF   SOCIALISM  155 

transferred.  In  a  case  like  this  over-production  is  necessarily 
a  loss.  A  case  like  this  may  easily  entail  the  general  collapse 
of  trade  and  commerce.  Now,  the  want  of  incentives  is  of 
such  a  kind  ;  where  incentives  are  not  adequate,  industry 
must  flag.  "We  must  also  remember  that  industry  does  not 
right  itself.  If  equilibrium  is  ever  established,  it  is  secured 
by  artificial  means,  by  positive  interference  on  the  part  of 
the  manager.  But  such  interference  is  often  useless,  and 
often  it  is  quite  impossible.  We  sometimes  unconsciously 
touch  a  spring  that  sets  markets  heaving  all  over  the  world, 
for  the  springs  of  commerce  are  very  hidden,  and  often 
utterly  out  of  our  control.  In  1885  it  was  impossible  to  tell 
why  trade  was  depressed  in  1882.  Mr.  Giffen  could  only 
conjecture  the  cause.  He  said  it  was  probably  due  to  the 
fact  that  the  demand  for  gold  was  very  great,  and  the  supply 
was  so  small,  after  the  enormous  output  of  that  metal  that 
followed  the  Australian  and  Californian  discoveries. 

I  say  then  that  we  have  no  reason  to  expect,  that  the 
centralization  of  the  world's  industry  will  ensure  the 
stability  of  profits  and  salaries.  On  the  contrary,  I  can 
easily  retort,  that  no  security  may  be  hoped  for -in  a  system 
where  the  least  convulsion  in  any  locality  would  thrill 
through  every  fibre  of  our  industry,  and  set  markets  heaving 
in  the  remotest  places. 

There  are  many  points  on  which  I  have  not  touched, 
that  bear  down  intimately  on  the  question  in  hand.  But  we 
must  leave  them  aside  for  the  present.  I  have  shown,  I 
hope,  that  socialism  would  not  favour  the  production  of 
wealth ;  that  labour  would  suffer  by  such  a  system ;  that 
all  that  socialism  might  have  attempted  in  the  past,  has 
been  secured  on  quite  other  lines  ;  that  the  same  success 
could  not  have  been  reaped  had  socialism  been  the  national 
system ;  that,  therefore,  we  have  nothing  to  hope  for  from 
its  adoption,  but  a  very  great  deal  to  fear. 

The  reader  may  ask,  is  there  no  redress,  then,  for  our 
present  evils?  I  answer  that  socialism  could  offer  none. 
But  the  future  is  full  of  hope  for  labour.  It  is  only  recently 
that  the  rights  of  labour  have  been  really  recognised. 
Capitalists  see  that  it  is  more  in  accordance  with  their  own 


156  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

interests  to  give  to  labour  what  is  due  to  it.  The  system 
that  Macaulay  described  so  vividly  is  already  passing  or  passed 
away,  and  it  has  come  to  this  that  labour  is  in  a  position  to 
exercise  its  rights,  and  capital  is  not  in  a  position  to  ignore 
them.  Political  economy  is  an  altered  science,  for  the 
school  of  laissez-faire  is  dead.  '  It  needs,'  says  Mr.  Howell, 
'  no  prophet  to  foretell  that  human  labour  will  not  in  the 
future  be  divorced  from  the  man-worker,  and  be  treated  as 
a  mere  commodity  like  pigs  or  potatoes,  corn  or  cabbage,  as 
was  the  tendency  of  most  writers,  more  than  a  generation 
ago.' 

Let  us  hope  that  in  the  future  we  may  see  accomplished 
what  the  Church's  voice  has  been  ever  advocating,  the 
recognition  of  our  common  destiny,  to  be  reached  by  many 
diverse  paths. 

M.  CRONIN,  D.D.,  M.A. 


DANTE'S    FIRST    DEFENDER 

AT  the  beginning  and  at  the  end  of  Dante's  life,  Bologna 
produced  two  poets  closely  connected  with  the  singer 
of  the  Divine  Comedy :  Guido  Guinicelli,  and  Graziolo  de' 
Bambaglioli.  The  one  was  as  the  morning  star  to  the  sun, 
the  other  a  fainter  light  just  visible  in  its  setting.  Both, 
like  Dante,  were  exiles,  and  like  him  solaced  their  banishment 
with  song ;  Guido  Guinicelli,  Dante's  master  and  father  in 
poetic  art,  was  exiled  for  his  devotion  to  the  Empire  ; 
Graziolo  de'  Bambaglioli,  his  earliest  apologist,  and  almost 
his  first  commentator,  for  his  adherence  to  the  party  of  the 
Church. 

Graziolo,  or  Bonagrazia,  de'  Bambaglioli  was  born  about 
1291,  of  an  old  Bolognese  family.  His  father  was  a  wealthy 
citizen  who  had  held  various  offices  under  the  Eepublic,  and 
seems  to  have  possessed  estates  in  the  country.  Our  poet 
became  a  notary,  and  rose  to  considerable  eminence  and 
authority  in  the  Guelph  party  of  Bologna ;  and,  in  July, 
1321,  he  was  elected  Chancellor  of  the  Commune,  at  a 


DANTE'S   FIRST   DEFENDER  157 

peculiarly  critical  time  when  a  revolution  had  violently 
expelled  Homeo  de'  Pepoli  (a  rich  usurer,  who  had  become 
practically  lord  of  the  city),  and  had  established  a  new  form 
of  government,  in  many  respects  resembling  the  famous 
popular  constitution  of  the  Florentine  Republic,  with  its 
Priors  of  the  Arts  and  its  '  Gonfaloniere  di  Giustizia.'  Two 
months  later,  on  September  14th,  Dante  died  at  Eavenna. 
The  poet  of  a  renovated  Empire  and  a  purified  Church  had 
passed  away  upon  the  feast  of  the  Exaltation  of  the  Cross, 
which  he  represents  in  his  poem  as  the  connecting  band  with 
which  Christ  had  united  the  two. 

It  was  while  Chancellor  of  Bologna  that  Ser  Graziolo 
wrote  the  first  of  his  two  great  works  that  still  remain  to 
us,  his  commentary  upon  the  Inferno.  Dante's  writings, 
perhaps,  excited  even  greater  interest  in  Bologna  than  else- 
where, although  in  the  Inferno  he  had  assailed  the  moral 
character  of  its  citizens  and  treated  its  renowned  University 
with  scant  courtesy.  His  lyrics  were  certainly  known  and 
sung  there  before  their  author's  exile.  In  the  early  days  of 
his  banishment  Dante  had  probably  been  a  well-known 
figure  in  the  city,  before  the  disturbance  of  1306  hounded 
the  exiles  out  of  Bologna  too.  Towards  the  end  of  his  life 
those  charming  pastoral  letters  in  Latin  hexameters  which 
he  interchanged  with  Giovanni  del  Virgilio,  a  young  lecturer 
of  the  university,  show  that  there  was  a  cultured  Bolognese 
circle  who  eagerly  read  the  Divine  Comedy,  as  its  cantos 
appeared ;  and  that  the  city  would  gladly  have  bestowed  the 
laurel  crown  upon  its  author.  But,  above  all,  the  De 
Monarchia  must  have  appealed  strongly  to  the  Bologna 
University,  which  in  spite  of  the  Guelphic  politics  of  the 
Commune  remained  in  theory  ardently  Ghibelline  and 
imperialist,  and  from  whose  jurists  the  emperors  had  often, 
in  times  past,  applied  for  confirmation  of  their  pretended 
rights  over  the  Italian  cities. 

The  conflict  between  the  Pope  and  Ludwig  of  Bavaria, 
following  soon  after  Dante's  death,  increased  the  interest 
taken  in  his  writings,  and  added  the  stimulus  of  a  burning 
political  question.  Boccaccio  tells  us  that  the  Imperialists 
used  arguments  from  the  De  Monarchia  in  support  of 


158  THE  IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

Ludwig's  pretensions,  and  that  the  book,  which  until  then 
was  little  known,  became  very  famous.  Calumniators  and 
detractors  now  arose.  Antonio  Pucci,  a  Florentine  poet, 
who  wrote  nearly  half  a  century  later,  declares  that  in  his 
days  the  Pope  and  the  cardinals  would  have  been  among 
the  foremost  champions  of  Dante's  reputation.  But  at  the 
time  things  were  not  so  obvious.  Not  only  did  such  free 
lances  as  the  poet  Cecco  d'  Ascoli  sharpen  their  tongues 
against  him,  but  even  the  official  clerical  party  in  Bologna 
fiercely  assailed  Dante's  orthodoxy  and  denounced  his  works 
as  heretical,  both  from  the  De  Monarchia  and  from  certain 
passages  in  the  Inferno.  A  Dominican  friar  from  Rimini, 
Fra  Guido  Vernani,  made  himself  their  spokesman.  "With 
Escalus,  '  we  shall  find  this  friar  a  notable  fellow,'  although 
nothing  seems  known  of  him  except  his  extraordinary  attack 
upon  the  memory  of  the  divine  poet.  De  Potestate  sumini 
Pontificis  et  de  reprobatione  Monarchiae  compositae  a  Dante 
AUgherio,  is  the  title  given  by  the  Dominican  to  this 
remarkable  production,  which  he  dedicates  to  '  his  well- 
beloved  son,  Graziolo  de'  Bambaglioli,  Chancellor  of  the 
noble  Commune  of  Bologna,'  probably  as  one  of  the  leading 
Guelph  politicians  of  Bologna,  distinguished  alike  for  his 
undoubted  orthodoxy  and  for  his  enthusiastic  admiration  of 
Dante.  In  his  exordium,  Fra  Guido  represents  Dante's 
works  as  a  growing  danger  to  the  faith,  as  a  vessel  lovely  to 
look  upon,  but  containing  cruel  and  pestilent  poison.  The 
poet,  according  to  him,  is  an  agent  of  the  father  of  lies,  a 
fantastic  and  verbose  sophist,  who,  by  his  alluring  eloquence 
and  sweet  siren  strains,  by  uniting  the  philosophy  of 
Boethius  to  his  own  poetical  imaginations  and  fictions,  and 
combining  paganism  with  theology,  is  deluding  'not  only  the 
weaker  brethren,  but  even  studious  and  learned  persons. 
Dismissing  Dante's  other  works  with  contempt,  this  daring 
friar  proceeds  confidently  to  make  manifest  the  worthlessness 
of  the  treatise  on  the  Monarchy,  from  which  attempt  he 
trusts  that  Ser  Graziolo  will  derive  much  spiritual  profit 
and  edification : — 

This  then  do  I  send  to  thee,  well-beloved  son,  in  order  that 
thy  intellect   clear  by  nature  and  acute  by  divine  grace,  eager  in 


DANTE'S   FIRST   DEFENDER  159 

the  investigation  of  truth,  as  far  as  the  great  affairs  committed  to 
thee  allow,  whilst  studious  of  the  beauties  of  this  man's  work,  may 
choose  and  love  what  is  useful,  reject  what  is  false,  curtail  the 
superfluous,  and  avoid  the  useless  and  harmful. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  the  friar  sometimes  manages  to 
score  rather  heavily  off  the  poet,  especially  where  he  answers 
two  of  Dante's  favourite  arguments  about  the  divine  appro- 
bation of   the  Empire.      Thus,  when  Dante  declares  that 
Christ  approved  the  empire  of  Caesar  when  He  willed  to  be 
born  under  the  edict  of  Augustus,  the  friar  answers  that  it 
would  follow  from  this  line  of  argument  that  the  devil  acted 
justly  in  tempting  Christ,  and  Judas  by  betraying  Him,  the 
Jews  by  crucifying  Him  with  their   tongues,  the    soldiers 
when  they  scourged  Him,  and  Pilate  when  he  condemned 
Him  to  death  ;  for  Christ  willed  to  be  in  their  power,  and 
was  offered  up  because  it  was  His  will.  Again,  Dante  argues 
that,  if  the  Eoman  Empire  did  not  exist  by  right,  the  sin  of 
Adam  was  not  punished  in  Christ,  and  that  the  judgment  of 
Pilate  must  have  been  the  sentence  of  a  regular  judge  under 
the  Emperor,  who  had  universal  authority  over  all  mankind. 
Fra  Guido  answers  that    this  is  mere    nonsense,   for    the 
punishment  of  original  sin  cannot    possibly  be  subject  to 
the  power  of  any  earthly  judge,  or  else  such  a  judge  might 
lawfully  put  to  death  the  new-born  child. 

Fra  Guide's  dedication  clearly  implies  that  Ser  Graziolo 
was  known  to  be  engaged  upon  a  commentary  on  the  divine 
poet ;  and  it  was  probably  in  answer  to  this  challenge  that 
Graziolo  produced  the  work,  which  still  in  part  remains  to 
mark  its  author  as  the  first  Catholic  apologist  for  Dante, 
the  first  in  the  long  line  of  writers  from  Bellarmine  to 
Hettinger  and  Cornoldi,  who  have  written  from  the 
essentially  Catholic  point  of  view,  to  show  the  true 
relationship  of  the  Church  towards  her  greatest  poet. 
The  key-note  to  the  intention  of  Graziolo's  commentary 
is  struck  in  the  passage  where  he  explains  Dante's  treat- 
ment of  the  suicides  :  Credo  tamen  auctorem  praefatum 
tanquam  fidelem  Catholicum  omni  prudentia  et  scientia 
clarum,  suo  tenuisse  judicio  quod  ecclesia  sancta  tenet :  '  I 
believe  that  our  author  as  a  faithful  Catholic  held  what  holy 


160  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

Church  holds.'  This  commentary  first  appeared  about  three 
years  after  Dante's  death.  It  became  very  famous ;  contem- 
porary, and  even  later  commentators  quoted  and  borrowed 
from  it.  The  author  of  the  Ottimo  Commento,  generally 
called  the  Ottimo,  who  wrote  about  ten  years  later,  in  1334, 
twice  quotes  Ser  Graziolo  as  a  defender  of  Dante's  orthodoxy, 
although  he  himself  holds  that  there  is  no  need  of  any 
such  defence,  and  that  the  Paradiso  in  itself  contains  a 
sufficient  answer  to  any  accusation  of  heresy.  Already  in 
1334,  theories  casting  doubt  upon  Dante's  Catholicity  were 
regarded  by  the  poet's  best  commentators  as  mere  antiquated 
curiosities. 

Ser  Graziolo's  commentary  has  come  down  to  us  in  an 
early  Italian  translation,  and  in  a  very  fragmentary  version 
of  the  original  Latin.  The  former  was  published  by  Lord 
Vernon,  in  1848  ;  the  latter  was  first  edited  by  Professor 
A.  Fiammazzo,  in  1892. 1  It  is  mainly  its  position  in  the 
history  of  the  literary  study  of  the  Divine  Comedy  which 
gives  this  commentary  its  interest,  and  invests  it  \\ith 
charm.  It  gives  us,  about  certain  special  points,  the  opinion 
of  one  who  was  perhaps  Dante's  first  commentator,  and  who 
may  even,  like  Pietro  Alighieri  and  the  Ottimo,  have  been 
in  personal  contact  with  the  divine  singer.  It  is  clearly 
Graziolo's  own  enthusiastic  admiration  for  Dante,  and  the 
resulting  desire  to  defend  his  hero  from  all  detractors,  that 
is  the  prime  object  of  his  undertaking.  His  generous  proem, 
full  of  genuine  enthusiasm,  will  find  an  echo  in  the  heart  of 
every  loving  student  of  Dante  : — 

Although  the  unsearchable  Providence  of  God  hath  made 
many  men  blessed  with  prudence  and  virtue,  yet  before  all  hath 
it  put  Dante  Alighieri,  a  man  of  noble  and  profound  wisdom,  true 
teacher  of  philosophy  and  lofty  poet,  the  axithor  of  this  marvellous, 
singular  and  most  sapient  work.  It  hath  made  him  a  shining 
light  of  spiritual  felicity  and  of  knowledge  to  the  people  and 
cities  of  the  world,  in  order  that  every  science,  whether  of 
heavenly  or  of  earthly  things,  should  be  amply  gathered  up  in  this 
public  and  famous  champion  of  prudence,  and  through  him  be 

1  Fiammazzo,  //  Commento  air  Inferno  di  Graziolo  de'Bambaglioli,  Udine, 
1892.  Cf.  also  Rocca,  JH  Alcimi  Commciiti  del'.a  D.C.  composti  nci  primi  rent'  anni 
dojjo  la  morte  di  Dautc,  Firenze,  1891. 


DANTE'S  FIRST   DEFENDER  161 

made  manifest  to  the  desires  of  men  in  witness  of  the  Divine 
Wisdom  ;  so  that,  by  the  new  sweetness  and  universal  matter  of 
his  song,  he  should  draw  the  souls  of  his  hearers  to  self-knowledge, 
and  that,  raised  above  earthly  desires,  they  should  come  to  know 
not  only  the  beauties  of  this  great  author,  but  should  attain  to 
still  higher  grades  of  knowledge.  To  him  can  be  applied  the 
text  in  Ecclesiasticus  :  '  The  great  Lord  will  fill  him  with  the 
spirit  of  understanding,  and  he  will  pour  forth  the  words  of  his 
wisdom  as  showers.'  And  of  him  can  be  expounded  the  writing 
of  Ezechiel :  '  A  large  eagle  with  great  wings,  long-limbed,  full  of 
feathers,  and  of  variety,  came  to  Libanus,  and  took  away  the 
marrow  of  the  cedar  ;  he  cropt  off  the  top  of  the  twigs  thereof, 
and  carried  it  away  into  the  land  of  Chanaan.' 

Certainly  this  comparison  would  have  delighted  the 
heart  of  Dante,  finding  himself  likened  to  the  emblem  of  his 
universal  Roman  monarchy,  the  Bird  of  God,  the  sacrosanct 
sign,  whose  praises  he  had  sung  in  the  sixth  Canto  of  the 
Paradiso.  It  is  to  be  devoutly  hoped  that  a  copy  of  this 
work  penetrated  into  the  Dominican  Convent  of  Eimini, 
and  was  carefully  studied  by  Fra  Guide  Vernani. 

Throughout  his  commentary  Ser  Graziolo  rather  dis- 
regards the  general  allegorical  meaning,  that  splendid  but 
difficult  field  upon  which  the  Ottimo,  and,  later  in  the 
century,  Benvenuto  da  Imola,  were  to  do  such  admirable 
work.  He  is  strong  upon  the  personal  aspect  of  the  poem. 
According  to  him,  the  sleep  that  Dante  describes  in  the  first 
Canto  is  the  poet's  own  sinful  life ;  he  had  wandered  from 
the  way  of  truth,  and  was  stained  with  luxury,  pride,  and 
avarice.  Virgil  represents  Reason ;  he  appears  in  order  to 
lead  Dante  to  true  knowledge,  to  awaken  his  conscience, 
and  so  raise  him  from  vice  and  dispose  him  to  virtue. 
Graziolo  seems  likewise  to  distinguish  between  a  literal  and 
an  allegorical  Beatrice;  in  the  one  sense,  she  is  some  supreme 
virtue,  summa  virtus ;  and  in  the  other,  the  noble  soul  of 
Lady  Beatrice,  anima  generosa  dominae  Beatricis.  True 
to  his  intention  of,  above  all,  defending  Dante's  orthodoxy, 
Graziolo  manages  to  very  much  tone  down  the  terrible 
and  bitter  words  addressed  to  Pope  Nicholas  III.,1  and 
turns  away  Dante's  shaft  from  the  Papacy  to  strike  the 

1  Inferno  xix. 
VOL.  III.  I* 


1(V2  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

great  and  mighty  of  the  world  in  general.    In  comment- 
ing  upon  the  famous  and  much-disputed  passage  :    Colui 
che    fece   per    vitiate    il    gran   rifiuto,1   '  He    who  made 
through  cowardice  the  great  refusal,'  Graziolo  admits  that 
St.  Celestine  V.  is  the  person  meant,  but  tries  to  interpret 
the   passage  so  as   to   defend  both  St.  Celestine  and  his 
successor :  '  Through  the  carefulness  and  sagacity  of  Pope 
Boniface,  he  renounced  the  papacy.'    It  was  a  far  easier 
matter  to  prove   Dante's   complete  orthodoxy  on  the  two 
points    which  his   enemies  had   specially   seized   upon   as 
heretical ;  the  one  in  connection  with  the  power  and  influ- 
ence of  fortune,  which  was  supposed  to  involve  a  denial 
of  the  possession   of   free    will  ;2   and    the    other   on    the 
fate  of  the  suicides   whose    souls   were    apparently  never 
to   be   reunited   to   their    bodies,8  which    was    represented 
as  opposed  to   the  resurrection   of   the   body.     In  neither 
case  did   the  hostile  critics   think  it  worth  while  to  look 
beyond  the  special  passages  to  the  Cantos  in  which  these 
two  sublime  Catholic  doctrines  are  so  fully  and  splendidly 
treated  ;  and  Graziolo,  instead  of  pointing  out  the  absurdity 
and   triviality  of  such  objections,  solemnly  protests  his  con- 
viction that  the  poet  adhered  to  the  Church's  doctrine  upon 
these  and  all  other  subjects,  and  then  enters  into  a  rather 
long  and  dreary  digression  upon  each.     It  does  not  -even 
occur  to  him   that  Dante's   treatment   of   the   suicides  is 
merely  a  fine  poetical  fiction;  but  he  regards  it  as  a  meta- 
phorical way  of  speaking,  and  thinks  that  perhaps  the  poet 
only  meant  that  there  is  no  remedy  for  this  sin  of  despair, 
so  as  to  give  men  a  terrible  warning  against  cutting  them- 
selves off  from  the  hope  of  divine  mercy  by  committing 
suicide. 

Perhaps,  of  all  the  problems  arising  out  of  the  Divine 
Comedy ;  not  one  has  proved  so  incapable  of  certain  solution 
as  that  most  mysterious  prophecy  uttered  at  the  beginning 
of  the  poem,  of  the  coming  of  a  Deliverer,  the  Veltro  or  grey- 
hound, who  is  to  be  the  salvation  of  Italy,  and  to  hunt  the 
horrible  she-wolf  back  to  hell.  Hardly  two  critics  are  in 

*  Iufn-Ho  iii.  a  Inferno  vii.  :<  Inferno  xiii. 


DANTE'S  FIRST  DEFENDER  163 

complete  agreement  as  to  what  Dante  really  meant  by  this 
prophecy,  which  in  slightly  varied  forms  is  repeated  several 
times  in  the  course  of  the  poem  ;  and  the  fancies  of  modern 
commentators  have  run  riot  in  suggesting  fresh  and  impos- 
sible interpretations  of  the  wolf  and  his  mysterious  destroyer 
The  position  of  Ser  Graziolo  at  the  very  beginning  of  the 
critical  study  of  the  Divine  Comedy  gives  peculiar  interest 
to  his  interpretation  of  the  question.  For  him  the  wolf  is 
cupidity,  radix  omnium  malorum,  and  he  sees  no  political 
meaning  in  the  matter.  He  mentions  that  even  then  a  great 
variety  of  views  was  held  upon  the  Veltro,  but  declares  that 
it  ought  certainly  to  be  understood  in  two  ways — in  a  divine 
sense  and  in  a  human  sense,  both  of  which  he  works  out  in 
detail.  In  the  former,  this  Veltro  refers  to  the  coming  of  the 
Son  of  God  at  the  last  judgment ;  in  the  latter,  the  Veltro  is 
some  Pope  or  Emperor,  or  some  other  hero  who  will  arise  by 
the  influence  of  the  heavens,  under  whose  wise  and  just  rule 
universal  peace  will  be  established,  and  the  human  race  will 
again  turn  to  virtue  and  truth.  And  Ser  Graziolo,  in  support 
of  his  view,  quotes  the  famous  canzone  or  ode  which  Dante 
wrote  in  exile,  commencing  with  the  line  : — 

Tre  donne  intorno  al  cor  mi  son  venute. 

'Three  ladies  have  come  around  my  heart.'  These  three 
mystic  ladies  are  Kighteousness,  Generosity,  and  Temper- 
ance ;  exiles  too,  they  appear  to  Dante  in  his  banishment, 
and  assure  him  that,  although  the  virtues  have  been  all 
expelled  from  men's  hearts,  yet  they  are  not  dead,  and  that 
a  nobler  age  is  to  come  in  which  the  sacred  darts  of  love 
will  again  shine  brightly  amongst  men  : — 

We  to  the  eternal  rock  may  turn  ; 

For,  be  we  now  sore  driven, 

We  yet  shall  live,  and  yet  shall  find  a  race 

Who  with  this  dart  shall  each  dark  stain  efface.1 

It  was  in  this  canzone,  so  loved  by  Graziolo,  that  Dante 
exulting  in  these  noble  spiritual  companions  in  misfortune, 

1  Plumptre's  translation. 


164  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

had  uttered  the  sentence  which  strikes  the  key-note  of  his 
life  :— 

L'esilio  che  m'e  dato  onor  mi  tegno. 

'I  hold   my  exile   as   an   honour.'     And  Dante's  defender 
and  commentator  was  now  to  experience  the  same  fate. 

Bologna  lay  restlessly  beneath  the  strong  hand  of 
Cardinal  Bertrando  del  Poggetto,  who  had  been  sent  into 
Italy  by  Pope  John  XXII.,  in  1326,  as  Papal  Legate  to 
defend  Tuscany  and  the  Komagna  against  the  petty 
tyrants  who  were  rising  up  on  all  sides.  Abusing  the 
authority  committed  to  him  to  serve  his  own  ambitious  ends, 
Bertrando  had  taken  advantage  of  the  alarm  and  confusion 
caused  by  the  Italian  expedition  of  Ludwig  of  Bavaria  to 
make  himself  lord  of  Bologna  and  several  of  the  neighbouring 
cities.  His  rule  was  at  first  eminently  popular;  but,  em- 
bittered by  suspicion  and  carried  away  by  success,  he 
gradually  assumed  the  part  of  a  typical  Italian  tyrant,  and 
by  his  arrogance  and  cruelty  aroused  the  fiercest  animosity 
in  the  very  men  who  had  hailed  him  with  acclamations  as 
the  Church's  champion,  and  the  deliverer  from  the  hated 
Bavarian  Emperor.  Amongst  other  arbitrary  acts,  he 
gained  considerable  notoriety  by  a  disgraceful  attempt  to 
desecrate  Dante's  tomb  at  Eavenna.  At  last,  in  1334,  the 
Bolognese  rose  against  him.  The  Cardinal  found  himself 
besieged  in  the  castle  he  had  built  to  overawe  the  city,  until, 
after  a  blockade  of  twelve  days,  he  was  allowed  to  escape 
under  the  protection  of  the  Florentines,  by  virtue  of  a  secret 
understanding  with  the  leaders  of  the  Bolognese,  who  were 
anxious  to  recover  their  liberties  without  embroiling  them- 
selves with  the  Pope. 

The  part  played  by  Graziolo  in  these  events  was  probably 
only  a  passive  one ;  but,  nevertheless,  he  became  involved  in 
the  Cardinal's  fall.  Through  the  assistance  of  the  Florentines 
a  new  form  of  communal  government  was  now  established 
at  Bologna,  not  without  more  disturbances,  in  which  the 
party  that  had  overthrown  the  Cardinal  drove  out  their 
opponents.  It  is  said  that  in  June,  1334,  more  than  a 
thousand  Guelphs  were  thus  expelled  from  Bologna,  or  sent 


DANTE'S   FIRST   DEFENDER  165 

into  exile,  including  nine  members  of  the  Bambaglioli 
family,  and  amongst  them  the  Chancellor  himself. 
Ser  Graziolo  does  not  seem  to  have  been  one  of  those  who 
were  violently  expelled,  but  to  have  pledged  himself  to  obey 
the  decree  of  the  Commune  and  remain  in  banishment.  His 
paths  are  hidden  in  obscurity,  but  it  is  probable  that  he 
never  returned  to  his  native  cit}' .  In  1340  there  is  a  record 
of  money  given  to  the  Franciscans  for  Masses  to  be  said  for 
the  repose  of  his  soul ;  and  in  1343  he  is  mentioned  as  dead 
in  an  application  of  his  son's  to  the  Commune.1 

Like  his  great  master  Dante,  Ser  Graziolo  in  exile  turned 
to  poetry,  and  with  the  same  noble  end  :  '  To  rescue  those 
who  live  in  this  life  from  their  state  of  misery,  and  to  guide 
them  to  the  state  of  blessedness,' though  with  immeasurably 
slighter  powers,  and  therefore  by  humbler  means.  With  a 
more  modern  poet,  Graziolo  might  say : — 

Of  heaven  or  hell  I  have  no  power  to  sing. 

He  could  not,  like  Dante,  set  forth  the  hideousness  of 
vice  and  the  beauty  of  virtue  by  a  sublime  vision  of  the 
world  beyond  the  grave.  He  set  himself,  therefore,  to  attain 
the  same  end  more  simply,  by  plainly  treating  of  the  moral 
virtues,  of  their  effects  upon  human  society,  and  of  the 
evils  resulting  from  vice ;  and  so,  in  his  own  way,  to  render 
testimony  to  his  Maker : — 

A  tua  eterna  lode,  alto  signore. 

This  Trattato  sopra  h  Virtu  Morali,  or  Treatise  on  the 
Moral  Virtues,  which  is  the  work  of  Graziolo's  exile,  as  the 
commentary  upon  Dante  had  been  the  literary  product  of 
his  political  life,  was  originally  sent  by  its  author,  together 
with  a  Latin  commentary  and  a  dedicatory  letter,  to 
Bertrando  del  Balzo,  the  kinsman  of  King  Robert  of  Naples. 
In  this  way  the  treatise  became  afterwards  ascribed  to 
King  Robert  himself,  under  whose  name  it  has  more 
frequently  been  published  than  under  that  of  its  real 
author.  In  the  dedication  Graziolo  describes  himself  as 
olim  civitatis  Bononiae  cancellarius,  and  imitates  the 

1  Fantuzzi,  Notizie  degli  scrittori  Bolognesi,  Bologna;  1781. 


166  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

epistolary  style  occasionally  employed  by  Dante  :  exul 
immeritus,  humilis.  The  letter  itself  is  exactly  in  the 
spirit  of  Hamlet's  words  : — 

Sure,  He  that  made  us  with  such  large  discourse, 
Looking  before  and  after,  gave  us  not 
That  capability  and  godlike  reason 
To  fust  in  us  unused. 

The  divine  wisdom  and  clemency,  he  says,  made  man 
to  His  own  image  and  likeness,  that  he  should  not  fust  in 
pernicious  idleness  and  uselessness,  but  should  use  his  intel- 
lect in  speculation,  so  as  to  seek  and  find  the  truth  ;  for 
this  does  the  Gospel,  through  St.  Matthew,  summon  the 
labourers,  whom  no  man  has  hired,  to  work  in  the  vineyard 
of  the  Lord  : — 

Wherefore  I,  since  no  man  has  hired  me  to  humbly  labour  or 
to  hold  office  in  the  state,  in  order  to  remain  no  longer  in  idle 
waste  of  time  during  this  unjust  exile  which  envy  prepared  for 
me,  have  drawn  out  this  treatise  on  natural  morality  from  the 
approved  writings  of  venerable  authors. 

The  work  is  divided  into  three  sections,  each  composed 
of  a  number  of  sentenze,  short  Italian  stanzas  of  varying 
length  and  structure.  Quadrio  called  it  one  of  the  finest  and 
wisest  of  early  Italian  poems,  and,  although  such  praise  is 
more  than  excessive,  the  treatise  certainly  has  great  merits. 
Before  Graziolo,  Francesco  da  Barberino  and  Dino  Compagni 
produced  somewhat  similar  works  ;  but  Graziolo  at  the 
outset  strikes  a  higher  note,  and  his  opening  stanza : — 

Amor  che  muovi  '1  ciel  per  tua  virtute, 

shows  that  he  had  studied  Dante's  philosophical  lyrics,  as 
well  as  the  Divine  Comedy  : — 

Love,  that  movest  the  heaven  by  Thy  power,  and  by  the 
\vorking  of  the  stars  dost  alter  all  things  here  below,  transfer- 
ring kingdoms  from  state  to  state  and  from  nation  to  nation ; 
mercifully  lend  ear,  Almighty  Lord,  and  deign  to  inspire  me  that 
I  may  make  manifest  man's  virtues  and  the  result  of  his  actions  ; 
to  Thy  eternal  praise,  Lord,  for  right  affections  can  never  be 
without  Thy  potent  aid. 

In  its  own  modest  and  humble  way,  Ser  Graziolo's  poem 
is  a  supplement  to  the  Purgatorio.  The  Purgatorio  repre- 


DANTE'S   FIRST    DEFENDER  167 

sented  allegorically  the  life  of  man  upon  earth,  striving  to 
reach  the  Earthly  Paradise  in  accordance  with  the  moral 
and  intellectual  virtues.  Graziolo,  therefore,  treats  of  the 
virtues  which  especially  pertain  to  this  life,  the  cardinal 
virtues  which  attain  to  human  reason,  and  which  '  perfect 
the  intellect  and  appetite  of  man  according  to  the  capacity  of 
human  nature.'  As  for  Dante  in  his  Purgatorio,  so  for 
Graziolo  the  whole  system  of  the  poem  is  based  upon  the 
supremacy  of  free  will.1  The  Lombard  Marco,  in  Purgatorio, 
Canto  vi.,  had  exposed  the  'admirable  evasion'  of  man's 
referring  his  own  misdeeds  to  the  '  enforced  obedience  of 
planetary  influence;'  and  Graziolo,  in  very  similar  strains, 
asserts  the  freedom  of  man's  will  and  his  own  moral  respon- 
sibility in  spite  of  the  planets.  And,  just  as  the  Purgatorio 
is  based  upon  the  universality  of  love,  and  the  consequent 
need  of  setting  love  in  order,  and  centres  in  the  doctrine 
that  love  is  the  cause  of  every  action,  so  the  first  part  of 
Graziolo's  Trattato  deals  with  love,  starting  with  that  noble 
invocation  to  the  Supreme  Love  that  moves  the  sun  and  the 
stars,  and  passing  thence  to  love  of  charity  and  true  friend- 
ship. Love  and  friendship  unite  all  ranks  in  the  common 
weal,  put  an  end  to  strife,  open  all  roads.  Through  love 
the  world  has  peace  and  the  heavens  have  beauty.  Love 
exalts  the  lowly,  makes  the  weak  strong.  To  the  state  it 
gives  unity  for  self-defence.  It  fills  the  world  with  sweet- 
ness and  nobleness.  The  true  lover,  il  vero  amico,  in  pros- 
perity and  in  adversity,  loves  and  serves  alike,  expecting  no 
reward.  There  are  stern  words,  too,  against  ingratitude  and 
against  false  friends  ;  in  many  passages  it  is  the  exile's  voice 
that  is  heard,  pleading  for  that  charity  which  opens  gates, 
dispels  civil  strife,  unites  cities,  and  produces  true  peace 
and  happy  security. 

The  second  part  treats  of  the  four  cardinal  virtues.  It 
shows  to  some  extent  the  influence  of  Dante's  Convito  ;  but 
the  treatment  is  more  slight  and  popular,  and  they  are 
throughout  considered  with  an  eye  to  the  direction  of 
conduct  in  a  man  who  is  called  upon  to  deal  with  politics, 
and  with  special  reference  to  the  maintenance  of  the  state, 

1  Cf.  F.  Faleo,  Moralinti  Italia ni  del  trecento,  Lucca,  1891 


168  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

and  the  order  and  welfare  of  the  commune.  It  might, 
indeed,  be  described  as  a  practical  handbook  of  the  cardinal 
virtues  in  their  application  to  life  in  an  Italian  commune  of 
the  fourteenth  century.  Under  Prudence  there  is  a  curious 
sketch  of  the  duties  of  an  ideal  ruler  towards  his  city,  his 
household,  and  his  subjects.  He  must  curb  his  own  will, 
and  be  ever  intent  upon  the  good  of  the  commune ;  a  very 
centre  of  charity,  loving  all  his  subjects  in  union,  and  win- 
ning their  love  in  return ;  affable  and  pleasant  to  all,  he  is  a 
bond  of  peace  and  unity.  Especially  he  must  be  very  careful 
as  to  the  behaviour  and  morality  of  his  own  household,  and 
at  once  weed  out  any  undesirable  member.  He  is  to  be 
prudent  in  rewarding  and  honouring  merit,  to  beware  of 
flatterers,  but  be  open  to  receive  good  counsel  from  discreet 
and  trusty  friends.  Warnings  against  indulging  in  plots  on 
the  part  of  the  subject,  and  against  unjust  sentences  on  the 
part  of  the  ruler,  are  followed  by  general  denunciations  of 
calumniators.  Like  Dante,  Ser  Graziolo  had  known  what 
it  was  to  suffer  injustice, 

Through  sin  of  cursed  slander's  tongue  and  tooth. 

The  sentences  on  Fortitude  are  indeed  applicable  to  the 
poet's  own  position.  In  adversity,  he  says,  mental  peace 
and  joyfulness  should  be  cultivated,  for  sadness  is  not  only 
useless,  but  real  spiritual  suicide.  Leave  all  vengeance  to 
heaven,  and  await  the  turning  of  fortune's  wheel.  The  man 
of  true  fortitude  will  thus  experience  how  honour  is  gained 
in  noble  suffering  : — 

Come  del  bel  soffrir  s'acquista  onore. 

What  Divine  Providence  permits  is  to  be  sustained  with 
patience,  for  such  things  lead  through  body's  loss  to  the 
eternal  felicity  of  the  soul  in  God  :— 

Per  dar  felicitate 

Allo  spirto  che  in  Dio  vive  eternale. 

There  is  here  almost  a  faint  foretaste  of  Shakespeare's 
sonnet : — 

Then,  soul,  live  thou  upon  thy  servant's  loss, 
And  let  that  pine  to  aggravate  thy  store ; 

Buy  terms  divine  in  selling  hours  of  dross; 
Within  be  fed,  without  be  rich  no  more. 


DANTE'S    FIRST    DEFENDER  169 

The  third,  and  concluding  section  treats  of  the  seven 
deadly  sins,  and  of  the  vices  and  defects  of  human  life.  It 
must  be  admitted  that  our  good  Graziolo  has  nothing  very 
new  to  tell  us  upon  these  themes,  and  the  best  and  most 
poetical  passages  are  those  in  which  he  catches  an  echo 
from  the  Convito  or  the  Divine  Comedy.  The  two  final 
sentenze  are  a  kind  of  corollary ;  the  first  laments  the  malice 
of  party  spirit,  and  the  second  finds  a  cause  for  this,  and  for 
the  resulting  ruin  of  Italy,  in  the  utter  selfishness  of  states 
and  individuals  alike.  The  common  good  is  neglected;  each 
looks  only  to  his  own  gain  ;  the  most  zealous  partisans  will 
readily  change  sides  for  mercenary  considerations;  states 
are  no  longer  in  arms  for  great  causes,  but  to  maintain  the 
power  of  individuals. 

As  he  had  commenced  by  invocation  of  the  divine  grace 
for  his  poem,  so,  before  closing  it,  Graziolo  gives  thanks 
that  his  prayer  has  been  answered,  and  ends  by  lifting  the 
thoughts  and  desires  of  his  readers  from  the  life  to  which 
these  virtues  pertain,  to  that  eternal  and  celestial  life  on  the 
way  towards  which  they  are  a  step.  The  stanza  has  usually 
been  omitted  from  the  published  editions  of  the  Trattato;  but 
it  is,  in  its  own  very  humble  way,  as  essential  a  conclusion 
to  the  whole  work  as  the  Paradiso  is  to  the  Purgatorio  : — 

Opra  novella,  poich'  hai  dimostrato 
Li  vitii  e  le  virtu  d'umana  vita, 
Consiglia  che  ciascun'  anzi  1'uscita 
Proveggia  bene  al  suo  eterno  stato  ; 
Poi  renda  lode,  gratia  e  reverentia 
All'  infinita  e  superna  eccellentia, 
La  qual  per  pietade 
Ti  ha  spirato  per  la  veritade. 

'  My  little  book,  since  thou  hast  shown  the  vices  and 
virtues  of  human  life,  counsel  each  one  before  his 
death  to  provide  well  for  his  future  state.  Then  render 
praise,  thanks,  and  reverence  to  the  infinite  and  supreme 
excellence  which  in  compassion  hath  inspired  thee  for  the 
truth.'  There  is,  perhaps,  a  faint  echo  here  from  the 
Convito,1  where  the  noble  soul  in  the  fourth  and  last  period 

1  Book  iv. 


170  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

of  life  returns  to  God,  and  blesses  the  voyage  she  has  made ; 
and  Graziolo's  accompanying  commentary  ended  in  a 
similar  strain :  '  That  with  the  heavenly  citizens  of  the 
triumphant  and  holy  Jerusalem  we  may  glory  and  be  at 
peace  in  Him,  who  is  the  last  end  of  perfection  and  glory, 
who  alone  perfectly  fulfils  and  sets  at  rest  all  human 
desires.'  Thus  we  take  leave  of  one  who,  although  him- 
self neither  a  great  poet  nor  a  very  profound  thinker,  yet  by 
his  rectitude  and  sincerity  wins  respect  in  every  fragment 
of  his  that  remains  to  us,  and  who  certainly  claims  con- 
siderable interest  from  his  connection  with  Dante  and  the 
Divine  Comedy,  at  the  time  of  the  poet's  death  and  the 
beginning  of  the  critical  study  of  his  work. 

EDMUND  G.  GARDNER. 


[    171     ] 

IRotes   anb  (Queries 

THEOLOGY 

MASSES  FOB,  THE  DEAD 

KEV.  DEAB  SIR, — From  the  answer  given  with  reference  to 
the  'Dead  List '  in  the  December  number  of  the  I.  E.  KECORD,  it 
would  seem  that  the  November  offerings  must  be  looked  upon  as 
honoraria,  and  that  the  obligation  attached  cannot  be  fulfilled  by 
saying  second  Masses  when  honoraria  are  already  received  for 
the  first. 

Now,  if  the  method  of  division  can  be  taken  as  determining 
whether  these  offerings  are  to  be  regarded  as  honoraria  or  dues, 
it  seems  to  some  and  to  me  that  a  sound  distinction  would 
regulate  the  matter.  If  the  offerings  are  distributed  as  honoraria 
the  obligation  is  the  same  as  for  any  other  honoraria,  and,  con- 
sequently, it  is  prohibited  to  attempt  to  satisfy  it  by  the  second 
Mass  when  a  stipend  has  been  taken  for  the  first ;  but  when  the 
division  has  been  made  according  to  the  mode  of  parochial  dues, 
then  the  celebrant  is  free  to  discharge  his  obligation  by  the 
second,  as  dues  are  not  regarded  as  honoraria,  but  part  and 
parcel  of  his  official  endowment  or  salary.  As  the  question  is 
important,  practical,  and  subject  to  diversity  of  interpretation,  I 
would  be  glad  to  hear  more  on  the  matter  from  the  wise  and  the 
learned  among  your  readers. 

DUBIUS  DUPLICANS. 

The  readers  of  the  I.  E.  EECOED  will,  no  doubt,  readily 
understand  our  correspondent's  point  of  view  when  he 
insists  that  this  is  an  important  and  a  practical  question. 
But  we  decline  to  believe  that,  learned  or  unlearned,  they 
will  take  his  estimate  of  the  relevancy  or  force  of  the 
argument  on  which  he  relies.  Apart  from  the  taste  in 
making  the  distinction,  we  venture  to  think  that  our 
correspondent  was  singularly  unfortunate  in  addressing  his 
argument  to  the  '  wise  and  learned  '  among  our  readers. 

What  are  generally  known  as  '  November  offerings '  our 


172  THE  IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

correspondent  prefers  to  describe  and  regard  as  '  dues.'  We 
must  confess  to  a  preference  for  the  ordinary  designation ; 
but  the  point  is  quite  immaterial.  Our  correspondent 
conveys  that  the  '  November  offerings '  are,  in  his  parish, 
divided  among  the  parochial  clergy  after  the  manner  of  the 
ordinary  '  dues.'  He  seems  to  think  that  the  custom  of  his 
parish  or  diocese  is  universal,  and  that  it  should  settle 
terminology  and  practice.  In  both  particulars  he  is  in 
error.  The  practice  of  his  parish  is  not  universal ;  it  can- 
not, therefore,  settle  terminology — still  less  practice.  "We 
gather  from  his  letter — (1)  that  a  portion  of  the  November 
offerings  reaches  him  ;  (2)  that  there  is  attached  an  obliga- 
tion to  offer  a  certain  number  of  Masses  for  those  whose 
names  are  on  the  '  Dead  List ' ;  (3)  that  he  has  sometimes 
legitimate  permission  to  duplicate  on  Sunday ;  and  (4)  that, 
without  any  dispensation,  he  considers  himself  justified  in 
offering  his  second  Mass  on  Sunday  in  discharge  of  one  of 
these  '  November  Masses,'  though  he  has  already  taken  a 
stipend  for  his  first  Mass  on  that  same  day.  We  are 
informed  that  this  view  is  shared  by  others  whom  our 
correspondent  has  consulted.  For  the  present,  we  prefer 
to  believe  that  he  has  misunderstood  these  theologians. 

It  is  admitted  that  in  accepting  his  share  of  the  Novem- 
ber offerings,  he  contracts  in  justice  to  offer  the  requisite 
number  of  Masses  for  the  dead.  Otherwise,  his  difficulty, 
in  case  of  duplication,  could  not  arise.  Now,  that  obligation 
in  justice  being  admitted,  it  is  manifest  that  our  correspon- 
dent, if  he  acted  on  his  own  opinion,  would  take  two  stipends 
on  the  Sunday  on  which  he  celebrates  his  first  Mass  for  an 
ordinary  honorarium,  and  his  second  in  satisfaction  of  the 
obligation  arising  from  the  '  November  offering. '  He  may 
call  the  latter  stipend  '  part  of  his  dues,'  and  he  may  have 
come  by  it  by  any  process  of  division  that  ingenuity  can 
suggest ;  it  is  still  a  stipend,  and  usually  a  good  one,  with 
an  obligation  in  justice  attached ;  he  cannot  take  two  such 
when  he  duplicates  ex  dispensations. 

This  is  true  enough,  our  correspondent  admits,  when 
there  is  question  of  '  honoraria,'  but  not,  he  thinks,  when 
there  is  question  of  offerings  divided  '  after  the  mode  of 


NOTES   AND   QUERIES  173 

parochial  dues. '  For  '  then  the  celebrant  is  free  to  discharge 
his  obligation  by  the  second  Mass,  as  dues  are  not  regarded 
as  honoraria,  but  part  of  his  salary.'  We  take  it  that  our 
correspondent  is  a  curate.  Of  course,  apart  from  offerings 
such  as  these  so-called  '  November  dues,'  the  maintenance 
that  a  curate  receives  from  the  parish  imposes  on  .him  no 
obligation  regarding  the  application  of  his  Masses,  and, 
therefore,  does  not  affect  the  question  of  a  double  stipend. 
But,  our  correspondent  has  probably  heard  that  a  parish 
priest,  in  accepting  his  dues,  contracts  in  justice  to  offer 
certain  Masses  pro  popido,  and,  moreover,  that  a  parish 
priest,  duplicating  on  Sunday,  cannot  at  one  Mass  take  an 
ordinary  honorarium,  and  by  the  other  lawfully  satisfy  the 
obligation  of  celebrating  pro  populo.  So,  too,  a  curate 
duplicating  on  Sunday,  is  not  justified  in  taking  an  ordinary 
honorarium  for  one  Mass  when  he  wishes  by  the  other  to 
satisfy  the  obligation  in  justice  arising  from  his  '  November 
dues.'  We  assume,  of  course,  that  he  has  not  got  a 
dispensation  to  take  a  double  stipend. 

Our  correspondent  cannot  hope  to  hear  from  the  '  wise 
and  learned  '  readers  of  the  I.  E.  RECORD  until  the  March 
number  appears.  Meantime,  as  the  question  is  '  important 
and  practical '  from  points  of  view  other  than  his,  we  have 
thought  it  our  duty  to  illustrate  his  alleged  liberty  by 
contrasting  it  with  the  obligations  of  his  parish  priest. 

D.  MANNIX. 


t    174    ] 


CORRESPONDENCE 

THE  ANCIENT    IRISH    CHURCH 

REV.  DEAB  SIB, — Whether  designedly  or  otherwise,  the 
compiler  of  The  Ancient  Irish  Church  has  adopted  an  effectual 
method  of  bringing  the  present  discussion  to  a  close.  A  tirade 
of  thirteen  pages,  with  less  than  half  devoted  to  a  defence,  such 
as  it  is,  and  affecting  to  treat  as  trivial,  whilst  ignoring,  grave 
charges,  including  breaches  of  good  faith,  cannot  lay  claim  to 
serious  attention. 

Contra  verbosos  noli  contendere  verbis. 

It  only  remains,  accordingly,  in  dismissing  '  this  little  publi- 
cation/ to  give  typical  instances  of  the  errors  alluded  to  at  the 
end  of  the  letter  in  the  December  number. 

To  show  the  intelligent  use  made  of  the  '  works  quoted,'  the 
following  is  accepted  as  correct :  '  the  Brehon  Laws  assume  the 
existence  of  a  married  as  well  as  an  unmarried  clergy.  They 
make  reference  to  two  classes  of  bishops:  the  "virgin  bishop," 
and  the  "bishop  of  one  wife."  The  "virgin  bishop,"  if  he 
lapsed  into  grievous  sin,  did  not,  they  say,  recover  his  grade  or 
pristine  perfection,  according  to  some;  but  the  "bishop  of  one 
wife  "  did,  provided  he  performed  his  penance  within  three  days  ' 
(pp.  136-7).  A  reference  is  given,  '  Senchus  Mor,  i.  p.  57.' 

Here,  as  in  so  many  other  instances,  the  compiler  has  taken 
statements  upon  trust.  Had  he  used  his  own  eyes,  as  he  was 
strictly  bound  to,  he  would  have  seen  that  the  Brehon  Laws  contain 
nothing  of  the  kind.  To  state  the  matter  briefly.  The  native 
Corpus  Juris  consists  of  statutes,  running  commentaries  and 
verbal  glosses.  In  the  MSS.,  these  three  are  respectively  written  in 
large,  medium,  and  small  script, — a  lucid  arrangement,  adopted, 
as  to  Irish  and  English,  in  the  official  edition.  Among  the  four 
territorial  magnates  liable  to  degradation  for  malfeasance,  the 
Law  (in  large  letter)  places  a  stumbling  (i.e.,  incontinent)  bishop 
(i.  pp.  55-56)  (The  gloss,  it  has  to  be  remarked  in  passing,  gives 
an  etymology  of  stumbling — tuisledach — that  is  beneath  notice.) 
Hereupon  is  the  commentary  (in  medium  character,  pp.  56-59), 
which  the  compiler  mistook,  at  second  or  third  hand,  for  the 


CORRESPONDENCE  175 


Law  !  These  are  the  full  data,  and  they  prove  that  the  '  objection  ' 
in  question  was  the  outcome  of  ignorance  or  malice. 

Now,  for  the  scholium.  This  affords  internal  evidence  that 
it  was  composed  at  a  time  when  married  bishops  did  not  exist. 
In  the  (sixth- century)  Penitential  of  Finnian,  both  the  delin- 
quents named  in  the  commentary  received  six  years'  penance, 
and  were  to  be  rehabilitated  in  the  seventh  year.  Whence  it 
follows  that  to  make  one  culprit  incapacitated  for  life  and  restore 
another  equally  guilty  after  three  days'  fast  never  represented  an 
actual  state  of  things.  Equity  of  the  sort  was  devised  for  Utopia. 

Nor  is  this  all.  Once  more,  as  in  the  case  of  the  St.  Gall 
Ordo,  the  proof  can  be  extended  and  completed  by  aid  of  a  volume 
not  on  the  compiler's  list.  Another  commentary  (in  medium 
hand),  treating,  inter  alia,  of  punishments  and  fines  to  be 
imposed  for  assaults  upon  bishops  and  priests,  applies  the 
distinction  of  '  virgin '  and  '  of  one  wife  '  to  the  two  grades 
(Brehon  Laws,  iv,  pp.  362-9).  By  good  fortune,  however,  the 
enactments  themselves,  most  probably  in  the  original  language, 
are  extant.  They  are  the  (eight)  decrees  of  a  Synodis  Hibernensis, 
and  they  mention  episcopus  and  presbyter  without  qualification 
(Wasserschleben,  Bussordnungen,  pp.  140-1). 

Thus,  neither  in  the  Civil  nor  in  the  Canon  Law  of  ancient 
Ireland  is  the  existence  of  a  married  clergy  assumed.  Such,  no 
doubt,  existed  (down  to  what  time,  it  is  immaterial  for  the  present 
purpose  to  discuss)  ;  but  this  falls  short  toto  coelo  of  proving 
that  the  number  was  so  great  as  to  obtain  formal  recognition  in 
the  legislation  of  Church  and  State.  The  commentaries,  accor.d- 
ingly,  were  purely  fantastic, — arising  from  the  misdirected  (and 
in  this  case  perhaps  malicious)  ingenuity  inveterate  in  the  Brehon 
legists. 

The  value  of  the  Irish  testimonies  is  apparent  in  another  of  the 
three  extracts  that  profess  to  be  taken  directly  from  the  Speckled 
Book.  This  excerpt,  containing  little  more  than  eight  lines,  will 
be  found  to  present  no  fewer  than  eighteen  errors,  whether  of 
transcription  or  press  ;  whilst,  in  addition,  a  clause  of  nine  words 
is  not  rendered  in  the  translation,  leaving  the  English  reader  to 
infer  that  the  native  writer  did  not  believe  in  the  Crucifixion 
(p.  79) ! 

Coming  to  the  Latin,  one  page  (37)  is  adorned  with  a  rescen- 
sion  and  a  translation,  each  equally  notable.  Qui  potestatem 
habens,  '  who  hast  the  power ;  '  adversariis  potius  maims  dantia 


176  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

quam  resistcntis,  '  yielding  help  to,  instead  of  withstanding  the 
enemy.'  '  Tried  by  the  Dictionaries,'  this  version,  it  must  be 
admitted,  '  may  claim  an  acquittal '  :  maims  dare,  to  give  hands  ; 
i.e.,  to  yield  help  to  !  At  the  risk  of  being  taxed  with  '  hyper- 
critical carping,'  one  is  tempted,  however,  to  question  whether 
this  was  the  sense  which  Columbanus  (the  words  are  from  a 
Letter  of  the  Saint)  learned,  in  the  school  of  Bangor,  to  attach 
to  the  expression. 

Elsewhere  (pp.  201-2),  a  quotation  from  the  Book  of  Armagh 
has  crucem  quae  erat  juxta  viam  sitam  and  interrogavit  qua 
morte  abierat.  The  two  editions  referred  to  have  the  emenda- 
tions sita  and  obierat.  The  compiler,  it  may  be,  judges  these 
'  recensional '  details  to  be  erroneous. 

In  the  matter  of  '  the  early  hymnology  of  the  Irish  '  (p.  163), 
the  compiler  is  a  veritable  pundit.  The  severe  rescensions  he 
approves  of  remind  one  of  Hebrew  without  the  points.  For 
example  (p.  161)  : — 

Celebra  iuda  festa  christi  gaudia 

The  scansion  and  translation  are  equally  striking.  '  Eendered 
as  English  prose '  the  words,  we  learn,  signify  '  Celebrate,  O  festive 
Juda,  the  joys  of  Christ.'  The  humdrum  prosody,  in  vogue  before 
St.  Patrick's  Day,  A.D.  1897  (when  the  new  Gradus  ad  Parnassum 
burst  upon  the  world),  had  it  that  the  line  was  made  up  of  two 
parts  of  five  and  seven  syllables  respectively,  thus  expressed  : — 

Celebra,  Juda,  ||  festa  Christi  gaudia. 

Festa  would  consequently  be  accusative  plural,  not  vocative 
singular  ;  agreeing  with  gaudia,  not  with  Juda  : — 

Celebrate,  0  Juda,  the  festal  joys  of  Christ. 

These,  however,  are  doubtless  some  of  the  results  of  '  a  slender 
acquaintance  with  the  study  '  (p.  163). 

The  adoption  of  Warren's  text  of  the  Stowe  Missal  has  resulted 
in  some  drastic  liturgical  changes.  To  appreciate  them  to  the 
full,  and  for  a  reason  to  be  mentioned  later  on,  the  rejected 
readings  of  the  Eoyal  Irish  Academy  edition  are  likewise 
supplied. 

The    Ancient    Irish    Church,  Trans.  E.  I.  A.y   xxvii. 

p.  158.  p.  192. 

Libera   nos    christe  .  .  .  libera  nos  [Ps.  cliii.  7]. 

audi  nos  christe  Christe  audi  nos ; 

Christ,  deliver  us.  Christe  audi  nos ; 

Christ,  hear  us.  Christe  uudi  nos. 


CORRESPONDENCE  177 

[a] 

Trans.  E.I.  A.,  xxvii.  pp.  193-4. 

'To  facilitate  comparison  to  some  extent,  numbers  are  placed  on 

the  margins.) 

Propitius  esto,  parce  nobis,  Domine, 

Propitius  esto,  libera  nos,  Domine. 

Ab  omni  malo,  libera  nos,  Domine. 

Per  Crucem  tuam,  libera  nos,  Domine. 
[5]   Peccatores,  te  rogamus,  audi  nos. 

Fill  [Filii,  MS.]  Dei,  te  rogamus,  aiidi  nos. 

Ut  pacem  dones,  te  rogamus,  audi  nos. 
[8]    Agne  Dei,  qui  tollis  peccata   mundi, 

miserere  [misserere,  MS.]  nobis. 

[b] 

The  Ancient  Irish  Church,  p.  160. 

(The  petitions  are  here  arranged  in  the  usual  order ;  on  the 
page  quoted  from,  they  are  given  continuously,  '  for  the  special 
satisfaction  of  scholars.') 

Propitius  esto.  Be  propitious. 

Parce  nobis  domine.  Spare  us  0  Lord. 

Propitius  esto.  Be  propitious. 

Libera    nos,    domine,    ab  Deliver  us    0   Lord    from    all 

omni  malo.  evil. 

[5]   Libera    nos,   domine,    per  Deliver  us  0  Lord  by  thy  cross. 

crucem  tuam. 

Libera  nos,   domine,  pec-  0  Lord  deliver  us  sinners, 

catores. 

Te  rogamus  audi  nos.  We  beseech  Thee  hear  us. 

Filii  Dei,  te  rogamus  audi  Son  of  God,   we  beseech   Thee, 

nos.  hear  us. 

Ut  pacem  dones,  te  roga-  We    beseech    Thee,    grant    us 

mus.  peace. 

Audi  nos,  agne  Dei.  Hear  us  0  Lamb  of  God. 

[11]  Qui  tollis  peccata  mundi,  Who  takest  away  the  sins  of  the 

misserere  nobis.  world,  have  mercy  on  us. 

Thus  by  chopping  and  changing  which  elude  specific  classifica- 
tion and  comparison,  ihe  eight  items  of  a  have  been  expanded 
into  eleven  in  b  ;  the  petition  here  given  in  italics  being,  it  will 
have  been  observed,  the  only  one  that  is  left  intact.  To  cap  the 
climax  the  five  Irish  virgins  of  the  Litany  are  individually  invoked 
under  the  title  Sancte  !  The  original,  written  in  a  hand  as  plain 
as  print,  has  Sancta  in  every  case, 

VOL.  in.  M 


178  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

The  Canon  of  the  Mass,  it  consequently  appears,  is  not  the 
sole  part  of  the  Liturgy  that  has  felt  the  reforming  zeal  of  the 
compiler.  "Whether  his  labours  in  these  directions  '  in  the  interest 
of  the  faith'  are  destined  to  merit  the  approval  of  competent 
authority,  will  doubtless  be  seen  in  the  '  proposed  enlarged  edition.' 
Meanwhile,  to  set  the  seal  on  his  critical  judgment  and  show  at 
the  same  time  how  closely  he  has  kept  in  touch  with  the  subject, 
it  has  to  be  recorded  that,  as  far  back  as  ten  years  ago.  Warren 
publicly  disavowed  and  apologized  for  the  errors  of  his  transcript ; 
leaving  that  '  for  which '  the  editor  of  the  Academy  edition  '  is 
himself  responsible  '  the  Textus  Receptus  ! 

Quern  secutus  es  errantem,  sequere  poenitentem. 

Still  further  to  show  his  '  tacit  preference,'  having  stated  that 
the  Stowe  Missal,  '  in  part,  is  thought '  to  date  '  about  the  early 
seventh  century,'  the  compiler  is  careful  to  add  that  Warren 
refers  the  whole  MS.  to  the  ninth  (p.  48  ;  cf.  p.  61).  Yet  once 
more,  however,  a  volume  not  found  among  the  '  works  quoted ' 
will  enable  readers  to  rightly  appraise  this  attribution.  In  his 
Liturgy  and  Ritual,  etc.  (1881),  which  is  on  the  list,  Warren 
assigns  the  two  parts  to  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries  respec- 
tively (pp.  199,  201).  But  in  his  Manuscript  Irish  Missal,  issued 
only  two  short  years  before  (1879),  he  was  himself  the  first  to  print 
the  Preface  and  Canon  of  the  Stowe  Mass.  These  he  heads 
(p.  2)  :  "  STOWE  MISSAL.  (Seventh  and  ninth  centuries.}  " 
Then,  to  mark  the  changes  of  script,  he  has  "  9th  century 
hand  "  and  "  7th  century  hand"  alternating  four  times  throughout 
(pp.  2-12) !  Such  is  the  rigid  consistency  of  the  'ripe  erudition  ' 
(p.  220)  that  captivated  the  compiler. 

Sooth  to  say,  the  conclusion  is  foregone.  A  compilation  of 
sheer  diligence,  pervaded  with  such  radical  defects  as  have  been 
set  forth  (and  the  list  defies  exhaustion  still),  arising  from  glaring 
inability  to  deal  at  first  hand  with  the  sources  and  materials  of 
our  Sacred  Archaeology  can  only  prejudice  the  cause  it  professes 
to  serve.  A  weak  defence  is  an  aggravated  betrayal. 

B.  MACCAKTHY. 


[    179     ] 


DOCUMENTS 

THE    CONVERSION    OF    ENGLAND 

ARCHCONFRATERNITY   OF   OUR   LADY   OF   COMPASSION 

BRIEF   OF   ERECTION   AND    STATUTES 

LEO  XIII.,  POPE 

IN   PERPETUAL   REMEMBRANCE 

IT  is  known  to  all  men  that  the  efforts  of  Our  Apostolic  Ministry 
have  long  been  specially  directed  to  securing  the  return  to  the 
centre  of  Catholic  Unity  of  those  Christian  nations  which  the 
sad  vicissitudes  of  past  centuries  have  torn  from  the  bosom  of 
their  Mother  the  Church.  Inspired  by  this  ardent  desire,  We 
have  been  solicitous  for  the  return  to  religious  union  of  the 
Oriental  nations,  and  have  devoted  unusual  care  to  this  task.  In 
like  manner  have  We  cast  our  eyes  upon  the  illustrious  British 
nation,  which  for  so  many  conspicuous  reasons  has  won  the 
especial  good- will  of  the  Eornan  Church.  Our  earnest  wishes  are 
centred  upon  Great  Britain,  in  union  with  the  wishes  of  so  many 
men  distinguished  by  sanctity,  learning,  and  dignity,  more 
especially  St.  Paul  of  the  Cross,  the  religious  founder  M.  Olier, 
Father  Ignatius  Spencer,  and  Cardinal  Wiseman.  We  have, 
indeed,  good  hope  that  Our  voice,  like  good  seed,  may  some  day 
produce  the  wished-for  fruits  in  that  land  whose  past  history  is 
so  glorious,  and  whose  present  splendour  and  civilization  dispose 
it  to  follow  the  highest  aims.  Yet  We  are  sensible  that  all 
efforts  and  labours  towards  this  end  will  be  unfruitful  without  the 
powerful  help  of  Divine  Grace.  This  grace  We  have  never 
ceased  to  invoke  from  the  bottom  of  Our  heart,  and  We  have 
asked  also  the  prayers  of  the  Universal  Church. 

But  now,  desiring  to  add  to  these  efforts,  so  that  there  may 
be  a  more  widely  extended  and  more  powerful  combination  of 
prayer,  We  have  erected  a  pious  Society,  in  the  form  of  an  Arch- 
confraternity,  with  the  object  of  hastening,  chiefly  by  constant 
prayer,  the  reunion  of  Great  Britain  with  the  Eoman  Church. 
In  this  work  of  charity  We  have  Ourselves,  in  a  manner,  led  the 
way.  For  two  years  ago  We  addressed  a  Letter  to  the  English 
People,  in  which  We  treated  of  the  all-important  subject  of 


180  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

Christian  unity  ;  and  after  exhorting  to  repeated  prayer  for  Our 
English  brethren,  especially  the  recitation  of  the  Angelical 
Salutation,  We  appended  to  the  Letter  a  special  prayer  to  the 
Most  Holy  Virgin.  This  prayer  We  have  enriched  with  indul- 
gences, and  have  recommended  it  to  the  members  in  the  Statutes 
or  Eules  of  the  recently-erected  Archconfraternity,  which  are 
comprised  under  nine  headings.  We  have  placed  this  Society  or 
Archconfraternity  at  St.  Sulpice,  as  a  centre  for  the  whole 
Catholic  world,  from  which  other  Confraternities,  like  streams 
from  an  abundant  spring,  may  flow  forth  into  every  part  of  the 
Lord's  vineyard. 

We  have  selected  the  Church  of  St.  Sulpice  as  the  seat  of  this 
Society,  both  because  Prance  is  near  to  and  in  very  easy  communi- 
cation with  Great  Britain,  and  also  because  M.  Olier,  the  founder 
of  the  Congregation  of  St.  Sulpice,  together  with  his  disciples, 
most  earnestly  longed  for  the  reconciliation  of  England  with  the 
Koman  Church.  Moreover,  as  the  Congregation  of  St.  Sulpice 
extends  to  almost  every  part  of  the  world,  it  will  be  able  to 
establish  other  Confraternities  of  the  same  kind  in  every  country. 
For  We  are  particularly  desirous,  as,  indeed,  the  object  itself 
requires,  that  this  pious  Society  be  spread  far  and  wide  ;  and, 
therefore,  We  earnestly  exhort  all  Catholics,  not  only  in  France, 
but  throughout  the  world,  who  are  solicitous  for  the  cause  of 
religion,  to  enrol  their  names  in  this  Society. 

Wherefore,  absolving  and  holding  as  absolved,  for  this  present 
purpose  only,  all  and  every  one  to  whom  these  Our  Letters  are 
directed,  from  all  sentences  of  excommunication  and  interdict, 
and  all  other  ecclesiastical  sentences,  censures,  and  penalties,  in 
whatever  manner  or  for  whatever  cause  imposed,  if  by  them 
incurred,  by  Our  Apostolic  Authority  and  by  virtue  of  these 
present  Letters,  We  erect  and  constitute,  in  the  Church  of 
St.  Sulpice,  an  Archconfraternity  of  prayers  and  good  works  for 
the  return  of  Great  Britain  to  the  Catholic  Faith,  under  the 
patronage  of  Blessed  Mary  the  Sorrowful  Virgin.  This  Arch- 
confraternity  We  place  first  under  the  patronage  of  the  great 
Mother  of  God,  '  whose  dowry  England  is ;  '  and  We  assign  as 
its  heavenly  patrons  St.  Joseph,  the  most  chaste  Spouse  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin  ;  St.  Peter,  Prince  of  the  Apostles,  under  whose 
patronage  England  is  placed  :  St.  Gregory  the  Great,  Pope,1  and 

1  St.  Gregory  was  added  by  the  Holy  Father  after  the  date  of  this  Brief. 


DOCUMENTS  181 


St.  Augustine,  bishop,  the  thirteenth  centenary  of  whose  coming 
to  England,  to  bring  the  Catholic  Faith  and  the  means  of 
salvation,  is  at  this  time  specially  celebrated. 

Moreover,  by  the  same  authority,  We  grant  in  perpetuity  to 
the  presidents,  officials,  and  members  of  the  Archconfraternity, 
both  present  and  future,  the  right  and  permission  to  aggregate 
other  Confraternities  of  the  same  object  and  name,  existing  in  any 
part  of  the  Catholic  world,  observing,  however,  the  form  of  the 
constitution  of  Our  predecessor,  Pope  Clement  VIII.,  and  other 
Apostolic  Ordinances  on  this  matter ;  and  to  communicate  to 
them  all  and  every  one  of  the  indulgences  granted  to  the 
Archconfraternity,  and  communicable  to  others. 
The  following  are  the  indulgences  granted  : — 
The  members  shall  be  able  to  obtain  a  plenary  indulgence— 

I.  On  the  day  of  enrolment  in  the  Archconfraternity. 
II.  At  the  point  of  death. 

III.  On  each  of  the  Feasts  of  the  Most  Holy  and  Sorrowful 
Mary,  the  one  during  Lent,  and  the  other  during  the  month  of 
September ;    also  on  the   Feasts    of    St.  Joseph,  Spouse  of    the 
Blessed  Virgin   Mary  ;  of  St.  Peter  the  Apostle,  of  St.  Gregory 
the    Great,    Pope ;    and    of    St.   Augustine,  Bishop,    Patron    of 
England. 

IV.  On    the   day    of    the  monthly  meeting  provided  for  in 
Article  IX.  of  the  Statutes  or  Rules. 

Moreover,  We  grant  a  partial  indulgence  of  fifty  days,  to  be 
obtained  once  a  day  by  those  members  who  shall  piously  recite 
the  Hail  Mary,  as  provided  in  Article  IV.  of  the  Statutes  or 
Eules  of  the  Archconfraternity. 

The  members,  if  they  wish,  may  apply  all  these  indulgences, 
both  plenary  and  partial,  to  the  Souls  in  Purgatory. 

And  We  decree  that  these  Our  Letters  are  and  shall  remain 
firm,  valid,  and  efficacious,  and  shall  have  and  obtain  their 
plenary  and  full  effect,  and  shall  be  of  full  avail  to  all  whom  they 
concern,  and  may  concern  in  the  future,  in  all  respects  and  in  all 
circumstances,  and  shall  so  be  judged  and  defined  in  their 
premises  by  all  judges  whatsoever,  ordinary  and  delegate  ;  and 
that  whatsoever  shall  be  attempted,  wittingly  or  unwittingly,  by 
anyone  with  any  authority  otherwise  in  this  matter,  shall  he  null 
and  void,  notwithstanding  Apostolic  Constitutions  and  Ordinances, 


1&2  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

and  all  others  whatsoever,  even  though  deserving  of  special  and 
individual  mention,  of  contrary  tenor. 

Given  at  St.  Peter's  in  Home,  under  the  Eing  of  the  Fisher- 
man, on  the  twenty-second  day  of  August,  1897,  in  the  twentieth 
year  of  Our  Pontificate. 
L.  *S. 

ALOISIUS  CAED.  MACCHI. 

THE  STATUTES 

The  following  are  the  Statutes  of  the  Primary  Association  of 
Prayers  and  Good  Works,  under  the  patronage  of  Our  Lady  of 
Compassion,  for  the  return  of  Great  Britain  to  the  Catholic 
Faith  :— 

I. 

The  object  of  this  pious  Association  is  that  its  members  shall 
endeavour,  by  prayers  and  the  exercise  of  good  works,  to  obtain 
from  God  the  return  of  Great  Britain  to  the  Catholic  Faith. 

n. 

To  attain  the  object  of  this  pious  Association,  the  members 
shall  not  be  content  only  with  prayers,  but  shall  add  to  prayers 
the  practice  of  good  works  of  every  kind,  whether  of  piety  or  of 
charity,  such  as  the  frequentation  of  the  Sacraments,  the  exact 
observance  of  the  commands  of  God  and  the  precepts  of  the 
Church,  &c.,  and  the  putting  in  practice  of  all  that  may 
efficaciously  contribute  to  the  end  of  the  Association. 

in. 

Besides  the  Most  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  the  pious  Association 
venerates  as  its  special  protectors  St.  Joseph  ;  St.  Peter,  Prince 
of  the  Apostles,  and  Patron  of  England ;  St.  Gregory  the  Great, 
Pope;1  and  St.  Augustine,  Bishop  and  Apostle  of  England. 

IV. 

To  take  part  in  the  Association,  and  to  gain  the  Indulgences 
with  which  it  is  enriched,  the  associates  shall  every  day  add  to 
their  daily  prayers  a  special  prayer — at  least  a  Hail  Mary — in 
order  to  obtain  from  God  the  conversion  for  which  the  Associa- 
tion is  founded.  They  are  specially  exhorted  to  recite  the  prayer 
to  the  Most  Holy  Virgin,  for  our  English  brethren,  inserted  in 
the  Apostolic  Letter  Ad  Anglos  of  April  15th,  1895. 

1  St.  Gregory  was  added  by  the  Holy  Father  after  the  date  of  the  Brief 
and  of  those  Statutes. 


DOCUMENTS  183 


v. 

The  primary  Association  has  its  seat  in  the  city  of  Paris,  at 
the  church  of  St.  Sulpice ;  and  it  has  the  right  to  aggregate  any- 
other  similar  Associations  which  may  be  erected  throughout  the 
world  with  the  consent  of  the  respective  Ordinaries.  The 
Sulpicians,  however,  have  the  right  of  erecting  the  Association  in 
their  church  wherever  they  have  a  residence. 

VI. 

The  President  of  the  Primary  Association  is  the  Superior- 
General,  for  the  time  being,  of  the  Sulpicians,  who  shall  be  able 
to  delegate  as  his  representative  a  Father  approved  by  him  for 
the  transaction  of  business.  The  Presidents  of  the  diocesan 
Associations,  wherever  canonically  erected  and  aggregated  to 
the  primary  one,  shall  be  nominated  by  the  respective 
Ordinaries. 

VII. 

The  President  of  the  Association  may  select  from  among 
those  members  who  are  specially  distinguished  for  zeal  and  piety, 
Zealators  of  either  sex  in  such  number  as  he  shall  judge  fitting  ; 
and  these  Zelators  shall  devote  themselves,  as  far  as  possible  to 
promoting  the  welfare  of  the  Association.  For  this  purpose  they 
shall  meet  together  with  the  President  at  certain  fixed  times  of 
the  year,  in  order  to  take  such  measures  as  may  seem  opportune 
for  the  welfare  of  the  Association. 

VIII. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Zelators  to  endeavour,  as  far  as 
possible,  to  increase  the  number  of  members,  and,  with  the 
authorization  of  the  President,  to  issue  to  them  the  certificate  of 
enrolment.  They  must  be  careful  to  keep  a  register  of  the  names 
enrolled  to  be  given  to  the  President  himself,  who  shall  tran- 
scribe the  names  into  the  general  register  of  the  Association. 

IX. 

On  one  Sunday  of  the  month,  to  be  definitely  fixed,  there 
shall  be  a  meeting  of  the  members  in  every  church  where  the 
Association  is  erected,  for  the  purpose  of  praying  together,  if 
possible,  before  the  Blessed  Sacrament  exposed,  in  order  to 
implore  more  efficaciously  from  God  the  wished-for  return  of 
Great  Britain  to  the  Catholic  Church. 

The  present  copy  perfectly  agrees  in  all  its  parts  with  the 


184  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

original  of  the  Statutes  preserved  in  Rome,  in  the  archives  of 
the  Sacred  Congregation  of  Bishops  and  Regulars. 

Given  at  Rome,  in  the  Secretariate  of  the  aforesaid  Sacred 
Congregation  of  Bishops  and  Regulars,  on  the  30th  day  of 
August,  1897. 

L.ifcS. 

A.  TEOMBETTA,  Secretary. 

PRAYER   FOR   THE   ENGLISH   PEOPLE 

The  Decree  of  the  Sacred  Congregation  of  Bishops  and 
Regulars  by  which  the  Statutes  were  confirmed,  and  which  was 
approved  by  the  Holy  Father  is  then  given,  and  after  it  the 
following  prayer  from  the  Apostolic  Letter  Ad  Anglos  : — 

'  0  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  Mother  of  God,  and  our  most  gentle 
Queen  and  Mother,  look  down  in  mercy  upon  England  thy 
"Dowry,"  and  upon  us  all  who  greatly  hope  and  trust  in  thee. 
By  thee  it  was  that  Jesus,  our  Saviour  and  our  hope,  was  given 
unto  the  world ;  and  He  has  given  thee  to  us  that  we  might 
hope  still  more.  Plead  for  us  thy  children,  whom  thou  didst  receive 
and  accept  at  the  foot  of  the  cross,  0  sorrowful  mother.  Inter- 
cede for  our  separated  brethren,  that  with  us  in  the  one  time 
Fold  they  may  be  united  to  the  Chief  Shepherd,  the  Vicar  of 
thy  Son.  Pray  for  us  all,  dear  Mother,  that  by  faith  fruitful  in 
works,  we  may  all  deserve  to  see  and  praise  God,  together  with 
thee,  in  our  heavenly  home.  Amen.' 


[     185     ] 


NOTICES    OF    BOOKS 

SONGS  OF  SIGN.     By  Mary  Stanislaus  MacCarthy,  O.S.D., 
Sion  Hill,  Dublin.    Dublin :  Browne  &  Nolan,  Ltd.    1898. 

THIS  volume  of  sacred  verses  has  already  been  well  described 
as  '  a  holy  and  a  beautiful  book.'  It  is  impossible  to  read  it 
through  without  acknowledging  the  genuine  religious  fervour  of 
the  '  Songs,'  and  the  truly  uncommon  gifts  of  imagination  and 
expression  with  which  their  author  was  endowed.  Owing  to  the 
systematic  oppression  of  the  Church  in  these  countries,  and  the 
persistent  denial  of  higher  education  to  Catholics,  our  religious 
poetry  had  not,  until  recent  times,  reached  a  very  high  standard. 
A  few  gifted  writers  of  the  present  day  have  done  much,  how- 
ever, in  spite  of  all  obstacles,  not  the  least  of  which  was  a  want 
of  appreciation  and  cultivated  taste  amongst  the  public  at  large? 
to  fill  up  this  vacant  space  in  Catholic  literature.  Amongst  the 
number,  limited  though  it  be,  Sister  M.  Stanislaus  must  be 
awarded  a  very  high  place.  Superficial  and  half-educated 
persons  may  be  inclined  to  discount  religious  poetry,  and  even  to 
exclude  it  altogether  from  the  field  of  interest  of  the  modern 
world ;  but  genuine  poets,  and  men  and  women  of  the  highest 
intellectual  cultivation,  in  all  the  centuries  of  the  Christian  era* 
have  ever  admired  religious  poetry,  and  found  enjoyment  and 
happiness  in  the  strains  that  called  them  away  from  earthly 
cares.  From  the  humble  cell  of  Hermann  Contractus,  in  a 
lonely  island  in  the  Lake  of  Constance,  come  down  to  us  the 
'  Salve  Eegina  '  and  the  '  Alma  Redemptoris  Mater.'  St.  Francis 
of  Assisi,  in  an  age  of  feudalism  and  of  chivalry,  did  not  hesitate 
to  sing  of  '  Holy  Poverty '  as  the  lady  of  his  heart,  his  fiancee, 
and  his  spouse.  St.  Bonaventure,  Fra  Pacifico,  Jacomino  da 
Verona,  and  the  Blessed  Jacopone  da  Todi,  have  achieved,  in 
poetry  alone,  a  glory  which  the  materialistic  versifiers  of  modern 
times  are  never  likely  to  rival.  Do  we  not  find  religious  poetry  at 
the  fountain-head  of  all  the  great  literatures  of  the  world — English, 
German,  French,  Spanish,  Portuguese  ?  And  in  our  own  country 
we  know  how  our  Irish  ancestors  devoted  the  very  best  of  their 
genius  to  that  religious  poetry  which  is  not  yet  entirely  lost,  and 


186  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

which  Irish  scholars  of  the  present  day  take  a  pride  in  rescuing 
from  oblivion. 

It  is  in  this  celestial  garden  that  Sister  Mary  Stanislaus 
has  culled  the  precious  flowers  that  grace  this  handsome  volume. 
She  sings  of  Him  whom  she  had  chosen  and  loved  beyond  all 
human  love,  and  of  His  angels  and  saints,  and  of  the  monuments 
of  His  boundless  love,  His  Sacraments,  His  churches,  His 
hospitals,  His  schools.  These  are  the  themes  of  her  Songs  of 
Sion.  It  is  but  poor  praise  to  say  that  the  author  of  such  excel- 
lent poems  would  have  achieved  high  repute  in  the  world,  if  she 
had  devoted  her  talents  to  the  worldly  aspects  of  life,  or  if  she 
had  aimed  at  more  finished  literary  effect  in  these  religious 
verses.  They  are,  as  they  stand,  the  outcome  of  a  fervent  and 
cultivated  mind,  uttered  as  occasion  called  them  forth  ;  and  as 
such  they  will  remain  a  lasting  monument  of  honour  to  '  Sion 
Hill,'  and  the  worthy  expression  of  a  pure  life.  We  have  only  to 
say,  in  conclusion,  that  the  publishers  have  turned  out  the  volume 
in  perfect  style.  The  paper,  type,  and  binding  are  all  in  keeping 
with  the  contents,  and  reflect  the  highest  credit  on  Messrs. 
Browne  &  Nolan,  Ltd.,  who  have  now  established  themselves  as 
capable  of  executing  all  sorts  of  artistic  work,  in  binding  as  well 
as  in  printing. 

J.  F.  H. 

BREVIARIUM  EOMANUM.  Tornaci  Nerviorum.  Surnptibus 
et  Typis  Soc.  S.  Joannis  Evangelistae.  Desclee,  Lefebvre 
et  Soc.  Pontif.  Editorum.  1897. 

HORAE  DIURNAE.     Same  Publishers. 

WE  have  much  pleasure  in  bringing  under  the  notice  of  our 
readers  this  excellent  edition  of  the  Breviary,  published  by 
Messrs.  Desclee,  Lefebvre  &  Co.,  of  Tournay.  It  is  in  many 
respects  the  most  convenient  edition  of  the  Breviary  that  has 
come  into  our  hands.  Its  great  advantage  is  that  there  is  the 
least  possible  turning  of  leaves,  the  fine  quality  of  the  paper 
making  it  possible  for  the  publishers  to  print  the  psalms,  versicles, 
&c.,  in  many  of  the  special  offices,  whilst  in  other  breviaries  one 
is  constantly  obliged  to  turn  over  for  them  to  the  common  or  to 
offices  of  similar  feasts  in  other  parts  of  the  Breviary.  The 
edition  which  has  been  sent  to  us  is  printed  on  fine,  though 
rather  thin,  India  paper,  which  has  the  advantage,  notwith- 


NOTICES   OF   BOOKS  187 

standing  its  slender  leaf,  of  being  perfectly  opaque.  It  is  bound 
in  black,  flexible  Morocco,  with  gilt  edges  and  round  corners. 
It  seems  to  us  excellent  value  for  £1  16s.  2d.  Messrs.  Desclee, 
Lefebvre  &  Co.,  have  besides,  a  large  stock  of  more  expensive 
breviaries  ;  but  for  practical  use,  we  believe  this  is  the  one  that 
is  most  in  demand. 

The  Horae  Diurnae,  which  costs  6s.  9^.,  has  the  same  charac- 
teristics as  the  Breviary  ;  but,  besides  the  ordinary  contents  of 
the  Horae,  it  has,  at  the  end,  the  prayers  of  the  priest  before  and 
after  Mass,  before  and  after  confession,  together  with  some  most 
useful  excerpts  from  the  Koman  Eitual,  such  as  the  method  of 
administering  Holy  Communion  to  the  sick,  the  rite  of  Extreme 
Unction,  the  '  Benedictio  Infirmi,'  the  '  Benedictio  Eosariorum 
B.  M.  V.,'  the  '  Forma  Brevior  Benedicendi  et  imponendi  Scapulare 
B.  M.  V.  de  Monte  Carmelo,'  Benedictio  Imaginis  vel  Numis- 
matis,'  '  Benedictio  Domorum.'  '  Benedictio  ad  Omnia.'  This 
supplementary  part  will,  we  have  no  doubt,  be  found  very  useful. 
We  should  mention  that  the  Irish  proper  is  included  in  both 
Breviary  and  'Horae  '  at  the  prices  mentioned , 

J.  F.  H. 

INSTITUTIONS s  THEOLOGIAE  DOGMATICAE.  Auctore  E.P.  J. 
Herrmann,  Congr.  SS.  Eedemptoris.  3  vols.,  of  about 
650  pages  each.  Eome,  Cuggiani.  Vico  della  Pace,  35. 
Bureaux  de  la  Sainte-Famille  a  Antony,  Seine,  France, 
1897.  12i  francs. 

THE  Bishop  of  Malaga,  in  an  official  paper,  which  appeared 
on  the  16th  of  June,  1897,  wrote  : — 

'  The  theology  of  Father  Herrmann  is  a  complete  work  of  its 
kind.  His  method,  his  clearness,  and  the  great  purity  of  his 
doctrine  .  .  .  makes  his  work  more  adapted  for  a  class-book  than 
any  we  know.  A  student  may  with  the  greatest  facility  make 
the  contents  his  own ;  and  whoever  does  so  can  rest  assured  that 
he  has  acquired  the  knowledge  most  necessary  for  our  times,  while 
he  enters  at  the  same  time  on  the  road  opened  to  us  by  the  great 
restorer  of  theological  studies,  the  great  Pontiff,  Leo  XIII.' 

The  Holy  Father  himself,  through  his  Eminence  Cardinal 
Rompolla,  wrote  to  the  author  : — 

'  Multum  gavisus  est  de  amore  ac  diuturno  et  frugifero 
studio,  quo  animum  applicuisti  ad  exponendas  mentibusque 
alte  inserendas  doctrinas  Angelici  Doctoris  Thomae  et 


188  THE  IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

S.  Doctoris  Alphonsi  :  quas  ipse  Pontifex  doctrinas  memorandis 
commendarat  documentis.  Id  quoque  singulariter  ei  gratum 
accidit  quod  te  in  veritati  defensionem,  tanta  haurire  subsidia 
ex  actis  concilii  vaticani  et  ex  Litteris  suis  encyclicis.' 

The  Revue  Ecclcsiastique  de  Metz  points  out  that  Father 
Herrmann  has  really  given  us  something  new.  We  all  know 
St.  Alphonsus  as  universal  master  in  moral  theology  ;  but  how 
few  there  are  who  realize  that  he  has  written  much  on  the 
dogmas  of  our  holy  religion.  He  popularized  St.  Thomas,  adding 
at  the  same  time,  in  many  questions  both  practical  and  specu- 
lative, the  weight  of  his  own  authority,  which  certainly  counts 
for  something  since  he  too  is  Doctor  of  the  Church.  '  In  hisce 
exarandis  institutionibus  [says  the  author]  Ducem  et  Magistrum 
S.  Thomam  sequi  conatus  sum.'  He  has  even  kept  his  word 
as  far  as  the  limits  of  a  compendium  allowed.  He  adds : — 

1  Propositum  etiam  mihi  fuit,  ut,  praeter  Doctorem  angelicum, 
sanctum  quoque  Doctorem  Alphonsum  de  Liguorio  in  Ducem  et 
Magistrum  mihi  assumerem,  eo  nomine  (verba  sunt  SS.  D.N. 
Leo  PP.  XIII.)  quod  eum  sanctus  auctor  saepe  in  scriptis  suis 
angeli  scholarum  doctrinam  se  sequutum  fuisse  glorietur;  ex 
hujusmodi  recentioris  Ecclesiae  Doctoris  erga  ilium  obsequio 
nova  S.  Thomae  doctrinae  laus  accedat  et  gloria.' 

At  page  656,  vol  i.,  we  find  a  long  list  of  St.  Alphonsus' 
dogmatic  works,  and  these  are  referred  to  in  the  Breve  Concess. 
tituli  Doctoris,  die  7,  1871,  in  which  Pius  IX.  says  : — 

'  Nullum  esse  vel  nostrorum  temporum  errorem  qui,  maxima 
saltern  ex  parte,  non  sit  ab  Alphonso  refutatus.' 

Moreover  St.  Alphonsus  examined  thoroughly  many  difficult 
questions  discussed  by  the  older  theologians,  and  drew  from  his 
examination  conclusions  quite  his  own.  Thus,  for  example,  in 
the  question  :  how  we  are  to  conciliate  grace  and  liberty,  he  has 
now  his  own  system.  In  vol.  ii.,  cap.  iv.,  p.  429,  under  heading 
Systema  Caiholica,  we  have  systema  Thomistarum,  Auguistinia- 
norum,  Molinistarum,  Conquistarum  et  Systema  S.  Alphonsi  de 
Liguori.  In  future  in  discussions  on  this  subject  this  last  system 
must  have  its  place.  Light  is  often  thrown  on  obscure  passages 
in  St.  Thomas  by  the  teaching  of  St.  Alphonsus.  Hence,  in 
uniting  these  two  Doctors,  the  author  has  given  us  what  is  both 
new  and  useful.  Useful,  for  the  Breve  cited  above  continues  :  — 

'  Hujus  Doctoris  libros,  commentaria,  opuscula,  opera  denique 
omnia,  ut  aliorum  Ecclesiae  Doctorum,  non  modo  privatim,  sed 


NOTICES  OF   BOOKS  189 


publics  in  gyrnnasiis,  Academiis,  Scholis,  Collegiis,  Lectionibus, 
Sermonibus,  omnibusque  aliis  ecclesiasticis  studiis  .  .  .  citari, 
proferri,  atque,  cum  res  postulaverit,  volumus  et  decernimus.' 

Father  Herrmann  has  given  effect  to  this  mandate  of  the 
Holy  See  in  his  Institutiones.  He  has  done  for  dogmatic 
theology,  as  far  as  the  matter  permits,  what  Mare  and  Aertnys 
have  done  in  moral  theology ;  and  for  this  he  deserves  the  thanks 
of  both  students  and  professors. 

The  universal  praise  with  which  this  work  has  been  received, 
and  the  high  place  which  has  been  assigned  to  it  as  a  manual, 
has  led  us  to  examine  it  with  particular  care.  We  have  found  it 
complete  as  to  matter,  wonderfully  clear  in  diction,  and  methodic 
throughout.  The  schemas  which  precede  the  different  tracts  give 
the  student  a  bird's-eye  view  of  what  is  before  him.  Each  part 
therein  indicated  is  taken  up  separately,  and  so  logically  and 
clearly  subdivided  that  the  task  of  learning  is  made  compara- 
tively easy.  This  is  enhanced  by  the  perfect  manner  in  which  the 
book  is  printed.  By  a  careful  selection  of  type,  the  propositions, 
divisions,  proofs,  and  objections  immediately  catch  the  eye  and 
keep  the  memory.  Moreover,  that  which  every  student  should 
know  is  in  bold  type,  while  certain  questions  which  are  useful, 
but  not  necessary,  or  aspects  of  questions  which  the  more  talented 
students  will  study  and  develope  with  profit,  are  put  in  smaller 
type.  To  this  end  he  gives  at  the  beginning  of  each  tract  auc tores 
consukndi.  Full  room  is  left  to  professor  for  further  development 
of  doctrine. 

We  do  not  venture  to  say  that  this  manual  is  perfect,  but  we 
are  of  opinion  that  in  most  respects  it  is  excellent,  and  that 
professors  will  soon  see  that  Father  Herrmann  has  profited  of 
his  long  experience  of  the  needs  and  capabilities  of  students.1 

And  now  we  wish  to  go  a  step  further,  and  say  that  we  believe 
this  work  to  be  a  most  useful  hand-book  for  priests  on  the  mis- 
sion. Its  conciseness,  clearness,  and  order  make  it  admirable 
for  dogmatic  instructions.  The  schemas,  of  which  we  have 
already  spoken,  the  indices  of  each  volume,  and  especially  the 
two  general  indices  at  the  end  of  the  third  volume,  are  excellent, 


1  In  'a  second  edition  which  is  sure  to  be  soon  called  for,  the  author  might 
consider  whether  it  would  not  be  better  to  unite  what  he  has  written,  de  Fontilits 
Firlei,  vol.  i.,  Nos.  10  and  17,  and  the  fuller  treatment,  Pars,  iii.,  cap.  i.  and  ii., 
of  Scripture  and  Tradition.  We  think  also  that  in  some  places  the  texts  taken 
from  St.  Alphonsus  might  have  been  more  to  the  point. 


190  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

one  Index  Berum  notabilium;  the  other,  Index  continens  Alpha- 
betico  ordine  Errorum  Fautores  :  this  is,  in  reality,  a  compendious 
dictionary  of  errors  and  their  authors. 

Before  finishing  this  necessarily  short  notice,  we  call  special 
attention  to  Tractus  Quintus,  vol.  ii.,  Marialogia.  A  glance  at 
the  Conspectus  generalis,  p.  281,  shows  how  fully  and  with  what 
perfect  order  the  subject  is  treated.  We  see  in  the  pages  that 
follow  how  solid  were  the  principles  on  which  St.  Alphonsus, 
devotion  to  the  Madonna  rested ;  also  to  Tractatus  Sextus,  De 
Gratia.  Priests  who  have  to  labour  for  the  saving  and  perfecting 
of  souls  will  read  with  pleasure  the  proofs  given  of  two  proposi- 
tions proposed  by  one  who  is  rightly  called  an  apostle  of  prayer, 
namely  : — 

'  Gratia  sufficiens,  quae,  urgente  praecepto,  omnibus  com- 
muniter  conceditur,  ita  est  immediate  et  proximo  ad  orandum 
sufficiens,  ut  quilibet  cum  ea  actu  orare  possit,  si  velit,  et  per 
orationem  uberiora  auxilia,  quibus  ad  difficiliora  peragenda  et  ad 
salutem  consequendam  indiget  obtinere,'  No.  1,225. 

And:— 

'  Ad  gratiam  efficacem  obtinendam  oratio  est  medium  neces- 
sarium  et  omnino  infallible,'  No.  1,226. 

Just  as  in  his  moral  and  ascetic  theology,  so  likewise  in 
his  dogmatic  treatises,  St.  Alphonsus  is  pre-eminently  practical. 
Father  Herrmann  has,  it  seems  to  us,  thoroughly  seized  his 
holy  founder's  spirit,  and  he  has  given  us  a  book  which  has 
come  to  stay. 

J.  M. 

SEBMONS.  By  Father  John  Kelly,  B.A.,  late  Hector  of 
St.  Joseph's,  Birkdale.  Manchester:  P.  Deschamps, 
Blackfriars  Bridge. 

THE  author  of  this  volume  of  Sermons  belonged  to  the 
diocese  of  Liverpool,  where  he  served  at  first  as  Secretary  to  the 
Bishop,  and  afterwards  as  pastor  of  more  than  one  important 
district.  As  far  as  can  be  known,  the  discourses  now  collected 
were  all  prepared  and  delivered  during  the  author's  missionary 
career,  and  were  addressed  to  ordinary  town  and  country  congre- 
gations. They  were  not  written  with  a  view  to  publication,  but 
were  collected  after  the  author's  death  by  one  of  his  friends,  who 
found  many  of  the  manuscripts  in  a  dilapidated  condition,  some 


NOTICES   OF   BOOKS  191 

written  in  pencil  and  in  many  places  nearly  illegible.  They 
narrowly  escaped  being  burned  as  worthless, — a  fate  which  has 
befallen  many  similar  efforts  which  in  their  day  served  to  kindle 
divine  love  in  the  hearts  of  Christians. 

Most  missionary  priests  will,  I  imagine,  think  all  the  more  of 
these  discourses  of  Father  Kelly's,  forasmuch  as  they  are  here 
printed  as  they  were  prepared,  for  delivery  in  the  ordinary  routine 
of  parochial  work.  It  has  been  often  said  that  a  man's  truest 
biography  is  to  be  found  in  the  letters  which  he  may  have  written 
to  intimate  friends,  wherein  he  unaffectedly  reveals  his  passing 
thoughts  and  feelings.  Writing  with  a  view  to  publication  is  like 
sitting  for  a  portrait ;  it  develops  an  unconscious  but  inevitable 
tendency  to  pose.  There  is  a  charming  frankness  and  simplicity 
in  discourses  which  are  intended  merely  for  the  faithful  of  the 
parish, — one's  own  household  and  familiar  friends,  as  it  were, — 
and  in  which  there  is  no  attempt,  consciously  or  unconsciously, 
to  satisfy  the  larger  and  more  critical  audience  to  which  a 
published  discourse  necessarily  appeals. 

There  is  another  point  of  view  from  which  the  volume  before 
us  is  of  special  interest.  It  is  a  chapter,  so  to  speak,  from  the 
biography  of  a  gifted  and  zealous  priest,  in  which  he  reveals 
quite  unconsciously  the  kind  of  work  he  did  on  the  mission,  and 
from  which  others  may  learn  not  only  what  a  good  pastor  should 
endeavour  to  do,  but  what  one  has  actually  done  in  the  way  of 
preaching  to  and  instructing  his  people.  During  our  college 
course  and  at  the  annual  retreats  the  lesson  is  again  and  again 
repeated,  that  preaching  without  preparation — which  for  many 
years,  at  least,  means  without  writing  out  the  discourse  before 
hand — is  of  little  value.  But  so  many  impediments  arise  in  the 
missionary's  daily  life  ;  and  it  is  so  easy  to  find  excuses  for 
appearing  in  the  pulpit  after  a  hurried  preparation.  Now,  here 
is  one  who  was  neither  a  college  professor  nor  a  conductor  of 
retreats,  but  the  rector  of  many  important  and  populous  missions, 
where  the  work  pressed  heavily  on  a  delicate  constitution.  And 
here  are  samples  of  the  discourses  he  used  actually  to  deliver  to 
his  people,  just  as  he  delivered  them ;  the  ordinary  Sunday 
morning  or  evening  lectures,  which  he  never  imagined  would 
reach  a  larger  audience  than  was  collected  for  the  occasion 
within  his  parish  church.  What  has  been  done  by  one  may  be 
done  by  others  in  similar  circumstances ;  not,  perhaps,  as  grace- 
fully and  well  as  by  Father  Kelly,  for  all  have  not  his  talents ; 
but  according  to  the  capacity  with  which  each  one  is  endowed. 


192  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

It  remains  to  say  something  of  the  sermons  as  sources  which 
may  be  utilized  by  others  in  preparing  for  similar  work.  It 
seems  to  me  that  from  this  point  of  view  there  are  two  kinds  of 
discourse :  one  formal,  \vith  the  various  divisions  pointed  out 
explicitly,  as  well  as  the  principal  arguments  and  appeals  with 
which  each  point  is  amplified ;  the  other  free  and  flowing,  not 
making  so  many  divisions,  nor  distinguishing  them  so  formally 
one  from  another,  but  content  to  propose  some  one  lesson,  and  to 
illustrate  and  enforce  this  in  many  ways — from  theology,  philo- 
sophy, history,  art,  science,  experience  of  men  ;  each  sentence 
and  paragraph  arising  out  of  the  preceding  almost  imperceptibly, 
and  leading  to  a  more  artistic  if  not  a  simpler  and  more  useful 
whole. 

For  those  who  can  afford  to  make  but  a  hurried  preparation, 
the  first  kind  of  sermon  is  manifestly  the  most  valuable  ;  and 
Father  Kelly's  discourses  are  not  of  that  kind.  Those  preachers, 
however,  who  carefully  write  out  their  sermons,  and  aim  at 
producing  not  only  solid  but  artistic  results,  will  find  very 
valuable  suggestions  in  the  volume  before  us.  It  would  also 
serve,  I  think,  as  useful  spiritual  reading,  especially  for  the  laity, 
inasmuch  as  it  was  for  the  laity  the  instructions  were  originally 
prepared. 

W.  MCDONALD. 


^ 


Isi^^^i^^^^^i^^^^^^i&^^^ii^^^^^^^i^^^^^^^^fjtrfiii^ 


A  NECESSITY  OP  THOUGHT 

WE  crave  the  reader's  indulgence  for  this  brief 
excursion  into  a  region  more  or  less  abstract. 
The  abstract  atmosphere  is,  we  admit,  un- 
pleasantly thin.  Its  first  effect  is  not  unlike 
that  of  a  great  mountain  height ;  we  experience  a  difficulty 
in  catching  our  intellectual  breath,  and  are  disposed  to  grow 
dizzy  at  the  surrounding  emptiness.  Then  it  is  such  a 
ghostly  place — the  home  of  disembodied  ideas,  entities  as 
elusive  as  the  sprite.  We  altogether  prefer  the  bustling 
concrete,  where  ideas  wear  bodies  of  some  sort  through 
which  you  can  lay  hold  of  them,  and  exhibit  them  before  the 
great  popular  tribunal  of  common  sense,  and  make  them 
show  cause  why  they  should  not  be  regarded  as  disturbers  of 
the  public  mind.  However,  it  is  with  a  view  to  afterwards 
doing  all  this  the  more  effectually  that  we  now  propose 
to  have  a  short  consultation  with  that  eminent  chamber 
lawyer— consciousness. 

The  subject  we  are  about  to  discuss  is  of  great — 
even  of  supreme  importance.  It  is,  therefore,  industriously 
hidden  away  by  the  '  scientific  philosophers  '  under  vague 
forms  of  words  that  seem  profound  while  they  are 
really  only  indefinite.  In  fact  our  present  subject  shows 
us  our  philosophers  in  a  new  light.  Whatever  their 

FOURTH  SERIES,  VOL.  III.— MARCH,  1898.  N 


194  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

shortcomings,  we  have  not  hitherto  had  occasion  to  charge 
them  with  want  of  courage  to  go  on.  It  is  therefore 
the  more  surprising  to  find  them  come  to  a  dead  stop 
at  a  point  of  the  philosophic  road  which  is  clearly  not 
the  end,  declaring  that  they  have  reached  the  limit  of 
speculation  even  for  them.  They  boldly  trace  the  universe 
back  to  a  certain  primordial  condition,  and  then,  muttering 
something  about  '  the  unknown  and  unknowable,'  leave  it 
an  unsolved  problem.  Nor  must  anyone  else  touch  it.  It 
must  be  held  inscrutable,  a  mystery,  something  lying  out- 
side the  pale,  not  only  of  science,  but  of  thought.  Having 
seen  the  universe  ground  down  in  the  philosophical  mill  to 
elementary  matter  and  force,  you  must  be  content  to  stop 
there,  to  regard  that  condition  as  ultimate.  You  must  not 
seek  to  know  where  these  elements  of  a  universe  came  from, 
or  who  or  what  established  among  them  those  special 
relations  which,  according  to  the  teaching  of  '  advanced 
philosophy,'  led  to  all  subsequent  developments.  You  are 
left  to  conclude,  as  the  only  way  of  pacifying  your  insub- 
ordinate reason,  that  the  great  elements  probably  constituted 
an  effect  so  prodigious  that  it  could  dispense  with  a  cause  ! 
Of  course  the  conclusion  is  not  to  be  put  forward  in  that 
shockingly  naked  form.  Artistically  shrouded  in  the  mystery 
of  '  the  unknown  and  unknowable,'  it  will  begin  to  look 
quite  reasonable ! 

In  fact  we  have  in  this  great  problem  of  the  ultimate 
origin  of  the  universe  the  veritable  skeleton  in  the  philo- 
sophers' cabinet,  and  they  are  never  quite  at  ease  about  it. 
Hence,  even  while  solemnly  ticketing  it  '  unknown  and 
unknowable,'  they  at  the  same  time  try  to  convey  an 
impression  that  science  has  somehow  partly  solved  it  in 
the  negative,  or  at  least  is  just  about  to  do  so.  And  as  a 
last  resource,  they  metaphorically  snap  their  fingers  at  it  as 
an  unpractical  speculation,  a  mere  metaphysical  subtlety 
which  may  be  dismissed  by  practical  men. 

But  like  the  calling  of  spirits  from  the  vasty  deep,  the 
dismissal  of  the  ultimate  problem  of  causation  from  the 
human  mind  is  hampered  with  a  fatal  difficulty  in  practice — 
it  won't  go.  Try  all  we  may,  we  cannot  think  out  a  reason- 


MODERN   SCIENTIFIC   MATERIALISM  195 

able  theory  of  the  universe  without  coming  at  last  face  to 
face  with  the  question  of  its  origin.  The  solving  of  that 
question  in  some  fashion  becomes  for  us,  therefore,  a  neces- 
sity of  thought.  Further,  we  contend  that  the  solution  is 
equally  inevitable — that  as  reasonable  beings  we  can  come 
to  only  one  conclusion,  viz.,  that  the  existing  universe  had 
an  originating  cause,  which  primary  cause  was  necessarily 
a  transcendent  intelligence.  This  conclusion  we  shall 
now  endeavour  to  work  out  with  as  little  abstruseness  as 
may  be. 

We  suppose  it  is  unnecessary  to  say  a .  single  word  as  to 
the  importance  of  the  question  and  its  answer.  The  special 
note  of  the  scientific  philosophy  is  the  elimination  of  the 
idea  of  an  intelligent  First  Cause  from  the  system  of  nature, 
that  is  to  say,  the  elimination  of  the  idea  of  God.  In  the 
hands  of  the  infidel  philosophers  the  universe  has  become 
the  great  argument  against  the  existence  of  its  Creator.  As 
we  see  it  around  us  now,  it  can  be  explained  without  refer- 
ence to  any  such  being  ;  and  when  traced  to  its  primordia 
condition,  it  vanishes  '  behind  the  veil.'  That  is  the  sum  of 
the  scientific  philosophy ;  and  whoever  would  retain  his 
belief  in  a  God  must  be  prepared  to  meet  it. 

The  line  of  thought  followed  in  this  paper  was  suggested 
by  some  pregnant  sentences  in  the  concluding  paragraph  of 
Sir  John  Herschel's  lecture  On  the  Origin  of  Force.1  Having 
called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  universe,  as  far  as  it 
is  observable  by  us,  presents  to  us  three  orders  of  phenomena 
— viz.,  physical,  vital,  and  intellectual — Sir  John  Herschel 
continues : — 

The  first  and  greatest  question  philosophy  has  to  resolve  in 
its  attempts  to  make  out  a  Cosmos — to  bring  the  whole  of  the 
phenomena  exhibited  in  these  three  domains  of  existence  under 
the  contemplation  of  the  mind  as  a  congruous  whole — is  whether 
or  not  we  can  derive  any  light  from  our  internal  consciousness  of 
thought,  reason,  power,  will,  motive,  design  :  whether,  that  is  to 


1  Familiar  Lectures. 


196  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

say,  nature  is  or  is  not  more  interpretable  by  supposing  these 
things  (be  they  what  they  may)  to  have  had,  or  to  have,  to  do 
with  its  arrangements. 

The  suggestion  here  thrown  out  really  takes  us  down  to 
the  very  root  of  all  profitable  study  of  natural  phenomena. 
The  very  first  question  certainly  is — How  are  we  to  approach 
the  study  of  these  phenomena  ?     What  standards  have  we 
to  refer  them  to  ?    What  weights  and  measures  have  we  to 
gauge  them  with  ?     To  answer  this  fundamental  question 
we  turn  the  search-light  of  our  intellect  in  on  ourselves,  and 
examine  how  we  stand  related  to  the  phenomena  of  which 
we  have  the  best  because  the  most  immediate  experience — 
namely,  our  own  works  as  free  agents.     How  do  we  account 
for  these  phenomena  of  our  own  production  to  ourselves  or 
to  our  fellowmen  ? — why  we  did  that  act,  or  went  to  that 
place,  or  bought  or  sold  that  thing  ?    At  once  we  discover 
ourselves  referring  them  to  internal,  intellectual  conceptions 
more  or  less  clear  and  deliberate.     And  the  more  closely  we 
watch  the  process  of  explanation  the  more  we  realize  that  a 
work  of  ours  is  always  and  only  explicable  when  clearly 
referable  to  a  prototypal  thought ;  that  such  perfections  and 
defects  of  the  work  as  are  not  merely  mechanical  are  trace- 
able to  the  thought;  and  that  confusion  in  the  work  or  its 
interpretation  comes  of  confusion  in  the  thought.       The 
steps  that  lead  to  the  phenomena  we  produce  ourselves — our 
works  as  free  agents — we  thus  find  to  be  substantially  these  : 
(1)  a  conception,  clear  or  confused,  of  an  end  to  be  gained — 
a  design ;  (2)  a  conception,  also  more  or  less  clear  or  con- 
fused, of  means  to  be  applied  to  gain  that  end — a  plan} 
(3)  the  actual  carrying  out,  with  more  or  less  success,  of  the 
different  parts  of  the  plan,  thus  realizing,  more  or  less  per- 
fectly, the  original  design.     This  last  step  is  still  traceable 
to  a  mental  origin  in  reason  and  will. 

In  all  the  steps  of  this  process  we  of  course  recognise 
that  we  are  handicapped  by  the  limitation  of  our  powers, 
mental  and  physical.  We  have  also  to  admit  that,  owing  to 
our  limitations,  the  steps  are  not  always  so  clearly  distin- 
guishable as  here  set  forth.  Indeed  occasionally  the  first 
two  steps  seem  to  be  reversed,  the  conception  of  means 


MODERN   SCIENTIFIC   MATERIALISM  197 

coming  first  and  suggesting  possible  ends.  Still  these  defects 
do  not  in  the  least  shake  our  belief  in  the  truth  of  the  general 
conclusion  at  which  we  have  arrived — namely,  that  our 
works  are  external  projections,  more  or  less  perfect,  of 
previous  intellectual  conceptions  ;  that  they  existed  as 
thoughts  before  they  existed  as  facts  ;  that  they  are  ideals 
more  or  less  perfectly  realized.  The  first  result,  then,  of 
self-observation  is  to  trace  back  all  self-produced  phenomena 
t.o  the  initial  influence  or  impulsion  of  some  of  those  intel- 
lectual powers  or  forces  named  by  Sir  John  Herschel.  In 
so  far  as  we  are  conscious  of  being  originators  of  formative 
force,  leading  to  the  production  of  phenomena,  we  are  to  the 
like  extent  conscious  of  the  purely  mental  origin  of  that 
force.  In  other  words,  all  phenomena  of  our  own  produc- 
tion— our  works  as  free  agents — are  traceable  to  previous 
formative  thought.  This  is  unquestionably  the  testimony  of 
our  consciousness.  It  is  information  directly  gained,  or,  as 
we  may  say,  at  first  hand. 

We  now  proceed  to  extend  the  range  of  our  knowledge 
by  inference  ;  and  the  first  extension  we  give  it  will  hardly, 
we  think,  be  questioned.  It  rests  on  our  reasonable  convic- 
tion of  the  unity  of  human  nature — that  mankind  is  all  of  a 
piece.  Therefore  the  works  of  our  fellowmen  are  related 
to  them  as  ours  to  us,  that  is,  they  are  expressions  of 
previously  existing  intellectual  conceptions.  This  consider- 
ably increases  the  number  of  phenomena  clearly  interpretable 
by  a  rule  founded  on  our  own  consciousness.  The  category 
now  embraces  all  the  works  of  man  as  a  free  agent.  Looked 
at  through  the  medium  of  our  consciousness,  every  such 
work  of  man  stands  forth  against  the  background  of  an 
interpreting  thought.  Any  particular  work  of  man  is  a 
puzzle  to  us  only  when  we  cannot  clearly  refer  it  to  its 
intellectual  background. 

Let  us  assure  ourselves  by  experiment,  so  to  speak,  that 
all  this  is  no  mere  abstract  dreaming,  but  a  true  account 
of  what  we  are  instinctively  doing  every  day  of  our  lives. 
Let  us  suppose  ourselves  viewing  one  of  those  triumphs 
of  modern  engineering — a  great  steel  railway  bridge. 


198  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

What  association  of  ideas  would  be  most  likely  to  occur  to 
us — the  bridge  and  the  foundry,  or  the  bridge  and  the 
engineer  ?  Certainly  the  latter.  Even  if  the  first  did  occur 
to  us,  we  could  not  rest  in  it ;  for  this  association  of  ideas 
would  be  really  our  instinctive  reference  of  the  work  to  its 
origin,  and  no  conceivable  wealth  of  machinery  would  here 
fulfil  the  idea  of  that  relation.  Inevitably  we  should  go 
back  to  the  mind  of  the  engineer,  when  the  great  work 
would  resolve  itself  into  a  great  thought.  Then  and  not  till 
then  should  we  feel  that  we  had  satisfactorily  accounted  to 
ourselves  for  the  existence  of  this  particular  phenomenon. 
This  is  a  solitary  instance  of  an  ever-recurring  act,  always 
substantially  the  same.  We  pass  a  neat  cottage  on  the 
roadside.  Instantly  we  refer  its  neatness,  not  to  the  white- 
wash and  creepers,  but  to  an  aesthetic  ideal  in  the  mind  of 
the  occupant.  Even  a  heap  of  broken  stones,  if  we  notice 
it  at  all,  is  instinctively  referred  to  an  ideal,  good,  bad,  or 
indifferent,  in  the  mind  of  the  humble  operator,  or,  further 
back,  in  that  of  Macadam. 

Hence  we  may  safely  conclude  that  we  have  here  got 
hold  of  something  like  a  law  of  our  intellectual  nature,  in 
virtue  of  which  we  trace  things  to  thoughts,  and  feel  fully 
satisfied  only  when  we  can  so  trace  them.  Without  the 
background  of  thought  the  works  of  our  fellowmen  become 
unintelligible  to  us.  Nay,  even  our  own  works,  if  perchance 
we  forget  the  thoughts  that  inspired  them,  become  equally 
unintelligible.  We  have  all  had  experience  of  this  curious 
verification  of  our  principle.  How  often  have  we  had  to 
stop  before  one  of  our  own  works  quite  puzzled  to  account 
for  its  occurrence  or  existence.  Why  did  I  do  this  ?  Why 
did  I  place  this  here  ?  We  know  well  we  did  the  work  in 
question ;  but  that  does  not  explain  it  to  us.  That  was  a 
stage  in  its  production,  not  its  origin.  We  are  as  certain  of 
a  mental  origin  farther  back  as  we  are  of  the  actual  exist- 
ence of  the  work  there  confronting  us.  There  was  an 
originating  thought,  whatever  has  become  of  it.  And  until 
that  thought  is  traced  and  found  in  the  memory,  the  work 
remains  unintelligible — an  effect  without  a  cause. 


MODERN   SCIENTIFIC   MATERIALISM  199 

And  here  let  us  hark  back  for  a  moment  to  check  our 
work  by  comparison  with  our  text.     The  question  proposed 
was,  whether  natural  phenomena  become  more  interpretable 
by  referring  them  to  mind.     Towards  the  solution  of  this 
question  we  have  made  this  much  progress.    We  have  found 
that  the  phenomena  most  within  reach  of  our  experience 
are  more  or  less  interpretable  according  as  they  are  more  or 
less  clearly  referable  to  mind.      This  reference  to  mental 
prototypes  thus  establishes  itself  as  a  rule  of  interpretation 
for  these  phenomena.     Further,  we  have  found  it  to  be  our 
only  rule  in  these  cases — the  one  principle   by  which  we 
could  satisfactorily  account  for  the  existence  of  the  pheno- 
mena in  question.     When  it  failed  us,  we  were  for  the  time 
intellectually  lost.     The  work  of  our  fellowman,  and  even 
our  own,  became  a  puzzle  when  the  thought  that  underlay 
it  could  not  be  traced.     This  last,  or  negative  result  of  our 
inquiry,  is  by  far  the  most  important  for  the  object  in  view. 
It  was  a  good  thing  to  find  out  that  for  certain  phenomena 
we  had  an  instinctive  method  of  interpretation  which  we 
found  to  be  quite  satisfying  to  us  as  rational  beings.     It  was 
a  still  better  thing  to  find  out  that  we  had  no  other  method 
that  gave  us  any  satisfaction.     For  this  latter  discovery  has 
prepared  us  to  give  full,  intelligent  acceptance  to  Sir  John 
Herschel's  final  extension  of  our  principle,  at  least  in  its 
negative  form,  to  all  the  phenomena  of  nature — 'Constituted 
as  the  human  mind  is,  if  nature  be  not  interpretable  through 
these  conceptions  [of  relation  with  mind],  it  is  not  interpret- 
able at  all.'     Here  we  have  at  last  reached  a  great  general 
rule  for  the  interpretation  of  nature — a  rule  which,  on  the 
warrant    alike    of    intellectual    necessity    and    of    strictly 
scientific  analogy,  claims  the  whole  field — a  rule  woven  into 
the  very  texture  of  our  minds,  and  so  interwoven  with  our 
intuition  of  cause  itself  that  to  strangle  one  is  to  paralyze 
the  other.    Let  us  thoroughly  convince  ourselves  of  all  this — 
(1)  that  we  have,  de  facto,  in  this  rule  a  reliable  guide  to  the 
satisfactory  solution  of  the  great  puzzle  of  the  universe — 
the  origin  of  things  ;  and  (2)  that  all  attempts  to  solve  the 
problem  on  other  principles  invariably  lead  to  intellectual 
chaos. 


200  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

When  we  look  at  our  triple  universe  of  matter,  life,  and 
mind,  we  cannot  help  regarding  it  as  a  work — a  product  ol 
the  operation  of  some  power,  force,  energy,  or  whatever 
other  word  will  properly  express  the  ultimate  Efficient 
Cause.1  It  bears  the  stamp  of  workmanship  on  every  part, 
great  and  small.  So  patent  is  this  that  few,  even  of  the 
most  reckless  of  the  '  advanced  philosophers,'  venture  to 
question  it.  They  too,  like  ourselves,  instinctively  refer  the 
universe  and  its  parts  to  causes,  thereby  admitting  that  they 
have  to  view  them  as  effects — as  works  of  some  agent  or 
power.  But  having  thus  far  followed  the  lead  of  their  intel- 
lectual instincts,  when  they  come  to  take  the  next  step — 
that  of  tracing  the  work  to  its  source,  they  deliberately 
abandon  what  is  for  them  as  for  us  '  the  method  of  nature  '- 
a  method  that  is  as  much  a  part  of  our  intellectual  outfit  as 
the  intuition  of  cause  itself.  In  doing  this  they  necessarily 
also  turn  their  backs  on  that  boasted  '  scientific  method '  by 
which  they  profess  always  to  interpret  the  '  ultra-experien- 
tial '  in  nature  by  analogy  of  the  observed  and  known.  The 
works  of  man  they  can  only  account  for  satisfactorily  by 
tracing  them,  like  ourselves,  to  an  intellectual  origin ;  but 
the  far  more  elaborate  works  with  which  the  three -fold 
universe  overflows  they  are  content  to  refer  to  the  action  of 
unintelligent  forces.  To  be  consistent  they  should  also 
content  themselves  with  referring  the  bridge  to  the  foundry, 
maintaining  that  the  varied  and  powerful  machinery  there 
was  the  ultimate  and  sufficient  cause  of  its  existence,  and 
that  its  pedigree  went  no  further  back.  They  say  in  fact : 
'  We  cannot  account  for  the  existence  of  this  bridge  without 
going  back  to  the  mind  of  the  engineer,  from  which  came 
the  plan  that  was  worked  out  by  the  mechanical  and 
chemical  appliances  of  the  foundry.  But  this  other  work — 
the  solar  system,  or  this  one — the  growing  plant,  or  this 


1  According  to  some  recent  authorities  it  would  seem  that  a  correct  use  of 
the  terms  force  and  energy  is  almost  as  rare  an  accomplishment  as  that  of  shall 
and  intf.  As  regards  the  more  common  term,  force,  we  take  shelter  behind 
Faraday  : — '  "What  I  mean  by  the  word  force  is  the  cause  of  a  physical  action — 
the  source  or  sources  of  all  possible  changes  amongst  the  particles  or  materials 
of  the  uui verse.' — Experimental  Researches,  p.  460. 


MODERN   SCIENTIFIC   MATERIALISM  201 

one — the  sentient  animal,  or  even  this  one — man  himself, 
with  his  wonderful  originating  power — all  these  we  trace, 
not  to  an  intellectual  origin,  but  to  the  interaction  of  the 
ordinary  forces  of  mindless  matter.  We  cannot  indeed 
imagine  unintelligent  forces  planning  the  bridge,  but  we  can 
fancy  them  forming  the  engineer  ! ' 

Let  it  not  be  said  that  this  is  but  a  travesty  of  the 
'  advanced  philosophy.'  Those  who  have  had  the  patience 
to  follow  us  throughout,  know  that  we  are  not  overstating 
the  case.  They  will  easily  recall  many  pronouncements  of 
the  '  philosophers '  that  would  entirely  bear  us  out.  '  The 
existing  world  lay  potentially  in  the  cosmic  vapour.'  There, 
according  to  Professor  Huxley,  is  the  remotest  thinkable 
origin  of  all  the  exquisite  and  intricate  works  of  nature  we 
see  around  us.  But  is  such  an  origin  really  thinkable  as 
ultimate  ?  Can  we  stop  there  ?  Do  we  not  here  realize  the 
full  truth  of  what  Sir  John  Herschel  says — that,  constituted 
as  our  minds  are,  we  must  interpret  nature  by  reference  to 
mind,  or  not  at  all?  There  is  no  use  in  offering  us  matter 
and  force  in  any  quantity.  "We  can  no  more  stop  at  these 
than  we  can  at  the  ore  and  the  foundry  in  tracing  the  bridge. 
No  doubt  the  bridge  '  lay  potentially '  in  the  ore,  and  was 
'  evolved '  out  of  it  by  the  powerful  machinery  of  the  foundry. 
But  is  all  this  thinkable  by  us  as  an  ultimate  origin  ?  The 
potential  existence  of  the  bridge  in  the  ore  might  have 
continued  till  doom's  day,  and  never  become  actual  existence, 
but  for  the  thought  in  a  man's  head.  That  is  the  only 
ultimate  origin  that  satisfies  us.  So  with  'the  existing 
world.'  Granting  that  it  '  lay  potentially  in  the  cosmic 
vapour,'  and  granting  to  the  said  '  cosmic  vapour '  all  the 
properties  that  can  reasonably  be  claimed  for  mere  matter — 
forces,  motion,  high  temperature,  whatever  you  like — the 
formation  of  the  existing  world  out  of  it  all  is  still  unthinkable 
without  some  representation  of  the  engineer,  some  intelligent 
power  to  plan,  to  initiate,  to  guide. 

Here  Professor  Huxley  tries  to  baffle  us  by  one  of  those 
metaphysical  suppositions  that  seem  for  a  moment  to  confuse 
the  reasoning  powers — '  Our  present  universe,'  he  pleasantly 
suggests,  '  may  be  but  the  last  stage  of  an  eternal  series  of 


202  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

metamorphoses.'  Now  this  may  sound  very  imposing,  but  it 
is  really  no  better  than  cuttle-fish  philosophy — a  meaningless 
phrase  designed  to  darken  a  clear  issue.  As  the  wily  professor 
very  well  knew,  an  'eternal  series'  of  things  is  to  the  average 
man  as  slippery  as  a  circulating  decimal.  You  may  go  on  for 
ever  trying  to  see  to  the  end,  and  it  keeps  always  just  out  of 
sight.  It  is  like  Jack's  cable  that  kept  on  steadily  coming 
up  out  of  the  water  until  he  was  ready  to  swear  that  '  the 
devil  must  have  cut  the  other  end  off ! '  It  does  not  demand 
much  reasoning  to  show  that  this  eternal  series  of  changes 
in  matter  is  no  more  than  a  philosophical  scarecrow— a 
frightful  figure  in  the  path,  which  it  is  hoped  you  will  not 
go  near  enough  to  examine.  When  you  do  examine  it  you 
find  it  to  be  only  a  mystifying  way  of  saying  that  an  effect 
does  not  need  a  cause.  For  each  change — each  new  stage 
in  the  series — is  an  effect  arising  from,  or  in  some  way  caused 
by,  the  preceding  one.  Admittedly  no  particular  stage  can 
be  conceived  to  arise  except  from  a  preceding  one ;  that  is 
to  say,  no  stage  can  be  conceived  as  an  absolute  beginning, 
an  ultimate  cause  of  all  that  follows.  In  other  words,  the 
supposed  'series  of  metamorphoses'  can  have  no  ultimate 
cause.  Whence  '  our  present  universe '  stands  forth  as  the 
biggest  and  grandest  instance  within  our  ken  of  an  effect 
without  a  cause  !  So  this  high-sounding  '  eternal  series  of 
metamorphoses '  is  at  bottom  a  negation  of  our  intuition 
of  causality,  and  impliedly  of  the  capacity  of  human  con- 
sciousness to  bear  reliable  witness  to  anything.  Even  so 
thorough-going  an  evolutionist  as  Weismann  rejects  the 
notion  of  eternal  matter  as  an  adequate  substitute  for  a 
First  Cause. — '  The  assumption  of  eternal  matter  with  its 
eternal  laws  by  no  means  satisfies  our  intellectual  need  for 
causality.' 1 

Has  Professor  Huxley  anything  further  to  say  to  the 
question?  Yes;  he  has  just  one  thing  more: — 'The  scientific 
investigator  is  wholly  incompetent  to  say  anything  at  all 
about  the  first  origin  of  the  material  universe.'  (What ! 
not  even  '  hocus-pocus  '  ?)  This  will,  perhaps,  seem  at  first 

i  Studies  in  the  Theories  of  Descent,  1882,  p.  716. 


MODERN   SCIENTIFIC   MATERIALISM  203 

sight  the  one  sane  statement  the  Professor  has  made  on  the 
subject ;  yet  not  even  with  this  can  we  agree.  We  hear  a 
great  deal  at  times  from  all  the  '  advanced  philosophers ' 
about  '  the  scientific  method  '  by  which  they  are  enabled  to 
'  cross  the  boundary  of  experimental  evidence,'  and  '  discern ' 
wonderful  things  that  lie  outside  the  region  of  experience. 
These  are  '  derived  by  a  process  of  abstraction  from 
experience.  ...  In  this  way,  out  of  experience,  arise 
conceptions  which  are  wholly  ultra-experiential.' I  Agam — 
'  Having  determined  the  elements  of  their  curve  in  a  world 
of  observation  and  experiment,  they  [i.e.,  the  scientific 
philosophers]  prolong  that  curve '  2  into  regions  of  thought 
beyond. 

Furnished  with  this  '  open  sesame,'  how  can  Professor 
Huxley  declare  himself  'wholly  incompetent  to  say  anything 
at  all  about  the  first  origin  of  the  material  universe '  ?  Is 
not  this  a  case  where  we  can  '  determine  the  elements  of 
our  curve '  of  causality  *  in  a  world  of  observation  and 
experiment,'  namely,  the  world  of  phenomena  of  our  own 
originating?  In  that  world  of  our  immediate  experience 
the  elements  of  the  curve  are  found  to  be  all  purely  mental. 
Must  not  its  prolongation,  therefore,  through  and  beyond 
'the  primitive  nebulosity,'  lead  us  to  an  analogous  originating 
cause  there  ?  If  we  are  to  credit  '  the  scientific  method ' 
with  the  powers  claimed  for  it,  this  must  inevitably  be  the 
result  of  its  application  here.  But  perhaps  that  is  just  the 
reason  it  is  not  applied  ! 

This  agnostic  pose  is  rather  a  favourite  one  with  our 
'  advanced  philosophers.'  It  gives  the  impression  of  moder- 
ation and  caution,  and  contrasts  favourably  with  '  the 
intolerant  dogmatism  of  theology.'  Mr.  S.  Laing  in  his 
Modern  Science  and  Modern  Thought,  having  traced  energy 
back  to  the  cosmic  atoms,  continues  : — 

If  we  ask  how  came  the  atoms  into  existence  endowed  with 
this  marvellous  energy,  we  have  reached  the  furthest  bounds  of 
human  knowledge,  and  can  only  reply  in  the  words  of  the  poet — 


1  Tyndall,  Belfast  Address. 

2  Id.,  Scientific  Use  of  the  Imagination. 


204  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

'Behind  the  veil,  behind  the  veil.'  We  can  only  form  meta- 
physical suppositions,  or  I  might  rather  call  them  the  vaguest 
guesses,1 

This  may  be  taken  as  a  typical  statement.  We  have  it 
reproduced  in  many  impressive  forms  by  Tyndall,  standing 
with  bowed  head  before  the  Mystery  of  Matter ;  by  Spencer, 
in  the  sanctuary  of  his  own  special  deity,  '  the  Unknown 
and  Unknowable;'  by  Huxley,  also  worshipping  in  silence 
'  at  the  altar  of  the  Unknown  and  Unknowable  ;'  2  and  by 
many  lesser  lights  eager  to  parade  their  emancipation  from 
the  trammels  of  worn-out  creeds,  and  their  adoption  of  '  the 
scientific  idea  of  a  First  Cause,  inscrutable  and  past  finding 
out.' 3  A.S  this  is  'a  more  sublime  as  well  as  a  more  rational 
belief  than  the  old  orthodox  conception,'  it  is  worth  examining 
a  little.  Passing  by  the  '  sublime,'  let  us  look  at  it  from  the 
'  rational '  side. 

Whatever  we  know,  or  seem  to  know,  of  atoms  and  energy, 
are  but  deductions  from  phenomena ;  for  atoms  and  energy 
themselves  are  just  as  much  '  behind  the  veil '  as  their  First 
Cause.  Now  the  phenomena  which  teach  us  all  that  we 
know  of  atoms  and  energy — do  they  not  speak  with  equal 
plainness  of  a  third  thing,  mind  ?  This,  at  any  rate,  was  the 
view  of  Sir  John  Herschel — no  weak-kneed  metaphysical 
guesser,  but  as  robust  a  scientific  thinker  as  the  century  has 
produced.  '  It  is  reasonable,'  he  says,  'to  regard  the  force  of 
gravitation  as  the  direct  or  indirect  result  of  a  consciousness 
or  a  will  existing  somewhere.' 4  Certainly  this  is  no  more 
than  '  reasonable.'  If  the  planetary  motions  prove  the 
existence  of  a  linking  force,  surely  they  prove  just  as  plainly 
the  prevalence  of  a  far-reaching  order  and  plan,  implying 
'  a  consciousness  or  a  will  existing  somewhere.'  Our 
'  philosophers '  are  not  always  so  blind  to  the  evidence  of 
design,  nor  so  slow  to  draw  the  proper  conclusion.  When 


5  Page  70.  This  book  is  an  able,  and  therefore  a  dangerous,  popular  statement 
of  the  agnostic  philosophy.  In  ten  years  it  has  had  a  sale  of  over  twenty 
thousand. 

2  Lay  Sermons,  p.  14. 

3  Modern  Science  and  Modern  Tlwuyht,  p.  222. 
*  Outlines  of  Astronomy,  5th  ed.,  p.  291. 


MODERN   SCIENTIFIC   MATERIALISM  205 

the  matter  is  one  that  seems  to  favour  their  own  theories 
they  are  only  too  ready  to  conclude.     Their  proof  of  the 
remote  antiquity  of  man  is  a  case  in  point.     Fragments  of 
flint  chipped  in  a  peculiar  way  have  been  found  in  ancient 
drift  deposits.    These  flints,  the  '  philosophers  '  tell  us,  show 
evident   marks   of  design — of  having    been   '  intentionally 
chipped  into  their  present  forms.'1     They  scout  the  idea 
that  such  forms  could  result  from  any  conceivable  action  of 
the  forces  of  nature,  or  could  be  the  handiwork  of  any  kind 
of  ape  however  '  anthropoid.'     The  signs  of.  purpose  are  too 
evident ;  and  purpose  is  unanswerable  proof  of  a  reasoning 
intelligence-     Therefore  beyond  all   doubt,   they  conclude, 
man  existed  at  the  drift  period.  We  are  not  now  considering 
the  validity  of  this  proof,  but  only  the  method  of  it.     Let  it 
be  borne  in  mind  that  not  a  scrap  of  human  bones  has  been 
found  with  these  flints,  nor  in  any  certainly  coeval  deposits 
elsewhere.      Consequently  the  proof  is  purely  inferential — 
a  conclusion  from   the  evidence  of  design   to  the  necessary 
existence  of  an  intelligent   being.     Behold   the   chameleon 
consistency  of  the  '  philosophers  ' !   A  few  doubtfully-marked 
fragments  of  stone  are  sufficient  evidence  of  plan  and  pur- 
pose to  prove  intelligent  authorship  ;  but  the  elaborate  and 
exquisite  works  of  nature  are  quite  incompetent  to  establish 
a  similar  conclusion.     The  men  of  the  drift  are  clearly  seen 
in  their  very  questionable  works,  but  the  Author  of  Nature 
is  '  behind  the  veil.' 

Taking  the  three  factors  of  the  universe — matter,  force, 
and  mind — we  find  the  same  state  of  things.  The 
'  philosophers  '  see  as  much  as  they  want  to,  and  no  more. 
These  three  mysterious  entities  lie  equally  '  behind  the  veil,' 
are  equally  'metaphysical  conceptions.'  Natural  phenomena 
bear  witness  to  the  existence  of  all  three  in  exactly  the 
same  way,  viz.,  by  special  characteristics  from  which  we 
necessarily  infer  the  existence  of  each.  From  the  reality  of 
these  phenomena  we  infer  a  real  basis,  matter ;  from  their 
actual  occurrence  we  infer  an  agent  or  power  at  woik,  force ; 
from  their  orderly  character  we  infer  a  controlling  and 

1  Sir  John  Lubbock,  Scientific  Lectures,  p.  149. 


206  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

guiding  influence,  mind.  Why  are  two  of  these  inferences 
valid,  although  they  point  to  things  '  behind  the  veil,'  while 
the  third  is  to  be  regarded  as  invalid  because  it  too  points  to 
something  '  behind  the  veil '  ?  If  we  are  able  to  read  the 
existence  of  two  of  the  things  in  their  effects,  why  not  that 
of  the  third  as  well  ?  The  evidence  is  as  plain  in  one  case 
as  another.  Nay,  we  can  bring  forward  proof  that  the 
evidence  for  the  third  is  actually  plainer  than  for  either  of  the 
other  two — that  mind  is  more  clearly  revealed  in  nature 
than  either  matter  or  force.1  To  this  the  forms  of  ordinary 
speech — the  crystallized  thought  of  the  people — bear  un- 
deniable testimony.  When  the  '  scientific  philosophers ' 
attempt  to  describe  natural  phenomena,  they  find  that  they 
must  use  the  language  of  design  if  they  wish  to  be  understood. 
We  have  only  to  look  into  any  of  their  books  to  see  this ; 
Darwin's  Origin,  for  instance,  is  full  of  it.  What  does  this 
show?  It  shows  how  natural  phenomena  present  them- 
selves to  the  eyes  of  mankind  in  general.  Whatever  the 
philosophers  may  do,  the  people  describe  things  as  they  see 
them.  When,  therefore,  we  find  that  the  notion  of  design 
in  natural  phenomena  has  so  moulded  the  usages  of  the 
common  speech  that  all  must  recognise  it  if  they  would  be 
intelligible,  the  fact  is  clear  proof  that  design  is  the  most 
generally  evident  characteristic  of  these  phenomena. 

Our  '  philosophers '  may  answer  superiorly  that  in  a 
matter  of  this  kind  the  people  are  incompetent  witnesses  : 
in  fact,  like  the  law,  'the  people  is  a  h-ass.'  No  doubt 
from  the  scientific  standpoint  the  people  is  a  very  poor 
concern.  It  knows  little  or  nothing  of  sciences  or  '-ologies.' 
It  stands  agape  at  the  most  elementary  scientific  demonstra- 
tion. It  has  no  proper  reverence  for  that  great  mechanical 
providence,  the  law  of  inverse  squares.  But  there  is  here 
no  question  of  scientific  attainments.  The  question  simply 
is — What  special  characteristic  of  natural  phenomena  most 
strikes  the  popular  mind  ?  And  the  answer  recorded  in 

1  This  would  seem  to  be  the  impression  made  on  Tennyson  himself,  from 
whose  In  Memoriam  the  phrase  '  Behind  the  veil '  is  quoted.  '  Matter,'  he  said, 
'is  a  greater  mystery  than  mind' — a  thing  less  plainly  revealed  in  nature. 
See  Life,  by  his^son,  vol.  ii.,  p.  424. 


MODERN   SCIENTIFIC   MATERIALISM  207 

the  forms  of  every  civilized  speech  is  design,  intelligence. 
Science  has  nothing  to  do  with  this  unanimous  testimony 
but  to  accept  it  as  a  fact,  and  to  ponder  its  significance.  A 
common  intuition,  as  Balmes  says,  is  '  a  land-mark  of 
philosophy';1  and  this  seems  to  be  one.  'That  philo- 
sophy,' continues  Balmes,  '  must  be  erroneous  which  is 
opposed  to  a  necessity,  and  contradicts  an  evident  fact.' 
This  exactly  describes  the  position  of  the  agnostic  philosophy. 
It  is  opposed  to  a  necessity  of  human  thought,  and  contra- 
dicts a  fact  so  evident  that  it  has  stamped  itself  on  the 
speech  of  every  civilized  people. 

In  fine,  we  will  call  two  individual  witnesses  whose  claims 
to  speak  for  Nature  no  one  will  venture  to  dispute.  One 
shall  speak  for  the  Universe  of  Life,  the  other  for  the 
Universe  of  Matter  and  Force,  and  both  will  testify  to  the 
all -pervading  evidence  of  Mind. 

Whatever  we  may  think  of  Darwin  as  a  philosopher,  no 
one  questions  his  eminence  as  a  naturalist.  He  cannot  be 
suspected  of  any  desire  to  favour  the  doctrine  of  mind  in 
nature,  seeing  that  the  whole  tendency  of  his  system  is  to 
eliminate  mind  altogether  from  natural  phenomena.  There- 
fore when  we  find  him  in  his  later  years,  after  all  his  unique 
experience,  forced  to  bear  unwilling  witness  to  the  over- 
powering evidence  of  an  intelligent  First  Cause  which  living 
nature  supplies,  we  can  hardly  overrate  the  importance  of 
his  testimony:  In  a  private  memoir  written  in  1876,  we 
find  this  remarkable  statement : — 

Another  source  of  conviction  in  the  existence  of  God,  con- 
nected with  the  reason,  and  not  with  the  feelings,  impresses  me 
as  having  much  more  weight.  This  follows  from  the  extreme 
difficulty,  or  rather  impossibility,  of  conceiving  this  immense 
and  wonderful  universe,  including  man  with  his  capacity  for 
looking  far  backwards  and  far  into  futurity,  as  the  result  of 
blind  chance  or  necessity.  When  thus  reflecting  I  feel  compelled 
to  look  to  a  First  Cause  having  intelligent  mind  in  some  degree 
analogous  to  that  of  man.2 

1  Fundamental  Philosophy,  vol.  i.,  p.  267. 

2  Life  and  Letters,  vol.  i.,  p.  312.    Nevertheless  he  concludes  inconsequent! y 
— '  The  mystery  of  the  beginning  of  all  things  is  insoluble  by  us  :  and  I  for 
one  must  be  content  to  remain  an  agnostic.' 


208  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

In  the  year  of  his  death  (1882),  discussing  this  question 
with  the  Duke  of  Argyll,  he  admitted  that  the  conviction  of 
design  in  nature  often  still  came  over  him  '  with  over- 
whelming force.'1 

What  have  our  agnostic  philosophers  to  say  to  these 
repeated  admissions,  dragged,  so  to  speak,  from  the  reluctant 
lips  of  the  very  father  of  the  philosophic  faithful,  '  the 
Abraham  of  scientific  men '  ? 2  At  Belfast  Tyndall  proudly 
paraded  Darwin  as  rejecting  '  teleology '  and  '  the  notion  of 
a  supernatural  Artificer.'  What  hollow  mockery  it  all  seems 
in  the  light  of  the  pitiful  revelation  here  made  ?  For  it  is 
pitiful  to  see  this  really  great  naturalist,  in  the  interests  of  a 
mistaken  idea,  blindly  struggling  to  free  himself  from  a 
necessity  of  thought,  to  stifle  the  voice  of  consciousness 
within  and  nature  without,  to  persist  in  saying  '  no '  while 
the  universe  thundered  '  yes.' 

Our  second  witness  is  the  Seer  of  modern  science,  the 
man  whose  scientific  inspirations  are  still  a  fruitful  source  of 
scientific  discovery,  Faraday.  Who  will  question  his  insight 
into  the  mysterious  universe  of  matter  and  force  ?  And  the 
revelation  it  made  to  him  is  conveyed,  not  inappropriately, 
in  the  language  of  another  and  higher  revelation.  '  I  believe 
that  the  invisible  things  of  Him  from  the  creation  of  the 
world  are  clearly  seen,  being  understood  by  the  things  that 
are,  even  His  eternal  power  and  Godhead.' 3 

One  more  witness  we  take  leave  to  call — that  peculiar 
American  genius — philosopher,  lecturer,  essayist,  poet — the 
Carlyle  of  the  New  World,  Emerson.  Tyndall  apparently 
would  appropriate  him ;  but  we  dispute  his  claim.  We  do 
not  say  he  agrees  with  us  in  all,  or  even  in  much  ;  but  we 
do  say  that  he  has  more  in  common  with  us  than  with 
materialism.  We  might  quote  many  passages  in  support  of 
our  contention,  but  we  restrict  ourselves  to  two — one  from 
each  of  his  essays  on  Nature. 

Through  all  its  kingdoms,  to  the  suburbs  and  outskirts  of 
things,  [Nature]  is  faithful  to  the  cause  whence  it  had  its  origin. 

1  Ibid.,  p.  316,  note. 

2  Tyndall,  Science  and  Man. 

3  Experimental  Researches,  p.  465 


MODERN   SCIENTIFIC   MATERIALISM  209 

It  always  speaks  of  Spirit.  It  suggests  the  absolute.  It  is  a 
perpetual  effect.  It  is  a  great  shadow  pointing  always  to  the 
sun  behind  us. 

And  to  the  like  effect  these  two  golden  sentences — 
'Nature  is  the  incarnation  of  a  thought.  .  .  .  The  world 
is  mind  precipitated.' 

But  there  is  little  to  be  gained  by  arguing  this  question 
with  the  '  advanced  philosophers.'  As  far  as  they  are  con- 
cerned, the  ease  is  closed.  Their  intellectual  position  might 
be  represented  by  the  figure  of  Justice  without  the  scales, 
or  Sam  Weller  when  he  '  didn't  see '  his  father  in  the 
gallery,  though  he  'rayther  thought '  he  was  there.  Pat  into 
words,  regardless  of  '  bulls,'  it  might  be  expressed  thus : 
'  There  is  no  evidence  of  God  in  nature  ;  and  if  there  is,  we 
won't  see  it.' 

Let  us  briefly  resume  the  argument  before  leaving  it. 
Three  classes  of  phenomena,  viz.,  our  own  works,  our  neigh  - 
bour's,  and  the  universe,  present  three  cases  of  causation. 
All  three  are  alike  inexplicable  without  reference  to  mind. 
All  three  alike  become  quite  comprehensible  by  reference  to 
mind.  Of  the  mental  origin  of  the  first  we  have  the  most 
absolute  certainty  we  can  have  of  anything.  Of  the  mental 
origin  of  the  second  we  have  a  certainty  almost  as  absolute, 
resting  on  our  certainty  of  our  neighbour's  likeness  to  our- 
selves, and  on  his  constant  testimony  regarding  the  origin  of 
his  own  works.  Therefore  in  the  third  case,  from  the  analogy 
of  these  two,  and  prescinding  altogether  from  any  testimony 
there  may  be  in  the  shape  of  a  revelation,  it  becomes  a 
necessity  of  thought  with  us  to  assume  a  mental  origin — an 
intelligent  First  Cause.  We  cannot  stop  at  the  agnostic 
terminus.  We  cannot  say — '  I  admit  the  first  because  I 
have  the  testimony  of  my  own  consciousness ;  I  admit  the 
second  because  I  have  the  testimony  of  my  neighbour,  rest- 
ing on  that  of  his  consciousness ;  but  I  do  not  admit  the 
third,  because,  not  believing  in  a  revelation,  I  have  no 
testimony.'  This  is  to  deny  the  validity  of  every  sort  of 
evidence  but  human  testimony — an  absurdity  which  would 
at  once  make  a  clean  sweep  of  three-fourths  of  the  conclusions 
VOL.  in.  o 


210  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

of  physical  science  !     As  Professor  Asa  Gray   says : — '  In 
Nature  we  have  no    testimony ;  but  the  argument  is  over- 
whelming.' l    If  that  silent  but  overwhelming  argument  is 
to  be  set  aside,  the  sooner  we  disabuse  ourselves  of  the  notion 
that  we  are  reasonable  beings  the  better.     In  fact  the  only 
real  justification  of  agnosticism  is  Darwin's  '  horrid  doubt — 
whether  the  convictions  of  man's  mind,  which  has  been 
developed  from  the  mind  of  the  lower  animals,  are  of  any 
value  or  at  all  trustworthy.    Would  anyone  trust  the  convic- 
tions of  a  monkey's  mind  ? ' 2     On  this  view  of  the  nature  of 
the  mental  faculties,  and  on  this  alone,  does  agnosticism 
become  logical.     If  we  are  highly  developed  apes,  and  no 
more,  not  only  our  conclusion  about  a  First  Cause,  but  all 
our  conclusions  become  untrustworthy.     But  in  that  case  it 
would  not  matter  much  one  way  or  the  other. 

The  agnostic  philosophers  are  fond  of  pointing  to  the 
inconceivableness  of  creation  as  proof  that  it  is  impossible 
and  cannot  have  taken  place.  Is  creation  inconceivable, 
and  therefore  impossible  ? 

Let  us  begin  by  clearing  up  the  term  of  comparison, 
inconceivable.  A  thing  may  be  inconceivable  (1)  relatively 
to  us  by  reason  of  some  deficiency  in  ourselves,  as  colour  is 
inconceivable  to  a  person  always  blind ;  or  (2)  absolutely  in 
se  by  involving  a  necessary  contradiction  which  renders  it 
unthinkable,  as  that  two  and  two  make  five,  or  that  a 
triangle  may  be  round.8 

Evidently  the  only  sort  of  inconceivableness  that  involves 
impossibility  is  the  second.  Is  creation  inconceivable  in 
that  sense  ? 

In  creation  we  distinguish  two  things — the  act  and  the 
mode;  and  it  may  be  conceivable  or  inconceivable  as  regards 
the  one  and  not  as  regards  the  other.  By  the  act  of  creation 


1  Danciniana,  p.  74. 

2  From  a  letter  written  in  1881,  the  year  before  his  death.   Life  and  Letters, 
vol.  i.,  p.  316. 

3  Tiiure  is  a  third  and  looser  sense  in  which  a  thing  is  often  said  to  be 
inconceivable  :  when  it  is  so  fantastic,  so  opposed  to  the  nature  of  things  as 
known  to  us,  that  we  refuse  to  believe  it  possible  ;  e.y.,  the  existence  of  such 
being's  as  the  fabled  Centaurs. 


MODERN   SCIENTIFIC   MATERIALISM  211 

is  meant '  the  transition  of  a  substance  from  not-being  to 
being  by  virtue  of  the  productive  action  of  another  sub- 
stance.' 1  Is  this  transition  inconceivable  ?  Taking  for 
granted  the  existence  of  the  First  Cause — already  sufficiently 
demonstrated — we  have  in  this  transition  '  only  the  idea  of 
causality  in  its  highest  degree,  that  is,  as  applied  to  the  pro- 
duction of  a  substance*  But  since  we  have  the  idea  of  cause, 
the  idea  of  creation  is  not  a  new  and  inconceivable  idea,  but 
the  perfection  of  an  idea  which  is  common  to  all  mankind.' 
So  far  then  from  the  act  of  creation  being  inconceivable  in 
the  sense  of  self-contradictory  and  therefore  impossible,  we 
see  that  it  is,  on  the  contrary,  the  most  perfect  expression, 
the  most  complete  realization  in  fact  of  a  common 
fundamental  intuition. 

Is  the  mode  of  creation  inconceivable?  In  the  first 
place  let  us  say  that  we  are  not  much  concerned  to  prove 
whether  it  is  or  no.  Having  once  established  the  possibility 
of  creation  in  se,  and  its  entire  conformity  with  right 
reason,  the  mere  question  of  how  represents  a  point  of  very 
secondary  importance.  Whether  the  mode  of  creation  be 
conceivable  or  not  cannot  in  the  least  affect  either  the 
possibility  or  the  fact  of  creation.  How  many  things  do  we 
recognise  as  indisputable  facts  without  knowing  the  how  of 
their  existence.  Can  anyone  tell  us  how  we  see  things  ? 
We  can  trace  the  light -picture  as  far  as  the  back  of  the  eye, 
but  then  it  becomes  something  else,  which  we  call  sensation, 
while  in  the  brain  it  becomes  still  another  thing,  which 
we  call  vision.  How  all  this  happens,  who  can  say  !  That 
it  does  happen  we  can  all  say.  To  the  astronomer  the  force 
of  gravitation  is  a  fact,  but  the  man  who  will  demonstrate 
how  it  is  exercised  will  at  once  take  his  place  beside  Newton, 
if  not  above  him.  Let  it  be  clearly  borne  in  mind,  then, 
that  the  rest  of  this  discussion  has  no  bearing  whatever  on 
the  possibility  or  the  fact  of  creation.  They  are  established. 

1  Balmes,  Fundamental  Philosophy,  vol.  ii.,  p.  453. 

2  Balmes   distinguishes  between   the   power  of   a  ^finite  cause,    which   is 
limited  to  the  production  of  modifications  of  substances  already  existing,  and 
that  of  the  Infinite  Cause,  which  extends  to  the  production  of  substances  them- 
selves.    The  mode  of  production,  however,  we  judge  to  be  alike  ia  both  cases, 
viz.,  by  icilling. 


212  THE  IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

The  question  now  is  merely  whether  we  can  conceive  hoiv 
it  took  place.  Whether  we  can  or  no,  the  fact  remains  a 
fact.  Our  investigation  henceforward  possesses  that  merely 
scientific  interest  which  attaches  to  the  study  of  every  great 
and  wonderful  phenomenon.  In  this  attitude  of  reverent 
scientific  curiosity  we  repeat  our  question — Is  the  mode  of 
creation  inconceivable  ? 

The  only  way  in  which  we  can  form  any  idea  at  all  of 
the  mode  of  creation  is  by  observing  the  manner  in  which 
we  exercise  the  faculty  of  causation  ourselves.  We  find 
that  it  is  by  an  act  of  will.  We  will  the  things  which,  as 
free  agents,  we  do.  As  this  is  the  only  mode  of  original 
causation  with  which  we  are  acquainted,  we  must  conclude 
that  it  was  the  mode  of  creation — that  the  Creator  produced 
all  things  from  nothing  by  an  act  of  w ill. 

How  far  is  such  a  production  conceivable  by  us  ?  Just 
as  far  as  the  production  of  our  own  acts  is  conceivable  by 
us.  We  can  conceive  a  thing  beginning  to  be  in  response 
to  an  act  of  the  Creator's  will,  just  as  we  can  conceive  a 
thing  beginning  to  be  in  response  to  an  act  of  our  own  will ; 
but  how  such  effects  in  either  case  follow  from  such  a  cause 
is  incomprehensible  to  us.  We  know  no  more,  and  no  less, 
how  an  act  of  the  Creator's  will  produces  a  thing  out  of 
nothing  than  how  an  act  of  our  own  will  moves  a  limb. 
The  one  is  as  inexplicable  as  the  other. 

To  this  then  is  the  inconceivableness  of  creation  reduced, 
viz.,  to  the  manner  in  which  the  production  of  a  thing 
follows  from  the  willing  of  it.  But,  as  we  have  insisted  at 
such  tiresome  length,  this  inconceivableness  of  mode  does 
not  touch  the  possibility  or  fact  of  production.  It  would 
not  matter  in  the  least  if  it  were  shown  to-morrow  that  our 
theory  as  to  the  Creator's  mode  of  operation  was  all  wrong — 
that  His  way  of  working  is  quite  different  from  ours,  or  from 
any  conception  we  can  form  of  it  by  analogy  of  our  own. 
In  the  absence  of  any  other  clue,  the  said  analogy  supplies  a 
tolerably  satisfying  basis  of  inference  in  a  matter  of  compara- 
tively speculative  interest.  In  assuming  that  the  Creator 
works  as  we  do  by  willing,  we  are  simply  making  the  most 
of  our  limited  intellectual  resources. 


MODERN   SCIENTIFIC   MATERIALISM  213 

As  to  the  nature  of  this  inconceivableness  attaching  to 
the  mode  of  creation,  it  is  clearly  of  that  relative  kind 
which  arises  from  a  deficiency  in  ourselves  owing  to  the 
limitations  of  our  state — limitations  which  make  so  many 
things  within  us  as  well  as  without  us  mysteries  to  us. 
Yet  are  they  none  the  less  facts  to  us.  Who  doubts  his 
capacity  to  will,  and  by  willing  to  do  ?  Yet  who  knows 
how  the  doing  springs  from  the  willing  ?  This  relative 
inconceivableness  of  mode  affords  no  more  ground  for 
denying  the  possibility  of  creation,  than  for  denying  the 
possibility  of  the  acts  we  are  ourselves  doing  every  moment. 
For  the  relation  of  these  acts  to  our  will  is  as  incompre- 
hensible as  the  relation  of  created  things  to  the  will  of  the 
Creator. 

The  following  lively  statement  of  the  point  by  Balmes 
is  well  worth  adding : — 

God  wills,  and  the  universe  springs  up  out  of  nothing  : — how 
can  this  be  understood  ?  To  him  who  asks  this  I  say — Man 
wills,  and  his  arm  rises  ;  he  wills,  and  his  whole  body  is  in 
motion  :  how  can  this  be  understood  ?  Here  is  a  small,  weak, 
and  incomplete,  but  true  image  of  the  Creator — an  intelligent 
being  who  wills,  and  a  fact  which  appears.  Where  is  the 
connection  ?  If  you  cannot  explain  it  to  us  in  so  far  as  concerns 
finite  beings,  how  can  you  ask  us  to  explain  it  with  respect  to  the 
Infinite  Being?  The  incomprehensibility  of  the  connection  of 
the  motion  of  the  body  with  the  force  of  the  will  does  not 
authorize  us  to  deny  the  connection.  Therefore,  the  incompre- 
hensibility of  the  connection  of  a  being  which  appears  for  the 
first  time  with  the  force  of  the  infinite  will  cannot  authorize  us 
to  deny  the  creation.1 

When  Agnosticism  rejects  creation  as  inconceivable, 
presumably  it  has  a  more  conceivable  substitute  to  offer 
us  instead.  Herbert  Spencer,  at  any  rate,  is  bound  to  provide 
such  a  substitute,  for  he  maintains  that,  'while  the  process  of 
special  creation  cannot  be  rationally  conceived,  the  negation 
of  it  is  perfectly  conceivable.'2 

We   might   set   off  against    this  the   equally  dogmatic 

1  Fundamental  Philosophy,  vol.  ii.,  p.  483. 

2  Nineteenth  Century,  November,  1895. 


214  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

declaration  of  Professor  Huxley,  that  the  hypothesis  of 
creation  is  '  perfectly  conceivable,  and  therefore  no  one  can 
deny  that  it  may  have  happened ' — that  it  is  an  alternative  'not 
scientifically  unthinkable.'  J  However,  let  us  take '  the  Apostle 
of  the  Understanding'  on  his  own  ground,  and  see  how  he 
himself  '  rationally  conceives '  this  'negation.'  His  'perfectly 
conceivable '  substitute  for  the  creation  of  matter  is  a 
'  persisting  force '  which  '  transcends  human  knowledge 
and  conception,'  and  is  '  an  unknown  and  unknowable 
power ! '  There  is  no  denying  that  '  negation '  is  here  at 
a  discount ;  the  '  perfect  conceivableness '  is  hardly  so 
apparent.  The  reader  will  recall  with  new  interest  the 
same  '  Apostle's  '  eminently  '  rational  conception '  of  the 
origin  of  life  heretofore  quoted;  it  is  very  concise,  but 
supplies  endless  food  for  thought.  Life  arose  '  through 
successive  complications ' ! 

In  conclusion  we  will  reward  the  reader's  patience  with 
a  tit-bit  of  '  advanced  philosophy ' — something  our  American 
cousins  would  call  '"reel"  good' — an  up-to-date  agnostic 
Genesis.  We  extract  it  from  a  wildly  gushing  life  of 
Darwin,  contributed  to  the  '  English  Worthies '  series  by 
Mr.  Grant  Allen,  a  gentleman  who,  since  the  extinction  of 
greater  lights,  has  been  making  himself  very  prominent  as 
an  evolutionist  of  the  most  '  advanced '  type.  This  tour 
d1  imagination  pourtrays  the  ideal  realization  (if  we  may  use 
such  a  combination  of  words)  of  '  the  illuminating  doctrine 
of  Evolution '  as  representing  '  a  cosmical  process,  one  and 
continuous,  from  nebula  to  man,  from  star  to  soul,  from 
atom  to  society.'2  Comment  seems  needless;  and  we 
content  ourselves  with  directing  the  reader's  attention  by 
means  of  italics  to  a  few  specially  pure  gems  of  thought  or 
reasoning. 

The  evolutionist  looks  out  upon  the  Cosmos  as  a  continuous 
process  unfolding  itself  in  regular  order  in  obedience  to  definite 
natural  laws.  He  sees  in  it  all,  not  a  warring  chaos  restrained 
by  the  constant  interference  from  without  of  a  wise  and  beneficent 

1  Nineteenth  Century,  February,  1886,  pp.  202,  203.  2  Page  191. 


MODERN   SCIENTIFIC   MATERIALISM  215 

external  power,  but  a  vast  aggregate  of  original  elements  [?] 
perpetually  working  out  their  own  fresh  redistribution  in  accord- 
ance with  their  own  inherent  energies.  ... 

In  the  very  beginning  [?]  the  matter  which  now  composes  the 
material  universe  seems  to  have  existed  in  a  very  diffuse  and 
nebulous  condition.  The  gravitative  force,  however,  with  which 
every  atom  of  the  whole  vast  mass  was  primarily  endowed, 
caused  it  gradually  to  aggregate  around  certain  fixed  and  definite 
centres  [?]••• 

Biology  next  steps  in  with  its  splendid  explanation  of  organic 
life,  as  due  initially  to  the  secondary  action  of  radiated  solar 
energy  on  the  outer  crust  of  such  a  cooling  and  evolving 
planet  (!]...  How  the  first  organism  came  to  exist,  biology 
has  not  yet  been  able  fully  to  explain  to  us ;  but  aided  by 
chemical  science  it  has  been  able  to  show  us  in  part  how  some 
of  the  simple  organic  bodies  may  have  been  originally  built  up^ 
and  it  does  not  despair  of  showing  us  in  the  end  how  the  earliest 
organism  may  actually  have  been  produced  from  the  prime 
elements  of  oxygen,  hydrogen,  nitrogen,  and  carbon. 

Psychology  in  the  hands  of  Herbert  Spencer  and  his  followers, 
not  wholly  unaided  by  Darwin  himself,  .  .  .  has  traced  the 
origin  and  development  of  mind,  ivithout  a  single  break,  from  its 
first  faint  and  half-unconscious  manifestation  in  the  polyp  or  the 
jelly-fish,  to  its  final  grand  and  varied  outcome  in  the  soul  of  the 
poet,  or  the  intellect  of  the  philosopher. 

Sociology  .  .  .  taking  from  biology  the  evolving  savage  .  .  . 
has  shown  how  he  has  grown  up  to  science,  to  philosophy,  to 
morals,  and  to  religion. 

And  there  you  are  ! 

E.  GAYNOB,  C.M. 


216 


THE   GLEN   OF   ALTADAVIN 

"Y  first  visit  to  Altadavin  was  in  the  month  of  August, 
1883,  during  a  mission  in  Aghaloo,  the  next  parish 
to  Errigal-Truagh,  in  which  Altadavin  is  situated.  The 
Kev.  Daniel  O'Connor,  then  P.P.  of  Errigal-Truagh,  now 
Canon  and  P.P.  of  Newtownbutler,  was  my  kind  cicerone. 
In  May  and  June,  1884,  we  gave  a  mission  in  Errigal- 
Truagh,  where  my  work  lay  in  the  outlying  district  of 
Portclare,  in  which  the  Glen  is  situated,  which  I  then  twice 
revisited. 

My  object  in  writing  the  present  article,  is  to  draw, 
attention  to  this  remarkable  spot,  which,  much  to  my 
surprise,  has,  I  find,  received  scarcely  any  mention  either  in 
ancient  or  modern  authors,  and  except  to  those  living  in  its 
neighbourhood,  and  to  some  few  interested  in  archaeology, 
appears  to  be  generally  unknown  even  in  Ireland.  I  shall 
first,  then,  give  simply  my  own  description  of  Altadavin, 
from  the  impressions  left  on  my  memory  after  a  lapse  of 
fourteen  years,  interspersed  with  a  few  topographical 
notices  ;  and  shall  then  say  what  of  interest  I  have  gleaned 
from  ancient  authors  and  archaeological  sources  that  sheds 
any  light  on  its  history  and  surroundings.  And  this  I 
shall  do  especially  to  show,  that  the  claim  which  the 
local  tradition  has  ever  made  to  the  connection  of 
Altadavin  with  St.  Patrick  rests  on  most  probable  and 
solid  grounds. 

Errigal-Truagh  is  a  very  extensive  parish,  of  the  diocese 
of  Clogher,  chiefly  situated  within  the  county  of  Monaghan, 
but  having  some  fifteen  or  sixteen  townlands,  called  the 
Portclare  district,  belonging  to  county  Tyrone,  of  which 
Altadavin,  in  the  barony  of  Clogher,  is  one.  There  are 
three  churches  in  the  parish  :  the  principal  one,  that  of 
St.  Mary,  Ballyoshin;  that  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  Carrickroe  ; 
and  that  of  St.  Patrick  at  Clara,  within  two  miles  of 
Altadavin. 


THE   GLEN   OF   ALTADAVIN  217 

This  is  a  small  valley  or  glen,1  some  four  miles  south- 
east of  Clogher,  extending  nearly  a  mile  from  north  to  south. 
The  hills  that  bound  it  on  either  side  are  from  a  hundred  to 
a  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high ,  lined  with  steep  rocks  and 
jutting  crags.  The  sides  and  the  glen  itself  are  thickly 
wooded  with  fir  trees,  stunted  oaks,  larch,  ash,  birch,  hazel, 
holly,  and  underwood.  A  small  clear  stream  runs  murmur- 
ing through  the  glen.  This  stream  is  nameless,  both  in  the 
map,  and  in  local  nomenclature.  Issuing  from  Lough 
More  (i.e.,  the  Great  Lake),  half  a  mile  south  of  the  head  of 
the  glen,  it  flows  through  Lough  Beg  (the  Little  Lake), 
which  lies  quite  near  the  entrance  of  the  valley.  Both 
these  lakes  are  small ;  the  latter  much  the  smaller  one,  and 
not  bigger  than  a  good-sized  fish-pond.  They  are  named 
in  Irish  great  and  little,  only  by  way  of  comparison. 

I  may  mention,  en  passant,  that  Lough  Beg  has  a  tiny 
islet  on  its  waters.  It  is  a  floating  island  planted  with  a 
few  shrubs  of  the  sallow  genus.  To  those  living  within  view 
of  the  island,  along  the  hill-side  of  Cullabeg,  which  is  very 
near  Lough  Beg,  and  of  Cullamore,2  near  to  Lough  More, 
it  serves  the  purpose  of  a  barometer,  as  they  readily  con- 
jecture by  its  movements,  when  rain  or  storm  is  at  hand. 
The  little  stream,  after  running  through  the  glen,  passes  by 
the  eastern  side  of  Lough  Fimore  (i.e.,  Great  Wood),  another 
small  lake  half  a  mile  north  of  the  glen,  and  sends  a  tiny 
tributary  to  its  waters;  thence  it  pursues  its  course 
to  join  the  river  Blackwater,  whose  ancient  name  was 
Avomnore  (Abhain-Mor),  at  Favour  Eoyal. 

Apropos  of  this  demesne,  I  regret  to  learn  from  Canon 
O'Connor,  that 

Mr.  Moutray,  its  proprietor,  and  'lord  of  the  soil,'  some 
seven  or  eight  years  ago,  denuded  the  Glen  of  its  fine  umbra- 
geous adornment  of  trees,  and  even  the  holly  and  hazel  had 
to  yield  before  the  woodman's  axe.  He  [the  Canon]  was 
pleased,  however,  on  revisiting  the  Glen,  last  summer,  to  find 
a  dense  undergrowth  of  natural  trees  again  growing  up.  But  it 


1  Marked  in  the  Ordnance  Map,  Long.  7g4'30."  Lat.  5°  24' 

2  In  the  map  it  is  called  Culla  Mugg,  and  is  848  feet  high. 


218  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 


must  be  many  years  before  they  reach  the  stately  proportions 
of  the  former  forest  trees  which  lent  such  a  secluded  and 
picturesque  aspect  to  the  spot. 

To  return  to  my  own  description  of  Altadavin,  as  it  was 
on  my  visit  in  1883.  The  varied  scenery  of  the  lonely  glen ; 
its  purling  stream,  its  dense  green  shade,  its  rocks  and 
craggy  steeps  charmed  me — as  though  I  had  entered  upon 
some  new  fairy- land — with  its  romantic  beauty,  which  is  at 
once  soft  and  calm,  weird  and  grand,  sometimes  even  wild 
and  savage ;  and  the  enchantment  grew  the  more  with 
every  onward  step.  On  passing  nearly  half  way  through  the 
glen,  a  tongue  of  rocky  ground,  spread  thick  with  trees  and 
underwood,  rises  to  the  height  of  some  forty  or  fifty  feet, 
intersecting  the  valley  for  about  three  or  four  hundred  paces, 
and  forming  on  either  side  a  deep  ravine.  That  to  the 
right  has  a  path  which  runs  down  the  whole  valley ;  whilst 
that  on  the  left,  through  which  the  stream  flows,  terminates 
by  opening  out  into  a  meadow-like  green  sward,  enclosed  on 
the  east  by  the  precipitous  ridge  which  here  ends,  and  on 
the  north  and  west  by  hilly  slopes,  on  which  rise  tall  firs 
and  other  trees  ;  whilst  the  little  stream  to  the  left  winds 
round  these  slopes,  to  continue  its  course  through  the  rest 
of  the  valley. 

This  little  green  meadow,  so  to  call  it,  is  perhaps  a 
hundred  yards  long  by  forty  wide,  smooth  and  soft  as  some 
velvet  lawn ;  and  being  entirely  secluded,  in  the  midst  of  its 
wild  and  romantic  surroundings,  from  all  view  of  outside 
scenery,  with  the  sky  of  the  heavens  above  for  its  canopy,  it 
forms  a  spot  of  singular  loveliness  and  charm.  On  the  right, 
close  under  the  side  of  the  rocky  steep,  is  a  well  or  fountain 
of  pure  water,  of  crystal  clearness  and  most  refreshing 
coldness,  springing  from  the  cliff.  It  is  a  spot  where  the 
imagination,  unaided,  may  readily  draw  vivid  pictures  of 
scenes,  which,  one  is  told,  here  had  place  long  ages  ago.  For 
the  tradition  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Altadavin  is,  that  here 
in  this  little  meadow  St.  Patrick  preached  to  the  people, 
instructed  his  neophytes,  and  at  this  very  well — blessed  by 
himself,  and  ever  since  called  by  his  name — he  baptized 
them  in  its  waters. 


THE    GLEN   OF   ALTADAVIN  219 

From  beside  the  well  we  ascended  the  cliff  by  a  very 
steep,  narrow  path,  midst  a  growth  of  underwood  and 
tangled  froughans.1  About  twenty  feet  above  the  meadow 
there  opened  on  our  right,  with  a  view  of  the  valley  below,  a 
small,  fairly-level  space  of  ground,  paved,  as  it  were,  with 
large  layers  of  detached  rock.  Here  stood  by  itself,  resting 
on  layers  of  rock  below  the  surface,  a  great  block,  between 
four  and  five  feet  high,  nearly  square — perhaps,  as  I  have 
been  told,  thirty  or  forty  tons  weight.  In  its  centre  is 
a  round  natural  hollow,  forming  a  basin  some  fourteen 
inches  in  diameter  at  the  top,  and  a  few  inches  less  in  depth, 
which  was  then  at  least  half  full  of  clear  water. 

Following  the  directions  of  my  cicerone,  I  baled  out  the 
water.  At  the  bottom  of  the  basin  were  a  large  number  of 
pins  which  visitors,  it  may  be  of  many  generations,  had 
deposited  there  from  some  traditional  custom,  or  perhaps  in 
lieu  of  votive  offerings.2  Placing  these  on  the  margin  of  the 
basin,  I  wiped  it  quite  dry,  and  examined  it  carefully  to  see 
if  there  was  in  it  any  aperture  or  perforation  by  which  the 
water  might  ascend,  but  could  discover  none.  It  appeared 
to  me  to  be  smooth,  hard,  and  solid.  After  replacing 
the  pins,  1  watched  for  a  few  minutes  until  I  saw  the 
water  reappearing.  I  was  told  that  it  would  take  some 
twenty  minutes  for  it  to  reach  the  level  at  which  it  was 
before,  and  that  the  basin  was  never  known  to  be 
without  water,  whatever  might  be  the  heat  and  dryness 
of  the  season. 

We  then  continued  our   ascent  to  the  summit  of  the 


1  I.e.,  bilberry  stalks. 

2  There  are  other  traditional  ways  of  thus  exteriorizing  the  interior  sentiment, 
by  making  "use  of  some  outward  sensible  token;  v.g.,  there  is  the  practice  eo 
common  at  holy  wells  of  leaving  behind  small  pieces  of  rag  attached  to  the  bushes 
or  shrubs  close  by.     This  custom  prevails  not  only  in  many  parts  of  Ireland,  but 
survives  also  to  the  present  day  amongst  the  Protestants  of  Celtic  Cornwall.     Or, 
to  give  another  example : — On  occasion  of  a  Redemptionist  mission  at  Fanad  in 
Co.  Donegal,  the  late  Primate  M'Gettigan,  then  Bishop  of  Raphoe,  conducted 
the  Fathers  to  St.  Columkille's  cell  and  holy  well  on  the  western  shore  of  Lough 
S willy,  where  he  was  careful  to  instruct  each  one  of  us  to  observe  religiously  the 
immemorial  practice  of  every  visitor  casting  a  large  stone  over  his  shoulder ;  thus 
to  add  another  to  the  huge  pile  of  accumulated  mementos  that  had  been  heaped  up 
behind  us  by  the  numerous  past  generations  of  devout  visitors  to  the  Saint's 
rude  hermitage. 


220  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

ridge,  some  twenty  or  thirty  feet  above  the  rock-basin,  where, 
on  turning  a  corner  to  the  left,  comes  close  in  view  a  massive 
structure  of  natural  rock,  wearing  rudely  the  shape  of  a  fixed 
altar,  with  rock  rising  behind  to  serve  as  its  reredos.  Both 
together  form  one  huge  monolith.  The  altar  is  nearly  four 
feet  in  height,  not  less  than  six  feet  in  length,  and  more  than 
two  feet  in  width.  In  the  middle  of  the  altar-table  a  portion 
is  marked  out  by  a  deep  carving,  doubtless  for  the  sacred 
vessels  at  the  celebration  of  Mass.  And  here  alone,  it  would 
seem,  has  the  hand  of  man  been  exercised  on  the 
monuments  of  Altadavin,  which,  for  the  rest,  are  all  of 
purely  natural  formation ;  and  no  chisel  was  ever  laid  on 
them. 

Fronting  the  altar  on  the  gospel-side  is  another  huge 
structure  of  rock,  so  formed  by  nature  out  of  a  single 
massive  block  as  to  have  the  appearance  of  a  gigantic  high- 
backed  chair.  It  measures  from  the  basement  to  its  head 
not  less  than  eight  feet ;  the  square  high  back  rising  some 
six  feet  above  the  seat.  In  this  chair,  tradition  reports, 
St.  Patrick  sat,  and  at  this  altar  celebrated  the  Sacred 
Mysteries  ;  and  from  time  immemorial  both  altar  and  chair 
have  been  called  by  his  name. 

We  then  retraced  our  steps  down  to  the  rock-basin.  The 
water  was  still  rising,  and  had  nearly  reached  the  level  at 
which  we  had  first  found  it.  I  watched  till  it  had  done  so 
and  had  ceased  to  flow.  My  first  thought,  to  which  I  at 
once  gave  utterance,  was  a  strong  desire  that  the  British 
Association,  when  they  next  held  their  meeting  in  Ireland, 
should  make  a  pilgrimage  to  Altadavin,  and  endeavour  to 
explain,  if  they  could,  by  what  natural  causes  this  marvellous 
phenomenon  is  effected.  It  may,  no  doubt,  be  capable  of 
such  explanation  ;  but  to  my  unscientific  and  superficial  view 
it  appeared  to  be  nothing  short  of  miraculous.  For  the 
block,  in  which  is  the  basin,  rises  entirely  isolated ;  beneath 
it  are  layers  of  other  large  detached  rocks,  so  that  the  idea 
of  its  being  fed  by  a  spring  from  below  appears  to  be  out  of 
the  question ;  whilst  that  of  the  basin  being  supplied  from 
the  droppings  of  overhanging  boughs  is  obviously  untenable; 
moreover,  the  basin,  though  of  a  porous  and  absorbent 


THE   GLEN   OF   ALTADAVIN  221 

sandstone,1  always  contains  a  certain  quantity  of  water, 
even  in  the  driest  seasons. 

I  can  here  only  state  my  own  experience  as  to  the 
measure  ol  water,  and  the  time  it  took  to  rise  in  the  basin, 
which  were  the  same  on  the  three  visits-  I  made  to  the 
rock — and  Father  Callan,  the  present  P.P.,  tells  me  that 
he  has  a  like  experience  as  to  the  time.  But  I  have  since 
been  informed  that  these  points  are  not,  perhaps,  to  be  relied 
upon  as  always  uniform ;  and,  of  course,  after  heavy  rains 
the  basin  may  be  found  full  and  overflowing. 

I  do  not  remember  being  told  whether,  according  to  any 
local  tradition,  this  rock-basin  held  any  place  in  the  religious 
ceremonial  of  St.  Patrick,  or  what  that  might  be.  I  learn 
from  Canon  O'Connor  that  experts  who  have  visited  Alta- 
davin  are  of  opinion  that  the  rocky  ridge  which  intersects 
the  valley  is  a  moraine,  consisting  of  immense  boulders  of 
sandstone,  and  that  the  hollows  and  basins  found  in  many 
of  them  were  formed  naturally,  perhaps  during  the  glacial 
period,  by  the  friction  of  harder  substances  upon  them 
in  some  mighty  convulsion  or  upheaval  of  nature.  Many 
of  these  huge  blocks  are,  on  the  other  hand,  quite  smooth  ; 
according  as  they  were  torn  up  from  their  situs  in  the 
bed-rock. 

Amongst  the  more  notable  visitants  at  the  Glen  in  recent 
times  have  been  Archbishop  M'Hale,  in  1870,  in  company 
with  Bishop  M'Nally  of  Clogher,  who  then  resided  in  that 
town ;  Bishop  Loughlin,  of  Brooklyn  ;  Monsignor  Farley, 
now  Assistant-Bishop  of  New  York,  on  the  occasion  of  the 
Dedication  of  St.  M'Cartin's  Cathedral  at  Monaghan  ;  and 
the  Most  Eev.  Dr.  Healy,  Bishop  of  Clonfert,  in  company 
with  Dr.  Lennon>  of  Maynooth,  and  Canon  O'Connor,  the 
18th  of  August,  1897.  The  Most  Eev.  John  Hughes, 
Archbishop  of  New  York,  was  brought  up  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  Glen.  I  have  sought  in  vain  for  some  reference 
in  ancient  authors  to  Altadavin  ;  whilst  in  writers  of  more 


1  Canon  O'Hanlon.  in  his  notice  of  Altadavin,  says  that  the  rock  there  is 
'  pronounced  by  experts  to  be  of  a  very  silicious  sandstone  of  the  Yoredale 
series.' — (17  March,  vol.  iii.,  p.  670.) 


222  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

modern  date  I  have  met  no  mention  of  its  name  except  in 
O'Hanlon's  Lives,  and  in  Lewis's  Dictionary.1 

The  connection  claimed  for  Altadavin  with  St.  Patrick 
rests  solely  on  the  tradition  that  lives  in  the  neighbourhood, 
which  is  supported  by  many  reasons  of  the  highest  proba- 
bility, and  these  it  is  now  my  object  to  set  forth.  It  is,  in 
the  first  place,  quite  certain,  from  the  Tripartite  and  other 
Lives,  that  the  Saint  spent  some  time,  on  more  than  one 
occasion,  at  Clogher,  which  is  only  four  miles  distant  from 
the  Glen  of  Altadavin  ;  and  that  he  made  several  apostolic 
journeys  in  its  neighbourhood.  On  his  way  to  found  the 
churches  of  Donagh,  Tehollan,  Tullycerbet,  Aughnamullen, 
and  Donaghmoyne,  as  described  in  the  Tripartite,  his  course 
lay  in  the  direction  of  the  glen.  Between  Altadavin  and 
Donagh  he  blessed  a  well,  since  called  St.  Patrick's  Well, 
situated  in  a  remote  locality,  in  the  townland  of  Derryveagh, 
where  a  tongue  of  that  townland  extends  between  Derry- 
nerget  and  Dernalusset,  near  Carrickroe,  before  referred  to 
as  one  of  the  three  districts  of  Errigal-Truagh,  where  our 
fathers  said  Mass,  and  preached  on  the  Sundays  of  their 
mission  in  that  parish. 

On  the  lands  of  Lislana  [says  Canon  O'Hanlon],  not  far  from 
Clogher,2  in  the  direction  of  Augbentain,  may  be  seen  another 
St.  Patrick's  chair  and  holy  well.  They  are  situated  in  a  most 
exquisitely  beautiful  wooded  glen.  The  '  chair '  is  simply  a 
hollow  recess  in  the  natural  rock,  and  the  well  is  a  tiny  spring 
close  to  it.3 

Again,  we  learn  from  the  Lives  that  St.  Patrick  frequently 
in  his  apostolate  came  into  direct  antagonism  with  the 
whole  system  of  Druidism  ;  since  its  prevalent  influence  was 
one  of  the  chief  hindrances  to  the  conversion  of  many  to 
Christianity*  Hence  he  opposed  the  Druids  wherever  he 
found  them,  overturning  their  idols  and  pillar-stones,  and 
burning  their  books.  Thus  we  read  in  the  Book  of  Lecan, 
that  St.  Patrick  at  one  time  burnt  one  hundred  and  eighty 

1  O'Hanlon,  vol.  iii.,  p.  670.      Topographical  Dictionary  of  Ireland,   1837, 
vol.  i.,  p.  609  ;  "Errigal-Trough." 

2  That  is  three  miles  west, 
s  Vol.  iii.,  p.  678. 


THE   GLEN   OF   ALTADAVIN  223 

druidical  books.  And  it  was  on  account  of  the  Saint's 
determined  opposition  to  their  superstitions  that  the  Druids 
made  many  attempts  on  his  life.  Now,  it  is  generally 
thought,  and  on  very  probable  grounds,  that  Altadavin  was 
specially  set  apart  by  the  Druids  for  the  exercise  of  their 
religious  worship.  The  wild  rocky  glen  is  just  the  sort  of 
place  they  would  naturally  select : — 

For  [writes  Bishop  Healy]  the  Druids  worshipped  not  in 
temples  made  with  hands,  but  in  '  groves,'  and  on  '  high  places ' 
under  the  shade  of  the  spreading  oaks.  .  .  .  Their  dwellings 
were  surrounded  with  oak  groves  whose  dark  foliage  threw  a 
sombre  and  solemn  shade  over  the  rude  altars  of  unhewn  stone 
on  which  they  offered  theii  sacrifices.1 

Here  they  could  in  secret  solitude  perform  their  weird 
and  mystic  rites  at  the  overshadowed  well,  and  immolate 
their  victims  at  the  altar  on  the  high  place.  The  legendary 
folk-lore  which  still  lingers  among  the  people  from  ancient 
time,  and  has  been  embodied  in  the  tales  of  William 
Carleton,  who  was  born  and  brought  up  in  the  immediate 
neighbourhood  of  the  glen,  point  to  it  as  a  spot  of  awe  and 
marvel.  Moreover,  its  proximity  to  Clogher  would  render 
the  connection  of  the  Druids  with  Altadavin  all  the  more 
probable.  For  Clogher  was  the  chief  city  of  an  ancient 
territory,  known  as  Ergal  (Anglice,  Oriel),  the  people  of 
which  were  distinguished  as  Orghialla  ;  and  at  Clogher  was 
the  principal  royal  residence.  I  will  here  again  avail  myself 
of  a  quotation  from  the  Bishop  of  Clonfert : — 

One  of  the  principal  functions  of  the  Druids  was  to  act  as 
haruspices,  that  is,  to  foretell  the  future,  to  unveil  the  hidden, 
to  pronounce  incantations,  and  ascertain  by  omens  lucky  and 
unlucky  days.  Hence  we  always  find  some  of  them  living  with 
the  king  in  his  royal  rath ;  they  are  not  only  his  priests,  but  still 
more  his  guides  and  counsellors  on  all  occasions  of  danger  and 
emergency.  It  is  probable  that  one  or  more  of  them  abode  in 
the  raths  of  all  the  great  nobles  who  claimed  to  be  righs,  or 
kinglets  in  their  own  territories.  They  were  sworn  enemies  of 
Christianity,  and  frequently  attempted  to  take  St.  Patrick's  life 
by  violence  or  poison.  In  the  remote  districts  of  the  country 

1  Ireland's  Ancient  Schools  and  Scholars,  p.  3. 


224  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

some  of  them  remained  for  several  centuries  after  the  island 
ge'nerally  became  Christian ;  and  to  this  day  we  can  find  traces 
of  ancient  Druidism  in  the  superstitions  of  the  people.1 

Again,  at  Clogher,  was  one  of  the  principal  colleges  of 
the  Bards  2  who,  with  the  Druids  and  Brehons,  were  the 
three  great  orders  and  privileged  classes  of  pagan  Ireland. 
The  Bards  were  allied  with  the  Druids  in  many  of  their 
superstitions ;  from  all  such  St.  Patrick  sought  to  purify 
the  Order,  for,  so  far  from  being  hostile  to  it,  he  encouraged 
it  much.  In  the  college,  at  Clogher,  the  Bards  studied  in 
order  to  qualify  themselves  for  taking  the  degree  of  Ollamb, 
that  is,  chief  poet,  or  doctor  in  poetry.  But  as  this  degree 
could  not  be  obtained  without  the  performance  of  certain 
rites  which  involved  offerings  to  idol  gods,  St.  Patrick 
abolished  these  profane  rites,  and  thus  made  the  profession 
pure  and  lawful  for  those  who  should  become  Christians. 
This  college,  however,  seems  to  have  gradually  declined 
before  the  monastery  founded  by  St.  MacCairthinn,  the  first 
Bishop  of  Clogher,  by  the  direction  of  St.  Patrick.3  On 
this,  Walker,  in  his  Historical  Memoirs,  1786,  observes  : — 
*  All  the  eminent  schools  delectably  situated,  which  were 
established  by  the  Christian  clergy  in  the  fifth  century, 
were  erected  on  the  ruins  of  these  colleges.'  * 

Clogher  had  been  from  ancient  times  a  special  seat  of 
pagan  worship.  There  was  there  a  celebrated  oracular 
pillar-stone,  dedicated  to  a  god  called  Kermand  Kel stack, 
covered  over  with  plates  of  gold.  According  to  legend,  a 
hero  of  antiquity,  Connor  MacNessa,  in  the  first  century  of 
the  Christian  era,  consulted  the  oracle  at  Clogher,  which 
predicted  that,  though  a  younger  son,  he  should  obtain  the 
sovereignty  of  Ulster.  The  prophecy  proved  true.  He 
became  king  of  Ulster;  and  the  ruins  of  his  palace  of 
Emania,  now  called  Navan  Fort,  are  still  seen  two  miles 
west  of  the  city  of  Armagh.5  Cathal  Maguire,  a  leading 

1  Ireland's  Ancient  Schools  and  Scholars,  pp.  4,  5. 

a  Irish  Druids  and  Old  Ireland's  Religions,  p.  37.  Bonwick,  1894.  He 
mentions  other  colleges  of  the  Ollambs  at  Armagh,  Lismore,  and  Tamer. 

3Brennan's  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Ireland,  c.  ii.,  p.  31. 

*Bonwick,  p.  37. 

5  See  Pagan  Ireland,  by  Wood- Martin,  M.R.I.A.,  1895,  and  Joyce's  Short 
History  of  Ireland,  p.  36. 


THE   GLEN   OF   ALTADAVIN  225 

ecclesiastic  of  Clogher,  who  died  in  1498,  records  that  the 
stone  was  preserved  up  to  his  times  (doubtless  without  the 
gold)  inside  the  porch  of  the  cathedral.  From  this  stone, 
Cloch-oir,  '  stone  of  gold,'  according  to  Colgan  and  others, 
Clogher  derived  its  name.  But  others  hold  this  etymology 
doubtful ;  since  it  is  always  written  Clochar ;  i.e.,  '  a  stony 
place,'  and  not  Clochoir;  besides,  there  are  other  places  in 
Ireland  called  Clochar.1 

I  have  mentioned  the  above  details,  which  otherwise 
might  appear  irrelevant,  with  the  view  of  showing  that 
St.  Patrick,  during  his  residence  at  Clogher,  and  his  evange- 
lization of  that  city  and  its  neighbourhood,  would  certainly 
have  directed  all  his  efforts  to  extirpating  the  prevalent 
pagan  and  druidical  rites,  and  to  diverting  their  profane 
objects  to  Christian  uses ;  for,  as  Petrie  says :  '  It  was  not 
uncommon  for  St.  Patrick  to  dedicate  pagan  monuments  to 
the  worship  of  the  true  God.' 2  And,  in  one  of  the  Lives  of 
St.  Patrick  it  is  related  that  he  preached  at  a  fountain  (well) 
which  the  Druids  worshipped  as  a  god.3 

The  following  passage  from  the  Tripartite  relates  some- 
thing analogous  to  the  phenomenon  of  the  rock-basin  : — • 
'  Patrick  went  into  Grecraide  of  Loch  Technet.  He  founded 
a  church  there,  to  wit  in  Drumne  ;  and  by  it  he  dug  a  well, 
and  it  hath  no  stream  [flowing]  into  it  or  out  of  it ;  but  it 
is  full  for  ever ;  and  this  is  its  name,  Bith-ldn  ('  Ever- 
full').'4  It  thus  appears  in  Tirechan's  Collectanea:  'Et 
perexit  ad  tramitem  Gregirgi,  et  fundavit  aecclessiam  in 
Drummse,  et  fontem  fodi  [vit  juxta  earn :  non  habet  flu]  men 
in  se  et  de  se,  sed  plenus  semper.'5  What  is  here  called 
Grecraide  of  Loch  Technet,  and  Trames  Gregirgi  (or 
Gregaridhi) — which  means  the  lower  boundary  of  the 
district  of  Gregary,  now  Lough  Gara,  once  known  as  Loch 
Technet — is  co-extensive  with  the  barony  of  Coolavin, 
Co.  Sligo. 


1  Todd's  St.  Patrick,  pp.  129,  407. 
*3omcickt  p.  138. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  240. 

4  Tripartite,  Partii,,  Rolls'  Series,  1887*  P.  i  ,  i ,,  100. 

5  Ibid.,  Partii.,  p.  319. 

VOL.  lit.  $ 


2'26  THE  IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

Altadavin,  locally  pronounced  as  if  written  Altadhowen, 
has  been  interpreted  by  some  to  mean  '  the  glen  of  the 
gods,  or  of  the  demons,'  but  its  truer  meaning,  generally 
accepted  by  the  learned,  is  the  glen  of  the  descendants 
of  Damene,  Alt-ui-damene,  Damhin  or  Davin  being  a 
patronymic  of  the  ancient  king  or  dynast  of  the  territory 
of  Oriel,1  who  resided  at  Clogher.  Hence  Clogher  in  the 
time  of  St.  Patrick,  and  later  on,  is  called  in  the  Annals, 
Clogher-mac-damene ;  i.e.,  Clogher  of  the  sons  of  Damene.2 

But  before  any  mention  of  the  royal  line  of  Damene,  we 
have  historical  record  of  Clogher  and  its  kings.  The  follow- 
ing is  from  the  Four  Masters  ' — 

The  age  of  Christ,  111.  The  first  year  of  the  reign  of 
Feidhlimidh  Keachtmar, 3  son  of  Truathal  Teachtmar,  as  king 
over  Ireland.  Baine,  daughter  of  Seal  [king  of  Finland],  was 
the  mother  of  this  Feidhlimidh.  It  was  from  her  Cnoc- Baine  in 
Oighialla  [Oriel]  was  called,  for  it  was  there  she  was  interred. 
It  was  by  her  also  Kath-mor  of  Magh-Leamhna  [Moy  Leney]  in 
Ulster  was  erected.4 

Queen  Baine,  in  her  day,  must  have  been  a  sovereign  of 
more  than  ordinary  mark,  for  she  still  lives  in  popular 
legend  and  story,  though  her  memory  has  been  invested  in 
the  course  of  ages  with  much  that  is  fabulous  and  grotesque.5 
Two  great  monuments  that  record  her  reign  endure  to 
the  present  day,  viz.,  the  fort  of  Eathmore,  which  she  built 
for  her  royal  residence,  and  Cnocbaine,  the  place  of  her 
interment. 

Canon  O'Connor  has  conclusively  identified  Cnoc-Baine 
with  the  Hill  of  Knockmany — a  modernized  form  of  the  same 
name — very  near  to  Clogher,  where  is  what  Mr.  Wakeman, 
the  distinguished  artist  and  antiquarian,  entitled  '  the 


1  O'Flaherty's  Cgygia,  translated  by  Hely,  Bookiii.,  ch  75. 

2  Mac  in  Irit-h  means  son,  and  Ui  (or  O)  grandson  or  descendant. 

:l  He  is  commonly  known  as  King  Felimy.  For  records  of  his  reign,  see 
O 'Flaherty  and  Kvating. 

*  Annals  of  the  Kingdom  of  Ireland,  by  the  Four  Matters,  from  the  earliest 
period  to  1616,  vol.  i.,  p.  103.  Edited  by  John  O'Donovan,  LL.D.,  M.R.I.A. 
1856. 

5  Thus  the  witch  Oouagh,  in  Carletou's  Ltycnd  of  Enockmavy,  is  said  to 
bo  no  other  thuu  the  historical  Queen  Bainu. 


THE   GLEN   OF   ALTADAVIN  227 

megalithic  sepulchral  chamber  of  Knockmany.'1  Here 
Queen  Baine  was  interred,  and  a  remarkable  cromlech  of 
the  second  century  stands  over  her  grave.  The  name  of 
Queen  Baine  is  also  still  preserved  in  that  of  the  hills  and 
townland  of  Mullaghbeney,  situated  in  close  proximity  to 
Knockmany,  and  in  Knockabeny,  near  Carrickroe.  Canon 
O'Connor  likewise  identifies  Rathmore  (the  Great  Rath), 
erected  by  Queen  Baine,  with  the  large  earthen  fort  situate 
within  the  palace  grounds  of  Clogher,  which  was  the  chief 
stronghold  and  place  of  residence  in  after  ages  of  the  princes 
of  Oriel. 

Moy  Leney,  or  Leinain,  which  was  also  anciently  called 
Clossach,  is  described  by  Colgan  as  '  a  level  district  of 
Tyrone  in  the  diocese  of  Clogher.'  It  extended  for  some 
distance  west  of  Clogher  to  beyond  Ballygawley,  which 
places,  as  also  Errigal-Keeroge2  and  Augher  to  the  norih, 
were  included  in  its  area.  The  river  Blackwater  flows 
through  the  territory.  Near  Augher  was  the  ford,  Ath-ergal, 
across  the  river,  where  passed  the  interesting  conversation 
between  St.  MacCartin  and  St.  Patrick,  to  be  given  presently 
from  the  Tripartite.  A  stream  formerly  called  the  Laune, 
or  Launy,  which  has  its  rise  to  the  south  among  the  hills 
beyond  Ferdross,  flows  by  Clogher  to  the  Blackwater,  through 
Moy  Leny,  whence  it  derives  its  name,  which  it  preserved 
long  after  that  district  had  become  merged  in  the  more 
extensive  territory  called  Oriel,  which,  besides  a  part  of 
Tyrone, embraced  the  counties  of  Louth,  Monaghan,  Armagh, 
and  Fermanagh. 

As  Lemain  was  the  scene  of  several  interesting  incidents 
narrated  in  the  Tripartite  of  St.  Patrick's  missionary  work 
whilst  he  was  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  Clogher 

1  See   his   learned  article  under  that  heading  in  the  Journal  of  the  Royal 
Historical  and  Archaeological  Association  of  Ireland,  1876. 

2  Errigal   (Aireagal,    pronounced  Arrigle),   according  to  Joyce,   primarily 
means  a  habitation,    and  is  often  applied  to  an  oratory,  hermitage,  or  small 
church.     He  connects  it  with  the  Latin  oraculum.     Thus  Errigal-Truagh  would 
mean  the   church  in  'the  barony   of  Trough  (anciently   called  Truich  Ched 
Chladaigh).     Others  say  it  means   a  bright  fishing  weir.     Other? ,   again,   say 
that  Errigal,  Ergal,  Oirghialla,  are  various  forms  of  the  same  name,  Anglicc, 
Oriel  ;  and  that  these  two  parishes  of  Errigal  retain  to  the  present  day  the 
etymon  of  the  old  territory. 


228  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

and  Altadavin,  I  shall  here  recall  them,  and  shall  do  so  in 
the  original  words  of  St.  Evin,  his  biographer  : — l 

Once  as  St.  Patrick  was  coming  from  Clochar  from  the 
north,  his  champion,  to  wit,  Bishop  MacCairthinn,  lifted  him 
over  a  difficult  place.2  This  is  what  he  said  after  lifting  Patrick  : 
'  Oh  !  oh  !'  '  My  God's  doom  !'  saith  Patrick,  '  it  was  not  usual 
for  thee  to  utter  that  word.'  '  I  am  now  an  old  man,  and  I  am 
infirm,'  saith  Bishop  MacCairthinn,  '  and  thou  hast  left  my 
comrades  in  churches,  and  I  am  still  on  the  road.'  '  I  will 
leave  thee,  then,  in  a  church,'  saith  Patrick,  'that  shall  not  be 
very  near,  lest  there  be  familiarity  [?],  and  shall  not  be  very  far, 
so  that  mutual  visiting  between  us  be  continued.'  And  Patrick 
then  left  Bishop  MacCairthinn  in  Clogher,  and  with  him  fhe 
placed]  the  [silver  reliquary  called]  Domnach  Airgit,8  which 
had  been  sent  to  Patrick  from  heaven  when  he  was  at  sea  coming 
towards  Ireland. 

Thereafter  Patrick  went  into  Lemain  :  Findabair 4  is  the 
name  of  the  hill  on  which  Patrick  preached.  For  three  days  and 
three  nights  he  was  preaching,  and  it  seemed  to  them  not  longer 
than  one  hour.  Then  Bridgit  fell  asleep  at  the  preaching,  and 
Patrick  let  her  not  be  wakened.  And  Patrick  asked  her  after- 
wards what  she  had  seen.  Dixit  ilia ;  '  I  saw  white  assemblies,5 
and  light-coloured  oxen,  and  white  corn-fields,  speckled  oxen 
behind  them,  and  black  oxen  after  these.  Afterwards  I  saw 
sheep  and  swine  and  dogs  and  wolves  quarrelling  with  each 
other.  Thereafter  I  saw  two  stones,  one  of  the  twain  a  small 
stone,  and  the  other  a  large.  A  shower  dropt  on  them  both.  The 
little  stone  increased  at  the  shower,  and  silvery  sparks  would 
break  forth  from  it.  The  large  stone,  however,  wasted  away.' 
'  Those,'  saith  Patrick,  '  are  the  two  sons  of  Echaid,  son  of 
Crimthann.'  Coirbre  Damargait6  believed,  and  Patrick  blessed 

1  According  to  the  learned^the  Vita  Keptima  or  Tripartite  (i.e.,  Life  in  three 
parts)  excells  all  the  other  six  original  Lives  which  compose  the  Acta  S.  Patricii 
in  Colgan's  Trias  Thaumaturga,  in  length,  antiquity,  and  authenticity.    St,  Evin, 
who  wrote  it,  was  living  in  504,  and  had  probably  seen  and  conversed  with 
St.  Patrick,  who  died  in  493. 

2  This  was  Ath-ergal.     See  above.     St.  Patrick  was  generally  accompanied 
in  his  missionary  journeys  by  his  family  or  household,  twenty-four  in  number, 
all  in  holy  orders.     Their  names  and  functions  are  given  in  the  Tripartite.    Of 
these  Bishop  MacCairthinn  was  his  champion,  or  rather  strong  man,  to  bear 
him  over  the  floods,  and  perhaps  defend  him  against  nide  assaults  in  an  age  of 
lawless  violence.    See  Ireland's  Ancient  Schools,  &c.,  ch.  iii.,  p.  65. 

:}  This  was  a  copy  of  the  Gospels,  some  fragments  of  which  still  remain, 
preserved  in  the  shrine  called  Domnach-Airgid,  now  in  the  Museum  of  the 
Royal  Irish  Academy. 

*  Or  Finn  Abhuir,  now  called  Findermere,  near  Clogher. 

5  Canditatorum  synodum,  Tr.  Th.,  p.  150. 

r>  The  younger  son,  from  whom  a  long  line  of  Oriel  princes  and  many 
Saints  were  descended — whilst  Bressal,  the  elder  ton,  died  childless. 


THE   GLEN   OF   ALTADAVIN  229 

him  and  blessed  his  seed.  Bressal,  however,  refused  [to  become  a 
Christian] ,  and  Patrick  cursed  him.  Patrick,  besides,  expounded 
the  vision  of  Brigit  in  an  excellent  manner.1 

Patrick  raised  Echaid,  son  of  Crimthann,  from  death.  Echaid 
had  a  daughter,  to  wit,  Cinnu.  Her  father  desired  to  wed  her  to 
a  man  of  good  lineage,  namely,  to  the  son  of  Cormac,  son  of 
Cairbre  son  of  Niall.  As  she  was  walking,  she  met  holy 
Patrick  with  his  companions.2  Patrick  preached  to  her  to  unite 
herself  to  the  Spiritual  Spouse,  and  she  believed  and  followed 
Patrick,  and  Patrick  baptized  her  afterwards.  Now,  while  her 
father  was  a-seeking  her,  to  give  her  to  her  husband,  she  and 
Patrick  went  to  converse  with  him.  Patrick  asked  her  father 
to  allow  her  to  be  united  to  the  Eternal  Spouse.  So  Echu 
allowed  that;  if  heaven  were  given  to  him  for  her,  and  he 
himself  were  not  compelled  to  be  baptized.  Patrick  pro- 
mised those  two  things,  although  it  was  difficult  for  him 
[to  do  sol.  Then  the  king  allowed  his  daughter  Cinnu  to  be 
united  to  Christ,  and  Patrick  caused  her  to  be  a  female  disciple 
of  his,  and  delivered  her  to  a  certain  virgin  to  be  taught,  namely 
[to]  Cechtumbar3  of  Druimm  Dubain,  in  which  place  both 
virgins  have  their  rest.  Now,  after  many  years,  the  aforesaid 
Echu  reached  the  end  of  his  life  ;  and  when  his  friends  were 
standing  around  him,  he  spake  :  '  Bury  me  not,'  he  saith,  '  until 
Patrick  shall  have  come.'  And  when  Echu  had  finished  these 
words  he  sent  forth  his  spirit.  Patrick,  however,  was  then  at 
Saball  Patraic,  in  Ulster,  and  Echu's  death  was  made  manifest  to 
him :  and  he  decided  on  journeying  to  Clochar  Mace  n  Doimni. 
There  he  found  Echu  [who  had  been]  lifeless  for  twenty-four 
hours.  When  Patrick  entered  the  house  in  which  the  body  was 
lying,  he  put  forth  the  folk  who  were  biding  around  the  corpse.4 
He  bent  [his]  knees  to  the  Lord,  and  shed  tears,  and  prayed,  and 
afterwards  said  with  a  clear  voice  :  '  0  king  Echu,  in  the  name 
of  Almighty  God,  arise  !'  And  straightway  the  king  arose  at  the 
voice  of  God's  servant.  So  when  he  sat  down  steadily,  he 
spake,  and  the  weeping  and  wailing  of  the  people  were  turned 
into  joy.  And  then  holy  Patrick  instructed  the  king  in  the  method 
of  the  faith,  and  baptized  him.  And  Patrick  ordered  him,  before 
the  people,  to  set  forth  the  punishments  of  the  ungodly,  and  the 
blessedness  of  the  saints,  and  that  he  should  preach  to  the 


1  Visionera,  quse  erat,  et  prsesentis  £t  futuri  status  Ecclesiae  Hibernise 
imago,   coram  adstantibus   exposuit  S.  Patricias. — Tr.  Th.,  p.  150.     'A  pre- 
diction,' says  Dr.  Healy,  '  that  has  been  wonderfully  verified  by  the  event.' — 
Ireland's  Ancient  Schools,  &c.,  p.  111. 

2  See  supra,  p.  228,  note  2. 

3  Cetamaria,   Colgan,    Tr.    Th.t  p.    150.      She  is   also  called  Ethembria, 
Cethuberis,  Cectamania. 

*  Compare  Matt.  ix.  25 ;  Mark  v.  40  ;  Luke  viii.  54 ;  Acts  ix.  40. 


230  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

commonalty  that  all  things  which  are  made  known  to  them  of 
the  pains  of  hell  and  of  the  joys  of  the  blessed  who  have  obeyed, 
were  true.  As  had  been  ordered  to  him,  Echu  preached  of  both 
things.  And  Patrick  gave  him  his  choice,  to  wit,  fifteen  years  in 
the  sovranty  of  his  country,  if  he  would  live  quietly  and  justly, 
or  going  (forthwith)  to  heaven,  if  this  seemed  better  to  him. 
But  the  king  at  once  said  :  '  Though  the  kingship  of  the  whole 
globe  should  be  given  to  me,  and  though  I  should  live  many 
years,  I  should  count  it  as  nothing  in  comparison  to  the  blessed- 
ness that  hath  been  shown  to  me.  Wherefore  I  choose  more 
and  more  that  I  may  be  saved  from  the  sorrows  of  the  present 
world,  and  that  I  may  return  to  the  everlasting  joys  which  have 
been  shown  to  me.'  Patrick  saith  to  him,  '  Go  in  peace,-  and 
depart  unto  God.'  Echu  gave  thanks  to  God  in  the  presence  of 
his  household,  and  he  commended  his  soul  to  the  Lord  and  to 
Patrick,  and  sent  forth  his  spirit  to  heaven.' 

This  quotation  is  the  more  interesting,  as  containing  the 
only  mention  made  of  St.  Brigid  in  the  Lives  of  St.  Patrick. 
The  Saint  had  just  then  founded  the  church  of  Clogher  for 
St.  MacCairthinn,  who,  it  is  stated  in  Tirechan's  Collections 
in  the  Boo  A'  of  Armagh,  was  the  uncle  of  the  holy  Brigid — 
1  Brigtae ' — the  abbreviated  form  of  the  name.  This  fact 
would  explain  her  presence  at  Clogher  on  this  interesting 
occasion.2 

The  beautiful  story  of  '  St.  Patrick  and  King  Eochaidh  ' 
has  been  clothed  in  graceful  verse,  adorned  with  poetic 
description,  by  Aubrey  De  Vere,  in  his  Legends  of  St.  Patrick. 

Druim-Dubhain  (pronounced,  I  have  been  told,  Drum- 
da  vin  and  Drumhain)  was  a  church,  says  Colgan,  close 
beside  Clogher. 

To  the  east  of  Eathmore  [writes  Canon  O'Connor]  in  the 
hollow  ground  fronting  the  Palace,  are  to  be  seen  two  adjoining 
springs  of  limpid  water,  tastefully  surrounded  by  a  brick-work 
enclosure.  They  still  are  called  to  this  day  '  The  Sisters,'  and 
were  so  called  on  account  of  a  convent  which  stood  on  the 
sloping  ridge  towards  the  south  of  these  springs,  which  ridge  of 
hill  is  yet  called  the  'Nun's  Hill.'  This  hill  would  seem  to 
correspond  with  the  ancient  name,  Druim-dribhain,  on  which 
stood  a  celebrated  convent. 

It  had  been  originally  founded  by  St.  Patrick  himself, 

1  Tripartite  Life  of  St.  Patrick.  Part  iii.,  Rolls'  Series.  1887,  pp.  175-181. 

2  Ireland's  Awient  Schools,  &c.,  p.  111. 


THE   GLEN   OF   ALTADAVIN  231 

and  over  it  he  had  placed  St.  Cechtumbar,  the  first  of  all 
the  Irish  virgins  who  received  the  veil  from  the  Saint.  To 
her  care  he  entrusted  Cinnu,  the  daughter  of  King  Echu, 
who  entered  the  convent,  and  in  time  became  superioress. 
She  was  still  living  in  482.  Both  she  and  her  saintly  novice- 
mistress  were  interred  in  the  church  of  Druim-dubhain, 
together  with  many  other  holy  virgins,  and  seven  bishops. 

I  would  fain  linger  over  many  other  Saints,  disciples  of 
St.  Patrick,  gathered  from  around  Clogher  and  Altadavin ; 
such  as  St.  MacCarthinn,  Clogher's  first  bishop  ; 
St.  Fanchea,  V.  (Jan.  1),  known  also  as  St.  Faine ;  her 
three  sisters,  Saints;  and  her  brother,  Enda,  whom  she 
drew  from  his  life  as  a  soldier,  to  the  immediate  service 
of  Christ,  to  become  the  celebrated  abbot  of  Aran,  and  a 
great  Saint;  St.  Dympna,1  too,  V.M.,  surnamed  Scene,  or 
the  fugitive,  who  had  to  fly,  in  company  with  the  old  priest, 
St.  Gerebern,  who  had  baptized  her,  and  a  married  couple 
as  servants,  from  her  native  Clogher  to  Belgium,  that  she 
might  avoid  the  face  of  her  unnatural  father.  He  pursued 
her  to  her  retreat  at  Gheel,  where,  after  causing  the  holy 
priest  to  be  slain  by  his  officers,  and  on  their  refusal  to 
murder  his  daughter,  then  himself  beheaded  her  with  his  own 
sword.  From  that  time,  throughout  Belgium  and  Holland, 
she  has  been  venerated  and  invoked  as  the  titular  Saint  of 
those  afflicted  with  insanity.  Hence  Gheel  for  some  twelve 
centuries  has  been  a  sanatorium  for  persons  subject  to 
nervous  and  mental  disorders,  where  they  are  treated  with 
great  success,  and  innumerable  cases  of  cure  and  relief  are 
recorded  to  have  been  obtained  by  visiting  her  shrine.  In 
certain  parts  of  Ulster  St.  Dympna  is  still  held  in  high 
veneration,  and  one  parish  in  Monaghan,  ten  miles  from 
Clogher,  viz.,  Tedavnet,  takes  its  name  from  the  virgin 
Martyr.2 

I  could  make  mention  of  many  more,  but  must  forbear ; 


1  Called  also  Damnoda  arid  Domnat,  May  loth. 

2  See  the  brief  notices  of  early   Irish   saints  in  Joyce's    admirable   Short 
History  of  Ireland,  pp.  172-179.     The   name  Te-davnet  is   thus  derived:  Te, 
i.e.,  Teach,  a  house ;  and  Damnoda,  orDavnet,  i.e.,  Dympna.   Hence,  the  house, 
or  religious  foundation  of  Dympna. 


232  THE  IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

and  will  conclude  with  the  touching  words  of  St.  Patrick 
himself  in  his  Confession,  his  last  work,  written  as  he  was 
drawing  to  his  end,  and  reviewing  the  wondrous  things  for 
Ireland  that  God  had  wrought  through  him :  '  The  sons  of 
the  Scoti  and  the  daughters  of  the  chieftains  appear  now  as 
monks  and  virgins  of  Christ,  especially  one  blessed  Scottish 
lady  of  noble  birth,  and  of  great  beauty,  who  was  adult, 
and  whom  I  baptized.'  This  lady  is  believed  to  be 
St.  Cechtumbar,  who  was  the  first  to  receive  the  veil 
from  St.  Patrick's  own  hands,  and  whom  he  appointed  to 
preside  over  what  hence  was  probably  the  earliest  of  his 
religious  foundations  in  Ireland,  namely,  the  Convent  of 
Pruim-dubhain  at  Clogher. 

T.  LIVIUS,  C.SS.R. 


ARCHBISHOP    TROY 

THE    POLICY   OF   '  BALLY '   AND   CONCILIATION 
II. 

IT  was  at  one  time  surmised  that  Dr.  Troy  might  be 
Coadjutor  of  Armagh.  But  a  communication  was 
received  by  Archbishop  Butler,  from  the  Cardinal  Prefect  of 
Propaganda,  Salviati,  dated  November  17,  1781,  intimating 
that  there  was  no  intention  of  deviating  from  an  old- 
established  rule  drawn  up  for  the  General  Congregation,  by 
Cardinal  Prefect  Corsini,  to  the  effect,  that  it  would  not  be 
expedient  to  appoint  a  member  of  a  religious  order  to  the 
primacy.  The  see  of  Dublin  having  become  vacant, 
October  29,  1786,  by  the  death  of  Archbishop  Carpenter,  a 
strong  opposition  was  organized  against  the  appointment  of 
Dr.  Troy  as  his  successor.1 

Dr.  Butler,    writing,    December    2,    of    that    year,    to 

1  The  appointment  of  Dr.  Troy  to  Dublin  was  carried  with  difficulty, 
though  strongly  protected.  No  objection  was  taken  to  his  character.  He 
had  studied  at  Rome,  and  was  respected  there,  but  the  fact  of  his  being  a 
Dominican  Friar  was  by  many  considered  as  a  valid  objection,  —  Casflimir/h 
Correspondence,  vol.  iii.,  p.  457. 


ARCHBISHOP   TROY  233 

Dr.  Plunket   of   Meath,   refers  to   the    appointment   of  a 
proper  person  to  the  see  of  Dublin : — 

The  Archbishop  of  the  capital  of  Ireland,  being,  as  it  were, 
the  representative  of  us  all  in  the  eyes  of  Parliament,  Govern- 
ment, and  the  whole  nation;  nay,  to  Rome  itself,  his  appointment 
is  interesting  to  our  national  Church,  to  our  hierarchy,  and  to  the 
general  good  of  religion.  I  am  told  by  several  that  Dr.  Troy  is 
most  likely  to  be  the  elect.  All  I  can  say  is,  I  should  be  afraid, 
since  the  late  storm  against  the  Regulars,  and  from  the  Act  of 
Parliament,  and  from  what  was  confidently  told  me  by  one  high  in 
the  Administration,  in  the  affair  of  a  coadjutor  to  the  Primate,  that 
the  voting  at  the  present  critical  time  for  a  Regular  might  hurt 
the  cause  of  religion  on  a  future  day. 

On  the  very  next  day  after  the  penning  of  this  letter, 
December  2,  Dr.  Troy's  translation  to  Dublin  was  sanctioned 
by  Pope  Pius  VI.,  having  been  recommended  by  Propaganda, 
on  the  27th  of  November,  same  year.  Dr.  Troy  took 
possession  of  the  Metropolitan  See,  February  15,  1787,  to 
the  greatest  satisfaction  of  all  classes  in  the  Archdiocese,  as 
D'Alton  assures  us.1, 

In  1787,  there  was  another  fierce  outbreak  of  Bightboy- 
ism.  Fitzgibbon,  the  Attorney-General,  brought  in  a  bill 
for  preventing  tumultuous  assemblages.  Amongst  other 
insulting  clauses,  this  proposed  measure  included  one 
directing  the  magistrates  to  demolish  the  Eoman  Catholic 
chapels  in  which  any  combinations  should  have  been  formed 
or  an  unlawful  oath  administered.  Archbishop  Butler 
had  shown,  in  his  Justification  of  the  Tenets  of  the 
Eoman  Catholic  Religion,  that  many  of  the  Rightboys  had 
evinced  as  much  enmity  towards  the  Catholic  bishops  and 
priests,  who  denounced  them,  as  they  had  towards  Protestant 
ministers;  and  had  taken  forcible  possession  of  those  chapels 
in  which  their  acts  were  most  reprobated.  He  mentions 
fifty  Catholic  chapels  which  the  rioters  nailed  up  and 
blockaded.  An  accusation  was  also  urged  against  the 
Rightboys  by  Mr.  Fitzgibbon ;  that  it  was  their  custom 
to  drag  those  supposed  not  to  be  friendly  to  them  from  their 
beds  at  night,  and  to  bury  them  alive  in  a  grave  lined  with 

1  Archbishops  of  Dublin,  p,  483. 


234  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

thorns,  or  to  place  them  naked  on  horseback,  and  tied  to  a 
saddle  covered  with  thorns  :  and,  in  addition,  to  have  their 
ears  sawed  off.  Mr.  Grattan,  whilst  anxious  to  check  the 
lawlessness,  called  the  attention  of  the  House  to  the 
condition  of  the  peasantry  of  the  south,  who  were  ground 
to  the  earth,  having  to  pay  £6  and  £1  an  acre  for  land,  with 
a  wage  of  only  5d.  or  6d.  a  day ;  and,  in  addition,  a  lO.s.  or 
12s.  tithe  for  potatoes.  In  Connaught  potatoes  paid  no 
tithe ;  and  the  hearth  tax  in  the  North,  only  a  very  moderate 
one.  Mr.  Grattan  denounced  the  penal  clause  pf  the  bill 
in  his  most  vigorous  style  : — 

He  had  heard  of  transgressors  being  dragged  from  the  sanc- 
tuary, but  never  of  the  sanctuary  being  demolished.  This  would 
go  far  to  hold  out  the  laws  as  a  sanction  to  sacrilege.  .  If  the 
Roman  Catholics  were  of  a  different  religion  from  Protestants, 
yet  they  had  one  common  God,  and  one  common  Saviour  with 
the  hon.  gentleman  ;  and  surely  the  God  of  the  Protestant  temple 
was  the  God  of  the  Catholic  temple.  What,  then,  did  the  clause 
enact  ?  That  the  magistrate  should  pull  down  the  temple  of  his 
God  ;  and  should  it  be  rebuilt,  and  as  often  as  it  was  rebuilt  for 
three  years,  he  should  again  prostrate  it,  and  so  proceed,  in  repe- 
tition of  his  abominations,  and  thus  stab  the  criminal  through 
the  sides  of  his  God  :  a  new  idea,  indeed  !  But  this  was  not  all ; 
the  magistrate  was  to  sell  by  auction  the  altar  of  the  Divinity  to 
pay  for  the  sacrilege  that  had  been  committed  in  His  house. 

A  petition  against  this  abominable  clause  was  presented 
to  the  Irish  Parliament,  signed  by  Dr.  Troy  and  the 
Archbishops,  on  the  part  of  the  clergy ;  and  by  the  Earl  of 
Kenmare,  on  behalf  of  the  Catholic  gentry  and  laity : — 

Your  humble  petitioners  have  been  most  earnest,  whether 
in  the  midst  of  foreign  alarms,  or  intestine  commotions,  to  prove 
the  sincerity  of  those  sacred  and  unreserved  assurances  which 
they  gave  of  allegiance  to  their  Sovereign  King  George  the  Third, 
and  zeal  and  goodwill  to  their  country  and  fellow-subjects. 

Popular  commotions  are  not  peculiar  to  any  period  of  time, 
any  nation  or  religious  denomination  of  the  people,  but  happen 
in  every  age  and  every  country,  and  so  far  from  being  the 
offspring  of  the  Roman  Catholic  tenets,  are  in  open  violation  of 
them. 

In  the  suppression  of  the  disturbances  which  happened  of  late, 
in  the  south  of  Ireland,  the  Catholic  nobility  and  gentry,  their 


ARCHBISHOP   TROY  235 


prelates,  and  inferior  clergy,  have  been  most  active,  and  will 
continue  the  same  strenuous  exertions  on  every  future  occasion. 

During  the  late  paroxysms  of  popular  phrenzy,  everything 
most  sacred  in  your  petitioners'  eyes  has  been  abused  and 
profaned,  chapels  have  been  nailed  up  and  blockaded,  their  pastors, 
threatened  and  insulted  in  the  most  opprobrious  manner,  and  in 
many  places  driven  from  their  parishes. 

In  a  Bill  brought  into  the  honourable  House,  they  have  read 
with  equal  concern  and  astonishment,  a  clause  empowering  the 
civil  magistrate  to  pull  down,  level,  and  prostrate  any  Eoman 
Catholic  chapel  in  which,  or  in  the  vicinity  of  which,  any 
unlawful  oath  is  tendered,  upon  the  testimony  of  one  witness. 

They  consider  such  a  clause  disgraceful  to  their  religion  as 
Christians ;  injurious  to  their  honour,  character,  and  loyalty  as 
subjects  (as  naturally  impressing  the  mind  of  their  Sovereign 
with  the  notion  that  his  Catholic  subjects  are  combining,  in  the 
most  awful  and  sacred  of  all  places,  against  his  crown  and 
dignity),  and  eventually  destructive  of  the  indulgence  which  of 
late  a  mild  and  humane  legislature  has  granted  them,  after  a  long 
trial  of  their  fidelity,  while  it  laboured  under  the  severest  oppres- 
sions ;  as  such  a  clause,  besides  holding  forth  a  suspicion  of  their 
allegiance,  has  a  natural  tendency  to  afford  a  pretext  for  repealing 
the  favours  already  granted  to  the  whole  body  of  their  communion, 
in  case  any  deluded  individual,  either  actuated  by  licentiousness, 
or  stimulated  by  their  enemies,  should  oppose  the  magistrate  in 
the  prostration  of  chapels  which  were  left  standing  in  times  of 
persecution. 

Your  petitioners  have  also  seen  with  great  apprehension  and 
concern,  in  another  clause  of  the  said  Bill,  to  prevent  outrageous 
obstructions  of  divine  service,  that  any  protection  of  the  Eoman 
Catholic  chapels  is  carefully  avoided,  while  the  Dissenting 
meeting-houses  are  specifically  provided  for,  in  an  equal  degree 
with  the  churches  of  the  Established  religion — a  distinction  which 
your  petitioners  can  consider  in  no  other  light  than  as  meaning 
to  lay  their  houses  of  worship  open  to  all  the  violations  of  any 
lawless  rabble,  and  thereby  bring  additional  disrespect  upon  the 
only  influence  in  their  power,  which  they  have  so  anxiously 
exercised  to  preserve  peace  and  order. 

Amidst  the  profligacy  of  morals,  of  late  so  prevalent  amongst 
the  lower  orders,  who  have  shaken  off  that  restraint  under  which 
they  had  been  heretofore  kept  by  their  pastors,  and  from  other 
collateral  causes,  it  is  to  be  feared,  that  the  utmost  advantage 
would  be  taken  of  such  an  apparent  liberty  ;  and  it  is  too  evident 
that  not  only  one  witness,  but  several  will  be  easily  found,  who 
would  swear  before  a  magistrate  that  such  oaths  as  are  prohibited 
had  been  tendered  in  the  specified  places,  although  no  such  oaths 
had  been  so  administered. 


236  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

As  was  usually  the  case  in  the  Irish  Parliament,  more 
candour  and  liberality  were  to  be  found  with  the  English 
statesmen  than  with  Irish  Government  officials ;  and  so 
Mr.  Orde,  the  Secretary,  remarked  that : — 

He  never  could  have  concurred  in  the  clause  for  pulling  down 
the  chapels,  and  he  was  happy  that  it  was  abandoned  by  his 
friend.  He  lamented  that  anything  should  have  appeared  in 
print  purporting  that  those  insurrections  had  arisen  from  a  popish 
conspiracy.  He  declared  that  he  not  only  did  not  believe  it  true, 
but  in  several  places  he  knew  it  not  to  be  true.  He  affirmed  that 
the  insurgents  had  in  some  places  deprived  the  Koman  Catholic 
clergy  of  one-half  their  income. 

April,  1789,  on  the  occasion  of  the  recovery  of  George  III. 
from  his  fit  of  insanity,  a  solemn  High  Mass  was  celebrated 
in  the  old  chapel  of  Francis-street,  by  Dr.  Troy.  A  new 
Te  Deum,  specially  composed  by  the  celebrated  Giordani, 
was  then  sung  for  the  first  time.  Plowden  informs  us 
that 

So  illustrious  an  assemblage  had  never  met  in  a  Catholic  place 
of  worship,  in  Ireland,  since  the  Eeformation.  Besides  the 
principal  part  of  their  own  nobility  and  gentry,  there  were 
present  the  Duke  of  Leinster,  the  Earls  and  Countesses  of 
Belvedere,  Arran,  and  Portarlington,  Countesses  of  Carhampton 
and  Ely,  Lords  Tyrone,  Valentia,  and  Delain,  M.  De  La  louche 
Mr.  Grattan,  Major  Doyle,  and  several  other  persons  of  the  first 
distinction.1 

When  the  country  was  disturbed  by  the  Protestant 
Peep-of-Day  Boys,  and  the  Catholic  Defenders,  Dr.  Troy 
zealously  co-operated  with  the  other  Catholic  prelates  to 
suppress  their  disturbances,  and  was  instrumental  in 
establishing  comparative  harmony  in  the  archdiocese  of 
Dublin.  As  an  acknowledgment  of  these  important  services, 
the  Marquis  of  Buckingham  transmitted  the  following  letter 
to  Dr.  Troy  :— 

SIR, — The  infirm  state  of  my  health  having  laid  me  under  the 
necessity  of  requesting  his  Majesty's  permission  to  resign  the 
government  of  Ireland,  I  feel  that  I  cannot  close  the  public  duties 
of  my  administration  without  expressing  to  you  the  strong 
sense  I  entertain  of  the  zeal  and  loyalty  which  you  have  mani- 

1  Hist.  Review,  vol  ii.,  pp.  273,  274. 


ARCHBISHOP   TROY  237 

fested  upon  every  occasion    towards  his  Majesty's  person  and 
government. 

My  sense  of  the  very  praiseworthy  conduct  of  the  Catholics 
of  Ireland  (as  a  body),  will  be  best  collected  from  the  testimonials 
which  I  have  borne  to  their  good  conduct  in  my  official  and 
public  communications  with  them.  But  I  wish  to  avail  myself 
of  this  opportunity  of  repeating  that  testimony  to  you  individually 
as  placed  at  the  head  of  the  Catholic  Church,  in  Dublin,  and  of 
assuring  you  of  the  satisfaction  I  shall  feel  in  representing  to 
his  Majesty  your  meritorious  conduct  in  endeavouring  to  impress 
upon  the  mind  of  your  people  every  principle  that  can  tend  to 
endear  to  them  the  blessings  of  our  Constitution,  and  the  person 
of  our  excellent  Sovereign. 

I  have  the  honour  to  be,  sir, 

Your  very  humble  servant, 

NUGENT  BUCKINGHAM. 
STOWE,  October  25,  1789, 
Eight  Eev.  Dr.  TBOY, 

Titular  Archbishop  of  the 
Eoman  Catholic  Church  of  Dublin. 

In  Cogan's  Meath,1  a  letter  appears,  dated  July  24, 1789, 
addressed  by  Dr.  Butler  of  Cashel,  to  Dr.  Plunket  of  Meath, 
which  cast  a  curious  side-light  on  the  ecclesiastical  history 
of  the  time  :  — 

You  have  heard  before  this  that  the  Eev.  Dr.  Lanigan  has 
been  appointed,  on  the  25th  of  last  June,  Bishop  of  Ossory, 
notwithstanding  the  strong  postulation  sent  to  Eome  in  favour  of 
the  Eev.  Father  O'Connor  (a  Dominican),  and  subscribed  to  by 
three  metropolitans,  Armagh,  Dublin,  and  Tuam,  and  I  may  say, 
by  the  four,  as  my  name,  I  find  by  what  my  agent  writes  to  me, 
was  also  affixed  to  it,  not  only  without  my  consent,  but  with  my 
express  and  strongest  opposition  to  it.  Several  other  bishops,  I 
am  told,  had  joined  in  the  demand ;  nay,  the  Queen  of  Portugal 
and  Mr.  Fitzherbert,  the  late  Secretary,  were  gained  over  to 
second  the  cause.  Such  a  push  in  favour  of  a  friar,  had  it  suc- 
ceeded, would  have  severely  wounded  not  only  our  hierarchy, 
the  authority  and  influence  of  our  secular  clergy,  but  would 
have  also  furnished  our  enemies  when  anything  would  be 
proposed  in  our  favour  in  Parliament,  with  powerful  arguments 
to  oppose  it.  Thanks  to  God  !  His  Providence  has  most  season- 
ably prevented  the  evil,  and  I  am  the  more  happy  at  it  as  I  am 
confident  it  was  on  account  of  what  I  wrote  last  May  to  Cardinal 
Antonelli,  and  to  my  agent,  of  the  fatal  consequences  that  might 

1  Vol.  iii.,  p.  131. 


238  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

ensue  to  religion  from  Eome's  naming  those  in  preference  to  the 
vacant  sees  of  this  kingdom,  who  are  the  most  obnoxious  to 
Government.  Your  lordship  remembers  how  near  we  were  to 
seeing  the  nomination  of  the  E.  C.  bishops  of  Ireland  pass  into 
the  hands  of  the  King,  and  can't  but  feel  with  me  the  imprudence 
of  takihg  a  step  which  could  recall  an  event  we  had  at  the  time 
I  allude  to,  such  difficulty  to  ward  off.  Dr.  Troy's  and  the  friar's 
interest,  Mr.  Bodkin,  my  agent  writes  to  me,  begins  to  decline 
very  fast. 

In  1791,  divisions  made  their  appearance  amongst  the 
Irish  Catholics.  Two  parties  were  formed  in  their  General 
Committee,  the  aristocratic  and  the  democratic.  The 
former  regarded  with  suspicion  and  dislike  the  relations 
between  some  of  the  agents  of  the  democratic  party  and  the 
French  revolutionists  ;  and,  moreover,  they  did  not  approve 
of  their  sturdy  and  outspoken  method  of  seeking  redress 
from  the  Irish  Parliament.  Sixty-four  members  of  the 
aristocratic  party  seceded  from  the  Committee.  As  a  result 
of  a  temporary  compromise,  Bichard  Burke,  only  son  of  tbe 
celebrated  Edmund  Burke,  was  invited  over  from  England, 
and  appointed  Parliamentary  Agent  to  the  Irish  Catholics. 
The"  object  of  this  appointment  was  that  Mr.  Burke  would  be 
guided  by  the  advice  of  his  illustrious  father  ;  and  that  what- 
ever was  supported  by  the  great  opponent  of  the  French 
Revolution  could  not  be  supposed  to  rest  on  French 
principles. 

The  result  was  a  very  moderate  measure  of  relief,  intro- 
duced by  Sir  H.  Langrishe,  and  seconded  by  Mr.  Secretary 
Hobart.  The  bill,  when  passed  (1)  admitted  Catholics  to  the 
practice  and  profession  of  law  ;  (2)  it  took  away  the  necessity 
for  a  licence  from  the  Protestant  bishops  to  open  a  Catholic 
school,  as  enjoined  by  the  Act  of  1782 ;  (3)  it  repealed  the 
Statute  which  prohibited  and  made  illegal  marriages  between 
Catholics  and  Protestants  ;  (4)  it  removed  those  obstructions 
to  arts  and  manufactures  that  limited  the  number  of 
apprentices. 

The  Catholics  were  not  at  all  satisfied  with  the  miserable 
measure  of  relief  granted  by  this  Act.  By  direction  of  their 
committee,  Mr.  Simon  Butler,  brother  of  Lord  Mountgarret, 
published  a  pamphlet,  entitled  a  Digest  of  the  Popery  Laws, 


ARCHBISHOP   TROY  239 

bringing  into  one  view  the  whole  body  of  penalties  and 
disabilities  to  which  Catholics  still  remained  subject : — 

Excluded  from  every  trust,  power,  or  emolument  of  the  State, 
civil  or  military  ;  excluded  from  all  the  benefits  of  the  Consti- 
tution in  all  its  parts  ;  excluded  from  all  corporate  rights  and 
immunities  ;  expelled  from  grand  juries,  restrained  in  petty  juries ; 
excluded  from  every  direction,  from  every  trust,  from  every 
incorporated  society,  from  every  establishment,  occasional  or 
fixed,  instituted  for  public  defence,  public  police,  public  morals,  or 
public  convenience ;  from  the  Bench,  from  the  bank,  from  the 
exchange,  from  the  university,  from  the  College  of  Physicians  ; 
from  what  are  they  not  excluded  ? 

A  vindication  of  the  conduct  and  principles  of  the  Koman 
Catholics  of  Ireland  from  the  charges  made  against  them 
by  certain  grand  juries  and  other  interested  bodies  was  also 
published  by  order  of  the  committee  :— 

As  to  tumult  and  sedition,  they  challenge  those  who  make 
the  assertion  to  show  the  instance.  .Where  have  been  the  riots, 
or  tumults,  or  seditions  which  can  in  the  most  remote  degree  be 
traced  to  the  proceedings  or  publications  of  this  committee  ? 
They  know  too  well  how  fatal  to  their  hopes  of  emancipation  any- 
thing like  disturbance  must  be.  Independent  of  the  danger  to 
those  hopes,  it  is  more  peculiarly  their  interest  to  preserve  peace  and 
good  order  than  that  of  any  body  of  men  in  the  community.  They 
have  a  large  stake  in  the  country,  much  of  it  vested  in  that  kind  of 
property  which  is  most  peculiarly  exposed  to  danger  from  popular 
tumult.  The  General  Committee  would  suffer  more  by  one  week's 
disturbance  than  all  the  members  of  the  two  Houses  of  Parliament. 

Plowden,  the  official  historian  of  the  Irish  hierarchy  of 
that  period,  states1  that : — 

The  Roman  Catholics  being  sensible  of  the  calumnies 
attempted  to  be  affixed  to  them  by  their  enemies,  and  wishing  to 
screen  themselves  against  the  mischievous  imprudence  of  some 
individuals,  whose  close  connections  with  the  political  societies  of 
the  North,  most  of  them  condemned,  agreed  upon  the  expedient 
of  giving  the  most  solemn  publicity  to  their  real  sentiments,  by 
circulating  through  the  nation  the  following  admonition,  com- 
posed and  signed  by  Doctors  Troy,  O'Reilly,  Bray,  Bellew,  and 
Cruise,  five  bishops  then  in  Dublin : — 

'  DUBLIN,  January  25,  1793. 

'  DEAR  CHRISTIANS, — It  has  been  our  constant  practice,  as  it 
is  our  indispensable  duty,  to  exhort  you  to  manifest,  on  all 

1  Hist.  Review,  vol.  ii.,  p.  398. 


240  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

occasions,  that  unshaken  loyalty  to  his  Majesty,  and  obedience 
to  the  laws,  which  the  principles  of  our  holy  religion  inspire  and 
command.  This  loyalty  and  obedience  have  ever  peculiarly 
distinguished  the  Eoman  Catholics  of  Ireland.  We  do  not 
conceive  a  doubt  of  their  being  actuated  at  present  by  the  same 
sentiments ;  but  think  it  necessary  to  observe  that  a  most  lively 
gratitude  to  our  beloved  Sovereign  should  render  their  loyalty 
and  love  of  order,  if  possible,  more  conspicuous.  Our  gracious 
King,  the  common  father  of  all  his  people,  has,  with  peculiar 
energy,  recommended  his  faithful  Roman  Catholic  subjects  of  this 
kingdom  to  the  wisdom  and  liberality  of  our  enlightened  Parliament 
How  can  we,  dear  Christians,  express  our  heartfelt  acknowledg- 
ments for  this  signal  and  unprecedented  instance  of  royal 
benevolence  and  condescension?  Words  are  insufficient;  but 
your  continued  and  peaceable  conduct  will  more  effectually 
proclaim  them,  and  in  a  manner,  if  not  more  satisfactory  to 
his  Majesty  and  his  Parliament.  Avoid  then,  we  conjure  you, 
dearest  brethren,  every  appearance  of  riot;  attend  to  your  indus- 
trious pursuits  for  the  support  and  comfort  of  your  families; 
fly  from  idle  assemblies  ;  abstain  from  the  intemperate  use  of 
spiritous  and  intoxicating  liquors  ;  practise  the  duties  of  our 
holy  religion.  This  conduct,  so  pleasing  to  heaven,  will  also 
prove  the  most  powerful  recommendation  of  your  present  claims 
to  our  amiable  Sovereign,  to  both  Houses  of  Parliament,  to  the 
magistrates,  and  to  all  well-meaning  fellow-subjects  of  every 
description.  None  but  the  evil-minded  can  rejoice  in  your  being 
concerned  in  any  disturbance. 

'  We  cannot  but  declare  our  utmost  and  conscientious  detes- 
tation and  abhorrence  of  the  enormities  lately  committed  by 
seditious  and  misguided  wretches  of  every  denomination,  in  some 
counties  of  this  kingdom  ;  they  are  enemies  to  God  and  man,  the 
outcasts  of  society,  and  a  disgrace  to  Christianity.  We  consider 
the  Roman  Catholics  amongst  them  unworthy  the  appellation, 
whether  acting  from  themselves,  or  seduced  to  outrage  by  arts  of 
designing  enemies  to  us,  and  to  national  prosperity  intimately 
connected  with  our  emancipation. 

'  Offer  your  prayers,  dearest  brethren,  to  the  Father  of  Mercy, 
that  He  may  inspire  these  deluded  people  with  sentiments 
becoming  Christians  and  good  subjects  ;  supplicate  the  Almighty 
Ruler  and  Disposer  of  empires,  to  direct  his  Majesty's  councils, 
and  forward  his  benevolent  intentions  to  unite  all  his  Irish 
subjects  in  bonds  of  common  interest,  and  common  endeavours 
for  the  preservation  of  peace  and  good  order,  and  for  every 
purpose  tending  to  increase  and  secure  national  prosperity.' 

A  Declaration  had  been  already  published,  signed  by 
Dr.  Troy  and  his  clergy,  and  afterwards  by  the  Catholic 
clergy  and  laity  of  Ireland,  disavowing,  as  Catholic  teaching, 


ARCHBISHOP    TROY  241 

any  such  maxims,  as  that  princes  excommunicated  by  any 
authority  could  be  lawfully  deposed  or  murdered ;  that  the 
Pope  could  absolve  subjects  from  their  oath  of  allegiance ; 
that  any  heretic  could  be  lawfully  injured  or  murdered ;  or 
that  faith  ought  not  to  be  kept  with  heretics. 

The  Catholic  Convention  (Back-lane  Parliament),  having 
assembled  in  Tailor's  Hall,  Back-lane,  Dublin,  a  petition 
to  the  King,  containing  a  representation  of  the  Catholic 
grievances,  was  signed  by  Dr.  Troy  and  Dr.  Moylan  on 
behalf  of  themselves  and  the  other  Roman  Catholic  prelates 
and  clergy  of  Ireland,  and  by  several  delegates  for  the 
different  districts,  which  they  respectively  represented.  On 
the  2nd  January,  17^3,  the  delegates  attended  the  levee  at 
St.  James's,  were  introduced  to  his  Majesty  by  Mr.  Dundas, 
Secretary  for  the  Home  Department,  and  had  the  honour  of 
presenting  their  petition  to  the  King,  who  was  pleased  most 
graciously  to  receive  it. 

The  result  was  a  message  from  the  King  at  the  opening 
of  Parliament,  recommending  that  '  the  situation  of  his 
Catholic  subjects  should  engage  their  serious  attention.' 

February  4,  1793,  Mr.  Secretary  Hobart  presented  to  the 
House  a  petition  signed  by  John  Thomas  Troy,  Roman 
Catholic  Archbishop  of  Dublin;  Archbishops  O'Keilly,  Bray; 
Dr.  Bellew  of  Killala ;  and  some  representatives  of  the 
Catholic  laity,  setting  forth 

That  the  petitioners  are  subject  to  a  variety  of  severe  and 
oppressive  laws,  the  further  continuance  of  which  they  humbly 
conceived  their  dutiful  demeanour  and  unremitting  loyalty  for 
more  than  one  hundred  years,  must  evince  to  be  equally  impolitic 
and  unnecessary. 

The  petition  was  read,  and  ordered  to  lie  on  the 
table.  Mr.  Hobart  then  introduced  his  new  Emancipation 
Bill. 

1.  It  restored  to  Catholics  the  right  of  voting  at  elections 
for  Protestant   Members    of   Parliament,   and  to  vote  for 
magistrates  in  cities  and  towns. 

2.  They  were  allowed  to  serve  on  grand  juries  and  to 
become  justices  of  the  peace. 

3.  The  29th  of  George  II.  was  repealed  so  far  as  allowing 

VOL.  III.  Q 


242  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

a  challenge  against  any  Catholic  on  a  petty  jury,  in  causes 
where  a  Protestant  and  a  Catholic  were  parties. 

4.  Catholics  could   enter    Trinity  College,  Dublin,  and 
obtain  degrees. 

5.  They  might  open  colleges  to  be  affiliated  to  Trinity 
College,  provided  they  were  not  exclusively  for  the  education 
of  Catholics,  and  the  masters,  fellows,  &c.,  not  exclusively 
Catholic. 

6.  Catholics   were    rendered    capable   of  being   elected 
professors   of  medicine  upon  the  foundation  of  Sir  Patrick 
Dun. 

7.  Catholics  seized  of  a  freehold  of  one  hundred  pounds 
a-year,  or  possessed   of  a  personal  estate  of  one  thousand 
pounds ;  and  Catholics,  on  taking  the  Oath   of  Allegiance, 
seized  of  a  freehold  of  ten  pounds  a-year,  or  possessed  of  a 
personal  estate  of  three  hundred,  were  allowed  to  keep  and 
use  arms  and  ammunition. 

8.  Many  civil  and  military  offices  were  open  to  Catholics 
on  taking  the  oath — a  very  insulting  one. 

9.  Finally,  it  proposed  that  no  Catholic  shall  be  liable  or 
subject  to  any  penalty  for  not  attending  Divine  Service  on 
the  Sabbath  Day  in  his  or  her  parish  church. 

The  motion  for  the  introduction  of  the  Bill  was  seconded 
by  Sir  Hercules  Langrishe. 

On  the  9th  April  the  Bill  was  passed  into  law,  principally 
on  account  of  the  recommendation  of  the  King  and  the 
support  of  the  Government. 

It  has  been  well  observed  that  during  these  negotiations 
the  Catholics  were  led  by  men  of  capacity.  They  availed 
themselves  of  every  circumstance,  and  every  ally — the 
Opposition,  the  Court,  the  French  success — without  binding 
themselves  so  far  to  any  as  to  exclude  the  assistance  of  the 
other.  The  French  success,  by  terrifying  their  enemies, 
served  the  Catholic  cause  very  much,  but  the  Catholics  had 
too  much  sense  to  express  their  approbation  of  French 
principles.  Their  prudent  conduct  made  the  king  their 
patron,  and  his  lieutenant's  secretary  moved  their  Bill.  The 
Opposition  struggled  to  get  for  them  everything ;  but  if  not 
everything,  as  much  as  they  could,  and  not  to  break  with 


REASON'S  SYNTHETIC  JUDGMENTS  243 

Government  because  they  could  not  get  all  at  once.  The 
Catholics  very  prudently,  therefore,  did  not  in  terms  ask  for 
everything,  whilst  they  left  everything  open  for  themselves 
to  ask,  and  Parliament  to  give.1 

N.  MURPHY. 


REASON'S  SYNTHETIC  JUDGMENTS2 

I  INTEND  to  treat  this  subject  mainly  in  the  way  of  reply 
to  the  Eev.  Fr.  Fuzier,  who,  in  a  paper  presented  to  the 
last  Congress,  professed  to  refute  my  teaching  in  regard  to 
certain  judgments  which  I  held  should  be  called  at  once 
synthetic  and  a  priori.  The  paper  to  which  I  allude  is  found 
in  the  third  section  of  the  general  report  of  that  last 
Congress,  and  its  pretended  refutation  of  my  teaching 
commences  there  at  page  25  under  the  italicized  heading: 
'  Refutation  des  jugements  synthetiques  a  priori  du  Eev. 
O'MaJiony.' 

At  the  beginning  of  his  remarks  Fr.  Fuzier  took  care  to 
remind  his  hearers  that  a  detailed  explanation  of  the  doctrine 
he  proposed  to  refute  was  published  in  the  first  volume  of  the 
general  report  of  the  Congress  of  1888.  Let  me  add  that  the 
explanation  there  given  occupies  ten  pages  of  forty- five  lines 
to  the  page,  that  is  to  say,  extends  to  four  hundred  and  fifty 
lines  of  the  volume.  Now,  of  these  four  hundred  and  fifty 
lines,  the  Eev.  Father  presents,  as  it  were,  a  precis  extending 
to  sixteen  lines,  in  the  form  of  three  non-consecutive  extracts. 
The  first  of  these  gives  examples  of  the  kind  of  judgments  I 
considered  ought  to  be  called  at  once  a  priori  and  synthetic, 
naturally  understanding  these  terms  according  to  the  sense 
in  which  I  distinctly  stated  I  wished  to  understand  them, 
and  in  which  alone,  I  explained  at  some  length,  I  considered 
that  in  this  question  they  should  be  understood. 

1  Plowden,  Hut.  Review,  vol.  ii.,  p.  432. 

2  A  Paper  read  in  French  by  the  Author  at  the  late  Scientific  Congress  of 
Catholics  held  at  Fribourg. 


244  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

The  examples  Fr.  Fuzier  quoted  are  not  all  those  I 
presented  in  the  course  of  my  paper  as  illustrating  the 
general  truth  of  my  teaching.  But  they  are  sufficient  to 
give  a  true  account  of  it,  and  more  than  sufficient  to  effect 
its  refutation,  if  that  teaching  can  be  refuted.  Fr.  Fuzier 
rightly  notices  that  they  form  a  '  series. '  He  even  remarks 
that  I  had  given  certain  rather  curious  series  of  such  judg- 
ments— '  des  series  assez  curieuses.'  I  hold  there  is  only 
one  series  of  the  kind,  and  that  quite  other  than  curious,  as 
it  offers  only  judgments  which  are  the  first  natural  dictates 
of  common  sense;  given  through  each  thinking  mind's 
immediate  experience,  and,  for  that  reason  synthetic  ;  given 
by  the  pure  act  of  thought,  reason's  own  act,  and  for  that 
alone  to  be  called  a  priori. 

Taking  them  as  they  are  found  in  the  first  extract  my 
critic  has  chosen,  in  the  descending  order  of  the  perfections 
they  express,  these  judgments  are : — (1)  '  There  exists  an 
intelligent  being,'  or,  '  a  being  actually  living  is  intelligent ; ' 
then,  what  that  supposes;  (2)  'There  is  a  being  that  lives,' 
in  other  words,  '  something  actually  acting  is  living ; '  then 
(3)  '  Something  existing  acts,'  or,  '  there  is  an  agent ; '  and 
finally,  what  all  that  presupposes  (4)  '  Something  exists.' 

Here,  in  reality,  we  have  but  four  judgments  with  certain 
changes  of  terms,  and  still  further  changes  of  the  kind  may 
be  introduced  without  adding  to  the  truths  these  judgments 
express.  For  instance,  the  proposition, '  there  is  an  agent,' 
is  really  no  other  than  the  statement  that  there  is  a  cause  ; 
taking  the  word  '  cause '  in  its  primary  sense  as  signifying 
a  subject  apt  to  cause  or  which  may  cause,  whether  as  a 
matter  of  fact  it  has  caused  or  is  actually  causing  or  not. 
In  this  way  several  other  propositions  of  which  there  is 
frequent  question  in  philosophy,  may  be  referred  to  one  or 
other  of  these  four. 

Taking  them  as  I  did  immediately  after  Fr.  Fuzier's  first 
extract,  in  the  ascending  order  of  their  perfections,  they 
are:— (1)  a  being  (something)  exists,  (2)  something  existing 
acts,  (3)  something  acting  lives,  (4)  something  living  thinks. 

There  [I  said]  you  have  judgments  just  as  true,  and,  as  true 
judgments,  just  as  synthetic  in  form  as  the  contingent  ones  I  drew 


REASON'S   SYNTHETIC  JUDGMENTS  245 

from  the  fact  of  our  existence ;  nevertheless  just  as  necessary  in 
their  order,  and  as  evidently  so  in  their  way,  as  any  analytics 
you  like.  I  say,  in  tJieir  order,  which  is  the  real,  as  that  of 
analytics  is  the  ideal ;  and  in  ilieir  way,  that  is,  seen  to  be 
essential  through  reason's  synthesis  of  subject  and  attribute, 
just  as  the  analytics  are  seen  to  be  through  thought's  analysis  of 
the  subject. 

So  much  for  the  judgments  to  be  considered,  and  my 
teaching  in  regard  to  them.  Now  for  my  critic's  promised 
refutation. 

I. 

I  first  note  that  he  does  not  deny  those  judgments  to  be  a 
priori.  His  contention  is  that  they  are  not  synthetic.  Of 
all  the  reasons  I  brought  forward  in  favour  of  my  position 
in  regard  to  them  he  takes  notice  only  of  those  given  in  a 
passage  where,  accentuating  the  synthesis  they  present,  I 
remarked,  'first,  they  are  evidently  synthetic,  since  the 
idea  of  agent,  for  instance,  does  not  give  that  of  life  nor  any 
reason  for  attributing  life  to  it ;  which  should  also  be  said 
of  the  notion  of  life  in  regard  to  that  of  thought.  And 
this  is  precisely  why  we  have  no  right  to  say  every  thing 
that  is  acting  is  living  or  every  living  being  thinks  ' — though, 
I  would  here  add,  we  have  a  right  to  say  '  every  thinking 
being  lives,'  and  '  every  living  being  acts ' ;  the  latter  two 
judgments  being  as  clearly  analytic  as  the  two  previous 
ones  are  synthetic.1  On  this  point  I  shall  have  something 
more  explicit  to  say.  For  the  present  let  it  suffice  to  note 
that  admitting,  at  least  not  denying,  my  judgments  to  be 
a  priori,  Fr.  Fuzier  only  undertakes  to  refute  the  assertion 
that  they  are  synthetic. 

Apparently  in  view  of  his  intended  refutation,  and  as  if 
making  quite  a  new  observation,  at  any  rate,  as  it  were 
laying  down  his  refuting  principle,  he  remarks :  '  These 

1  Thus  even  it  may  be  said,  because  the  ideal  judgment  'a  thinking  being 
lives  '  is  analytic  or  explicative,  having  a  predicate  that  represents  but  part  of 
the  subject,  the  converse,  viz.,  '  a  living  being  thinks '  being  a  real  judgment 
is  synthetic  or  ampliative,  having  a  predicate  that  superadds  to  the  subject :  for, 
in  reason's  order,  thought  adds  perfection  to  life,  as  life  does  to  act,  and 
act  to  actuality,  and  actuality  itself  to  reality  or  existence  to  real  essence  in 
contingent  being. 


246  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

judgments  belong  to  the  real  and  existing  order.'  Exactly, 
that  is  what  I  observed,  as  has  been  noticed,  immediately 
after  his  first  extract.  More,  it  is  a  remark  I  frequently 
reverted  to  in  the  course  of  my  paper.  I  even  insisted  on  it 
at  the  beginning  when  determining  the  exact  sense  of  the 
problem  I  desired  to  propose  to  the  Congress  :— 

Are  there  [I  said]  judgments  so  formed  that  in  the  simple 
consideration  of  the  subject  we  see  no  reason  for  attributing  to  it 
the  predicate  (and  which  should  consequently  be  called  synthetic), 
yet  which  have  the  character  of  judgments  such  that  their  truth 
presented  to  the  spirit  as  actual  is  by  it  immediately  recognised 
as  essential  (thus  to  be  termed  a  priori)  as  uncaused  truths, 
independent  of  any  hypothesis,  evidently  primordial  in  the  real 
order  and,  as  such,  in  that  order  absolutely  necessary  ? 

Why  did  I  insist  so  much  on  this  point  ?  Because  it 
touched  the  very  root  of  the  question  I  proposed  to  discuss. 
I  had  asserted,  and  it  was  known  that  in  several  articles  on 
this  and  cognate  subjects,  published  in  France  and  elsewhere, 
I  had  maintained,  that  in  the  ideal  order  all  a  priori  judg- 
ments are  analytical,  and  are  so  for  the  simple  reason  that, 
in  this  order,  all  judgments  are  analytical.  If,  consequently, 
I  considered  any  a  priori  ones  not  analytical,  clsarly  in  my 
opinion  they  should  be  of  the  other  order,  all  of  the  real. 
There,  then,  I  held  and  hold— among  judgments  of  the  real 
order  of  knowledge — there,  and  there  only  lies  the  root  of 
the  question  as  to  whether  or  not  there  are  those  which 
should  be  called  at  once  '  Synthetical '  and  a  priori. 

It  could  not  accordingly  be  here  a  question  of  abstract 
judgments  such  as  '  a  straight  line  is  the  shortest  way  from 
one  point  to  another,'  or  any  such  Kantian  formulas.  No 
more  could  it  be  a  question  of  general  principles  or  axioms 
such  as  '  all  that  commences  or  changes  does  so  by  the  act 
of  another,'  or  '  every  phenomenon  is  effected,'  or  '  every 
effect  requires  an  effector  or  cause,'  or  any  such  axiomatic 
utterances  so  often  discussed  in  our  Congress  under  the 
general  title  of  '  Principle  of  Causality.'  With  their 
universal  subjects  and  admittedly  abstract  character,  these 
judgments  being  all  of  the  ideal  order,  ought,  I  have  held, 
all  be  called  analytic.  In  definitive  then,  my  questior  was 


REASON'S  SYNTHETIC  JUDGMENTS  247 

this — granted  that  there  are  not  any  of  the  universal, 
abstract,  or  ideal  kind,  are  there  synthetic  a  priori  judgments 
among  those  of  the  real  order  ? 

I  maintained  there  are,  that  there  is  a  series  of  them,  a 
series  which  elsewhere  I  called  that  of  '  the  vertebrae  of  real 
science,  the  backbone  of  philosophy,  the  objective  basis  of  all 
our  knowledge.'  '  Hence,'  I  said  in  concluding  the  second 
section  of  my  paper,  '  these  judgments  are  in  the  real  order 
the  dialectic  principles  on  which  rests  Ihought's  self-evidence 
for  its  supreme  truth,  for  the  existence  of  the  Essential,  of 
the  Real-Ideal,  whereunto  as  to  its  term  every  spirit  aspires.' 
It  is  therefore  evident  that  in  giving  examples  of  judgments 
of  that  sort,  my  fundamental  supposition,  the  very  founda- 
tion of  my  position,  ought  to  have  been  that  they  are — as 
Father  Fuzier  observed  those  I  gave  are—  all  of  the  real 
order. 

n. 

Up  to  this,  it  will  be  seen,  my  critic  and  I  are  in  perfect 
agreement.  There  is  not  on  his  side  a  shadow  of  'refutation.' 
Here  it  ought  begin  to  show.  Here  a  beginning  at  least  of  the 
promised  refutation  ought  to  appear,  and  that  by  the  appli- 
cation of  his  supposed  principle  of  refutation  to  the  four 
judgments  in  question.  Well,  before  going  farther,  I  remark 
that,  without  word  of  comment,  he  passes  by  the  first  two, 
which  in  my  eyes  are  rather  more  noteworthy  than  the 
others  as  being  more  manifestly  a  priori.  Perhaps  he  left 
them  aside  for  being  the  first,  and  as  such,  the  least  strikingly 
synthetic.  Be  that  as  it  may,  aside  he  has  left  them.  He 
makes  no  mention  of  them  in  the  course  of  his  supposed 
'  refutation.'  He  apparently  only  thinks  of  trying  to  refute 
the  two  last.  But,  how  does  he  do  so  ?  I  here  quote  his  own 
words,  for  here,  if  anywhere,  ought  to  show  the  point  of  his 
argument  : — 

These  judgments  [he  premises]  are  of  the  real  and  existing 
order,  and,  therefore,  the  concept  of  the  subject  is  not  the  generic 
concept  of  agent  or  living,  but  the  specific  concept  of  such  and 
such  a  category  of  agents  and  living  beings  (d' agents  etde  vivants), 
that  is  to  say,  of  the  agents  and  living  beings  (des  agents  et  des 
vivants)  of  which  it  was  question  in  the  attribute. 


248  THE  IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

Having  thus  laid  down  and  explained  his  refuting 
principle,  he  proceeds  : — 

Consequently,  in  these  judgments  '  some  agents  live,'  '  some 
living  beings  think '  (cfes  agents  vivcnt,  des  vivants  pensent)  the 
subject  and  the  attribute  are  identical,  their  comprehension  is 
the  same,  enveloped  in  one,  developed  in  the  other  ;  and  if,  by 
analysis,  you  develop  the  comprehension  of  the  two  subjects, 
you  have  the  following  tautologies  : — 

Certain  agents,  these  that  live,  are  living  ; 

Certain  living  beings,  those  that  think,  are  thinking. 

These  j  udgments  are  therefore  analytic :  you  find  in  the  subject 
such  as  it  is  taken  in  the  proposition,  the  reason  to  attribute  to  it 
the  predicate. 

These  judgments  !  What  judgments  ?  Not  mine  :  my 
judgments  are — '  an  agent  lives,  a  living  being  thinks  '  (un 
agent  vit,  un  vivant  pense).  Thus  they  appear  in  each  of 
the  three  passages  my  critic  has  chosen.  Neither  there  nor 
anywhere  else  in  my  paper  is  it  question  of  '  certain  agents,' 
or  '  some  agents,'  '  certain  living  beings,'  or  '  some  living 
beings  '  (ou  des  agents  ou  des  vivants). 

Let  me  not  be  told  that  there  is  here  indeed  a  difference 
from  the  point  of  view  of  grammar,  or  at  most  of  logic,  but  not 
of  philosophy,  at  least  not  in  regard  to  the  present  question. 
There  is  here  the  greatest  possible  difference  of  the  kind,  and 
especially  from  the  latter  point  of  view.  It  is  just  as  if  I  had 
said  : — '  Undeniably  a  being  actually  living  is  infinitely 
powerful,'  and  then  someone  should  say  to  me  : — '  It  is  not 
undeniable  that  some  beings  actually  living  are  infinitely 
powerful.  I  deny  your  statement.  I  undertake  to  refute  it 
by  a  very  simple  argument.'  What  could  I  reply  but — 
'  Please  don't  trouble  yourself  with  drawing  up  an  argument 
on  the  subject,  simple  or  complex.  Simply  note  that  the 
proposition  you  mean  to  refute,  any  way  you  take  it,  is  not 
mine.' 

in. 

Of  course,  there  is  here  no  question  of  good  or  bad  faith, 
of  any  kind  of  intended  injustice  on  the  part  of  Father  Fuzier. 
The  good  Father  had  already  given  my  judgments  quite 
correctly,  and  that  twice  in  my  own  words;  a  fact  which 


REASON'S  SYNTHETIC  JUDGMENTS  249 

renders  this  transformation  on  his  part  so  passing  strange  • 
all  the  more  that,  immediately  after,  in  view  of  a  fresh 
remark,  he  cites  a  third  passage  from  my  paper,  in  which 
they  are  again  given  as — '  an  agent  lives,  a  living  being 
thinks.'  The  passage  is  : — 

It  is  enough  for  us  to  become  aware  of  the  fact  that  an  agent 
lives,  or  a  living  being  thinks,  to  know  that  not  only  has  there  been 
always  an  agent  living,  and  always  a  living  being  thinking,  but 
what  says  much  more,  that  the  fact  of  life  in  general  as  well  as 
that  of  thought  is  uncaused.  It  is  enough,  I  say,  for  reason  to 
cognize  the  truth  thus  presented  to  it  as  actual  in  order  to 
recognise  it  as  essential  and  as  such  a  priori. 

'  There,'  my  critic  kindly  remarks,  '  is  a  very  high 
conception,  but  it  too  is  furnished  by  analysis  and  not  by 
synthesis.'  He  apparently  there  confounds  the  question  as  to 
the  existence  of  a  priori  '  conceptions,'  which  I  reject,  with 
that  as  to  the  existence  of  apriori  'judgments,'  which,  in  the 
sense  explained,  I  maintain,  and  of  which  alone  it  is  here 
question.  Throughout,  indeed,  he  appears  to  me  somewhat  to 
confound  conception  and  judgment,  the  direct  act  of  forming 
concepts  with  the  reflex  act  of  comparing  them,  and  there- 
upon deciding  how,  in  reason's  way,  one  is  to  be  affirmed  of 
the  other,  or  denied.  Even  when  speaking  of  '  judgments 
relating  to  the  real  and  existing  order,'  he  seems  to  me 
not  to  think  of  real  as  distinct  fromjdeal  or  verbal  attribu- 
tion. What  in  English  is  called  the  '  existential  import  of 
propositions  '  does  not,  apparently,  occur  to  him  at  all. 
This  possibly  is  how  these  subjects  of  real  judgments  got 
transformed,  in  his  mind,  into  logical  '  categories '  calling  for 
some  rational  analysis.  Be  the  explanation  what  it  may,  the 
transformation  of  terms  I  have  noticed  once  effected,  his 
subsequent  criticism  proceeds  on  the  assumption  that  he  is 
dealing  with  judgments  having  equivalently  plural  nouns  for 
subjects — des  agents  et  des  vivants,  telle  ou  telle  categorie 
d' agents  et  de  vivants. 

Now,  these  and  all  such  judgments  are  radically  different 
from  mine,  particularly  so  in  regard  to  the  present  question, 
for  the  simple  reason  that  they  are  obviously  not  a  priori — 


250  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

'as  objective  judgments  or  by  reason  of  the  truth  expressed.'1 
Each  of  Fr.  Fuzier's  propositions  may  be  taken  as  represent- 
ing an  undeniable  truth — one,  moreover,  that  for  us  now 
may  be  called  a  '  first  truth '  (une  verite  premiere) ,  like 
motion  or  sensation,  but  not  a  primordial  truth  (pas  une 
verite  primordiale),  not  an  essential,  not  a  necessary  first 
truth  ;  hence  not  a  priori  in  the  sense  at  present  commonly 
received,  and  which  I  distinctly  explained  I  meant  to  adopt 
in  the  present  discussion.2  True,  for  my  propositions,  as 
for  those  which  were  put  in  their  place,  '  the  comprehension 
of  the  subject  is  the  same,'  but  the  extension  of  the  subject 
is  different ;  and  that  here  makes  all  the  difference  in  the 
world.  It  makes  the  difference  between  judgments  show- 
ing truths  given  to  each  rational  agent  by  the  natural  act  of 
reason,  so  naturally  recognised  as  primordial,  as  a  priori 
truths,  and  judgments  of  which  this  can  in  no  sense  be  said. 
For  instance,  take  the  last  one  of  mine  Father  Fuzier 
quoted — '  A  living  being  thinks  ; '  that  is  manifestly  given 
to  each  thinking  soul  by  the  very  act  ol  thought ;  while  the 
one  substituted  for  it — '  some  living  beings  think ' — is  as 
manifestly  not  so  given.  Again,  supposing  thought's  neces- 
sity, which  must  be  supposed  if  the  proposition  be  a  priori, 
it  is  necessary  that  there  should  be  one  thinking,  absolutely 
speaking,  there  need  be  no  more  ;  '  some  beings  think  '  is 
a  contingent,  therefore  an  a  posteriori  truth,  since  clearly 
one  suffices  for  thought,  as  one  does  for  life,  for  act  or  for 
actuality.  Precisely  on  that  account,  real  reason's  essential 
first  truths,  such  as  mine,  all  radically  differ  from  the 
contingent  first  truths  of  sense,  such  as  motion,  suffering 
or  simple  feeling,  and  all  such  data  whereof  modern  scientists 


1  '  En  tant  que  jugements  objectifs  ou  a  raison  de  la  verit6   exprimee, 
doivent  etre  dits  a  priori : '  words  taken  from  my   first  paper,  explaining  the 
precise  point  of  the  question  to  be  discussed. 

2  See  my  original  paper.     Compare  Dr.  Ward,    'Philosophical  Axioms,' 
Dublin  Review,  1869.      By  Axioms,'  he  says,  '  We  mean,  necessary  first  truths.' 
That  he  then  takes  as  a  sufficiently  practical  definition  for  '  a  priori  judgments.' 
So  I  have  taken  it.     I  would,  however,  observe  that  by  '  Axioms '  are  commonly 
understood   necessary  and    universal  first  truths.     Now    my  question  was  in 
effect : — Are  there  not  truths  as  thoroughly  first,  and  as  truly  necessary  as  any 
yet  which    are   not  universal,  not  being  of  the  ideal  or  abstract  order,  and 
precisely  for  that  reason,  not  analytic  ? 


REASON'S   SYNTHETIC  JUDGMENTS  251 

would  make  the  only  real  principles  of  science.  These  are, 
indeed,  for  us  here  now  abiding  truths,  like  those  of  my 
critic's  propositions,  but,  as  also  like  them,  importing 
plurality  of  beings,  are  not  essential,  not  primordial,  not 
a  priori.  Thus,  ontologically  as  well  as  logically,  philo- 
sophically, in  the  full  sense  of  the  word,  his  formulas  are 
different  from  mine,  and  are  so  in  regard  to  the  present 
question,  to  the  extent  of  having  nothing  whatever  to  do 
with  it. 

CONCLUSION 

Here,  then,  briefly,  is  my  answer  to  Fr.  Fuzier's  Befu- 
tation  des  jugements  synthetiques  a  priori  duRev.  O'Mahony. 
Speaking  only  of  the  four  he  quoted,  I  say  that,  in  the  way 
of  criticism,  he  did  not  touch  the  two  first,  and  touched  the 
two  last  only  to  put  two  others  essentially  different  in  their 
place.  Not  alone,  therefore,  has  he  not  effected  his  promised 
'  Refutation,'  he  has  not  yet  tried  to  effect  it.  Now,  let  him 
try.  To  any  one  of  the  series  let  him  make  an  objection 
serving  to  show  it  is  not  synthetic,  or,  being  so,  is  not 
a  priori.  I  shall  reply  to  his  objection  with  pleasure,  all 
the  more  for  feeling  sure  that  any  objection  of  the  kind, 
however  answered,  cannot  fail,  if  not  in  my  sense  to  solve, 
at  least  to  make  clearer  and  clearer  what  I  hold  to  be  the 
problem  that  really  lies  at  the  root  of  this  question. 

Touching  his  criticism  of  the  judgments  which  he  put 
in  place  of  mine,  namely,  that,  as  appertaining  to  the  real 
and  existing  order,  they  are  tautologies,  and,  therefore, 
analytic,  let  him  look  to  it.  But,  I  ask,  can  the  same  be 
said  of  mine?  Can  it  be  said  that  in  each  of  them  the 
predicate  only  repeats  the  subject  '  as  it  is  taken  in  the 
proposition,'  and  that  this  subject  means  but  the  person 
thus  actually  judging  ?  So  that  these  admittedly  first  facts 
of  philosophy  :  '  Something  exists  '  (aliquid  existit),  '  some- 
thing existing  acts/  and  the  like,  rightly  worded  out,  come 
to  mere  tautological  platitudes,  such  as  :  '  Something  exist- 
ing (myself  here  now)  exists  ;  '  Something  acting  (myself  at 
present)  acts,'  and  so  on  !  Is  that  a  true  criticism  of  the 
natural  judgments  of  man's  reason  as  to  the  significance,  the 


252  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

necessity  and  the  import,  of  existence,  action,  life,  and 
thought  ?  Certainly  not.  Being  self-affirmatives  of  reflec- 
tion, real  principles  of  reason,  the  subject  in  each  of  them 
is  indefinite  as  the  attribute  is  essential  and  the  attribution 
unconditioned.  The  affirmation  accordingly  thereby  under- 
stood to  be  made  is  that  of  the  necessity  of  existence, 
or  actuality,  action,  life,  and  thought  in  general. 

Assuredly  what  consciousness  primarily  testifies  to  each 
one  is  that  he  is  here  now  thinking,  with  all  that  for  him  the 
fact  imports.  No  man  thereupon  dreams  of  judging  that 
thought's  truth,  any  more  than  that  of  life,  or  act,  or 
actuality,  depends  on  its  being  true  of  him  as  subject. 
Each  one  thinking  knows  that  in  a  few  hours  he  shall  have 
ceased  to  think.  Meanwhile,  sitting  on  reason's  throne,  in 
the  universal  court  of  reflection,  in  the  light  of  the  law 
and  in  virtue  of  the  powers  of  reason's  ,act,  now  his,  he 
self-affirms  that  there  is  always  someone  thinking,  that, 
unlike  motion  or  sensation)  of  absolute  necessity  there  must 
be  thought,  as  there  must  be  truth,  and  in  act  there  must 
be  being. 

True,  in  the  formulas  which  express  these  principles, 
the  copula  is  non-modal,  simply  '  is ; '  for  exists,  acts,  lives, 
thinks,  logically  mean  is  existing,  acting,  living,  thinking. 
But  it  should  always  be  remembered  that  as  copula  of 
reason's  self -judgments  in  reflection's  order,  synthetic  or 
analytic,  real  or  ideal,  the  verb-substantive  is  taken,  not 
in  the  active  only,  but  in  pure  act's  voice,  therefore  in 
parfection's  unconditional  mood  and  eternity's  absolutely 
present  tense.  In  the  course  of  my  first  paper  I  explained 
how  such  self-affirmation  is  logically  made.  I  showed  how 
the  truths  these  judgments  represent,  naturally  cognised  by 
experience  as  actual,  are,  at  the  same  time,  as  naturally 
recognised  by  reason  as  essential,  so  seen  to  be  '  absolutely 
primordial  verities  : '  hence  are  self-affirmed,  not  in  virtue 
of  any  Kantian  or  Kaiserine  '  imperative  dictate '  ab  extra, 
perforce  blindly  binding,  but  in  harmony  with  the  law  of 
reason's  own  inmost  light  and  life. 

For  the  fundamental  position  of  my  thesis  it  would  be 
quite  enough  to  maintain  that  any  judgment  of  the  series, 


REASON'S  SYNTHETIC  JUDGMENTS  253 

were  it  only  the  first,  has  both  the  characteristics  thus 
claimed  for  it.  Still  I  maintain  they  all  have  them. 
They  are  all  synthetic,  as  given  by  the  immediate  act  of 
experience ;  they  are  a  priori,  for  the  act  that  gives  them  is 
reason's  own.1 

T.  J.  O'MAHONY. 


1  Part  of  the  foregoing1  had  to  be  omitted  in  the  reading,  so  as  to  keep 
within,  the  prescribed  twenty  minutes.  When  the  main  point  of  the  conclusion 
had  been  read,  the  President  asked  if  Father  Fuzier  was  present.  As  he  was 
rot,  discussion  commenced  on  the  subject  in  the  usual  way.  Upon  this,  I  note, 
no  one  took  up  Father  Fuzier's  contention,  that  the  judgments  in  question  are 
not  synthetic ;  the  discussion  was  wholly  confined  to  the  sort  of  a  priori 
character  I  claimed  for  them,  referring  to  it  in  a  thoroughly  appreciative 
though  rather  brief,  report  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Philosophical  Section  of 
the  Congress  (Ileviie  Neo-Scolasfique,  Nov.  1897),  Father  de  Munnynck  (of 
Louvain)  writes :  '  Mgr.  Ki*s  drew  attention  to  the  properties  which  Kant 
assigns  to  his  synthetic  a  priori  propositions.  He  begged  Dr.  O'Mahony  to 
observe  that  not  one  of  his  examples  is  a  universal  proposition,  and  that, 
consequently,  they  should  not  be  called  synthetic  a  priori  in  the  sense  of  Kant.' 
I  beg  to  add  I  replied,  in  effect,  that  I  did  not  say  they  should,  and  in  my 
original  paper  had  specially  emphasized  the  fact  that  they  should  not,  as  not 
being  universal.  The  remark  of  the  eminent  Professor  of  the  Univsrsity  of 
Buda-Pesth  was  thus  in  reality  tantamount  to  observing  that  my  thesis  was 
what  it  professed  to  be,  and,  being  that,  was  quite  other  than  Kant's,  its 
assertions  and  the  examples  given  in  proof  thereof  being  wholly  other  than 
his.  What  my  thesis  in  this  way  formally  asserted  was,  that  there  are  a  priori 
judgments,  in  the  sense  ^commonly  received  since  Kant's  time,  propositions 
giving  'absolutely  primordial  verities '  or  'necessary  first  truths'  (Dr.  Ward), 
yet  which,  unlike  those  of  Kant,  are  not  universal,  not  being,  like  his,  of  the 
ideal  or  abstract  order  of  attribution,  but  real  judgments,  statements  of 
immediate  experience,  and,  therefore,  truly  synthetic  ;  while  all  Kant's 
examples,  and  all  similar  abstract,  universal  principles,  I  held  to  be  analytic  in 
one  or  other  of  the  three  ways  in  which  I  had  previously  shown  a  judgment 
might  be  said  to  be  so.  Father  de  Alunnynck  concludes  his  notice  with  the 
remark  that  the  point  at  issue  is  '  by  no  means  a  question  of  words,  but  one 
which  involves  very  grave  psychological  and  ontological  problems.'  All  the 
more  reason  ought  there  be  for  laying  bare  the  root  of  it,  and  trying,  at  least,  to 
show  where  its  last  fibres  enter  the  ground  of  self-evident  truth. 


[     254     ] 

IRotes   anfc  (Queries 

THEOLOGY 

PROTESTANT  WITNESSES  AT  THE  MARRIAGE  OF  CATHOLICS 

CAN  CATHOLICS  VALIDLY  MARRIED  AT  A  REGISTRY 
OFFICE,  OR  IN  A  PBOTESTANT  CHURCH,  AFTERWARDS 
RECEIVE  THE  NUPTIAL  BLESSING? 

EEV.  DEAR  SIR, — 1.  Can  a  priest  on  the  English  mission 
permit  Protestant  witnesses  to  a  marriage  in  his  church  on  his 
own  responsibility?  They  are  valid  witnesses  I  know— are  they 
licit  ? 

2.  Can  he  (a  priest  on  the  English  mission)  give  the  nuptial 
blessing — privately  of  course — to  a  Catholic  couple  who  were 
married  in  the  Begistrar's  office,  or  in  a  Protestant  Church? 

Yours,  &c., 

SACERDOS. 

1.  A  priest  should  not,  on  his  own  responsibility,  admit 
non-Catholics  to  assist  as  witnesses  at  a  marriage.  An 
answer  to  this  effect  was  given  by  the  Holy  Office, 
19th  August,  1891:— 

Se  sia  lecito  assumere  gli  eterodossi  a  testirnoni  nel  matrirnonio 
dei  Catholici. 

And  the  reply  was  : — 

Non  esse  adhibendos ;  posse  tamen  ab  Ordinario  tolerari  ex 
gravi  causa,  dummodo  non  adsit  scandalum. 

According  to  this  reply,  therefore,  non-Catholics  should 
not  per  se  be  admitted  as  formal  witnesses  of  a  marriage. 
They  may,  however,  for  a  grave  cause  be  admitted  where 
no  scandal  will  be  given.  The  bishop — not  the  officiating 
priest — is  the  judge  of  the  sufficiency  of  the  reason  for  their 
admission.  If  there  be  anywhere  a  recognised  custom  of 
admitting  non-Catholic  witnesses,  we  may  assume  that  the 
bishop  regards  their  admission  in  that  place  justified  by  the 
circumstances,  and  we  require  no  express  authorisation  to 
follow  the  usual  practice. 


NOTES  AND   QUERIES  255 

2.  In  England — for  it  is  to  that  country  only  our 
correspondent  refers — even  Catholics  may,  of  course,  marry 
validly  before  a  registrar  or  a  Protestant  clergyman.  We 
assume  that  they  are  not  peregrini  contracting  in  fraudem 
legis.  But  such  a  marriage  is  gravely  sinful ;  and  if  the 
parties  contract  before  a  heretical  minister  (as  such),  and 
with  a  heretical  rite,  they  incur  excommunication,  specially 
reserved  to  the  Holy  See  in  the  Bull  Apostolicae  Sedis.1 

Manifestly  a  priest's  first  duty,  in  regard  to  such  persons, 
is  to  bring  them  to  repent  of  their  sin,  make  reparation  for 
the  scandal  given,  and  seek  absolution  from  censure,  if  a 
censure  has  been  incurred.  In  some  dioceses  special  legisla- 
tion defines  the  manner  in  which  public  reparation  of  the 
scandal  given  is  to  be  made.  Having  succeeded  in  getting 
the  parties  to  repent  of  and  repair  the  evil  done,  our 
correspondent  asks  whether  he  should  give  them  the  nuptial 
blessing. 

By  the  nuptial  blessing,  we  may  understand  either  the 
simple  blessing  of . the  Ritual  or  the  solemn  blessing  of  the 
Missal.  Many  theologians  hold  (and  rightly,  we  think)  that 
per  se  there  is,  in  ordinary  cases,  an  obligation  sub  veniali, 
to  seek  the  solemn  blessing.2  All  must  admit  that  there  isper 
se  a  obligation  to  give  the  solemn  blessing  to  those  who  ask 
it.  Others  think  it  is  not  strictly  obligatory  to  receive  the 
solemn  nuptial  blessing,  though  the  Church  strongly  exhorts 
the  faithful  to  receive  it/  But,  outside  a  case  of  necessity, 
Catholics  contracting  marriage  are  bound,  under  pain  of 
mortal  sin,  to  receive  the  blessing  of  the  Ritual,  and  that 
even  where  the  law  of  Trent  has  not  been  promulgated.4 
Nor  does  this  obligation  ceasB  when  a  marriage  has  been, 
lawfully  (in  case  of  necessity)  or  unlawfully,  though  validly, 
contracted  without  the  presence  and  blessing  of  a  priest. 

Clarum  est  [says  Gasparri]  inito  valide  mafcrimonio  praecep- 
tum  grave  manere  sponsos  petendi  hanc  Eitualis  benedictionem 

1Conf.  Collect.  Prop.  Fid,,  n.  2,202;  Bucceroni,  Comment.  DC  Comfit.  Apos. 
Sedis,  p.  7,  n.  9. 

a  Sanchez,  St.  Alphonsus,  Becker,  De  Spans,  et  Mat.,  p.  358 ;  Gasparri,  De 
Mat.,  n.  1,021 ;  Rosset,  De  Sac.  Mat.,  v.,  n.  2,868. 

•LehmkoM,  ii.,  n.  693;  Feije,  n.  554. 

*Conf.  Lehmkuhl,  ii.,  n.  693. 


256  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

.  .  .  Haec  vera  sunt  non  modo  de  matrimonio  defectu  parochi 
coram  testibus  contracto,  sed  in  genere  de  matrimoniis  validis 
clandestinis* 

Catholics,  then,  who  have  contracted  validly,  in  the 
office  of  a  registrar  or  in  a  Protestant  church,  are  still  bound 
to  present  themselves  to  receive,  and  the  priest  should 
impart — if  the  parties  have  satisfied  the  requirements  above 
mentioned — the  simple  blessing  of  the  Kitual.  The  matri- 
monial consent  is  not  to  be  renewed,  for  the  marriage  is 
already,  we  assume,  certainly  valid.  The  priest  does  not  recite 
the  words  of  the  Bitual :  Ego  vos  conjungo,  &c. ;  but  every- 
thing else  is  done  as  the  Kitual  prescribes  in  the  ordinary 
marriage  rite.  So  much  for  the  blessing  of  the  Kitual. 

May  the  solemn  blessing  of  the  Missal  be  also  given  to 
such  persons  at  a  nuptial  Mass  ?  Even  some  of  those  who 
maintain  that  there  is  an  obligation  to  receive  the  solemn 
blessing,  in  the  first  instance,  concede  that  there  is  not  an 
obligation  to  supply  it  afterwards,  when  it  has  been  omitted 
at  a  marriage  validly  contracted.  It  is,  however,  in  ordinary 
cases,  certainly  lawful  to  supply  this  blessing  ;  nor  is  there 
anything  to  prevent  the  parties  in  the  question  proposed 
from  getting  it.  Local  legislation  should,  of  course,  be  kept 
in  view  ;  and,  moreover,  ic  may  easily,  in  certain  circum- 
stances, give  offence  and  scandal  if  such  persons  were  to 
get  the  solemn  blessing,  in  a  place  where  the  blessing  is  not 
usually  given  to  more  faithful  and  deserving  members  of  the 
Church. 

We  do  not  quite  understand  why  these  blessings,  if  given 
at  all,  should  be  given  «  privately.'  The  public  reception  of 
the  blessing  of  the  Ritual  would  be  one  of  the  best,  not  to 
say  the  most  necessary,  means  of  repairing  the  scandal. 
The  solemn  blessing  cannot,  unless  by  special  dispensation, 
be  separated  from  the  nuptial  Mass,  and,  therefore,  the 
question  of  imparting  it  privately  does  not  seem  to  arise. 

D.  MANNIX. 


1  Gasparri,  DcJfal.,ii.,  n.  1,009. 


NOTES   AND   QUERIES  257 


LITURGY 

QUESTIONS    ON    THE    SCAPULARS 

EEV.  DEAR  SIR, — Would  you  kindly  answer  the  following  : — • 

1.  Is  there  any  decree  ordering  that,  when  several  scapulars 
are  worn  on  one  pair  of  strings,  each  scapular  should  be  joined  to 
the  strings  ? 

2.  Does  the  decree  demand  that  there  should  be  immediate 
contact  between  each  of  the  scapulars  and  the  strings ;  or  is  it 
enough,  if  the  strings  actually  touch  only  one  of  the  scapulars, 
provided  that   the  other  scapulars  are   joined   mediately   to   the 
strings,  by  being  sown  to  them,  through  the  scapular  to  which 
they  are  immediately  attached  ? 

3.  Supposing  that  the  decrees  mentioned  in  1  and  2,  exists, 
is  a   scapular  invalid  if  it  be  not  made  in   accordance   with 
them? 

SACEBDOS. 

No  decree,  such  as  that  to  which  our  correspondent  refers 
in  his  first  question,  exists,  as  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  dis- 
cover. On  the  contrary,  there  exists  a  decree  which,  implicitly 
at  least,  declares  that  all  the  scapulars  need  not  be  attached 
to  the  same  cord  or  strings.1  All  that  is  essential  is  that  the 
scapulars  should  consist  of  a  square  or  oblong  piece  cf  woollen 
material  of  the  requisite  colour ;  that  they  should  be  joined 
together  at  the  edge  to  which  the  strings  are  attached ;  and 
that  one  set  of  the  scapulars  thus  united  should  hang  on  the 
breast,  the  other  on  the  back  of  the  wearer.  The  colour  of 
the  strings  is  immaterial,  unless  in  the  case  of  the  red 
scapular.  For  the  red  scapular  has  received  the  approbation 
of  the  Holy  See,  and  has  been  indulgenced  only  on  condition 
that  it  be  made  according  to  the  pattern  shown  to  Sister 
Apolline  Audriveau  by  our  Lord  Himself.  And  in  this 
pattern  the  red  scapulars  were  united  by  strings  of  red 
woollen  material  resembling  that  of  which  the  scapulars 
themselves  were  composed.  Hence,  when  a  number  of 

1  Deer.  Auth.,  408,  1°. 

VOL. in.  a 


258  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

scapulars,  including  the  red  scapular,  are  attached  to  the 
same  strings,  these  strings  should  be  red  in  colour  and  of 
woollen  material.  It  is  not  certain  that,  in  the  case  just 
mentioned,  the  red  strings  should  be  immediately  attached 
to  the  red  scapular.  Probably  if  the  several  scapulars  were 
suspended  as  a  whole  to  the  red  strings,  the  condition 
regarding  the  red  scapulars  would  be  sufficiently  fulfilled 
even  though  the  red  strings  were  not  in  direct  and  immediate 
contact  with  the  cloth  of  the  scapulars.  But,  for  precaution's 
sake,  we  would  advise  that  the  red  strings  should  be  attached 
directly  to  the  red  scapulars,  and  that  the  other  scapulars 
be  attached  by  a  few  stitches  along  the  edge  to  the  red 
scapular. 

Our  correspondent's  second  and  third  questions  are  based 
on  the  hypothesis  that  the  decrees  referred  to  in  his  first 
question  in  reality  exists.  As  no  such  decree  does  exist  it  is 
unnecessary  to  reply  to  these  questions. 


QUESTIONS    REGARDING    PROCESSION    AND    BENEDICTION 

BEV.  DEAR  SIR, — Will  you  kindly  answer  the  following 
queries  in  next  issue  of  I.  E.  EECORD  and  oblige. 

INQUIRER. 

1.  May  banners  of  the  B.V.M.  or  of  the  saints  be  carried  in 
procession  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  ? 

2.  May   prayers  in  the  '  vernacular,'  other   than   those   pre- 
scribed for  October  devotions,  be  recited  by  the  minister  while 
the  Blessed  Sacrament  is  exposed  for  Benediction  ? 

3.  May  the  choir  sing  hymns  in  the  '  vernacular '  while  the 
Blessed  Sacrament  is  exposed. 

1.  Nothing  could  be  more  appropriate,  nothing  more 
in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the  Liturgy,  or  the  custom 
of  the  Church,  than  to  carry  in  processions  of  the  Blessed 
Sacrament,  banners  bearing  pictures  of  our  Blessed  Lady,  or 
representations  of  the  mysteries  of  her  life,  or  of  the  power 
of  her  intercession,  or  of  the  depth  of  her  love  for  the  souls 
redeemed  by  the  Blood  of  her  Divine  Son.  The  same  is 
proportionately  true  of  banners  bearing  pictures  real  or 


NOTES   AND    QUERIES 


allegorical  of  the  saints.  Such  banners,  like  the  vestments 
of  the  clergy,  the  canopy,  the  candles  and  lanterns,  add  to 
the  solemnity,  as  well  as  to  the  impressiveness  of  the  proces- 
sion, and  contribute  to  the  external  majesty  and  pomp, 
which  should,  as  far  as  possible,  surround  our  Sacramental 
Lord  when  borne  in  public  procession. 

It  should  hardly  be  necessary  to  prove  the  admissibility 
of  these  banners  in  processions  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament. 
The  custom  of  bearing  them  in  procession  is,  we  think, 
almost,  if  not  altogether,  universal.  To  convince  sceptics, 
however,  we  may  just  mention  that  the  various  bodies  who 
take  part  in  processions  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  whether 
they  be  school  children  or  members  of  confraternities,  are 
to  have  their  own  peculiar  banner  borne  at  their  head. 
Speaking  of  the  order  of  the  procession  of  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  on  Corpus  Christi,  Wapelhorst  says  :— 

(b)  Pueri  et  puellae  scholam  catechismumve  frequentantes 
praelato  eorum  vexillo. 

(GJ  Confraternitates  laicorum  cum  siiis  insignibus. 

2.  This  question,  too,  is  to  be  answered  in  the  affirmative. 
Prayers   approved   of  for   public  worship  may   be   publicly 
recited  in  the  vernacular  while  the   Blessed  Sacrament  is 
exposed.     The  only  condition,  in  order  that  prayers  in  the 
vernacular    may    be   recited    in    presence   of    the   Blessed 
Sacrament  exposed,  is,  that  they  should  have  the  approval 
of  the  Ordinary  of  the  diocese.     Surely  our  correspondent 
would  not   impugn   the  lawfulness  of  reciting,  in  presence 
of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  exposed,  the   prayers  in  honour 
of    the    Sacred   Heart,   which    are    usually   recited   during 
the  time  the  Blessed  Sacrament  is  exposed  for  Benediction 
on   the   first   Fridays,   or    first    Sundays    of    the   month  ? 
Neither,  we  hope,  would  he  impugn  the  custom  of  reciting 
during  the  exposition  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  the  Divine 
Praises,  to  the  recitation  of  which,  in  these  circumstances, 
the  Congregation  of  Indulgences  has  recently  attached  an 
additional  indulgence. 

3.  The  answer  to  the  third  question  is  the  same  as  that 
given  to  the  second.    Vernacular  hymns,  approved  of  by 


260  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

the  Ordinary  of  the  diocese,  may  be  sung  during  the  time 
the  Blessed  Sacrament  is  exposed  previous  to  or  after 
Benediction.  This  point  has  been  explicitly  denned  by 
the  Congregation  of  Kites  in  several  decrees,  two  of  which 
we  here  quote  from  The  Ceremonies  of  Ecclesiastical 
Functions : — 1 

Quaes.  An  liceat  adhibere  publicain  quarundam  precum 
recitationem  vulgar!  sermone  conscriptarum  coram  SSmo. 
Sacramento  exposito  ? 

Resp.  Affirmative  dummodo  agatur  de  precibus  approbatis. 

Qtiaes.  Utrum  liceat  generaliter  ut  chorus  musicorum  (id  est 
eantores)  coram  SSmo  Sacramento  solemniter  exposito,  decantet 
hymnos  in  lingua  vernacula  ? 

Resp.  Posse,  dummodo  non  agitur  de  hymnis  Te  Deum  et  aliis 
quibuscunque  liturgicis  precibus,  quae  nonnisi  latina  lingua 
decantari  debent. 


MAY   A    MOVABLE    THRONE    BE    USED    FOR    EXPOSITION  OF 
THE    MOST     HOLY    SACRAMENT  P 

WHY  DID  THE    QOTHIC    CHASUBLE    FALL  INTO    DISUSE? 

WHY  WAS    THE    PRESENT    EPISCOPAL    MITRE    SUBSTITUTED 
FOR   THE    SMALLER    ONE    OF    EARLIER    TIMES? 

EEV.  DEAR  SIR, — May  I  trouble  you  for  an  early  reply  to 
the  following  questions  ? 

LAICUS. 

1.  When  the  Blessed  Sacrament  is  solemnly  exposed  in  the 
monstrance,  may  the   monstrance    be    elevated    on   a    movable 
throne  placed  on  the  altar? 

2.  When    and  why  did    the    old   chasuble,  known    as    the 
Gothic  chasuble,  fall  into  disuse  ? 

3.  Why  is  the  present  large  and  unshapely  mitre  used  instead 
of  the  small  and  beautiful  one  of  pre-Keformation  days  ? 

1.  When  the  Blessed  Sacrament  is  solemnly  exposed  in 
the  monstrance,  the  monstrance  should,  generally  speaking, 
be  placed  on  a  throne  of  some  kind,  more  or  less  elevated 
above  the  table  of  the  altar.  This  is  prescribed  for  the 


Page  156, 


NOTES   AND   QUERIES  261 

solemn  exposition  of  the  forty  hours,  in  the  Instructio 
Clementina,  and  by  nearly  all  writers  for  any  solemn  exposi- 
tion whatsoever.  But  nowhere,  so  far  as  we  are  aware,  is 
it  decided  that  the  throne  should  be  a  permanent  structure, 
such  as  those  that  we  frequently  find  erected  over  the 
tabernacle  on  the  high  altar  in  modern  churches.  Indeed 
historically  speaking,  the  movable  throne  was  introduced 
long  prior  to  the  permanent  one  ;  and,  moreover,  it  is  of  the 
movable  throne  that  most  writers,  including  Clement  XI. 
in  his  famous  Instruction,  speak.  The  fixed  throne  form- 
ing part  of  the  structure  of  the  altar  is  comparatively 
modern,  and  was,  doubtless,  introduced  as  much  for  its 
ornamental  effect  as  for  its  convenience.  Our  correspondent 
need  not,  therefore,  have  any  doubt  about  the  lawfulness  of 
a  custom  which  dates  back  to  the  time  when  solemn 
exposition  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  was  first  introduced, 
and  which  is  still  widely  prevalent. 

2.  Writers  are  not  agreed  as  to  the  time  at  which  the 
ancient  Gothic  chasuble  dwindled  from  its  ample  portions 
into  its  present  handier  if  less  picturesque  form.  Some  say 
the  change  was  made  as  early  as  the  tenth  century, 
while  others  maintain  that  the  change  took  place  in  the 
sixteenth  century.  Probably  we  may  reconcile  these 
extreme  opinions  by  saying,  that  the  change  began  at 
the  earlier  date,  but  was  not  completed  until  the  later- 
This  much  seems  to  be  certain,  the  change  had  taken  place 
by  the  sixteenth  century,  and  so  great  was  the  change  it 
seems  also  to  be  certain,  that  it  must  have  been  brought 
about  very  slowly  and  gradually. 

The  reason  for  the  change  is  manifest.  The  Gothic 
chasuble  covered  the  whole  body,  including  the  arms,  in  its 
ample  folds.  Hence,  when  the  celebrant  had  to  use  his 
hands,  as  at  the  incensation,  consecration,  &c.,  the  chasuble 
had  to  be  rolled  up  to  his  shoulder,  and  held  there  by  the 
sacred  ministers.  A  relic  of  this  custom  is  still  to  be  seen 
in  our  modern  Solemn  Mass,  when,  during  the  incensation, 
the  sacred  ministers  hold  up,  or  make  a  pretence  of  holding 
up,  the  celebrant's  chasuble  at  the  shoulder,  and  in  both 
Solemn  and  Low  Mass  when,  at  the  consecration,  the 


262  THE  IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

ministers  raise  the  celebrant's  chasuble.  The  inconvenience 
felt  in  saying  private  Masses  with  the  Gothic  chasuble  soon 
brought  about  a  modification,  and  gradually  reduced  the 
chasuble  to  its  present  form.  The  following,  translated 
from  Cardinal  Bona,  bears  out  the  views  we  have  just 
expressed  : — 

The  Latins,  to  avoid  the  inconvenience  arising  from  the  width 
and  fulness  [of  the  Gothic  chasuble],  covering,  as  it  did,  the 
whole  body  and  arms,  began  by  degrees  to  cut  away  the  sides, 
until  it  was  reduced  to  the  form  which  we  use  at  the  present  day. 

3.  De  gustibus  non  est  disputandum  is  a  venerable  adage, 
and  out  of  respect  for  it  we  will  refrain  from  discussing  the 
relative  aesthetic  qualities  of  the  older  and  newsr  forms  of 
the  episcopal  mitre,  and  will  content  ourselves  with  answer- 
ing our  correspondent's  question.  The  question  implies  that 
the  small  mitre  endured  until  the  time  of  the  so-called 
Reformation,  or  thereabouts.  This  is  not  so.  The  middle 
of  the  thirteenth  century  might  be  put  down  as  the  date  at 
which  the  change  from  the  old  to  the  new  form  began.  At 
the  beginning  of  that  century  the  old  form  still  prevailed, 
as  we  learn  from  contemporary  paintings  of  bishops  of  the 
period ;  while  from  a  similar  source  we  know  that  at  the 
beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century  the  mitre  had  assumed 
proportions  as  great,  if  not  greater,  than  the  mitres  now  in 
use  ;  and  from  the  fourteenth  century  to  the  eighteenth  the 
mitres  increased  in  height,  until  they  had  become  really 
'  unshapely.'  But  in  the  present  century  a  change  in  the 
opposite  direction  has  taken  place,  and  the  mitres  worn  by 
bishops,  in  these  countries,  at  least,  resemble  in  height  and 
appearance,  the  mitres  of  the  late  thirteenth  century. 


THE    QUALITY    OF   THE    CANDLES    TO    BE    USED   DURING 

MASS,    &c. 

A  correspondent  wishes  to  know  whether  it  is  lawful  to  use 
other  than  wax  candles  at  Mass,  at  Benediction  of  the  Most 
Holy  Sacrament,  when  giving  Communion  outside  of  Mass,  and, 
generally,  when  the  Blessed  Srcrament  is  exposed.  He  is  aware 
that  some  priests  contend  that  only  wax  candles  should  be  used 


NOTES   AND   QUERIES  263 

on  these  occasions,  while  others  maintain  that  it  is  not  obligatory 
to  use  wax  candles  at  all ;  and  others  again  assert  that  when 
several  candles  must  be  used  some  should  be  of  wax,  but,  also, 
that  some  may  be  of  another  material. 

The  candles  used  at  Mass  should  all  be  wax.  This  is  a 
strict  obligation,  unless,  on  the  score  of  poverty,  a  dis- 
pensation has  been  procured.  Of  course  we  speak  only  of 
the  candles  prescribed  by  the  rubrics;  that  is,  the  two  candles 
which  should  be  lighted  during  the  Mass  celebrated  by  a 
simple  priest,  and  the  four  with  which  the  altar  should  be 
adorned  during  a  prelate's  Mass.  In  addition  to  these 
candles,  which  are  purely  ceremonial,  there  may  be  others 
of  a.n  inferior  material  for  the  purpose  of  giving  light. 

During  any  exposition  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  whether 
it  be  the  exposition  which  immediately  precedes  Benediction, 
the  exposition  for  the  Forty  Hours'  Adoration,  or  any  other 
exposition  whatsoever,  at  least  ten  wax  candles  should  be 
lighted.  One  author  would  allow  Benediction  with  as  few 
as  six  wax  candles ;  but  we  are  inclined  to  believe  that  he 
had  in  mind  private,  rather  than  solemn  exposition  and 
Benediction  of  the  Most  Holy  Sacrament.  The  Instructio 
Clementina  commands  that  twenty  wax  candles  should  be 
kept  continuously  burning  during  the  Quarant  'Ore;  and 
although  this  instruction  does  not  impose  any  obligation 
outside  of  Borne,  and  is  concerned  solely  about  the  exposition 
of  the  Forty  Hours,  its  provisions  present  a  model  which 
should  be  followed  as  far  as  circumstances  permit  in  every 
solemn  exposition  of  the  Most  Holy  Sacrament.  Of  course, 
in  addition  to  the  prescribed  number  of  wax  candles,  any 
number  of  candles  of  a  cheap  material  may  be  lighted  round 
about  the  altar  on  which  the  Blessed  Sacrament  is  exposed. 

When  giving  Communion  outside  of  Mass  two  wax 
candles  should  be  lighted  on  the  altar.  The  obligation  of 
using  wax  candles  in  this  case  is  the  same  as  the  obligation 
of  using  them  at  Mass. 

D.  O'LoAN. 


[    264    ] 


CORRESPONDENCE 

THE  ANCIENT    IRISH    CHURCH 

KEY.  DEAR  SIR, — It  is  not  without  disappointment,  a  feeling 
which  I  share  with  very  many  others,  that  I  contemplate 
Dr.  MacCarthy's  latest  and  (as  we  are  to  infer)  last  communication. 
It  is  a  production  that  calls  for  even  a  '  compiler's '  pity.  For 
in  what  relation  do  we,  the  great  Dr.  MacCarthy  and  the 
humble  author  of  The  Ancient  Irish  Church  as  a  Witness  to 
Catholic  Doctrine,  now  stand  ?  Mark  but  the  present  position  of 
our  controversy.  It  is  this.  In  the  January  I.  E.  EECOBD  I 
placed  before  my  polite  antagonist  a  series  of  solid  facts  and 
arguments.  With  these — unless  he  preferred  to  beat  a  succession 
of  retreats,  more  than  any  Xenophon  could  fittingly  record, 
from  quite  a  number  of  his  chosen  entrenchments — it  was 
absolutely  indispensable  for  him  to  seriously  and  systematically 
grapple.  That  this  was  his  only  alternative,  I  take  sober  and 
independent  judgments  to  witness.  We  are  now  in  possession  of 
his  reply.  And  what  are  its  contents?  In  any  one  way  does  he 
traverse,  or  even  try  to  traverse,  the  case  which  I  presented? 
No.  Does  he  deal  with  one  solitary  division  of  it '?  No.  With 
one  particle  of  a  part  of  it?  No.  But,  to  cover  his  graceful  retire- 
ment, he  devotes  a  letter  of  five  printed  pages  to  the  introduction 
and  discussion  of  new  matter,  and  is  as  silent  as  a  Harpocrates 
on  all  that  ought  to  have  first  engaged  his  earnest  consideration  ; 
with  now  not  a  word  to  say  about  the  Bobbio  Missal,  or  about  the 
facts  which  annihilate  his  contention  that  that  venerable  document 
is  inadmissible  as  evidence  of  early  Irish  doctrine;  not  a  word  to 
say  for  his  misspelling  of  '  Bobbio,'  in  face  of  Italian  literature 
which  condemns  him;  not  a  word  about  the  pretended  (but  never 
proved)  irrelevance  of  St.  Cummian's  Penitential  to  the  special 
subjects  of  my  book,  by  whichsoever  of  the  St.  Cummians,  all 
Irishmen,  that  Penitential  was  written;  not  a  word  to  show  that 
heresy  had  made  no  inroad  into  Ireland  in  the  age  in  which  that 
Penitential  was  drawn  up ;  not  a  word  about  the  appearance  here, 
for  instance,  of  Pelagianism  towards  the  year  640,  as  noticed 
in  the  pontifical  letter  to  which,  for  the  second  time,  I  invited 
his  attention;  not  a  word  about  the  St.  Gall  Ordo  of  Penance, 


CORRESPONDENCE  265 

treated  by  him  as  another  piece  of  irrelevance  on  my  part,  his 
original  assertion  that  this  Ordo  is  '  purely  Anglo-Saxon '  being 
subsequently  modified  (and  nullified)  by  the  admission  that  the 
writing  in  the  MS.  is  Irish ;  not  a  word  about  the  incestuous 
unions  (in  regard  to  which  I  was  charged  with  libel)  l  formerly 
somewhat  prevalent  in  Ireland,  as  facts  uncontroverted  make 
apparent  ;  not  a  word  about  Bishop  O'Coffey  or  his  alleged 
parentage  of  Archbishop  O'Murray  ;  not  a  word  about  the  laugh- 
able meaning  erstwhile  appended  by  my  critic  to  sine  vestitu  in 
the  ancient  Arrea  or  Commutations  ;  not  a  word  about  nomina,  or 
the  rubric  in  the  Memento  of  the  Dead  in  the  Bobbio  Missal, 
once  Mabillon,  the  erudite  editor  of  that  Missal,  is  brought  into 
court  against  him  ;  not  a  word  about  the  tremendous  question  of 
by  versus  to,  both  expressions  yielding  the  very  self-same  sense  in 
the  passage  in  the  Canon  referred  to,2  although,  against  the  use 
of  to,  I  was  heretofore  solemnly  threatened  with  Menard,  who  has 
not  been  produced  yet,  for  the  sufficiently  satisfactory  reason  that 
he  left  nothing  whatever  behind  him  upon  English  translations 
of  the  Mass,  and  so  wrote  nothing  that  could  clothe  the  one 
English  preposition  with  any  degree  of  preference  over  the  other.3 
There  even  exists  no  proof  that  this  famous  French  Benedictine 
had  the  least  knowledge  of  the  English  language.4  Nor,  let  me 
here  say,  are  all  the  English  Prayer  Books  that  have  ever  been 
published  unanimous  for  by,  as  Dr.  MacCarthy  will  find  out  for 
himself  if  he  will  only  extend  his  researches  over  a  large  enough 
number.  In  fine,  my  critic  no  longer  combats  my  statement,  my 
inoffensive  statement,  that  the  computation  of  Easter  is  an 
astronomical  question,  now  that  Lingard  and  Lanigan,  to  whose 
authority  that  of  many  others  might  easily  be  added,  are  arrayed 
against  him.  Thus,  former  strongholds  are  abandoned  all  along 


1  Dr.  MacCarthy,  who  brands  me  as  a  libeller,  maligned  the  monastic  scribes 
in  his  December  letter,  by  ridiculing  the  idea  that  they  were  at  all  regardful  of 
what  tenets  might  characterise  the  theological  scripts  which  they  undertook  to 
copy  ;  and  this  month  we  have  him  talking  of  the  '  perhaps  malicious  ingenuity 
inveterate  in  the  Brehon  legists.'     What  next,  I  wonder  ! 

2  Adrien  Baillet  says  of  a  critic  : — '  C'est  un  Chicaneur  .  .  .  lorsqu'il  fait 
un  proces  sur  ime  particule  inutile,  ou  ?ur  un  article  qui  ne  change  rien  au  sens  ' 
[italics  mine].     See  his  Juaeniens  det  Savant,  i.,  p.  54 :  Paris,  1722. 

3  Menard's  note   is  simply  the  following: — '43.  Quorum  meritis.     Ita  in 
versione  Codini ;   in  liturgia  quae  sancto  Petro  tribuitur :  avrivuv  rf/  7rpeo-/3ei'a, 
id  est,  quorum  intercessione.'     See  his  Not  a  et  Observations  in  8.  Gregorii  Magni 
Libntm  Sacra  »ieiitorion,  Migne,  Patrol  ogia  Lattna,  Ixxviii.,  col.  276  :  Paris,  1862. 

4  In  Menard's  time  (15S5-16H)  but  few  of  the  continental  literati  thought 
English  worthy  of  notice. 


•2()(3  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

the  line  of  operations  by  Dr.  MacCarthy  ;  and  so,  to  enlist  an  old 
expression,  he  evacuates  Flanders.  He  allows  that  I  have 
1  adopted  an  effectual  method  of  bringing  the  present  discussion 
to  a  close  ;'  and,  doubtless,  not  a  few  will  be  disposed  to  agree 
with  him,  if  having  put  forward  so  much,  so  very  much,  that  he 
is  unable  to  answer,  can  count  for  anything  towards  such 
an  issue.  Saith  an  Arabian  adage,  'He  who  defends  his  nose 
sometimes  cuts  it  off ; ' 1  and  with  the  wisdom  of  the  aphorism 
my  courteous  opponent  seems  disinclined  to  quarrel.  Of  course  it 
is  not  for  me  to  urge  any  man  to  his  destruction. 

Here,  before  entering  upon  Dr.  MacCarthy's  new  matter,  I 
desire  to  add  something  to  my  last  letter  on  two  points :  (1)  on 
nomina  in  the  Memento  of  the  Dead  in  the  Bobbio  Missal ;  (2)  on 
the  O'Coffey  and  O'Murray  question. 

First,  with  regard  to  the  Memento.  It  has  already  been  pointed 
out  that  Mabillon  evidently  did  not  consider  nomina  a  rubric  in  the 
Memento  of  the  Dead  in  the  Bobbio  Missal.  I  have  now  to  say 
that  the  use  and  custom  of  that  Missal  are  totally  against  its  being 
so  treated.  Ancient  Missals,  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  premise,  are 
not,  without  due  inquiry,  to  be  read  through  modern  Missals,  with 
which  they  do  not  quite  correspond,  but  by  their  own  individual 
light.  Now,  in  the  Bobbio  Missal,  wherever  names  were  to  be 
introduced,  the  uniform  rubric  is  the  abbreviated  pronoun  '  ill.' 
(the  MS.  has  it  'II'2)  or  'ill.  &  ill.,'  as  circumstances  require. 
Of  this  rubrical  direction  I  have  counted  in  its  pages  no  fewer 
than  sixty-six  examples,  unrelieved  by  a  single  occurrence  of 
nomina,  or  AT.,  or  NN.,  or  N.  et  N. ;  3  and  this,  on  the  point 
raised  against  me,  should,  I  conceive,  be  decisive  in  my  favour. 
The  following  is  a  specimen  instance  from  the  Missa  Roinensis 
Cottidiana : — '  In  primis  quae  tibi  offerimus  pro  ecclesia  tua 
sancta  catholica  .  .  .  una  cum  devotissimo  famolo  tuo  ill.  Papa 
nostro,  sedis  apostolicae  &  Antestite  nostro/  &c.4 

From  this  we  revert  to  the  case  of  Bishop  O'Coffey  and 
Archbishop  O'Murray.  In  the  Annals  of  Ulster  the  former  is 
briefly  mentioned  as  the  latter' s  athair  or  '  father.'  Dr.  MacCarthy 


iFreytag,  Arabum  Proverbia,  i.,  p.  526  :  Bonn,  1838. 

2  Mabillon,  Museum  Itnlicum,  i.,  pt.  ii.(  p.  346,  note  :  Paris,  1724. 

3  Mabillon,  Mmettui  Italicum,  i.,  pt.  ii.,  pp.  279,   322,  324,  344,  346,   347, 
348,  350,  351,  352,  356,  359,  360.   361.  362,  364,  378,   384,  385,  386,  388,  389, 
390,  391  :  Paris,  1724.     Some  of  these  pages  contain  two,  three,  four,  or  five 
instances  of  'ill.'  as  a  rubric. 

4  Mabillon,  Mmeum  Italicum,  i.,  pt.  ii.,  p.  279  :  Paris,  1724. 


CORRESPONDENCE  267 

contends  that  Bishop  O'Coffey,  had  he  been  only  Archbishop 
O'Murray's  '  fosterer  or  tutor,'  would  have  been  referred  to  as  his 
aite,  not  athair.  It  was  not  at  all  unusual,  however,  for  an  aite 
— a  '  fosterer  or  tutor ' — to  receive  the  title  of  athair,  or  '  father.' 
For  example,  in  the  Irish  Life  of  St.  Senan  in  the  Book  of 
Lismore,  that  holy  man  is  represented  as  addressing  his  aite  as 
'  O  father  Notal,"  A  atJiair,  a  Notail:  again,  '  O  chosen  father,' 
A  atJmir  thogaidhi  ;  and  Notal  replies  to  him  as  '  My  dear  son,' 
A  meic  inmain.1  Hence  the  mere  presence  of  athair  in  the 
Annals  of  Ulster,  in  connection  with  Bishop  O'Coffey,  is  insufficient 
to  prove  that  Bishop  O'Coffey  was  Archbishop  O'Murray's  parent : 
while  the  difference  in  their  surnames  presents  a  difficulty  which 
Dr.  MacCarthy  will  in  vain  struggle  to  get  over. 

We  pass  on  now  to  the  new  criticisms.  In  his  third  paragraph 
Dr.  MacCarthy  says  : — '  To  show  the  intelligent  use  made  of  the 
"  works  quoted,"  the  following  is  accepted  as  correct :  "  the 
Brehon  Laws  assume  the  existence  of  a  married  as  well  as  an 
unmarried  clergy.  They  make  reference  to  two  classes  of  bishops : 
"  the  virgin  bishop  "  and  the  "  bishop  of  one  wife."  The  "  virgin 
bishop,"  if  he  lapsed  into  sin,  did  not,  they  say,  recover  his 
grade  or  pristine  perfection,  according  to  some  ;  but  the  "  bishop 
of  one  wife "  did,  provided  he  performed  his  penance  within 
three  days.'  Misled  by  the  foregoing,  many  readers  of  the 
I.E.  RECORD  must  have  concluded  that  /'accept  as  correct' 
the  existence  of  '  a  married  aa  well  as  an  unmarried  clergy '  in 
early  Christian  Ireland,  and  that  in  doing  so  I  claim  to  be 
supported  by  the  authority  of  the  Brehon  Laws.  They  will 
be  somewhat  astonished  when  I  inform  them  that  what  is 
set  forth  as  my  view  is  not  mine  at  all,  but  is  a  Protestant 
argument  which  I  devote  some  space  to  refuting!  How  then 
have  I  been  so  misrepresented?  By  the  omission  of  the  five 
words  which  I  now  place  in  italics.  '  Another  common  objection 
is  this  :  the  Brehon  Laws  assume  the  existence  of  a  married  as 
well  as  an  unmarried  clergy.'  And  so  forth.  In  a  manner  which 
will,  no  doubt,  gain  him  many  additional  admirers,  Dr.  MacCarthy 
chooses  to  commence  his  quotation  of  me  at  the  colon  ;  and  this, 
with  his  own  introductory  remark,  puts  a  false  construction  on 
my  language.  The  word  '  objection,'  it  is  true,  occurs  twenty 
lines  further  on  in  his  letter ;  but,  so  far  is  it  from  helping  any 

1  Lives  of  Saints  from  the  Book  of  Lismore,  p.  61  (lines  2038-2042)  :  Oxford, 
1890. 


268  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

one  to  a  right  understanding  of  the  matter,  that  I  appeal  to 
candour  to  determine  whether  he  has  not  conveyed,  to  those  who 
have  not  my  little  book  to  refer  to,  the  impression  that  I  profess 
an  opinion  which  assuredly  I  do  not.  One  who  can  fearlessly 
mutilate  an  author  in  the  fashion  indicated  should  be  particularly 
chary  of  any  talk  about  '  breaches  of  good  faith.' 1 

As  to  the  wording  of  the  aforesaid  objection,  now  that  it  is 
clearly  established  as  such,  I  may  say  that  I  had  the  Vicar  of 
Ballyclough,  the  Eev.  Thomas  Olden,  M.A.,  in  my  mind  when  I 
stated  it.  An  extract  from  his  Church  of  Ireland  is  appended 
for  comparison.2 

Dr.  MacCarthy  makes  much  ado  about  nothing  when  he  writes 
that  the  references  to  the  '  virgin  bishop  '  and  the  '  bishop  of  one 
wife'  (an  expression  which  is  cleared  up  in  my  book)  are  to  be  found 
in  the  ancient  commentary  on  the  Brehon  Laws,  not  in  the  Laws 
themselves.  The  Brehon  Laws  and  the  Brehon  commentaries, 
however,  are  preserved  in  the  same  MSS.,  and  these  MSS.  may 
be  called  the  Brehon  Laws  for  all  practical  purposes.  The  very 
editors  of  the  official  edition  are  not  superior  to  such  a  general 
designation  of  their  contents.3  Nor  is  the  phenomenally  accurate 
Dr.  MacCarthy,  who,  like  Hudibras  of  yore,  can 

1  distinguish  and  divide 
A  hair  'twixt  south  and  south-west  side,' 

above  describing  a  MS.  which  contains — (1)  excerpts  from 
St.  John's  Gospel ;  (2)  a  Missal ;  (3)  an  Ordo  of  Baptism ; 
(4)  an  Ordo  of  Visitation  of  the  Sick,  including  Extreme  Unction 
and  Communion ;  (5)  an  Irish  tract  on  the  Mass  ;  (6)  three  Irish 
spells — by  the  name  of  the  Stowe  Missal.*  Truth  to  say, 

1  Only  one  charge  of  this  sort  was  made  against  me.     After  I  showed  its 
injustice  Dr.  MacCarthy  did  not  revive  it. 

2  '  Still  more  important  is  it  that  the  Brehon  Laws  assume  the  existence  of 
both  married  and  unmarried    clergy.     Amongst  the  provisions    relating  to 
ecclesiastics  we  find  that  if  a  bishop  should  fall  into  sin,  a  different  penalty  is 
prescribed  in  i he  case  of  the  married  and  the  celibate.     If   the  offender  is  a 
bishop  of  one  wife,  he  may  recover  his  grade  or  position  by  performing  penance 
within  three  days,  but  if  he  is  a  celibate  he  cannot  recover  it  at  all.1  See  Olden, 
The  Church  of  Ireland,  pp.  121-122  :  London,  1892. 

3  They  say : — '  According  to  these  Laws  he  could  not  leturn  to  his  dignity 
of  bishop,  but  he  might  attain  to  a  "higher  grade,"  that  is,  that  of  aibhillteoir, 
i.e.  thaumaturg  or  miracle-worker,  either  as  a  hermit  or  a  pilgrim.     Now  this 
provision  is  in  the  commentary.     See  Senchns  Mor,  i.,  pp.  57,  58,  59  :    Dublin, 
1865. 

4  The  opening  sentence  of  his  paper  On  the  Sfotce  Missal,  is: — 'The  MS. 
known  as    the   Stowe    Missal  was   enclosed  in    a  costly    shrine,'  &c.      See 
Transactions  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  xxvii.,  p.  135  :  Dublin,  1877-86. 


CORRESPONDENCE  269 


it  is  the  chief  contents  that  give  the  style  to  the  whole  in  these 
composite  MSS.  But,  in  this  respect,  Dr.  MacCarthy  should 
allow  others  as  much  liberty  as  himself. 

Dr.  MacCarthy  is  at  some  pains  to  suggest  that  my  knowledge 
of  the  Brehon  Law  collection  is  '  second  or  third  hand. '  For  this 
supposition  there  is  no  foundation  in  reality.1  The  particular 
volume  of  the  Senchus  Mor  to  which  I  gave  a  reference — the 
Eev.  Mr.  Olden's  reference  is  a  wrong  one — has  been  in  my 
possession  for  twenty  years. 

We  are  not  done  yet,  it  seems,  with  errors  of  the  press. 
Dr.  MacCarthy  points  to  some  more.  I  admit  them.  The  clause 
not  rendered  in  a  translation  from  the  Leabhar  Breac — 'and 
which  was  crucified  by  the  unbelieving  Jews,  out  of  spite  and 
envy ' — appears  in  my  manuscript  as  supplied  to  the  compositor. 
Evidently,  in  setting  the  type,  his  eye  skipped  from  the  '  which ' 
at  the  end  of  one  line  to  the  '  which '  at  the  end  of  the  next 
one ;  hence  the  omission.  Hardly  anyone,  however,  except 
Dr.  MacCarthy,  would  say  that  this  omission  leaves  '  the  English 
reader  to  infer  that  the  native  writer  did  not  believe  in  the 
crucifixion.' 

Dr.  MacCarthy  should  not  be  too  severe  upon  printers'  errors. 
There  is  a  very  fair  crop  of  such  in  his  own  various  publications. 
There  are  some  in  all  the  letters  that  he  has  written  against  me. 
In  his  last  we  have  '  a  Synodis  Hibernensis,'  and  '  rescension.' 
As  '  rescension/  however,  occurs  twice,  perhaps  it  is  the  critic,  not 
the  compositor,  that  is  to  blame  for  this  specimen  of  bad  spelling. 
'P.  161,'  too,  a  reference  to  my  book,  should  be  'p.  164.' 

But  to  continue.  In  quoting  a  letter  of  St.  Columbanus,  it 
seems  that  I  exhibit  '  a  recension '  (I  correct  Dr.  MacCarthy's 
orthography  of  the  word)  'and  a  translation,  each  equally  notable.' 
Well,  the  Latin,  whatever  may  be  said  against  it,  was  taken  by 
me  from  Migne's  edition  of  the  writings  of  St.  Columbanus  ; 
and  it  is  precisely  the  same  in  that  of  Gallandus.  As  to  the 
translation  of  adversariis  potius  manus  dantis  quam  resistentis, 
if  Dr.  MacCarthy  has  any  fault  to  find  with  '  yielding  help  to, 
instead  of  withstanding  the  enemy,'  I  would  refer  him  to  the 
learned  Catholic  archaeologist,  the  Eev.  Daniel  Eock,  D.D., 


1  Charging  those  whom  he  attacks  with  trusting  to  second-hand  information 
seems  a  favourite  proceeding  with  Dr.  MacCarthy.  He  supposes  even  the 
veteran  Dr.  Whitley  Stokes  not  to  have  '  acquaintance  at  first-hand  with  national 
history.'  See  the  I,  E.  RECORD,  3rd  Series,  xii.,  p.  158  ;  Dublin,  1891. 


270  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL    RECORD 

author  of  the  immortal  works  The  Church  of  our  Fathers  and 
Hierurgia,  who  renders  the  passage  in  this  identical  fashion.1 

Next,  I  am  remarked  for  having  sitam  for  sita,  and  abierat  for 
obierat,  in  a  quotation  from  the  Book  of  Armagh.  The  correct 
Latin  is,  of  course,  sita  and  obierat.  But,  after  all,  in  the  actual 
Book  of  Armagh,  both  words  are  exactly  as  I  give  them.  Of  the 
two  printed  editions  referred  to  by  me,  one  (that  from  which  I 
made  the  extract)  follows  the  readings  of  the  MS.  for  the  text, 
and  gives  the  necessary  emendations  in  footnotes :  the  other 
does  the  reverse.  I  suppose  if  I  had  written  sitam  [sita], 
abierat  \obierat~],  Aristarchus  himself  could  have  said  nothing 
against  me. 

'  Celebrate,  0  festive  Juda,  the  joys  of  Christ ' — a  translation 
of  the  opening  line  of  St.  Cummian  Fota's  hymn — should  certainly 
be  :  '  Celebrate,  O  Juda,  the  festive  (or  '  festal  ')  joys  of  Christ ;' 
and  it  stands  so,  I  find  on  inspection,  in  my  manuscript.  The 
transposition  of  the  word  '  festive  '  is  the  work  of  the  compositor. 
Hence,  all  that  is  said  about  '  the  new  Gradus  ad  Parnassum '  is 
uncalled  for,  as  far  as  I  am  concerned.  I  am  prepared  to  admit 
that  Dr.  MacCarthy  is  very  great  in  Latin  prosody.  It  is  a  pity 
that  he  is  not  equally  great  in  English  syntax.  I  gave  a  single 
specimen  of  his  free  and  easy  defiance  of  the  rules  of  grammar  in 
my  last  letter.  A  hundred  such  atrocities — I  have  been  going 
through  his  writings  lately — in  present  stock.  .  Terms  moderate  : 
country  orders  carefully  executed  :  parcels  of  the  broken  head 
of  Lindley  Murray  forwarded  with  despatch. 

With  regard  now  to  the  petitions  in  the  Stoive  Missal,  eleven, 
as  with  me,  are  reduced  to  eight  by  Dr.  MacCarthy 's  scheme 
of  punctuation.  But  where  does  he  get  that  punctuation? 
He  will  not,  I  opine,  tender  us  the  assurance  that  he  can  trace  it 
all  to  the  original  MS.,  the  punctuation  of  which  is  rather  peculiar. 
And  is  the  sense  materially,  or  at  all,  affected  by  his  doughty 
alterations  ? 

Dr.  MacCarthy  is  visibly  not  among  the  admirers  of  Dr.  Warren, 
a  liturgiologist  of  the  first  order.  It  was  very  honourable,  however, 
of  that  gentleman,  who,  perhaps,  like  Person,  thinks  errors  '  the 
common  lot  of  authorship,'2  to  apologise  for  the  mistakes  of  his 


1  Rock,  Did  the  Early  Church  in  Ireland  acknowledge  the  Pope's  Supremacy  ? 
answered  in  a  Letter  to  Lord  John  Manners,  p.  50  :  London,  1844. 

2  Porsoa,   Letters  to  Mr.  Archdeacon   Travis,  Preface,  p.  xxxiv. :   London, 
1790.' 


CORRESPONDENCE  271 

transcript.  Whatever  I  have  seen,  I  have  not  seen  any  of 
Dr.  MacCarthy's  apologies.  The  '  Textus  Receptus,'  as,  in  an 
access  of  modesty,  he  calls  his  own  edition  of  the  Stoive  Missal, 
is  not  immaculate,  any  more  than  Dr.  Warren's.  No  doubt, 
in  his  scorn  of  the  Oxford  editor,  Dr.  MacCarthy,  as  it  were, 
falls  down  in  adoration  before  himself,  as  to  an  unerring 
transcriber.  It  is  an  amusing  fact,  nevertheless,  that  (to  say 
nothing  of  ancient  MSS.)  he  cannot  transcribe  from  himself  or 
others  with  entire  correctness  :  he  must  either  add  or  leave  out, 
or  otherwise  change.  In  the  little  that  he  now  professes  to  take 
from  his  own  edition  of  the  Stoive  Missal  he  varies  from  himself 
in  punctuation  in  four  instances  :  in  his  December  letter,  he  alters 
the  punctuation  in  the  two  lines  which  he  copies  from  Mabillon, 
and  substitutes  a  small  letter  for  a  capital :  in  the  same  letter 
he  leaves  out  three  words  (i.e.  '  Far  from  it ')  in  the  course  of  an 
extract,  on  the  first  page,  from  his  own  essay  On  the  Stoive  Missal, 
and  again  substitutes  a  small  letter  for  a  capital :  in  his  August 
effusion,  he  interpolates  two  words,  not  mine  (I  place  them  in 
italics),  in  a  quotation  from  The  Ancient  Irish  Church,  stating  that 
the  Quartodecimans  '  kept  Easter  on  the  14th  day  of  March,1  no 
matter  what  day  of  the  week  it  fell  upon  ;'  and  so  I  might  go  on, 
launching  forth  among  his  publications,  till  there  was  more  space 
run  away  with  than  you  would  care  to  waste  on  such  a  subject. 

In  conclusion,  if  I  am  to  part  from  Dr.  MacCarthy  at  this 
point,  I  am  sorry  for  it.  He  attacked  my  book — which,  like  every 
other  book,  has  its  demerits — intending  to  do  it  harm.  He  has 
done  it  nothing  but  service  ;  a  service  for  which  I  again  thank 
him.  His  assaults  have  had  a  stimulating  effect  upon  the  sales  ; 
and,  otherwise,  I  have  made  more  by  the  controversy  than  he 
has.  As  the  Spanish  proverb  says : — '  The  ox  that  horned  me 
tossed  me  into  a  good  place  ' — El  buey  que  me  acorneo  en  baen 
lucjar  me  echd. — Yours,  &c., 

JOHN  SALMON. 

[This  controversy  must  now  cease. — ED.  I.  E.  BECOBD.] 


As  previously  noted,  '  March  '  is  here  a  typographical  error  for  'moon. 


[    272    ] 


DOCUMENTS 

ENCYCLICAL  OF  HIS  HOLINESS  POPE  LEO  XIII.  TO  THE 
CANADIAN  BISHOPS  ON  THE  MANITOBA  SCHOOL 
QUESTION 

SANCTISSIMI  DOMINI  NOSTBI  LEONIS  DIVINA  PBOVIDENTIA  PAPAE  XIII. 
EPISTOLA  ENCYCLICA  AD  ARCHIEPISCOPOS  EPISCOPOS  ALIOSQUE 
LOCOBUM  OBDINABIOS  FOEDEBATABUM  CIVITATUM  CANADENSIUM 
PACEM  ET  COMMUNIONEM  CUM  APOSTOLICA  SEDE  HABENTES. 

VENERABILIBUS  FBATBIBUS  ABCHIEPISCOPIS  EPISCOPIS  ALIISQUE 
LOCOBUM  OBDINABIIS  FOEDEBATABUM  CIVITATUM  CANADENSIUM 
PACEM  ET  COMMUNIONEM  CUM  APOSTOLICA  SEDE  HABENTIBUS 

LEO  PP.  XIII. 

VENEBABILES   FBATBES   SALUTEM   ET  APOSTOLICAM  BENEDICTIONEM 

Affari  vos,  quod  perlibenter  atque  amantissime  facimus,  vix 
Nobis  licet,  quin  sua  sponte  occurrat  animo  vetus  et  constans 
Apostolicae  Sedis  cum  Canadensibus  vicissitudo  benevolentiae 
consuetudoque  officiorum.  Ipsis  rerum  vestrarum  primordiis 
comitata  Ecclesiae  catholicae  caritas  est :  maternoque  semel 
acceptos  sinu,  amplexari  vos,  fovere,  beneficiis  afficere  numquam 
postea  desiit.  Certe,  immortalis  vir  Franciscus  de  Laval  Mont- 
morency,  primus  Quebecensium  episcopus,  quas  res  pro  avorum 
memoria  pro  salute  publica  felicissime  sanctissimeque  gessit, 
auctoritate  gratiaque  subnixus  romanorum  Pontificum  gessit. 
Neque  alio  ex  fonte  auspicia  atque  orsus  agendarum  rerum 
cepere  consequentes  episcopi,  quorum  tanta  extitit  magnitude 
meritorum.  Similique  ratione,  si  spatium  respicitur  vetustiorum 
temporum.  non  istuc  commeare  nisi  nutu  missuque  Sedis  Apos- 
tolicae consuevere  virorum  apostolicorum  generosi  manipuli, 
utique  christianae  sapientiae  lumine  elegantiorem  cultum  atque 
artium  honestissimarum  semina  allaturi.  Quibus  seminibus 
multo  eorum  ipsorum  labore  sensim  maturescentibus,  Canaden- 
sium  natio  in  contentionem  urbanitatis  et  gloriae  cum  excultis 
gentibus  sera,  non  impar  venit.  Istae  sunt  res  Nobis  omnes 
admodum  ad  recordationem  iucundae  :  eo  vel  magis,  quod  earum 
permanere  fructus  cernimus  non  mediocres.  Ille  profecto  per. 


DOCUMENTS  273 


magnus,  amor  in  catholica  multitudine  sfcudiumque  vehement 
divinae  religionis,  quam  scilicet  maiores  vestri  primum  et  maxime 
ex  Gallia,  turn  ex  ETibernia,  mox  quoque  aliunde,  auspicato 
advecti,  et  ipsi  sancte  coluerunt  et  posteris  inviolate  servandam 
tradiderunt.  Quamquam,  si  optimam  hanc  hereditatam  tuetur 
posteritas  memor,  facile  intelligimus  quantam  huius  laudis  partem 
sibi  iure  vindicet  vigilantia  atque  opera  vesira,  venerabiles 
Fratres,  quantam  etiam  vestri  sedulitas  Cleri  •  omnes  quippe 
concordibus  animis,  pro  incolumitate  atque  incremento  catholici 
nominis  assidue  contenditis,  idque,  ut  vera  fateamur  non  invitis 
neque  repugnantibus  Britannici  imperil  legibus.  Itaque  com- 
munium  recte  factorum  vestrorum  cogitatione  adducti,  cum  Nos 
romanae  honorem  purpurae  Archiepiscopo  Quebecensiurn  aliquot 
ante  annis  contulimus,  non  solum  ornare  viri  virtutes,  sed 
omnium  istic  catholicoruni  pietatem  honorifico  afficere  testimonio 
voluimus.  Ceterum  de  institutione  laborare  ineuntus  aetatis,  in 
qua  et  christianae  et  civilis  reipublicae  spes  maximae  nituntur, 
Apostolica  Sedes  numquam  intermisit,  coniuncto  vobiscum  et 
cum  decessoribus  vestris  studio.  Hinc  constituta  passim  ado- 
lescentibus  vestris  ad  virtutem,  ad  litteras  erudiendis  complura 
eademque  in  primis  florentia,  auspice  et  custode  Ecclesia,  domi- 
cilia.  Quo  in  genere  eminet  profecto  magnum  Lyceum  Quebecense, 
quod  ornatum  atque  auctum  omni  iure  legitimo  ad  legum  ponti- 
ficiarum  consuetudinem,  satis  testatur,  nihil  esse  quod  expetat, 
studeatque  Apostoliqua  Sedes  vehementius,  quam  educere  civium 
sobolem  expolitam  litteris,  virtute  commendabilem.  Quamobrem 
summa  cura,  ut  facile  per  vos  ipsi  iudicabitis,  animum  ad  eos 
casus  adiecimus,  quos  catholicae  Manitobensium  adolescentu- 
lorum  institution!  novissima  tempora  attulere.  Volumus  enim  et 
velle  debemus  omni,  qua  possumus,  ope  et  contentione  eniti  atque 
efficere  ut  fides  ac  religio  ne  quid  detriment!  capiant  apud  tot 
hominum  millia,  quorum  Nobis  maxime  est  commissa  salus,  in 
ea  praesertim  civitate  quae  christianae  rudimenta  doctrinae  non 
minus  quarn  politioris  initia  humanitatis  ab  Ecclesia  catholica 
accepit.  Cumque  ea  de  re  plurimi  sententiam  expectarent  a 
Nobis,  ac  nosse  cuperent  qua  sibi  via,  qua  agendi  ratione  utendum, 
placuit -'nihil  ante  statuere,  quam  Delegatus  Noster  Apostolicus 
in  rem  .praesentem  venisset :  qui,  quo  res  statu  essent  exquirere 
diligenter  et  ad  Nos  subinde  referre  iussus,  naviter  ac  fideliter 
effectum  dedit  quod  mandaveramus. 

Caussa  profecto  vertitur  permagni  momenti  ac  ponderis.     De 

VOL.  Ill,  S 


271  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

eo  intelligi  volumus,  quod  septem  ante  annis  legumlatores  Pro- 
vinciae  Manitobensis  consessu  suo  de  disciplina  puerili  decrevere  : 
qui  scilicet,  quod  leges  Canadensis  foederis  sanxerant,  pueros 
professione  catholica  in  ludis  discendi  publicis  institui  educarique 
ad  conscientiam  animi  sui  ius  esse,  id  ius  contraria  lege  sustulere. 
Qua  lege  non  exiguum  importatum  detrimentum.  Ubi  enim 
catholica  religio  aut  ignoratione  negligitur,  aut  dedita  opera 
iinpugnatur  :  ubi  doctrina  eius  contemnitur,  principiaque  unde 
gignitur,  repudiantur ;  illuc  accedere,  eruditicnis  caussa,  adoles- 
centulos  nostros  fas  esse  non  potest.  Id  sicubi  factitari  sinit 
Ecclesia,  non  nisi  aegre  ac  necessitate  sinit,  multisque  adhibitis 
cautionibus,  quas  tamen  constat  ad  pericula  declinanda  nimium 
saepe  non  valere.  Similiter  ea  deterrima  omninoque  fugienda 
disciplina.  quae,  quod  quisque  malit  fide  credere,  id  sine  ullo 
discrimine  orane  probet  et  aequo  iure  habeat,  velut  si  de  Deo 
rebusque  divinis  rectene  sentias  an  secus,  vera  an  falsa  secteris, 
nihil  intersit.  Probe  nostis,  venerabiles  Fratres,  oranem  disci- 
plinam,  puerilem,  quae  sit  eiusmodi,  Ecclesiae  esse  iudicio 
damnatam,  quia  ad  labefactandam  integritatem  fidei  tenerosque 
puerorum  aniraos  a  veritate  flectendos  nihil  fieri  perniciosius 
potest. 

Aliud  est  praeterea,  de  quo  facile  vel  ii  assentiantur,  qui 
cetera  nobiscum  dissident :  nimirum  non  mera  institutione  litte- 
raria,  non  solivaga  ieiunaque  cognitione  virtutis  posse  fieri,  ut 
alumni  catholici  tales  e  schola  aliquando  prodeant,  quales  patria 
desiderat  atque  expectat.  Tradenda  eis  graviora  quaedam  et 
maiora  sunt,  quo  possint  et  christiani  boni  et  cives  frugi  probique 
evadere  :  videlicet  informentur  ad  ipsa  ilia  principia  necesse  est, 
quae  in  eorum  conscientia  mentis  alte  insederint,  et  quibus 
parere  et  quae  sequi  debeant,  quia  ex  fide  ac  religione  sponte 
efflorescunt.  Nulla  est  enim  disciplina  morum  digna  quidem  hoc 
nomine  atque  efficax,  religione  posthabita.  Nam  omnium  offici- 
orum  forma  et  vis  ab  iis  officiis  maxime  ducitur,  quae  hominem 
iungunt  iubenti,  vetanti,  bona  malaque  sancienti  Deo.  Itaque 
velle  animos  bonis  imbuere  moribus  simulque  esse  sinere  religionis 
expertes  tarn  est  absonum,  quam  vocare  ad  percipiendam  virtutem, 
virtutis  fundamento  sublato.  Atque  catholico  homini  una  atque 
unica  vera  est  religio  catholica :  proptereaque  nee  morum  is 
potest,  nee  religionis  doctrinam  ullam  accipere  vel  agnoscere, 
nisi  ex  intima  sapientia  catholica  petitam  ac  depromptam.  Ergo 
iustitia  ratioque  postulat,  ut  non  mode  cognitionem  litterarum 


DOCUMENTS  275 


alumnis  schola  suppeditet,  verum  etiam  earn,  quam  diximus, 
scientiam  morum  cum  praeceptionibus  de  religione  nostra  apte 
coniunctam,  sine  qua  nedum  non  fructuosa,  sed  perniciosa  plane 
omnis  futura  est  institutio.  Ex  quo  ilia  necessario  consequuntur : 
magistris  opus  esse  catholicis  libros  ad  perlegendum,  ad  ediscen- 
dum  non  alios,  quam  quos  episcopi  probarint,  assumendos : 
liberam  esse  potestatem  oportere  constituendi  regendique  omnem 
disciplinam,  ut  cum  professione  catholici  nominis,  cumque  officiis 
quae  inde  proficiscuntur,  tota  ratio  docendi  discendique  apprime 
congruat  atque  consentiat.  Videre  autern  de  suis  quemque  liberis, 
apud  quos  instituantur,  quos  habeant  vivendi  praeceptores,  mag- 
nopere  pertinet  ad  patriam  potestatem.  Quocirca  cum  catholici 
volunt,  quod  et  velle  et  contenders  officium  est,  ut  ad  liberorum 
suorum  religionem  institutio  doctoris  accommodetur,  iure  faciunt. 
Nee  sane  iniquius  agi  cuin  iis  queat,  quam  si  alteratrum  malle 
compellantur,  aut  rudes  et  indoctos  quos  procrearint,  adolescere, 
aut  in  aperto  reruni  maximaruni  discrimine  versari. 

Ista  quidem  et  iudicandi  principia  et  agendi,  quae  in  veritate 
iustitiaque  nituntur,  nee  privatorum  tantummodo,  sed  rerum 
quoque  publicarum  continent  salutem,  nefas  est  in  dubium 
revocare,  aut  quoquo  modo  deserere.  Igitur  cum  puerorum 
catholicorum  institutionem  debitam  insueta  lex  in  Manitobensi 
Provincia  perculisset,  vestri  muneris  fuit,  venerabiles  Fratres, 
illatam  iniuriam  ac  perniciem  libera  voce  refutare  :  quo  quidem 
officio  sic  perfuncti  singuli  estis,  ut  communis  omnium  vigilantia 
ac  digna  episcopis  voluntas  eluxerit.  Et  quam  vis  hac  de  re  satis 
unusquisque  vestrum  sit  conscientiae  testimonio  commendatus, 
assensum  tamen  atque  approbationem  Nostram  scitote  accedere  : 
sanctissima  enim  ea  sunt  quae  conservare  ac  tueri  studuistis, 
studetis. 

Ceterum  incommoda  legis  Manitobensis,  de  qua  loquimur, 
per  se  ipsa  monebant,  opportunam  sublevationem  rnali  opus  esse 
concordia  quaerere.  Catholicorum  digna  caussa  erat,  pro  qua 
omnes  omnium  partium  aequi  bonique  cives  consiliorum  societate 
summaque  conspiratione  voluntatum  contenderent.  Quod,  non 
sine  magna  iactura,  contra  factum.  Dolendum  illud  etiam  magis, 
catholicos  ipsos  Canadenses  sententias  concorditer,  ut  oportebat, 
minime  in  re  tuenda  iunxisse,  quae  omnium  interest  plurimum: 
cuius  prae  magnitudine  et  pondere  silere  studia  politicarum 
rationum,  quae  tanto  minoris  sunt,  necesse  erat. 

Non  sumus  necii,  emendari  aliquid  ex  ea  lege  coeptum.     Qui 


276  THE  IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

foederatis,  civitatibus  quique  Provinciae  cum  potestate  praesunt, 
nonnulla  iam  decrevere  minuendorum  gratia  incommodorum,  de 
quibus  expostulare  et  conquer!  catholic!  ex  Manitoba  merito 
insistunt.  Non  est  cur  dubitemus,  susteptum  id  aequitatis  amore 
fuisse  consilioque  laudabili.  Dissirnulari  tamen  id  quod  res  est, 
non  potest :  quam  legem  ad  sarcienda  damna  condidere,  ea 
manca  est,  non  idonea,  non  apta.  Multo  maiora  sunt,  quae 
catbolici  petunt,  quaeque  eos  iure  petere,  nemo  neget.  Praeterea 
in  ipsis  illis  temperamentis,  quae  excogitata  sunt,  hoc  etiam  inest 
vitii  quod,  mutatis  locorum  adiunctis.  carere  effectu  facile  possunt. 
Tota  ut  res  in  breve  cogatur,  iuribus  catholicorum  educationique 
puerili  nondum  est  in  Manitoba  consultum  satis  :  res  autem 
postulat,  quod  est  iustitiae  consentaneum,  ut  omni  ex  parte  con- 
sulatur,  nimirum  in  tuto  positis  debitoque  praesidio  septis  iis 
omnibus,  quae  supra  attigimus,  incommutabilibus  augustissimis- 
que  principiis.  Hue  spectandum,  hoc  studiose  et  considerate 
quaerendum.  Cui  quidem  rei  nihil  obesse  potest  discordia  peius  : 
coniunctio  animorum  est  et  quidam  quasi  concentus  actionum 
pernecessarius.  Sed  tamen  cum  perveniendi  eo,  quo  propositum 
est  et  esse  debet,  non  certa  quaedam  ac  definita  via  sit,  sed 
multiplex,  ut  fere  fit  in  hoc  genere  rerum,  consequitur  varias 
esse  posse  de  agendi  ratione  honestas  easdemque  conducibiles 
sententias.  Quamobrem  universi  et  singuli  meminerint  modestiae, 
lenitatis,  caritatis  mutuae  :  videant  ne  quid  in  verecundia  pec- 
cetur,  quam  alter  alteri  debet :  quid  ternpus  exigat,  quid  optimum 
factu  videatur,  fraterna  unanimitate,  non  sine  consilio  vestro, 
constituant,  emciant. 

IT,  Ad  ipsos  ex  Manitoba  catholicos  nominatim  quod  attinet, 
futuros  aliquando  totius  voti  compotes,  Deo  adiuvante,  confidimus. 
Quae  spes  primum  sane  in  ipsa  bonitate  caussae  conquiescrit : 
deinde  in  virorum,  qui  res  publicas  administrant,  aequitate  ac 
prudentia,  turn  denique  in  Canadensium,  quotquot  recta  sequ- 
untur,  honesta  voluntate  nititur.  Interea  tamen,  quam  diu 
rationes  suas  vindicare  nequeant  universas,  salvas  aliqua  ex  parte 
habere  ne  recusent.  Si  quid  igitur  lege,  vel  usu,  vel  hominum 
facilitate  quadam  tribuatur,  quo  tolerabiliora  damna,  ac  remotiora 
pericula  fiant,  omnino  expedit  atque  utile  est  concessis  uti, 
fructumque  ex  iis  atque  utilitatem  quam  fieri  potest  maximam 
capere.  Ubi  vero  alia  nulla  mederi  ratione  incommodis  liceat, 
hortamur  atque  obsecramus,  ut  aucta  liberalitate  munificentiatque 
pergant  occurrere.  Non  de  salute  ipsorum  sua,  nee  de  prosperi- 


DOCUMENTS  277 


tate  civitatum  merer!  melius  queant,  quam  si  in  scholarum 
puerilium  tuitionem  contulerint,  quantum  sua  cuique  sinat 
facultas. 

Est  et  aliud  valde  dignum,  in  quo  communie,  vestra  elaboret 
industria.  Scilicet  vobis  auctoribes,  iisque  adiuvantibus,  qui 
scholis  praesunt,  instituere  accurate  ac  sapienter  studiorum 
rationem  oportet,  potissimumque  eniti  ut,  qui  ad  docendum 
accedunt,  affatim  et  naturae  et  artis  praesidiis  instructe  accedant. 
Scholas  enim  catholicorum  rectum  est  cum  florentissimis  quibus- 
que  de  cultura  ingeniorum,  de  litterarum  laude,  posse  contendere. 
Si  eruditio,  si  decus  humanitatis  quaeritur,  honestum  sane  ac 
nobile  iudicandum  Provinciarum  Canadensium  propositum, 
augere  ac  provehere  pro  viribus  expetentium  disciplinam  insti- 
tutionis  publicam ,  quo  politius  quotidie  ac  perfectius  quiddam 
contingat.  Atqui  nullum  est  genus  scientiae,  nulla  elegantia 
doctrinae,  quae  non  optime  possit  cum  doctrina  atque  institutione 
catholica  consistere. 

Hisce  omnibus  illustrandis  ac  tuendis  rebus  quae  hactenus 
dictae  sunt,  possunt  non  parum  ii  ex  catholicis  prodesse,  quorum 
opera  in  scriptione  praesertim  quotidiana  versatur.  Sint  igitur 
memores  officii  sui.  Quae  vera  sunt,  quae  recta,  quae  christiano 
nomini  reique  publicae  utilia,  pro  iis  religiose  animoque  magno 
propugnent :  ita  tamen  ut  decorum  servent,  personis  parcant, 
modum  nulla  in  re  transiliant.  Vereantur  ac  sancte  observent 
episcoporum  auctoritatem,  omnemque  potestatem  legitimam : 
quanto  autem  est  temporum  difficultas  maior,  quantoque  dis- 
sensionum  praesentius  periculum,  tanto  insistant  studiosius 
suadere  sentiendi  agendique  concordiam,  sine  qua  vix  aut  ne  vix 
quidem  spes  est  futurum  ut  id,  quod  est  in  optatis  omnium 
nostrum,  impetretur. 

Auspicem  coelestium  munerum  benevolentiaeque  Nostrae 
paternae  testem  accipite  Apostolicam  benedictionem,  quam 
vobis,  venerabiles  Fratres,  Clero  populoque  vestro  peramanter 
in  Domino  impertimus. 

Datum  Eomae  apud  S.  Petrum  die  vm  Decembris,  An. 
MDCCCXCCII  Pontificatus  Nostri  vicesimo. 

LEO  PP.  XIII. 


278  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

SOLUTION     OF     DOUBTS     REGARDING     EXTRAORDINARY 
CONFESSORS    OF    NUNS 

DUBIA  QUOAD  CONFESSARIOS  EXTRAOKDINARIOS  RELIGIOSARUM 

Die  1  Februarii  1892. 

1.  II   favore   accordato   alle    monache   di    ricorrere   ad   uno 
straordinario  'quoties  ut  propriae  conscientiae  consulant  ad  id 
adigantur '  e  cosi  illimitato  e  incondizionato  che  esse  se  ne  pos- 
sano   servire   costantemente  senza   ricorrere   mai   al   confessore 
ordinario  e  senza  poter  essere  sindacate  neppure  dal   Vescovo 
su  questo  punto,  e  da  esso  in  qualche  rnodo  impedite  se  fossero 
guidate  da  ragioni  biasimevoli  e  insulse  ? 

2.  I  confessori  aggiunti  ban  no  alcuni  doveri  di  coscienza  di 
rifiutarsi  ad  ascoltare  le  confessioni  delle  suore,  quando  ricono- 
scono  che  non  esiste  un  plausibile  rnotivo  che  le   astringa  di 
ricorrere  ad  essi  ? 

3.  Se  parecchie  suore  (e  peggio  ancora  se  la  maggior  parte 
di  esse)   ricorressero   costantemente  a  qualcuno   dei   corifessori 
aggiunti,  il  Vescovo  deve  tacere,  o  intervenire  con  qualche  prov- 
vedimento  per  tutelare  la  massima  sancita  nella  bolla  '  Pastoralis ' : 
'  Generaliter  statutum  esse  dignoscitur,  ut  pro  singulis  monia- 
lium  monasteriis  unus  dumtaxat  confessarius  deputetur '  ? 

4.  E  posto  che  debba  intervenire,  qual  provvedimento  potra 
legalmente  adottare  ? 

Ad  I.  Negative. 

Ad  II.  Affirmative. 

Ad  III.  Negative  ad  primam  partem.  affirmative  ad  secundam. 

Ad  IV.  Moneat  Ordinarius  moniales  et  sorores,  de  quibtis 
agitur,  dispositionem  Articuli  IV  Decreti  '  Quemadmodum '  x 
exceptionem  tantum  legi  communi  constituere,  pro  casibus  dum- 
taxat verae  et  absolutae  necessitatis,  quoties  ad  id  adigantur, 
firmo  remanente  quod  a  S.  Concilio  Tridentino  et  a  Constitutione 
s.  m.  Benedicti  XIV  mcipien.  '  Pastoralis  Curae '  praescriptum 
habetur. 


1Decretum  hoc  relatum  fuit  voL  xxiii. ,  505. 


[     '279     ] 


NOTICES    OF    BOOKS 

MY  LIFE  IN  Two  HEMISPHERES.    By  Sir  Charles  Gavan 
Duffy.     Two  vols.     32s,     London ;  T.  Fisher  Unwin. 

THESE  two  splendid  volumes  relate  the  principal  events  in 
the  life  of  one  of  the  most  remarkable  Irishmen  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  They  are  full  of  interest  from  many  points  of  view. 
Here,  however,  we  are  naturally  concerned  most  with  those  parts 
of  them  which  deal  with  the  relations  of  Church  to  society  in  our 
own  country  and  in  our  own  times  ;  for  Sir  Charles,  from  his 
earliest  days,  was  closely  connected  with  ecclesiastics,  and  took 
all  through  his  life  the  deepest  interest  in  the  action  and  govern- 
ment of  the  Church,  and  in  its  influence  on  the  course  of  public 
affairs.  It  is,  therefore,  not  alone  to  the  Church  historian  of  the 
future,  but  also  to  those  members  of  the  clergy  who  desire,  at  the 
present  day,  to  influence  the  world  around  them,  and  to  be  guided 
in  their  action  by  the  experience  of  the  past,  that  these  volumes 
will  be  found  most  useful. 

"We  do  not  say  that  the  author  is  to  be  regarded  either  as  a 
prophet  or  as  a  guide ;  but  his  views  on  things  ecclesiastical  are 
always  worthy  of  attention.  They  are  the  views  of  a  very 
friendly  critic,  and  of  one  who,  though  a  Liberal  and  champion 
of  Liberalism,  evidently  values  the  Catholic  faith  as  the  most 
precious  gift  that  any  man  can  possess,  and  who  would  be  as 
ready,  if  the  occasion  called  for  it,  to  sacrifice  every  earthly 
interest,  as  his  Northern  forefathers  were,  in  order  to  preserve  it 
intact  for  himself  and  others.  In  his  second  volume  he  tells  us 
that  he  looked  up  to  Montalembert  '  as  the  ideal  of  what  a 
Catholic  gentleman  should  be,  genuinely  pious  and  a  strict 
disciplinarian,  but  entirely  free  from  religious  bigotry  or  intole- 
rance, the  rooted  enemy  of  despotism,  and  the  friend  of  personal 
and  political  liberty  everywhere.' 

This  is  clearly  not  the  place  to  review  the  history  of  Liberalism 
and  Conservatism  in  Church  government,  or  to  discuss  the  merits 
of  the  fierce  contests  that  raged  in  France  and  elsewhere 
between  the  champions  of  the  two  great  schools.  It  is  sufficient 


280  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

to  note  that  Duffy  is  always  on  the  left,  but  never  on  the  extreme 
left. 

We  must  refer  our  readers  to  the  volumes  themselves  for 
confirmation  of  this  appreciation  of  ours ;  but,  in  the  limited  space 
at  our  disposal,  we  wish  to  emphasize  the  importance  of  the 
autobiography  from  the  point  of  view  of  ecclesiastical  history.  No 
one  can  accurately  gauge  the  strength  of  the  forces  that  were  at 
work  in  Ireland  from  1848  to  1879,  who  does  not  read  this  work. 
The  two  ecclesiastics  who  were  most  closely  associated  with 
Sir  Charles,  though  in  very  diverse  ways,  were  Dr.  Murray  of 
Maynooth,  and  Canon  Doyle  of  Wexford.  There  is  frequent 
mention  of  them  in  the  two  volumes. 

There  are  very  many  other  interesting  references  to  matters 
and  persons  ecclesiastical — to  Cardinal  Cullen,  Dr.  Newman, 
Father  Burke,  O.P. ;  Dr.  Moriarty,  Dr.  O'Hanlon,  Canon  Doyle, 
Father  O'Shea,  &c.  We  may  not  always  accept  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  writer;  we  may  not  agree  with  him  in  all  his 
appreciations  of  persons  and  of  things;  but  we  must  always 
recognise  in  him  a  Liberal  of  the  very  best  and  highest  type,  a 
genuinely  religious  Catholic,  and  a  man  of  extraordinary  versa- 
tility. Perhaps  the  element  that  attracts  us  most  in  these  volumes 
is  the  sympathy  of  the  author  with  art,  literature,  and  science, 
and  the  evidence  of  his  intercourse  with  many  of  the  greatest 
men  of  his  time  in  all  these  departments.  This  is  a  feature 
which  he  possessed  in  common  with  his  model,  Montalembert, 
and,  indeed,  with  nearly  all  the  men  of  the  mid-century  period 
who  were  noted  for  their  high  political  ideals. 

J.  F.  H. 

THE  EUCHAKISTIC  CHEIST.  By  Eev.  A.  Tesniere.  Trans- 
lated by  Mrs.  A.  R.  Bennett-Gladstone.  New  York  : 
Benziger  Brothers. 

IN  1856  a  religious  society  of  priests,  called  the  Congregation 
of  the  Most  Holy  Sacrament,1  was  founded  in  Paris  by  Pere 
Eymard.  Six  years  later  it  obtained  the  canonical  approval  of 
Pius  IX.,  and  in  1895,  besides  the  mother  house  in  Paris,  there 
were  foundations  established  in  Marseilles,  Eome,  Brussels,  and 
Montreal.  This  Congregation,  as  its  name  implies,  is  devoted 
exclusively  to  the  worship  and  apostolate  of  the  Blessed  Sacra - 

1  See  I.  E.  RECOBD,  June,  1895. 


NOTICES   OF   BOOKS  281 

ment.  In  their  churches  there  is  perpetual  exposition  ;  and  by 
sermons,  writings,  and  the  organization  of  Eucharistic  associa- 
tions and  congresses,  the  fathers  of  the  Congregation  seek  to 
awaken  and  propagate  devotion  to  Jesus,  hidden  under  the 
sacramental  veil. 

To  one  of  those  associations,  viz.,  the  Confraternity  of  Priest- 
adorers,  attention  has  already  been  directed  in  the  pages  of  the 

1.  E.  EECOBD.  1     We  may  state  here  that  this  aggregation,  as  it  is 
called,  was  canonically  erected  at  Eome,  on  the  16th  January, 
1887,  with  the  approval  of  the  Pope  and  the  commendation  of  a 
large  number  of  archbishops  and  bishops  from  different  parts  of 
the  world.     It  consists  of  priests  who  undertake  '  to  make  every 
week  one  continuous  hour  of    adoration    before  the  Most  Holy 
Sacrament,  either  exposed  or  shut  up  in  the  tabernacle.'2    It  is 
scarcely  necessary  to    specify    the   objects    of   the    Association. 
Briefly  they  are — 1.  To  draw  the  priest  nearer  to  the  Eucharist. 

2.  To  form  ardent  apostles  of  the  love  of  Jesus  for  man.     3.  To 
secure  the  triumph  of  the  Church  by  united  prayer  before  the 
tabernacle.     4.  To  make  reparation  for  the  coldness  and  ingrati- 
tude of  indifferent  Catholics.     It  is  not  surprising  that  an  idea 
at  once  so  beautiful  in  itself,  and  so  practical  from  the  point  of 
view  of  personal  sanctification  and  missionary    success,  should 
have  '  struck  a  responsive  chord.'     At  present  there  are  over  fifty 
thousand  priests  enrolled  in  the  Association.     Of    these,  three 
thousand  are  in  the  United  States,  and  nearly  three  hundred  in 
Ireland,  where,  it  should  be  added,  the  devotion  has  only  been  a 
few  years  established. 

'  In  the  interest  of  this  Confraternity  [writes  Dr.  M'Mahon,  in 
his  learned  preface  to  the  book  before  us]  many  works  have  been 
published  in  French.  The  present,  The  Eucharistic  Christ,  is 
the  first  that  has  been  put  into  English  dress,  in  the  hope  that 
its  reflections  and  pious  thoughts  may  find  favour  among  the 
American  members  of  the  Confraternity. ' 

We  trust  they  may  also  find  favour  among  ourselves,  and  that 
the  circulation  of  this  book  will  help  to  propagate  a  devotion 
which  is  peculiarly  suited  to  the  needs  of  our  age.  Advertise. 


1  See  I.  E.  RECORD,  July,  1894. 

2  This  is  the   principal  condition   of   membership.     The  Rev.  A.  Simon, 
Wilton  College,    Cork,   the  Director-General    for   the  United  Kingdom,   will 
send  full  conditions  of  membership   on  application,  with  stamped  envelope 
enclosed. 


282  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

ment,  show,  making  a  noise,  are  now  more  than  ever  in  fashion. 
To  see  one's  name  in  leaden  type  as  having  done,  or  spoken,  or 
written  something  suitable,  is  the  ambition  of  not  a  few,  possibly 
of  not  a  few  whose  serene  wisdom  should  have  taught  them — 

'  The  ocean  deep  is  mute,  while  shallows  roar. ' 

In  contrast  with  the  brawling  ways  of  man,  how  fearfully 
quiet  and  unobtrusive  is  the  presence  of  God  in  His  own  world- 
So  also  remarks  the  writer  of  the  preface  : — 

'  May  we  not  also  say  [he  writes]  that  the  Spirit  of  the  Blessed 
Sacrament,  which  Father  Faber  so  beautifully  shows  to  be  the 
Spirit  of  the  Holy  Infancy,  namely,  simplicity  and  hidden  life, 
is  directly  opposed  to  the  spirit  of  the  age,  ever  desirous  of 
proclaiming  and  extolling  its  various  beneficent  deeds.' 

In  one  hour  of  continuous  adoration  before  the  Most  Holy 
Sacrament  a  thoughtful  man  cannot  fail  to  learn  this  much,  and, 
if  it  be  not  his  own  fault,  he  will  derive  from  this  exercise  such 
refreshment  as  the  world,  with  all  its  food-stuffs,  and  drink-stuffs, 
and  mind-stuffs,  cannot  give.  We  have  great  pleasure,  then, 
in  introducing  The  Eucharistic  Christ  to  the  readers  of  the 
I.  E  EECOKD. 

The  first  chapter  is  introductory,  and  explains  at  length  the 
'  Object  and  End  of  the  Adoration  ' : — 

'  The  adoration  has  a  threefold  object,  and  ought  to  be  con- 
sidered in  a  threefold  relation.  It  is,  first,  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  that  it  ought  to  honour  beneath  the  Eucharistic  veils ; 
next  it  is  the  love  of  the  adorer,  which  it  ought  to  sanctify; 
and,  lastly,  it  is  our  neighbour,  which  it  ought  to  assist  and  to 
help,  and  especially  the  Church.' 

The  second  chapter  is  occupied  with  the  '  Method  of  Adoration.' 
Taking  as  a  basis  the  following  sentence  from  St.  Thomas,  which 
is  a  condensed  treatise  on  religion  :  '  Homo  maxime  obligatur  Deo 
propter  Majestatem  egus,  propter  beneficia  jam  accepta,  propter 
offensam,  et  propter  beneficia  sperata.'  F.  Eymard  designed 
the  '  Method  of  the  Four  Ends  of  Sacrifice.'  The  third  chapter 
contains  a  programme  of  '  Acts  of  the  Faculties  and  of  the  Virtues 
in  each  of  the  Four  Ends ; '  so  that  the  adorer  is  furnished  with 
a  scientific  and  practical  method  of  adoration,  which  makes  it  not 
only  possible  but  easy  to  occupy  the  whole  hour  with  appropriate 
thoughts  and  affections.  But  the  author  has  done  very  much 


NOTICES   OF  BOOKS  283 

more.  In  the  succeeding  chapters  this  method  is  applied  to  the 
following  subjects,  viz.  : — '  The  Institution  of  the  Eucharist,'  'The 
Fact,'  'The  Masterpiece  of  God,'  'The  Priest,'  'The  Sacrifice,' 
'  The  Eucharist  a  Memorial  of  the  Passion,'  « The  Most  Holy 
Body  of  Jesus,'  '  The  Precious  Blood,'  '  The  Heart  of  Jesus  in  the 
Eucharist,'  'The  Five  Wounds,'  'The  Eucharistic  State,' 'The 
Diffusion  of  the  Eucharist,'  '  The  Perpetuity  of  the  Eucharist,' 
1  The  Universality  of  the  Eucharist.' 

From  this  brief  outline  of  its  contents  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
book  is  admirably  adapted  to  the  purpose  for  which  it  was 
written.  The  first  chapter  will  go  far  to  induce  the  reader  to 
become  a  member  of  the  association  ;  the  second  tells  the  novice 
how  he  is  to  carry  out  the  principal  condition  of  membership  ; 
while  the  bulk  of  the  volume  may  be  called,  Hours  before  the 
Most  Holy  Sacrament. 

So  much  for  the  merits  of  this  work.  Has  it  any  faults? 
The  style  is  tolerable  ;  it  might  be  better ;  but  it  is  good  enough 
for  any  reader,  and  particularly  for  anyone  who  intends  to  use  the 
book  as  an  aid  to  devotion.  In  such  a  work  we  look  more  to 
substance  than  to  form.  From  this  point  of  view  the  only  positive 
fault  we  noticed  is  a  certain  amount  of  theological  vagueness  in 
the  discussion  of  that  most  profound  mystery,  viz.,  the  modus 
existendi  of  Christ  in  the  Eucharist.  We  read,  for  instance,  in 
page  50  : —  • 

'  And  in  this  point  of  consecrated  bread,  imperceptible,  inde- 
visible,  .  .  .  Christ  continues  to  be  living  .  .  .  with  His  face  and 
its  sweet  expression,  with  His  Heart  whose  palpitations  our  love 
or  our  coldness  hastens  or  abates.' 

And  again  on  page  95  : — 

'  The  eyes  of  Jesus  behold  us  through  the  holy  species  ;  His 
ears  hearken  to  our  prayers.' 

But  on  page  149  we  are  told  the  Eucharistic  annihilation  is 
'  inaction  .  .  .  there  is  neither  sensibility  nor  movement,  nor  a 
glance  of  the  eyes.' 

We  do  not  deny  that  those  apparently  contradictory  state- 
ments may  be  true  in  different  senses.  We  think,  however,  that 
an  author  should  avoid  the  semblance  of  contradiction,  and  take 
care  that  his  expressions  leave  no  confused  or  false  impressions 
on  the  minds  of  his  readers.  A  footnote  of  reference  to  Franzelin, 
which  evidently  he  had  at  hand,  would  at  least  have  indicated 


284  THE    IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

to  the  inquisitive  reader  a  means  of  discriminating  between  the 
author's  rhetoric  and  his  theology.  We  shall  discuss  the  two 
expressions  that  seem  most  contradictory,  viz. ,  '  The  eyes  of  Jesus 
behold  us  through  the  holy  species/  and,  there  is  neither  sensi- 
bility .  .  .  nor  a  glance  of  the  eyes.' 

That  Jesus  sees  us  in  some  real  way  there  can,  of  course,  be  no 
doubt.  But  has  Jesus,  as  He  is  the  Eucharist  formaliter,  the  use  of 
His  eyes  so  that  He  looks  at  us  through  the  Sacramental  Species? 
It  would  seem  that  according  to  the  common  teaching  of 
theologians,  the  mode  of  Christ's  existence  in  the  Eucharist 
excludes  a  connatural  use  of  His  eternal  senses.  '  Ex  modo 
existendi  inextenso  in  thesi  declarato  sequitur.  .  .  .  Christum 
Dominum,  formaliter  ut  in  hoc  modo  existendi  sacramental i 
se  constituit  non  posse  naturali  virtute  suae  humanitates 
evercere  actus  transeuntes  in  alia  corpora,  nee  posse,  spectata 
solum  naturali  virtute  animam  Christi  agere  in  proprium  corpus 
sive  ad  motum  sive  ad  exercitium  sensuum  externorum.' 
(Franzelim  de  SS.  Eucheristia  Thesis  XI.)  The  italics  are 
Franzelin's,  and  are  meant  to  convey  that  vision  and  hearing 
are  not  connatural  to  the  sacramental  mode  of  Christ's  existence 
in  the  Eucharist.  This  learned  theologian  then  proceeds  to  discuss 
the  question  whether  or  not  by  a  special  miracle  the  Word  com- 
municates such  exercise  of  the  senses  to  His  sacred  humanity 
(even  as  it  is  formaliter  in  the  Eucharist)  as  befits  the  end  of 
the  sacrament,  for  instance,  seeing  and  hearing.  Here  is  his 
answer : — 

'  Hanc  supernaturalem  communicationem  actuum  visionis 
et  auditionis  per  sensus  ipsos  Sacratissimi  Corporis  in  statu 
Sacramentali  quamvis  communior  sententia  theologorum  non 
admittat,  ut  fatetur  Card.  Cienfuegos  amplissimus  ejus  assertor 
ac  defensor,  affirmant  tamen  S.  Bonaventura,  Tsambertus  et 
alii  non  pauci  saltern  ut  probabilem ;  simpliciter  ut  veram 
Lessius,  Cornelius  a  Lapide,  Gamacheus,  Martinonus,  Tannerus ; 
prae  caeteris  vero  .  .  .  Card.  Cienfuegos  .  .  .  Mihi  certe 
haec  sententia  non  propter  diserta  testimonia  Scripturae  et 
Patrum,  quae  proferuntur  parum  efficacia,  sed  propter  ejus 
connectionem  cum  dignitate  Sacratissimae  humanitatis  et  cum 
scopo  et  fine  Sacramenti  .  .  .  videtur  probabilissima  et  pia; 
dummodo  tamen  non  ita  defendatur,  ac  si  ea  non  admissa  Christus 
in  sacramento  non  vivens  sed  instar  mortui  conceipi  deberet.' 
(Thesis  XI.) 

What  then  is  to  be  thought  of  the  expression :   '  The  eyes 


NOTICES   OF   BOOKS  285 

of  Jesus  behold  us  through  the  holy  species.'?  1.  It  is 
certainly  true  in  this  sense  that  Jesus  has  the  same  per- 
ceptions in  the  Eucharist  that  He  has  in  heaven,  arid  there- 
fore, that  nothing  is  hidden  from  Him  who  is  present  under 
the  Sacramental  veil.  2.  According  to  a  probable  opinion  the 
eyes  of  Jesus,  as  they  are  in  the  Eucharist,  are,  by  a  special 
miracle,  endowed  with  power  of  actual  vision.  The  expression, 
'  there  is  no  glance  of  the  eye,'  is  true  in  this  sense,  that  the  eyes 
of  Jesus  as  they  are  in  the  Eucharist,  are  by  the  nature  of  the 
Eucharistic  state  destitute  of  actual  vision,  although,  according 
to  the  probable  opinion  just  mentioned,  there  is  '  a  glance  of  the 
eye  '  by  a  special  miracle.  It  is  beside  my  purpose  to  discuss  the 
probability  of  this  special  miracle,  as  I  have  had  in  view  only  to 
reconcile  our  author's  apparent  contradictions.  Sound  theology, 
however,  should  be  the  basis  of  all  devotion,  and  it  is  hard  to  say 
which  is  the  greater  misfortune  ;  that  theologians  don't  do  more 
writing  of  spiritual  books,  or  that  spritual  writers  too  often  try  to 
improve  on  theology. 

T.  P.  G. 


SOME  OF  THE  FEUITS  OF  FIFTY  YEARS  :  ANNALS  OF  THE 
CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  VICTORIA.  By  the  Most  Kev. 
Thos.  J.  Carr,  Archbishop  of  Melbourne.  Melbourne  : 
Massina  &  Co. 

Some  of  the  Fruits  of  Fifty  Tears  is  a  happy  alternative  title 
of  this  quarto  volume  of  ninety  pages,  which  is  more  officially 
styled  the  Annals  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  Victoria.  Those 
fruits  are  not  merely  recorded,  but  are  rendered  visible  to  the  eye 
through  the  medium  of  finely  executed  illustrations  of  all  the 
varied  ecclesiastical  buildings  of  Victoria.  The  Most  Rev. 
Author's  design  in  compiling  this  work  was,  it  appears,  twofold  : 

(1)  to  commemorate  the  consecration  of  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral, 
Melbourne,  which  took  place  on  the  31st  October,   1897  ;  and 

(2)  '  to  preserve  to  distant  generations  a  knowledge  of  the  early 
history  of  missions,  churches,  schools,  and  religious  houses,  which 
if  not  now  carefully  compiled  would,  in  great  part,  be  lost  for 
ever.'     Judged  by  the  illustrations  alone  which  adorn  the  book,  it 
must  at  once  be  confessed,  that  the  material  progress  of  the 
Catholic  Church  in  Victoria  is  simply  marvellous.     Fifty  years 
ago,  Dr.  Goold  was  appointed  first  Bishop  of  Melbourne,  with 


286  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

jurisdiction  over  the  whole  of  Victoria.  At  that  date  there  were 
only  some  six  thousand  Catholics  in  the  whole  Colony  which  was 
alike  destitute  of  churches  and  schools.  To-day  this  Colony  forms 
an  ecclesiastical  province  containing  four  bishoprics,  namely,  the 
archiepiscopal  see  of  Melbourne,  and  the  dioceses  of  Ballarat, 
Sandhurst,  and  Sale,  each  of  which  is  equipped  with  churches, 
presbyteries,  monasteries,  and  schools.  Standing  apart  by  reason 
of  its  style,  position,  and  dimensions,  is  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral, 
Melbourne.  It  was  commenced  in  1858,  and  its  consecration  last 
October,  in  the  presence  of  the  Cardinal  Archbishop  of  Sydney, 
the  Governor  of  the  Colony,  the  Australasian  bishops,  and  an 
immense  concourse  of  all  creeds  and  classes,  synchonized  with 
the  Golden  Jubilee  of  the  diocese  of  Melbourne.  Tt  occupies  an 
enviable  position  on  the  Eastern  Hill.  Some  idea  of  its  splendour 
may  be  obtained  from  the  following  details  : — 

4  Length  along  nave  and  sanctuary,  340  feet ;  length  along 
transepts,  185  feet.  Width  across  nave  and  aisles,  82  feet ;  width 
across  transepts  and  aisles,  82  feet.  The  height  of  nave  and 
transepts  is  95  feet ;  of  the  central  tower,  260  feet,  and  of  each 
of  the  front  flanking  towers,  203  feet.  The  dignity  of  the 
building  externally  is  enhanced  by  the  flying  buttresses  and  the 
carved  pinnacles.  The  whole  building  is  lit  with  electric  light. 
The  carrying  of  the  aisles  along  the  sides  of  the  transepts  is 
another  important  feature,  providing  as  it  does,  along  with  the 
chapels  and  arcaded  sanctuary,  imposing  vistas  and  an  air  of 
dignity  and  mystery.  The  style  is  a  late  form  of  early  English 
Gothic  or  decorated.  The  total  area  of  the  Cathedral  is 
35,000  square  feet.  The  expenditure  so  far  has  amounted  to 
.£200,000.' 

We  have  transcribed  those  items  from  the  detailed  description 
contained  in  the  work  which  want  of  space  compels  us  to  omit. 
It  is  a  pity  the  publishers  did  not  contrive  to  give  us  some  views 
of  the  interior  of  this  noble  minster,  but  we  feel  it  is  ungracious 
to  make  even  so  slight  an  adverse  comment  on  a  volume,  the 
artistic  workmanship  of  which  is,  on  the  whole,  sumptuous  and 
splendid. 

Need  we  add,  that  the  matter,  which  is  both  well  ordered  and 
detailed,  is  most  interesting  as  affording  an  insight  into  the 
growth  of  the  Church  in  the  fairest  province  of  Australia. 

T.  P.  G. 


NOTICES   OF   BOOKS  287 


COMMENTARIUS      DE      JUDICIO        SACRAMENTALI. 

Baptistae  Pighi,  S.  Theol.  Doct.  Ad  Frutinam  vocatus 
a  G.  M.  Van  Kossum  C.SS.R,  S.  Off.  Cons.  Editio 
altera. 

THE  first  edition  of  this  work  appeared  in  August.  In  less 
than  a  month  a  new  edition  was  called  for.  This  is  not  sm*prising 
when  we  consider  the  importance  of  the  matter.  The  occasion  of 
the  work  was  the  Commentarius  of  Professor  Pighi,  which  treated 
especially  of  Occasionarii  and  Eccidivi.  He  dedicated  his 
work  to  St.  Alphonsus,  and  professed  to  follow  his  teaching. 
Father  Van  Kossum,  therefore,  as  he  tells  us,  expected  to  find 
'  Salutarem  S.  Doctoris  in  re  tanti  rnomenti  doctrinam  fideliter 
expositam  et  expugnatam  '  (p.  7).  But  he  says  :  '  Quo  magis 
in  legendo  progrediebar,  eo  magis  auctorem  deflectere  animadver- 
tebam  a  prudentissima  S.  Alphonsi  doctrina  '  (p.  7).  While, 
therefore,  declaring  that  the  author  was  free  to  propose  his  own 
opinions,  he  thinks  it  unfair  to  give  them  to  his  readers  as  those 
of  St.  Alphonsus.  'Hanc,'  says  Father  Van  Eossum,  'mon- 
strabo  doctrinam  cl.  Professoris  Pighi  a  saluberrimis  S.  Alphonsi 
praeceptis  omnino  alienam  ;  simulque  propriis  S.  Doctoris  verbis 
quid  ipse  de  occasionariis  et  recidivis  doceat  exponam  '  (p.  9). 
This  work,  as  a  clear  exposition  in  a  few  pages  of  the  teaching  of 
St.  Alphonsus,  is  of  permanent  utility,  apart  from  the  occasion 
which  called  it  forth.  It  gives,  moreover,  the  teaching  of  our 
best  guides  in  those  important  matters. 

We  learn  from  words  addressed  to  Benevolo  Lector  (p.  5), 
that  Professor  Pighi  published  an  Appendix  in  Italian,  in  which 
he  answers  the  Ad  Trutinam  as  to  the  more  important  points. 
This  new  edition  deals  with  these,  each  in  its  proper  place. 

As  to  the  form  and  order,  the  author  gives  the  first  chapter  to 
'  Quo  loco  cl.  Pighi  S.  Doctoris  Alphonsi  authoritatem,  atque 
doctrinam  habeat.'  Here,  and  indeed  everywhere,  he  seems  to  us 
to  cite  Professor  Pighi  fully  and  fairly.  '  Probe  animadvertatur,  ' 
says  St.  Alphonsus,  '  poenitentium  salutem  maxima  ex  parte 
dependere  a  bona  agendi  ratione  confessariorum  in  danda  aut 
differenda  absolutione  occasionariis  et  recidivis.'  Here  we 
have  indicated  the  matter  of  the  second  and  third  chapters  : 
De  Occasionariis  et  De  Recidivis.  The  matter  is  too  important 
to  attempt  an  analysis  ;  but  we  cannot  help  thinking  that  the 
languor  in  faith,  and  feebleness  in  dispositions  with  which 


288  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 



Professor  Pighi  seems  to  credit  his  countrymen,  must  be  confined  to 
the  great  centres  of  population  ;  and  even  in  these,  can  we  believe 
that  they  are  general?  At. home  we  have  rarely  to  deplore  such 
a  state  of  things,  and  we  are  thankful  that  our  people  are  well 
able  to  bear  the  remedies  that  are  either  necessary  or  useful  for 
the  cure  of  evil  habits.  We  quite  agree  with  Father  Van  Eossum 
that  it  would  be  fatal  to  make  a  rule  of  that  which  should  be  an 
exception.  We  willingly  subscribe  to  the  concluding  words  of 
No.  80,  p.  150  :— 

'  Deinde  ex  eo  quod  plures  hodiedum  inveniuntur,  quibus 
absolutio  differenda  non  sit,  non  ideo  cum  omnibus  poenitentibus 
eadem  ratione  est  agendum.  Quod  fides  languet  apud  multos 
non  ideo  languet  apud  omnes;  quod  languet  in  magnis  civi- 
tatibus,  non  ideo  languet  in  omnibus  urbibus ;  quod  languet 
iri'urbe  non  ideo  ruri  languet ;  quod  '  languet  in  quibusdam 
regionibus,  non  ideo  languet  ubique  terrarum.  Propterea  magna 
prudentia,  discretione  et  circumspectione  opus  est,  ne  exceptiones 
in  regulam  mutentur,  ne  ea,  quae  in  extremis,  sunt  tentanda,  in 
ordinario  verum  statu  adhibeantur,  ne  cum  omnibus  ubique  indis- 
criminatim  agatur,  acsi  ubique  et  apud  omnes  fides  languet. 
Nihil  enim  efficatius  fidem  everteret  et  morum  corruptelam 
praecipitaret  innumerarumque  produceret  animarum  ruinam.' 

We  have  been  informed  by  the  author  of  this  work  that  owing 
to  the  difficulty  of  procuring  it  ;outside  Italy,  it  will  be  sent  to 
any  priest  in  England,  Ireland,  or  Australia,  and  may  be  paid  for 
by  means  of  a  shilling  postal  order  addressed  V.  R. — S.  Alfonso, 

via  Merulana,  Eoma. 

T  M 

•.  .  J  .  •»-!•• 

J  ,i  i     . .     .1.    1 


THE   CONVENTION    OF    DROM-CEAT 

A.D.  590 
I.   THE    SITE   OF   THE   CONVENTION 

WITH  truth  has  it  often  been  said  that  the 
history  and  the  scenery  of  our  country  share 
a  similar  neglect,  and  that  both  are  permitted 
to  remain  unnoticed  and  uncared  for,  unless 
when  the  sneer  of  a  Thackeray,  or  the  calumny  of  a  Froude, 
draws  attention  to  the  one  or  the  other.  It  cannot  be 
denied  that  there  are  in  our  land  beauties  of  mountain, 
lake,  and  valley,  which,  were  they  found  in  Switzerland  or 
in  Italy,  instead  of  in  Ireland,  would  be  famed  throughout 
the  world.  '  The  cold  chain  of  silence '  which  thus  hangs 
over  our  scenery,  exerts  an  equally  baneful  influence  over 
the  most  interesting  episodes  of  our  history,  such  as  to  the 
writer  of  ancient  Greece  or  Home  would  have  furnished  fit 
subjects  for  the  display  of  eloquent  narrative,  or  glowing 
declamation.  It  is  true  that  at  times  our  annals  are 
defective,  and  that  the  critical  writer  hesitates  to  accept  as 
facts  what  at  best  may  only  prove  to  be  probable  conjectures; 
still,  had  Livy,  and  Sallust,  and  Plutarch  carried  out  that 
rule,  where  now  would  be  the  thrilling  eloquence  and 
touching  biographies  of  pagan  times  ?  But,  without 
wandering  into  the  region  of  conjecture,  we  have  more 
than  enough  of  interesting  material  to  engage  the  pen  of  the 

FOURTH  SERIES,  VOL.  III. — APRIL,  1898.  I 


290  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

essayist  in  the  authentic  and  well-substantiated  facts  of  our 
national  history.  Of  these  not  the  least  inviting  theme, 
and,  as  it  seems  to  us,  not  the  least  important,  is  the 
Convention  of  Drom-Ceat,  held,  according  to  the  best 
authorities,  in  the  year  590.1 

On  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Foyle,  by  the  scanty  stream 
of   the     deep-channelled    Koe,  near   the   modern   town   of 
Limavady,  in  the  present  county  of  Londonderry,  is  the 
site  of  this  famous  convention.     It  is  a  spot  which  the  pen 
of  Macaulay  would  have  gloried  to  depict.     Scenes  of  sylvan 
beauty    spread    everywhere    around.      Wood    and    water, 
mountain  and  glade,  smiling  villas    and   lordly   demesnes 
fill  up  a  picture  of  no  ordinary  magnificence.    And,  as  might 
be  expected,  it  is  as  interesting  in  its  historical,  as  it  is  in 
its  natural  aspect.     The  entire   locality    is    teeming  with 
reminiscences  of  the  past,  which  even  the  Ulster  Plantation 
was  not  able  to  destroy.      Saints  have  hallowed  this  soil 
by  their  labours ;  some,  like  Canice,  have  shed  a  lustre  upon 
it   by   their  birth;   others,    like  Neachtain  of   Dungiven, 
Muireadach  O'Heney  of  Banagher,  and  Cadan  of  Magilligan 
(nephew  of  St.  Patrick),  have  either  founded  churches  in  the 
vicinity,  or  sought  a  final  resting-place  by  the  slopes  of  the 
adjacent   mountains.     Princes  and  warriors  have  fought  for 
the  suzerainty  of  the  rich  champagne  country  around.     In 
his  castle  by  the  Eoe  did  O'Cahan  dispense  hospitality  in 
a  truly  Irish  fashion,  till  that  honoured  name  was  stained 
by  the  treason  of  Donald  Ballagh,  who  became   the   foul 
instrument    of   treachery  in    the    unscrupulous    hands   of 
Chichester  and   Montgomery — the  latter  of  whom,  with  a 
zeal    not  altogether  apostolic,  grasped  the  mitre  and  the 
revenues  of  the  united  sees  of  Derry,  Clogher,  and  Eaphoe. 
But  neither  natural   beauty,  nor    historical    recollections, 
no    matter    how   interesting,  have    contributed    to   render 
the  spot    so    memorable   as   did  the  remarkable    assembly 
convoked  by  .ZEdh  MacAinmire,  the  powerful  king  of  Ireland, 


1  Different  dates  have  been  assigned  for  this  Convention,  but  we  have 
adopted  the  year  590  liecause  it  seems  supported  by  the  best  authorities. 
Dr.  Reeves,  in  Colton's  J'in'talion.  gives  this  date,  but  in  his  Adamnin  he  seems 
to  incline  to  the  year  f>"4  as  the  proper  date. 


THE   CONVENTION   OF   DROM-CEAT  291 

and  which  was  honoured  by  the  presence  of  Columba, 
the  great  father  of  western  monasticism,  and  apostle 
of  the  northern  isles  of  Scotland.  It  may  seem  strange 
that  the  site  of  so  remarkable  an  event  should  now  be  a 
matter  of  conjecture  ;  but  such  is  the  case  not  only  regard- 
ing this  spot,  but  also  regarding  other  equally  memorable 
places  in  the  north  of  Ireland. 

Dr.  Keeves,  and  after  him  Dr.  O'Donovan,  fixed  upon  the 
Mullagh,  or  Daisy  Hill,  in  Eoe  Park,  beside  Limavady,  as 
the  site  of  the  Convention ;  but  we  trust  to  give  reasons 
sufficiently  satisfactory  for  differing  from  authorities  usually 
so  reliable.  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  the  Four  Masters 
make  no  mention  whatever  of  this  Convention,  though  it 
is  referred  to  by  Adamnan,  and  all  the  ancient  annalists, 
with  whose  writings  they  must  have  been  familiar ;  but 
O'Donovan  in  a  footnote  to  the  Annals,  under  the  year  575, 
speaks  of  the  assembly,  and  names  the  Mullagh  as  the  place 
where  it  was  held.  In  Colton's  Visitation,  under  the  word 
'  Drumachose,'  n.,  p.  132,  Dr.  Beeves  thus  writes  : — 

Independently  of  its  connection  with  St.  Cainech,  this  parish 
is  distinguished  as  having  been  the  scene  of  the  celebrated 
convention  called  Mordail-Droma-Ceat,  which  was  held  in  the 
year  590,  for  the  purpose  of  deciding  the  Dalriadic  controversy, 
at  which  St.  Columbcille  was  present.  Adamnan  styles  it  '  Begum 
in  Dorso-cette  Condictum.' 

O'Donnell  has  preserved  for  us  this  clue  to  its  position  [we 
quote  from  Colgan's  Latin  version  of  O'Donnell  as  given  by 
Dr.  Keeves].  'Columba,  after  sailing  across  the  aforementioned 
river  [that  is  Lough  Foyle],  at  the  part  where  it  is  broadest, 
turned  the  prow  of  his  vessel  to  the  river  Eoe,  which  flows  into 
the  aforesaid  river,  and  the  vessel  of  the  holy  man  glided,  with 
the  divine  assistance,  up  this  stream,  though  from  the  scantiness 
of  its  waters  it  is  otherwise  unnavigable.  But  the  place  in  which 
the  boat  was  then  anchored,  thenceforth  from  that  circumstance 
called  Cabhan-an-Churaidh,  i.e.  "the  hill  of  the  boat,"  is  very 
near  Drumceat.  After  making  a  moderate  delay  at  that  place, 
the  holy  man,  with  his  venerable  retinue,  set  out  to  that  charm- 
ing, gently-sloping  hill,  commonly  called  Drumceat. 

'  Columba  memoratum  euripum  [i.e.  Loch  Feabhail]  qua  longe 
patet,  emensus,  navigii  cursus  dirigi  fecit  per  Eoam  amnem,  in 
predictum  euripum  decurrentem ;  quern  fluvium,  quamquam 
aquarum  inopia  alias  innavigabilem,  navis  sancti  viri  divina 
virtute  percurrit.  Locus  autem  in  quo  navicula  subinde  stetit, 


292  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

deinceps  ab  eventu  Cabhan  an  Churaidh,  id  est,  collis  cymbae 
appelatus,  Druimchettae  pervicinus  est.  Caeterum  modica  eo  loci 
mora  contracta, Vir  Sanctus  cum  sua  veneranda  comitiva  contendit 
ad  per  amaenum  ilium  collem,  leniter  acclivem,  vulgo  Druimchett 
vocatum.'1 

Though  at  present  [continues  Dr.  Eeeves]  there  are  no  local 
traditions  to  help  in  the  identification  of  the  spot,  it  was  well 
known  in  Colgan's  time,  who  writes :  '  To-day  and  for  ever 
venerable,  especially  on  account  of  the  many  pilgrimages,  and 
the  public  procession  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  which  on  the 
festival  of  All  Saints  is  there  annually  made  with  an  immense 
concourse  from  all  the  neighbouring  districts  in  memory  of  the 
aforesaid  synod  there  celebrated. '  '  Hodie  et  semper  venerabilis, 
maxime  ob  multas  peregrinationes  et  publicam  Theophoriam, 
quae  in  festo  omnium  sanctorum  in  praedictae  synodi  memoriam 
ibidem  celebratae  in  eo  quottannis  fit,  cum  summo  omnium  vici- 
narum  partium  accursu '  (Act.  SS.  p.  204,  n.  13).  The  hill  called 
'  the  Ready,'  which  commences  about  two  miles  out  of  Newtown- 
limavady,  might  be  supposed,  from  the  apparent  similarity  of  the 
name,  to  be  the  spot,  but  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  artificial 
mound  in  Eoe  Park,  called  ;  The  Mullagh,'  and  sometimes  •  the 
Daisy  Hill,'  is  the  real  Drumceatt.  It  is  situate  in  a  meadow,  at 
a  little  distance  from  the  house,  on  the  N.W.  ;  it  rises  to  the 
height  of  about  twenty  feet,  and  measures  about  one  hundred  and 
ninety  by  one  hundred  and  seventy  feet.  The  prospect  from 
it  is  exceedingly  extensive  and  varied,  commanding  a  view 
of  Magilligan,  with  its  Benyevenagh,  Aghanloo,  Drumachose, 
Tamlaght-Finlagan,  and  part  of  Innishowen.  There  is  no  local 
tradition  about  the  spot,  except  that  it  is  reckoned  '  gentle,'  and 
that  it  is  unlucky  to  cut  the  sod.  The  truth  is,  the  effects  of  the 
Plantation  have  utterly  effaced  all  the  old  associations  of  the 
place. 2 

We  have  thought  it  but  just  to  Dr.  Reeves  to  give 
his  note  in  extenso,  inserting  at  the  same  time  the 
translation  of  the  two  Latin  quotations  for  the  benefit  of 
non-classical  readers  of  the  I.  E.  RECORD,  that  our  reasons 
for  differing  from  him  may  be  the  more  immediately  and 
clearly  understood.  We  believe  the  site  of  the  Convention 
to  have  been  a  small  hill  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Roe 
from  the  Mullagh ;  and  we  believe,  moreover,  that  the 
Ready  derives  its  name  from,  and  is  only  a  modernized  form 

1  iii.  4,  Tr.  Th.  p.,  431. 

2  Colton's  Visitation,  edited  by  Dr.  Eeeves,     Note    under  the   parish   of 
Drumachose. 


THE   CONVENTION   OF  DROM-CEAT  293 

of  the  latter  part  of  the  word  Drum-Ceatta.  The  initial  C  in 
Irish  words  being  pronounced  hard  like  the  letter  K  would 
give  us  the  word  as  if  written  Keatta,  precisely  similar  in 
sound,  and  not  very  different  in  spelling  from  the  modern 
Keady.  The  river  Roe  at  this  particular  part  may  be  said 
to  run  east  and  west,  and  the  bank  on  either  side  may  be 
correctly  enough  termed  northern  and  southern.  This  will 
assist  the  reader  to  some  extent  in  understanding  the  relative 
position  of  the  hills  for  which  claim  is  made  for  being  the 
Drumceat  of  history.  On  the  southern  bank  of  the  river 
is  the  Mullagh ;  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  farther  up  the 
stream  than  where  it  passes  the  Mullagh,  the  river  is 
engaged  among  rocks ;  so  it  may  be  assumed,  for  certain,  that 
the  hill  of  the  Convention,  on  whatever  side  of  the  river 
it  lies,  cannot  be  farther  up  than  the  Mullagh;  i.e.,  we  are 
to  look  for  it  somewhere  near  the  Roe,  and  between  the 
Mullagh  and  the  mouth  of  the  Roe.  There  are  numerous 
hills  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  and  to  select  out  one  of  them 
appears  to  be,  to  some  extent,  a  question  of  probabilities. 
The  hill  required,  probably  is  a  remarkable  one  ;  so  is  the 
Mullagh.  This  seems  to  be  the  sole  reason  and  sum  total 
of  its  claims.  Dr.  Reeves,  in  a  letter  to  the  present  writer, 
in  1876,  stated  that:  'when  he  first  saw  the  Mullagh,  he  fixed 
on  it  as  the  site  of  the  Convention,'  without  apparently  any 
reason  beyond  conjecture,  and  Dr.  O'Donovan  adopted  his 
view  without  further  inquiry.  This  is  the  sole  reason  for  the 
Mullagh  being  selected  in  preference  to  any  of  the  other 
adjoining  hills.  The  name  Mullagh,  however,  is  much 
against  it : — 1.  Because  a  Mullagh  cannot  be  a  Drium. 
2.  As  Drumceat  was  a  well-known  place,  the  Irish-speaking 
people  would  never  have  changed  its  name  into  the  common- 
place appellation  Mullagh.  No  doubt  the  Irish  traditions 
and  language  have  now  died  out  in  the  district,  but  they 
had  not  died  out  when  this  name  was  given  to  it. 

A  little  farther  down  the  river,  on  the  same  southern 
bank,  is  a  ridge  called  Drumbally-Donaghey.  Donaghey,  if 
it  be  not  a  family  name,  might  retain  traces  of  Donagh 
(i.e.  Dominica),  and,  therefore  of  the  religious  functions  that 
used  to  be  celebrated  there.  Near  to  Drumbally-Donaghey  is 


294  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

a  pool  in  the  river  called  '  the  boat-hole,'  which  might  be 
supposed  to  correspond  with  Cabhan-an-Churaidh,  but  it 
is  a  place  where  a  boat  usually  was,  and  even  now  is 
occasionally  kept ;  so  no  argument  can  be  drawn  from  this 
in  favour  of  Drumbally-Donaghey.  Nor  does  there  seem  to 
be  any  reason  for  selecting  any  other  of  the  ridges  on  the 
same  side  of  the  river. 

On  the  north  side  of  the  stream,  and  just  opposite  the 
Mullagh,  is  a  hill  whose  form  attracts  attention  whether  you 
view  it  when  descending  the  river,  that  is,  coming  from 
Dungiven  to  Limavady,  or  ascending  by  the  same  road 
which  runs  along  the  southern  bank  of  the  river.  The 
name  of  the  hill  is  Enagh.  Enagh  is  the  Irish  name  still 
for  a  fair.  In  earlier  times  it  meant  a  gathering  for  political 
purposes,  and  in  later  times  an  assembly  for  religious 
purposes.1  The  name,  therefore,  suggests  that  this  was  the 
hill  so  well  known  in  Colgan's  time,  which,  he  says,  is 

To-day  and  for  ever  venerable,  especially  on  account  of  the  many 
pilgrimages,  and  the  public  religious  ceremonies  [Theophoriamj, 
which,  on  the  festival  of  All  Saints,  in  memory  of  the  aforesaid  synod 
there  celebrated,  is  there  annually  made,  with  an  immense  con- 
course from  all  the  neighbouring  districts. 

Drumceat  (i.e.,  the  drum  or  ridge  of  the  pleasant  swell- 
ing ground),  being  a  commonplace  appellation,  would  easily 
give  way  in  the  lapse  of  time  to  the  name  Enagh.  If  you 
stand  on  Enagh,  you  have  the  most  beautiful  view  in  the 
valley  of  the  Roe.  Looking  northwards  you  have  Lough 
Foyle  sweeping  from  Innishowen  Head  round  the  lovely 
shores  of  Greencastle,  Moville,  and  Iskaheen,  and  bounded 
from  this  point  of  view  by  the  range  of  hills  which  culminate 
in  the  ruined-crowned  summit  of  Greman,  once  known  as 
'  Aileach  of  the  Kings.' 

Still  looking  north,  but  on  this  side  of  the  Foyle,  you  see 
to  your  right  the  lowlands  of  Myroe,  and  Magilligan  rising 
by  swelling  ridges  like  mimic  Sierras,  till  they  mount  into 
the  grand  romantic  ranges  of  Beneyevenagh,  and  the  Keady. 
In  fact,  you  find  you  are  standing  on  a  somewhat  insulated 

1  See  Joyce's  Irish  Names  of  Places. 


THE   CONVENTION   OF   DRUM-CEAT  295 

ridge,  which  rears  itself  up  one  hundred  and  sixty  feet  high , 
in  a  valley  stretching  north  and  south,  its  narrowest  part 
being  that  in  which  you  stand,  whilst  before  you  it  spreads 
out  into  the  lowlands  of  Lough  Foyle  shores,  and  on  the 
south  it  widens  out  in  the  direction  of  Dungiven,  only 
turning  more  to  the  west.  If  you  examine  the  rising  swells 
just  near  you,  you  will  see  the  ruins  of  Drumachose, 
St.  Canice's  Church,  crowning  one  of  them ;  whilst  turning 
and  looking  up  the  south  opening  of  the  valley,  you  could, 
were  it  not  for  the  intervening  groves,  see  the  ruins  of 
Tamlaght  Finlagan,  St.  Finloch's  Church.  The  Eoe,  how- 
ever, runs  between  the  two,  but  there  is  a  very  shallow  ford 
just  in  the  line  between  them.  It  is  probable  that  a  hill 
would  be  selected,  convenient  for  the  clergy  of  both  churches, 
and  also  on  the  side  nearest  to  the  more  important  church — 
the  'Magna  Ecclesia  de  Ko;'  and,  we  might  also  add,  on  the 
side  nearest  the  county  Antrim,  for  the  convenience  of  those 
coming  thence  to  the  Convention.  On  what  we  have  desig- 
nated the  north  bank  of  the  river — the  side  opposite  to  the 
Mullagh — there  is  an  insulated  rock  like  a  huge  mile -stone 
or  finger-post  marking  out  Enagh,  and  called  the  'Boat 
Rock.'  It  is  the  first  you  meet  on  either  side  when  passing 
up  the  river  from  the  Foyle.  There  is  no  other,  indeed, 
for  nearly  half  a  mile  further  up,  where  the  gorges  of  the 
river  commence  abruptly. 

This  particular  spot  is  such  as  would  just  invite  a  boat's 
crew  to  land.  The  juxtaposition  of  this  rock  to  Enagh 
(and  from  this  point  the  hill  looks  most  picturesque),  and 
its  being  on  the  same  side  of  the  river  with  it,  weigh  much 
with  us  in  deciding  in  favour  of  Enagh,  not  only  as  against 
the  Mullagh,  but  against  any  other  of  the  hills  that  rise  along 
the  river.  The  proximity  of  Enagh  to  the  Ready  (not  the 
hill,  but  the  townland  of  that  name)  seems  to  us  also 
an  argument  in  favour  of  our  theory.  It  is  probable  that 
what  we  know  did  occur  in  many  other  cases  occurred  also 
in  this,  viz.,  that  the  name  Ready,  which  is  now  confined 
to  one  townland,  once  extended  over  the  whole  district,  and 
that  the  district  got  that  name,  perhaps,  from  this  very  hill. 
When  a  large  townland  was  divided  into  two  or  three  smaller 


296  THE  IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

ones,  the  smaller  got  what  we  may  term  surnames.    By 
degrees  the  later,  or  distinctive  name,  alone  was  preserved, 
while  the  original  name  clung  to  one  of  the  divisions,  and 
to  that  one  because  the  original  possessor  may  have  retained 
it  for  himself.     Colgan's  description  suggests  to  the  mind 
that  the  hill  was  not  juxta,  but  some  little  distance  from  the 
Roe.     It  was  '  pervicinus,'  i.e.  quite  near.     The  venerable 
man,  he  tells  us,  made  a  slight  delay  at  the  place  where  he 
landed,  and  then   '  went  to  the  assembly.'     All  the  other 
hills   are  either  too  near  or  too    remote   to   answer   this 
description.     The  Mullagh  is  almost  on  the  brink  of  the 
river.      The  appearance  of  Enagh  is  such  as,  from  most 
points  of  view,  would  suggest  to  a  Latin  writer  the  deri- 
vation   for   Drumceat    of   Dorsum   Cete,  i.e.  the  back  of 
a  whale.     No  other  hill  around  would   suggest  the  same. 
Enagh   agrees  in   every  respect   with    the    description  of 
Drumceat.     It  is  a  '  collis,1  for  it  is  insulated ;  and  it  is  at 
the  same  time  a  '  drum '  or  ridge.     A  '  drum  '  is  a  back- 
bone; a  spur  that  a  mountain  sends  out,  but  more  prolonged, 
and  more  easy  of  slope  on  its  flanks  than  what  we  ordinarily 
mean  when  we    speak    of   the  spur    of   a    mountain,  and 
projecting  also  from  a  lower  elevation  of  the  mountain.     It 
is  not  easy  to  find  a  place  which  one  person  could  with  pro- 
priety call  a  drum,  and  another  with  equal  propriety  term 
a  collis ;    but  it   seems  to  us   that  both   designations   are 
applicable  to  Enagh,  and  to  no  other  of  the  hills  around. 
It  is  '  peramsenus '  whether  considered  in  its  own  aspect, 
or  in    the    delightful    prospect  it   affords.      It  is    'leniter 
acclivis,'  which  none  of  the  other  hills  are,  and  certainly 
not  the  Mullagh.     These  are  the  principal  arguments  that 
lead  us  to  adopt  Enagh  in  preference  to  the  Mullagh,  and 
though  there  may  be  but  a  balance  of  probabilities  in  favour 
of  our  theory,  still  the  Mullagh  seems  to  us  entirely  out  of 
competition   for  claiming  the  ancient   title   of  Drumceat. 
The  most  that  can  be  said  of  it  is,  that  it  is  a  remarkable 
hill  near  the  Eoe,  and  when  we  have  said  this,  we  have 
repeated  all  that  can  be  said  about  it. 

An  interesting  tradition  in  favour  of  Enagh   signifying 
a   fair,   and    of   a    fair   having    been    held    there    till   the 


THE   CONVENTION   OF   DROM-CEAT  '297 

time  of  Donald  Ballagh  O'Cahan  at  least,  may  be  worth 
preserving  in  this  place.  The  tradition  was  received  from 
Mr.  John  O'Connor,  a  native  of  the  locality,  who  died  fifteen 
years  ago  at  a  very  advanced  age,  and  who  was  regarded  as 
a  depository  of  all  the  authentic  traditions  of  the  district. 

On  one  occasion  O'Cahan,  then  lord  cf  the  territory,  mounted 
on  a  superb  horse,  and  accompanied  by  his  daughters  all  on  horse- 
back, visited  the  fair  which  was  being  held  at  Enagh.  As  he 
entered  the  place  a  beggarman  solicited  him  for  an  alms. 
O'Cahan  answered  him  only  with  a  lash  of  his  riding-whip.  The 
beggarman  drew  himself  up  to  his  full  height,  and,  gazing  fixedly  at 
the  cruel  and  haughty  chieftain,  pronounced,  in  tones  that  struck 
terror  into  the  listening  crowd  : — 

'  Gar  cnoc  gan  aonac, 
Gar  Ciannac  gan  eac.' 

Which  literally  translated  means  : — 

Soon  the  hill  without  fair, 
Soon  Cahan  without  horse. 

Whether  the  words  were  uttered  as  a  prophecy  or  a 
curse,  their  quick  and  unexpected  fulfilment  impressed  them 
indelibly  on  the  minds  of  the  hearers,  and  made  them  be 
handed  down  from  generation  to  generation.  Enagh  then 
means  a  fair,  in  this  instance,  just  as  it  meant  a  place  of 
religious  assembly  in  Colgan's  time. 

To  sum  up  the  arguments  in  favour  of  Enagh,  we  say, 
that  after  the  Mullagh — (1)  Enagh  is  at  least  the  most  re- 
markable hill ;  (2)  from  its  situation  the  hill  likely  to  be 
chosen  for  the  assembly ;  (3)  answering  perfectly  to  the 
description  of  Drumceat ;  (4)  retaining  (by  its  neighbour- 
hood) traces  of  the  name;  (5)  by  its  name  indicating  a 
place  of  religious  concourse;  (6)  on  the  same  side  of  the 
river,  with  and  near  to  a  remarkable  rock  standing  up  out 
of  the  bank,  and  called  the  'Boat  Rock,' with  no  reason  that 
we  can  now  see  for  prefixing  the  term  '  boat '  to  it ;  (7)  and 
lastly,  affording  space  on  its  summit  for  the  royal  pavilions 
and  tents,  which  O'Donnell  tells  us  were  scattered  over  the 
hill  in  the  manner  of  military  camps.  On  the  top  of  the 
Mullagh  there  is  no  space  for  the  like;  Enagh,  at  least, 
is  required  for  this.  So  much  then  for  the  site  of  this 


298  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

famous  Convention,  a  convention  which  left  its  mark  not 
only  on  that,  but  also  on  subsequent  ages,  and  which  did 
so  much  for  the  consolidation  and  improvement  of  our 
ancient  code  of  laws.  We  shall  now  see  what  were  the 
principal  objects  of  this  great  national  assembly. 

II.    OBJECT   AND   RESULTS   OF   THE    CONVENTION 

In  his  Lectures  on  the  Manners  and  Customs  of  the 
Ancient  Irish,1  Eugene  O'Curry  sets  forth  in  brief  terms 
the  principal  objects  for  which  this  great  parliament  was 
held  at  Drumceat : — 

The  meeting  at  Drom  Ceata  [says  he]  was  the  last  great 
occasion  on  which  the  laws  and  general  system  of  education  were 
revised.  It  took  place  in  the  year  590,  in  the  reign  of  that  Aedh 
the  son  of  Ainmire,  whose  resistance  to  the  impudent  demands  of 
the  profession  of  poets,  I  had  occasion  to  refer  to  in  the  last 
Lecture.  Very  soon  after  the  refusal  of  the  king  to  submit  to  the 
threats  of  satire  on  the  part  of  the  poets,  and  the  consequences 
then  supposed  to  follow  from  poetical  incantations,  he  happened 
to  be  involved  in  two  important  political  disputes.  One  of  these 
was  touching  the  case  of  Scanlan  Mor,  king  of  Ossory,  who  had 
unjustly  been  made  a  prisoner  by  the  monarch  some  time  before, 
and  kept  in  long  and  cruel  confinement ;  the  other  concerning  the 
right  to  the  tributes  and  military  service  of  the  Dalriadian 
Gsedhelic  colony  of  Scotland,  to  which  king  Aedh  laid  a  claim 
that  was  resisted  by  Aedan  Mac  Gabhrain,  the  king  of  that 
country.  For  the  more  ample  discussion  of  these  weighty  matters 
Aedh  convened  a  meeting  of  the  states  of  the  nation  at 
Drom-Ceata  [a  spot  now  called  Daisy  Hill,  near  Newtown- 
limivady,  in  the  modern  county  of  Derry]  ;  which  meeting  took 
place,  according  to  O'Donovan's  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters, 
in  the  year  574. 

This  great  meeting  was  attended  by  all  the  provincial  kings, 
and  by  all  the  chiefs  and  nobles  of  the  island  ;  and  Aedh  invited 
over  from  lona  the  great  patron  of  his  race,  St.  Colum  Cille,  to 
have  the  benefit  of  his  wise  counsels  in  the  discussion,  not  only 
concerning  the  special  objects  for  which  the  meeting  was  first 
intended,  but  many  others  of  social  and  political  importance. 
And  so  it  happened  that  at  this  meeting  the  affairs  of  the  poets 
and  the  profession  of  teaching  were  also  discussed. 

It  was  solemnly  resolved  at  this  meeting  that  the  general 


1  Vol.  ii.,  Lect.  iv, 


THE   CONVENTION   OF   DROM-CEAT  299 

system  of  education  should  be  revised,  and  placed  upon  a  more 
solid  and  orderly  foundation ;  and  to  this  end  the  following  scheme 
[according  to  Keating]  was  proposed  and  adopted. 

Then  follows  the  scheme  referred  to. 

That  St.  Columb  was  not  invited  by  King  Aedh  to  this 
meeting  is  quite  certain,  and  O'Curry  corrects  his  mistake 
on  this  point  in  a  subsequent  lecture.  '  St.  Columcille 
having  heard  of  this  meeting  and  its  objects,'  says  he,  '  and 
being  a  great  patron  of  literature,  came  over  from  his  island 
home  at  I,  or  lona,  whither  he  had  retired  from  the  world 
to  appease  the  king  and  the  people,  and  quite  unexpectedly 
appeared  at  the  meeting.  The  poets  at  this  time,  with 
Dalian  Forgall  as  their  chief,  were  collected  in  all  their 
numbers  in  the  vicinity  of  the  hill  of  meeting,  anxiously 
awaiting  their  fate  ;  but  their  anxiety  was  soon  relieved,  as 
their  able  advocate  had  so  much  influence  with  the  monarch 
and  his  people  to  procure  a  satisfactory  termination  to  the 
misunderstanding  between  them  and  the  priests.'*  It  was 
on  this  occasion  that  Dalian  Forgall,  chief  of  the  Bards, 
composed  the  famous  poem  in  praise  of  the  saint,  entitled 
'Amhra  Chollium  Chille,'  or  '  The  Praises  of  Columb  of  the 
Church,'  This  poem  is  still  in  existence,  and  is  constantly 
referred  to  by  O'Curry  in  his  lectures  as  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  specimens  of  ancient  Irish  poetry. 

St.  Columba's  arrival  at  the  meeting  seems  to  have 
been  an  unpleasant  surprise  to  King  Aedh  and  his  household. 
The  king  well  knew  the  powerful  influence  of  the  saint,  and 
naturally  feared  his  opposition ;  but  as  he  was  his  own  near 
relative,  and  had  come  in  the  interests  of  peace,  he  could 
not  do  otherwise  than  treat  the  holy  Abbot  with  at  least 
outward  reverence.  Not  so,  however,  his  spouse.  Filled  with 
jealousy  at  the  veneration  manifested  toward  St.  Columb 
and  his  followers,  she  secretly  ordered  her  son  Connall 
to  insult  and  maltreat  them,  an  order  which  he  only  too  faith- 
fully executed.  In  the  old  Irish  Life  of  St.  Columba, 
translated  by  Mr.  W.  M.  Hennessey,  and  printed  as  an 

1  Vol,  iii.,  Lect.  xxxi. 


300  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

appendix  to  the  second  volume  of  Skene's  Celtic  Scotland, 
the  story  is  thus  narrated  : — 

They  afterwards  saw  Colum  Cille  going  towards  the  conven- 
tion, and  the  assembly  that  was  nearest  to  him  was  the  assembly 
of  Conall,  son  of  Aedh,  son  of  Ainmire ;  and  he  was  a  worthy 
son  of  Aedh.  As  Conall  saw  them,  therefore,  he  incited  the 
rabble  of  the  assembly  against  them,  so  that  threescore  men 
of  them  were  captured  and  wounded.  Colum  Cille  inquired, 
'  Who  is  he  by  whom  this  band  has  been  launched  against  us  ?' 
And  it  was  told  to  him  that  it  was  by  Conall.  And  Colum  Cille 
cursed  Conall,  until  thrice  nine  bells  were  rung  against  him,  when 
some  man  said,  '  Conall  gets  bells  fclogal,'  and  it  is  from  this  that 
he  is  called  'Conall  Clogach."  And  the  cleric  deprived  him  of 
kingship,  and  of  his  reason  and  intellect  in  the  space  of  time  that 
he  would  be  prostrating  his  body. 

Colum  Cille  went  afterwards  to  the  assembly  of  Dornhnall, 
son  of  Aedh,  son  of  Ainmire,  and  Domhnall  immediately  rose  up 
before  him  and  bade  him  welcome,  and  kissed  his  cheek,  and 
put  him  in  his  own  place.  And  the  cleric  left  him  many  blessings, 
viz.,  that  he  should  be  fifty  years  in  the  sovereignty  of  Eria,  and 
be  battle-victorious  during  that  time,  and  that  every  word  he 
would  say  would  be  fulfilled  by  him  ;  that  he  would  be  one  year 
and  a  half  in  the  illness  of  which  he  would  die,  and  would  receive 
the  body  of  Christ  every  Sunday  during  that  time. 

Of  course  the  story  would  not  be  complete  without  a  little 
more  cursing  on  the  part  of  the  saint,  for  his  ancient 
biographers  are  always  crediting  him  with  most  extra- 
ordinary maledictory  powers.  The  queen,  it  seems,  was 
indignant  at  seeing  her  son  Conall  driven  mad  and  deprived 
of  the  right  to  the  throne,  and  Domhnall,  who  was  only 
her  stepson,  appointed  in  his  place.  In  her  wrath  she 
nicknamed  the  saint,  calling  him  '  a  crane '  on  account  of 
his  tall  stature  and  emaciated  form.  Colum  Cille  retorted : — 

'  Thou  hast  leave  to  be  a  crane,' 

Said  the  cleric  furiously. 

'  As  just  punishment  to  thy  handmaid, 

She'll  be  a  crane  along  with  thee.' 

Aedh's  wife  and  her  waiting-maid, 

Were  turned  into  herons. 

They  live  still,  and  make  complaints, 

The  two  old  herons  of  Druim-Ceata. 

Notwithstanding  the  immortality  promised  these  lady- 
herons,  their  place,  alas!  knows  them  no  more.  The  waters 


THE   CONVENTION   OF   DROM-CEAT  301 

of  the  Eoe  no  longer  re-echo  their  sad  lamentations;  the 
loneliness  of  Dromceat  is  no  longer  disturbed  by  their 
pensive  wailings.  We  think  they  must  have  died. 

It  is  not  easy  to  explain  this  practice  of  the  old  Irish  bio- 
graphers of  the  saint,  representing  him  as  uttering  maledic- 
tions so  frequently,  except  we  understand  them  as  using  the 
figure  oxymoron  to  a  very  large  extent.  The  very  name  he 
bears  was  given  him  by  his  young  companions  from  the 
dove-like  gentleness  of  his  disposition,  and  indicated  the  very 
opposite  of  what  his  mistaken  biographers  attributed  to 
him. 

One  of  the  objects  for  which  this  assembly  was  convened  [says 
Dr.  Reeves]  was  to  determine  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Albanian 
Dalriada.  The  question  at  issue  is  variously  stated.  O'Donnellus 
would  have  it  that  Aiden  laid  claim  to  the  sovereignty  of  the  Irish 
Dalriada,  and  required  that  it  should  be  exempt  from  the  rule  of 
the  Irish  monarch.  Keating  and  O'Flaherty,  on  the  other  hand, 
state  that  the  dispute  arose  from  the  demand  of  Aidus,  the  Irish 
king,  to  receive  tribute  from  the  Albanian  prince  as  from  the 
governor  of  a  colony.  They  agree,  however,  as  to  the  decision, 
which  was  that  the  Irish  Dalriada  should  continue  under  the 
dominion  of  the  king  of  Ireland,  and  that  the  sister  kingdom  should 
be  independent,  subject  to  the  understanding  that  either  power 
should  be  prepared,  when  called  upon,  to  assist  the  other  in 
virtue  of  their  national  affinity.1 

It  appears  pretty  clear  that  the  Irish  colon}'  which  had 
gone  to  Scotland  from  that  part  of  Antrim  called  Dalriada 
(which  corresponds,  we  believe,  with  the  modern  district  of 
the  Eoute),  were  still  subject  for  many  years  to  the  Irish 
monarchy,  just  as  the  American  colonies  were  subject  after- 
wards to  the  British  crown ;  but,  when  grown  strong  enough 
to  throw  off  the  yoke,  they  determined  to  assert  their  inde- 
pendence. They  refused  to  be  any  longer  tributary;  and 
Aedh,  the  Irish  king,  feeling  the  loss  to  his  treasury,  as  well 
as  to  his  prestige,  arising  from  this  policy  of  independence, 
resolved  to  fix  upon  them  irrevocably  the  law  of  subjection. 
This  was  the  first  object  he  had  in  view  in  summoning  the 
national  parliament  of  Drumceat.  We  may  here  remark  in 
passing  that  Aedh  selected  this  place  for  the  meeting  because 

^Antiquities  of  Down  and  Connor,  Appendix,  pp.  321-322. 


302  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

it  was  within  his  patrimonial  territory,  where  he  was 
surrounded  by  friends  and  faithful  clansmen,  and  where  he 
was  more  secure  than  he  would  be  at  the  palace  of  Tara. 
Some  give  him  credit  for  wishing  to  accommodate  his  Scotch 
friends  by  selecting  a  locality  convenient  for  them  ;  but  there 
seems  to  be  no  foundation  for  this  surmise. 

The  Dalriadian  question  first,  and  the  total  suppression 
of  the  bards  next,  were  the  points  to  be  laid  before  the 
assembly  at  its  opening. 

The  bards  had  become  at  this  time  simply  intolerable. 
Their  exactions  were  impoverishing  the  people,  and  their 
insolence  had  gone  so  far  as  to  demand  from  the  king 
the  Royal  Brooch,  which  was  the  most  highly-prized  and 
sacred  heirloom  of  the  royal  family.  We  may  form  some 
idea  of  their  numbers  when  we  learn  that  in  Meath 
and  Ulster  alone  they  exceeded  at  this  time  one  thousand 
two  hundred.  Twice  during  his  reign  before  this  had 
Aedh  banished  them  from  the  precincts  of  the  palace, 
and  they  were  obliged  to  take  refuge  in  Ulidia,  a  little 
principality  corresponding  to  the  present  county  Down. 
Now,  however,  he  was  determined  to  utterly  exterminate 
them.  To  give  some  idea  of  the  mode  in  which  the  bards 
lived  upon  the  people  and  oppressed  them,  and  the  reason 
why  Aedh  was  maddened  into  adopting  means  to  suppress 
the  order,  we  will  transcribe  from  O'Curry  a  brief  sketch 
of  the  circumstances: — 

At  this  time  [says  he]  the  Fileadh,  or  poets,  it  would  appear, 
became  more  troublesome  and  importunate  than  ever.  A  singular 
custom  is  recorded  to  have  prevailed  among  their  profession  from" 
a  very  early  period.  They  were  in  the  habit  of  travelling  through 
the  country,  as  I  have  already  mentioned,  in  groups  or  companies, 
composed  of  teachers  and  pupils,  under  a  single  teacher  or  master. 
In  these  progresses,  when  they  came  to  a  house,  the  first  man  of 
them  that  entered  began  to  chant  the  first  verse  of  a  poem,  the 
last  man  of  the  party  responded  to  him,  and  so  the  whole  poem 
was  sung,  each  taking  a  part  in  that  order.  Now  each  company 
of  poets  had  a  silver  pot,  which  was  called  Coire  Sainnte,  literally 
the  Pot  of  Avarice,  every  pot  having  nine  chains  of  bronze  attached 
to  it  by  golden  hooks,  and  it  was  suspended  from  the  points  of 
the  spears  of  nine  of  the  company,  which  were  thrust  through 
the  links  at  the  other  ends  of  the  chains.  The  reason —  according 


THE  CONVENTION  OF  DROM-CEAT  303 

to  the  account  of  this  custom  preserved  in  the  Leabhar  Mor  Duna 
Doighre,  called  the  Leabhar  Breac  [E.I. A.] — that  the  pot  was 
called  the  'Pot  of  Avarice,'  was,  because  that  it  was  into  it  that 
whatever  of  gold  or  silver  they  received  was  put ;  and  whilst  the 
poem  was  being  chanted,  the  best  nine  musicians  in  the  company 
played  music  around  the  pot.  This  custom  was,  no  doubt,  very 
picturesque,  but  the  actors  in  it  were  capable  of  showing  them- 
selves in  two  different  characters,  according  to  the  result  of  their 
application.  If  their  Pot  of  Avarice  received  the  approbation  of 
the  man  of  the  house  in  gold  or  silver,  a  laudatory  poem  was 
written  for  him ;  but  if  he  did  not,  he  was  satirized  in  the  most 
virulent  terms  that  a  copious  and  highly-expressive  language 
could  supply. 

Now,  so  confident  always  were  the  poets  in  the  influence  which 
their  satirical  powers  had  over  the  actions  of  the  people  of  all 
classes,  that,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  590,  a  company  of  them 
waited  on  the  monarch  Aedh  [or  Hugh]  son  of  Ainmiret  and 
threatened  to  satirize  him  if  he  did  not  give  them  the  Both  Croi 
itself  —  the  Koyal  Brooch — which  from  the  remotest  times 
descended  from  monarch  to  monarch  of  Erinn,  and  which  is 
recorded  to  have  been  worn  as  the  chief  distinctive  emblem  of  the 
legitimate  sovereign.  Aehd  [Hugh],  however,  had  not  only  the 
moral  courage  to  refuse  so  audacious  a  demand,  but  in  his  indig- 
nation he  even  ordered  the  banishment  of  the  whole  profession 
out  of  the  country ;  and,  in  compliance  with  this  order,  they 
collected  in  great  numbers  into  Ulidia  once  more  where  they 
again  received  a  temporary  asylum.1 

The  question,  then,  of  the  bards  formed  the  second  great 
subject  which  the  Convention  had  to  discuss ;  and  the  third 
important  motion  to  be  brought  before  the  assembly  was  the 
unjust  imprisonment  of  Scanlan  Mor,  son  of  the  king  of 
Ossory.  These  were  not,  of  course,  the  only  points  to  be 
settled.  The  whole  laws  of  the  kingdom  were  to  be  revised 
and  reduced  to  form,  and  regulations  were  to  be  made  to 
provide  for  the  education  of  the  people,  and  to  secure  for 
the  professors  in  the  different  learned  branches  a  suitable 
maintenance.  Considering  the  century  in  which  these 
measures  were  adopted,  and  their  influence  on  after  genera- 
tions, it  will  not  seem  wonderful  that  our  country  acquired 
at  an  early  date  the  proud  title  of  'Insula  Sanctorum  et 
Doctorum.'  Hence  King  Alfred,  about  a  century  after  this 


1  Manners  and  Customs,  &c.,  vol.  ii.,  lect.  iii. 


304  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

parliament,  in  a  poem  composed  during  his  banishment  in 
Ireland,  thus  wrote  :— 

I  found  in  each  great  church, 

Whether  internal  on  shore  or  island, 

Learning,  wisdom,  devotion  to  God, 
Holy  welcome  and  protection. 

To  St.  Columb's  defence  of  the  hards  at  Drumceat  may  be 
justly  give  the  credit  of  that  learning  which  in  after  years 
made  Ireland  the  lamp  of  Europe,  and  her  sons  the  great 
evangelists  of  science  and  literature  in  the  various  lands  of 
the  Continent.  On  Columb's  arrival  at  the  council,  king 
Aedh  proposed  to  leave  to  his  decision  the  vexed  question  of 
the  Dalriadic  tribute,  but  the  saint  modestly  declined  the 
honour,  thereby  reserving  to  himself  the  greater  liberty 
of  speech  afterwards  in  opposing  what  he  considered  an 
unjust  imposition.  Colman,  the  saintly  bishop  of  Dromore, 
was  then  called  on  to  expatiate  on  the  question  at  issue,  and 
to  defend  the  policy  of  the  Irish  monarch.  He  had  been 
specially  chosen  by  the  clergy  as  their  spokesman,  and  an 
abler  at  the  time  did  not  exist  in  the  Irish  Church.  But  the 
lustre  of  his  eloquence  paled  before  the  more  brilliant  powers 
of  lona's  abbot.  The  fate  of  a  rising  colony,  and  the  very 
existence  of  the  bardic  order  hung  in  the  balance,  and  the 
side  to  which  the  scale  would  now  incline  depended  on  the 
great  apostle  of  Scotland.  He  was  no  ordinary  man  in  any 
sense  of  the  word.  '  Angelic  in  appearance,  elegant  in 
address,  holy  in  work,  with  talents  of  the  highest  order,  and 
consummate  wisdom,'1  he  was  well  calculated  to  sway  the 
councils  of  princes  and  prelates,  many  of  whom  were  of  his 
own  kith  and  kin. 

Both  nature  and  education  [says  T.  D.  Magee]  had  well  fitted 
Columbkill  to  the  great  task  of  adding  another  realm  to  the 
empire  of  Christendom.  His  princely  birth  gave  him  power  over 
his  own  proud  kindred  ;  his  golden  eloquence  and  glowing  verse — 
the  fragments  of  which  still  move  and  delight  the  Gaelic 
scholar — gave 'him  fame  and  weight  in  the  Christian  schools 
which  had  suddenly  sprung  up  in  every  glen  and  island.  As 
prince,  he  stood  on  equal  terms  with  princes ;  as  poet,  he  was 

1  Adamnau,  2nd  Preface. 


THE   CONVENTION   OF   DROM^CEAT.  305 

affiliated  to  that  all-powerful  bardic  order,  before  whose  awfut 
anger  kings  trembled,  and  warriors  succumbed  in  superstitious 
dread.  A  spotless  soul,  a  disciplined  body,  an  industry  that  never 
wearied,  a  courage  that  never  blanched,  a  sweetness  and  courtesy 
that  won  all  hearts,  a  tenderness  for  others  that  contrasted 
strongly  with  his  rigour  towards  himself  —  these  were  the  secrets 
of  success  of  this  eminent  missionary  —  these  were  the  miracles  by 
which  he  accomplished  the  conversion  of  so  many  barbarous 
tribes  and  pagan  princes.  1 

Such  was  the  man  on  whom  now  devolved  the  noble 
duty  of  defending  the  cause  of  liberty  and  learning.  Every 
eye  in  that  vast  assembly  was  turned  upon  him  as  he  rose, 
and  every  breath  was  hushed,  till  the  gentle  murmur  of 
the  Koe,  as  it  hastened  to  the  Foyle,  was  the  only  sound 
that  broke  the  death-like  silence.  The  monarch  and  his 
courtiers  alike  were  awed;  princes  and  prelates  became 
willing  listeners  ;  nobles  and  clansmen  were  swayed  by  his 
eloquence;  and  the  unarmed  Abbot  from  the  lonely  and 
desolate  isle  in  the  northern  seas  became  the  bloodless 
conqueror  of  the  Irish  monarch  and  his  mailed  followers. 
Skilfully  blending  together  the  two  great  questions  under 
discussion,  he  dwelt  with  all  the  passionate  eloquence  of  his 
fiery  nature  on  liberty  —  God's  priceless  gift  to  man  —  and 
learning,  which  teaches  us  to  use  that  gift  aright.  Admitting 
that  the  bards  had  at  times  forgotten  the  rules  of  moderation, 
and  forgotten  too  the  fealty  and  homage  due  to  the  sovereign  , 
these  were  faults,  he  argued,  which  salutary  laws  could 
easily  correct,  and  which  had  only  arisen  from  the  deficiency 
of  former  legislation.  In  words  to  the  following  effect  he 
continued  :  — 

Is  an  entire  order  to  be  suppressed  for  the  faults  of  a  few  of  its 
members?  and  must  our  annals  remain  henceforth  unwritten, 
our  valiant  men  sink  to  earth  unsung,  because  no  tuneful  bard 
exists  to  pen  the  one,  or  raise  the  mournful  dirge  at  the  grave 
of  the  other  ?  Vice  may  then  reign  triumphant,  for  no  wandering 
minstrel  will  dare  to  lash  it  ;  virtue  may  wither  and  die,  for  no 
learned  Ollamh  will  survive  to  defend  it.  All  that  is  sacred  in 
the  past,  all  that  is  cherished  in  the  present,  all  of  good  that  we 
hope  for  in  the  future,  must  perish  in  the  common  ruin  of 
genealogists,  historians,  poets,  astronomers,  and  physicians  which 


III. 


1  His'ory  of  Ireland,  by  T.  D.  Magee. 


306  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

is  sought  to  be  accomplished  to-day.  If  you  would  throw  back 
your  country  to  the  darkness,  not  only  of  pre-Christian,  but  of 
pre-Druidic  times,  then  suppress  the  energies  of  the  rising  colony 
in  Argyle,  and  drive  for  ever  from  your  shores  the  learned  bards 
who  have  given  you  the  inheritance  of  literature,  and  raised  your 
name  for  erudition  in  foreign  lands.  But,  if  you  would  cherish 
liberty  and  learning,  if  you  would  secure  for  yourselves  trust- 
worthy allies  and  faithful  historians,  then  break  to-day  the 
shackles  that  have  too  long  bound  your  kinsmen  in  Scotland, 
and  give  to  your  bards  a  code  of  laws  that  will  at  once  preserve 
and  restrain  them. 

The  eloquence  and  reasoning  of  Columba  prevailed. 
The  colonists  were  freed  from  the  odious  taxation,  and  a 
code  of  laws  was  enacted  for  the  proper  maintenance  of 
learned  teachers,  and  of  approved  schools,  and  at  the  same 
time  for  the  due  restriction  of  the  number  and  privileges 
of  the  bards  : — 

It  was  solemnly  resolved  at  this  meeting  [says  0 'Curry J  that 
the  general  system  of  education  should  be  revised,  and  placed 
upon  a  more  solemn  and  orderly  foundation;  and  to  this  end 
the  following  scheme  [according  to  Keating]  was  proposed  and 
adopted.  A  special  ollamh,  or  doctor  in  literature  was  assigned 
to  the  monarch,  as  well  as  to  each  of  the  provincial  kings,  chiefs, 
and  lords  of  territories ;  and  to  each  ollamh  were  assigned  free 
lands,  from  his  chief,  and  a  grant  of  inviolability  to  his  person, 
and  sanctuary  to  his  lands,  from  the  monarch  and  the  men  of 
Erinn  at  large.  They  ordered  also  free  common-lands  for  the 
purpose  of  free  education  in  the  manner  of  a  university  (such  as 
Masraighe  in  Breifne,  or  Breifney-Eath-Ceamaidh  in  Meath,  &c. ) 
in  which  education  was  gratuitously  given  to  such  of  the  men  of 
Erinn  as  desired  to  become  learned  in  history,  or  in  such  of  the 
sciences  as  were  then  cultivated  in  the  land.  The  chief  Ollamh  of 
Erinn  at  this  time  was  Eochaidh,  the  Poet  Eoyal,  who  wrote  the 
celebrated  elegy  on  the  death  of  St.  Columcille,  and  who  is  better 
known  under  the  name  of  Dalian  Forgaill ;  and  to  him  the 
inauguration  and  direction  of  the  new  colleges  were  assigned. 
Eochaidh  appointed  presidents  to  the  different  provinces.  To 
Meath  he  appointed  Aedh  [or  Hugh],  the  poet ;  to  Munster  he 
appointed  Urmael,  the  arch-poet  and  scholar ;  to  Connacht  he 
appointed  Seanchan  Mac  Cuairfertaigh ;  to  Ulster  he  appointed 
Ferfirb  Mac  Muiredhaigh  ;  and  so  on. 

It  will  have  been  observed  that  the  endowed  educational 
establishments  placed  under  these  masters  were,  in  fact,  National 
Literary  Colleges,  quite  distinct  from  the  great  literary  and 
ecclesiastical  schools  and  colleges  which,  about  this  time,  forming 
themselves  round  individual  celebrity,  began  to  cover  the  land, 


THE   CONVENTION   OF    DROM-CEAT  307 

and  whose  hospitable  halls  were  often  [as  we  know]  crowded 
with  the  sons  of  princes  and  nobles,  and  with  tutors  and  pupils 
from  all  parts  of  Europe,  coming  over  to  seek  knowledge  in  a 
country  then  believed  to  be  the  most  advanced  in  the  civilization 
of  the  age.  ...  It  appears,  also,  from  the  Brehon  Laws,  that  the 
pupils  were  often  the  foster-children  of  the  tutor.  The  sons  of 
gentlemen  were  taught  not  only  literature,  but  horsemanship, 
chess,  swimming,  and  the  use  of  arms,  chiefly  casting  the  spear. 
Their  daughters  were  taught  sewing,  cutting  or  fashioning,  and 
ornamentation,  or  embroidery.  The  sons  of  the  tenant-class  were 
not  taught  horsemanship,  nor  did  they  wear  the  same  clothes  as 
the  classes  above  them. 

All  this  has,  in  the  law,  distinct  reference  to  public  schools, 
where  the  sons  of  the  lower  classes  waited  on  the  sons  of  the 
upper  classes,  and  received  certain  benefits  [in  food,  clothes,  and 
instruction]  from  them  in  return.  In  fact  the  '  sizarships '  in 
our  modern  colleges  appear  to  be  a  modified  continuation  of  the 
ancient  system.1 

It  would  be  tedious,  and,  to  most  readers,  uninteresting 
now  to  enter  into  all  the  details  of  the  laws  enacted  on  the 
score  of  education  at  this  assembly.  Suffice  it  to  say  that 
they  were  such  as  gave  an  impetus  to  learning  for  ages  in  our 
island,  and  made  the  names  of  Bangor,  Moville  (Co.  Down), 
Clonard,  and  Clonmacnoise  more  familiar  in  Europe  than 
are  Oxford,  Cambridge,  and  Paris  to-day.  But  a  few  of  the 
traditions  and  legends  connected  with  St.  Columba's  coming 
to  the  Convention,  and  his  stay  at  it,  may  prove  more  enter- 
taining than  a  history  of  the  laws  enacted  on  the  occasion. 

We  trust  we  wont  be  accounted  sceptical  if  we  decline 
making  an  act  of  faith  in  all  the  venerable  traditions  of  that 
time,  or  if  we  venture  to  explain  some  of  the  reputed  miracles 
on  natural  principles.  The  very  fact  of  so  many  traditions 
existing  about  St.  Columba — absurd  and  incredible  though  a 
number  of  them  be — goes  to  prove  that  he  was  no  ordinary 
man,  but  one  whose  influence  was  felt,  and  whose  life  far 
transcended  that  of  his  contemporaries ;  for  with  truth  has 
Longfellow  said : — 

The  heights  by  great  men  reached  and  kept, 

Were  not  attained  by  sudden  flight ; 
But  they,  while  their  companions  slept, 

Were  toiling  upward  in  the  night. 

1  Manners  and  Customs,  &c.  vol.  ii,  Lect.  iv» 


308  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 


III.   LEGENDS   ABOUT   COLUMBA — HIS   CHARACTER 

In  A.D.  1532  Manus  O'Donnell,  chief  of  Tyrconnell, 
compiled  a  Life  of  St.  Coluinb  in  the  castle  of  Port-na-tri- 
namad,  i.e.,  the  'Port  of  the  Three  Enemies,'  now  called 
Lifford,  and  into  this  Life  he  compressed  every  tale  and  legend 
accessible  at  the  period.  Colgan,  who  translated  a  great 
part  of  this  work  of  O'Donnell's  from  Irish  into  Latin,  gravely 
reproduced  it  with  the  accuracy  of  a  faithful  translator  in  his 
Trias  Thaumaturga,  leaving,  of  course,  to  the  Tyrconnell 
chieftain  whatever  honour  accrued  from  the  collection  and 
compilation  of  the  Columbian  legends.  Among  these  mar- 
vellous tales  is  a  description  of  the  saint's  voyage  from 
Scotland  to  Drumceat,  the  substance  of  which  we  beg  to  give 
in  English.  After  stating  that  Columba  set  out  with  a 
retinue  of  many  bishops,  forty  priests,  thirty  deacons,  fifty 
clerics  of  lower  grades,  and  Aedan,  king  of  the  Albanian 
Scots,  with  many  chieftains,  to  attend  the  Parliament  at 
Drumceat,  he  proceeds  to  tell  us  of  a  great  tempest,  excited 
by  a  ferocious  sea-monster,  which  threatened  to  submerge 
the  vessels  and  their  crews.  Those  on  board,  in  terror  and 
alarm,  begged  of  the  holy  man  to  deliver  them  from  this 
monster,  but  the  saint  gave  them  to  understand  that  God 
had  reserved  that  honour,  not  for  him,  but  for  St.  Senachus, 
who  dwelt  by  the  distant  shores  of  Lough  Erne.  Just  at 
the  same  moment  Senachus,  who  was  engaged  in  his  forge 
(for  he  was  a  smith)  in  heating  and  hammering  out  iron, 
beholding  by  Divine  permission  the  pressing  danger  of  the 
servants  of  God,  rushing  forth  from  his  worKshop,  flung  the 
fiery  missile  aloft  into  the  air.  With  a  precision  and  velocity 
truly  wonderful  was  it  borne  through  the  air  from  the  woody 
shores  of  Doire  Broscaidh  to  the  ocean,  where  it  fell  direct 
into  the  gaping  jaws  of  the  furious  monster,  and,  as  might 
be  expected,  immediately  killed  it.  In  order  that  all  might 
know  that  to  St.  Senachus  was  it  due  that  he  (St.  Columb) 
and  all  in  the  vessel  owed  their  escape,  he  prayed  that 
to  whatever  shore  of  Ireland  they  might  reach,  there  also 
might  the  carcase  of  the  monster  whale  be  driven.  His 
prayer  was  granted,  for  when  their  barque  touched  the 


THE   CONVENTION   OF  DROM-CEAT  309 

shores  of  Lough  Foyle,  there  they  found  the  wild  beast, 
rolled  by  the  waters  of  the  sea,  beiore  them.  Opening  its 
jaws,  they  took  out  the  mass  of  iron,  which  St.  Columba 
sent  back  to  its  lawful  owner,  St.  Senachus,  and  out  of  it 
the  clever  blacksmith  manufactured  .three  bells,  which  he 
bestowed  upon  three  several  churches.  Whether  or  not 
they  were  employed  to  peal  the  requiem  of  the  slaughtered 
whale,  and  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  this  successful 
mode  of  harpooning,  the  legend  fails  to  state;  but,  to  say  the 
least,  it  is  a  wonderful  story. 

As  miraculous  events  marked  the  early  part  of  the  saint's 
voyage,  so,  according  to  O'Donnell,  did  they  continue  to  bless 
his  entrance  into  the  classic  waters  of  the  Foyle.  Judging 
from  pagan  as  well  as  from  Christian  traditions,  this  river 
seems  to  have  been  at  all  times  endowed  with  wonderful 
understanding  and  feelings  of  commiseration  for  the  dis- 
tressed ;  for,  as  of  old  it  rolled  in  pity  a  monumental  stone 
over  Feval,  the  son  of  Lodan,  and  even  assumed  the  name  of 
the  hapless  youth,  so  now  it  rose  in  reverence  to  the  holy 
Abbot,  and,  gently  swelling  the  scanty  stream  of  the  tortuous 
Eoe,  bore  the  sacred  band  in  safety  to  the  very  spot  where 
the  assembly  was  -convened.  We  think,  however,  that  it  is 
most  probable  the  aid  of  a  miracle  was  not  required  in  this 
instance  to  enable  St.  Columb  to  sail  up  the  Koe.  To  the 
most  superficial  observer  it  is  evident  that  Myroe  and  the 
lowlands  of  Magilligan  were  at  no  very  remote  period  part  of 
Lough  Foyle,  and  that  the  waters  of  the  Lough  came  within 
an  exceedingly  short  distance  of  Limavady.  In  a  field  about 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  that  town  portions  of  an  anchor  and 
some  other  remains  of  a  boat  were  dug  up  not  many  years 
ago,  and  the  field  in  which  they  were  found  is  not  much  above 
the  high-water  level.  The  sub-soil  is  sand,  such  as  is  usually 
found  along  shores,  and  everything  about  the  locality  indi- 
cates that  the  whole  district  has  by  degrees  been  rescued  from 
the  waters.  The  very  name — Myroe — points  in  the  same 
direction.  This  word  does  not — as  a  modern  derivation  of  it 
states — signify  the  territory  or  district  of  the  Eoe,  for  the 
word  was  not  originally  Magh-Ko,  but  Murrough  or  Murragh, 
as  may  be  seen  in  the  appendix  to  Sampson's  tiurvey,  where 


310  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

mention  is  made  of  Bally-Murragh.  According  to  Dr.  Joyce, 
Murragh  means  a  low-lying  district,  covered  at  times  by 
the  sea- water — a  sea  marsh,  and  this  would  aptly  enough 
describe  this  locality  at  a  period  probably  much  later  than 
that  of  the  Convention  of  Drumceat.  Now  if  the  Foyle 
flowed  up  to  Limavady,  or  near  it,  the  waters  of  the  Roe 
would  at  high  tide  be  considerably  swollen,  and  consequently 
would  not  be  so  unnavigable  as  at  present.  From  its 
distant  source  in  Glenshane  mountain  the  Roe  is  fed  by 
many  tributaries  in  its  course,  notably  by  the  'Burn  of  the 
round  Bush,'  which  rises  in  Sheskin-na-Mhadaigh,  or 
'The  Dog's  Quagmire,'  and  by  the  stream  from  Lig-na- 
Peasta,  or  the  'Pool  of  the  Serpent;'  sweeping  majestically 
past  the  old  church  of  Dungiven,  and  the  historic  tomb 
of  Cooey-na-Gall,  it  forms  no  inconsiderable  volume  of 
water  before  reaching  the  locality  of  Drumceat.  If  we 
suppose  this  volume  checked  in  its  course,  and  driven  back 
by  the  incoming  tide  at  Leim-a-Mhadaigh  (Limavady), 
'  The  Dog's  Leap,'  it  will  at  once  be  quite  intelligible  how 
the  light  curraghs  of  St.  Columb  and  his  followers  could 
with  ease  sail  up  the  Roe,  till  they  anchored  at  the  memorable 
rock,  henceforth  known  as  Cabhan-na-Churaidh. 

Another  circumstance  related  in  an  ancient  poem  ascribed 
to  St.  Molaise,  is  that  St.  Columb  came  blindfolded  to 
the  assembly,  and  remained  so  till  its  close.  The  reason 
assigned  for  this  is  that  on  his  banishment,  or  his  voluntary 
exile,  whichever  it  was,  he  had  been  commanded  by  bis 
confessor  never  again  to  look  upon  the  land  of  his  birth,  and 
that  now,  when  duty  compelled  him  to  come,  he  carried  out 
to  the  letter  the  injunction  laid  upon  him,  and  came  to  the 
great  assembly  at  Drumceat  with  a  sear-cloth  covering  his 
eyes.  This  story,  though  often  repeated,  seems  highly 
improbable.  If  we  believe  the  account  of  St.  Columb's 
leaving  Ireland  to  have  been  the  result  of  an  injunction  of 
St.  Molaise,  and  not  the  voluntary  act  of  a  man  burning  with 
zeal  to  spread  the  Gospel,  we  must  regard  his  return  to  his 
native  land  as  a  violation  of  the  spirit,  if  not  of  the  letter,  of 
his  extraordinary  penance.  Such  an  ascetic  as  Columba  was 
not  likely  to  be  guilty  of  such  a  violation.  Besides,  if  he 


THE   CONVENTION   OF   DROM-CEAT  311 

remained  in  Ireland  the  entire  time  of  the  convention,  as  we 
are  told  he  did,  and  that  it  lasted  for  thirteen  months,  it 
would  be  preposterous  to  suppose  that,  he  remained  blind- 
folded for  all  that  time.  Moreover,  we  know  that  during  his 
sojourn  in  lona  he  visited,  three  times  at  least,  his  Irish 
monasteries,  and  there  is  no  mention  of  this  blindfolding 
then.  This  seems  to  be  one  of  those  idle  tales  which  a 
mistaken  zeal  for  his  glory  has  foolishly  interwoven  with  his 
history.  It  has,  however,  furnished  a  subject  for  the  poet's 
pen,  which  has  been  turned  to  good  account.  In  an  ancient 
Gaelic  poem  attributed  (but  incorrectly)  to  St.  Columb  him- 
self, and  paraphrased  most  beautifully  by  Mr.  T.  D.  Sullivan, 
the  saint,  whose  longing  eyes  ever  turned  westward,  fearing 
the  violation  of  his  penance  if  he  settled  in  any  island  from 
which  Erin  could  be  seen,  thus  urges  his  companions  to  seek 
a  distant  settlement : — 

.  To  oars  again,  we  may  not  stay, 
For,  ah  !  on  ocean's  rim  I  see, 
When  sunbeams  pierce  the  cloudy  day, 
From  these  rude  cliffs  of  Oronsay, 
The  isle  so  dear  to  me. 

I  may  not  look  upon  that  shore 

However  low  and  dim  it  lies  ; 
Dear  brothers,  ply  the  sail  and  oar, 
My  word  is  passed — I  see  no  more 

That  glory  of  my  eyes. 

Away  o'er  calm  and  angry  tides, 
Where'er  our  fragile  craft  is  blown. 

Whatever  wind  or  current  guides, 

Away,  away,  till  ocean  hides 
The  hills  of  fair  Tyrone. 

Through  Derry's  oak-groves  angels  white 

In  countless  thousands  come  and  go  ; 
And  gleams,  as  if  of  God's  delight, 
Fall  calm  and  clear  to  mortal  sight 
IJpon  beloved  Raphoe. 

But  fear  from  Deny,  far  from  Kells, 
And  fair  Raphoe  my  steps  must  be  ; 

The  psalm  from  Durrow's  quiet  dells, 

The  tones  of  Arran's  holy  bells 
Will  sound  no  more  for  me. 


312  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

When  the  questions  of  the  Dalriadic  tribute,  and  of  the 
existence  of  the  bardic  order  had  been  satisfactorily  settled, 
St.  Columb  then  undertook  to  plead  the  cause  of  Scanlan  Mor, 
the  captive  son  of  the  king  of  Ossory.  But  here  his  eloquence 
was  fruitless,  for  Aedh  obstinately  refused  to  liberate  him. 
As  usual,  O'Donnell   simplifies   the   whole   matter   by  the 
introduction  of  a  convenient  miracle,  which  soon  unbolts 
the  doors   of   Scanlan's   prison,   which,   by   the    way,  was 
adjacent  to  St.  Columb's  monastery,  the  Dubh  Eegles  of 
Perry.     He  tells  us  that  when  Aedh  refused  the  request  of 
the  saint,  Columba  replied,  that  the  Lord  would  liberate  the 
prisoner  for  him.     After  this  he  set  out  for  his  monastery 
at  Derry,  which  was  some  miles  distant  from   Drumceat ; 
and  the  following  night  he  betook  himself  to  prayer  for  the 
liberation  of  the  captive.     Whilst  thus  engaged,  a  fearful 
tempest,  accompanied  by  peals  of  thunder,  and  flashes  of 
lightning,   raged   among   the    camps    of   the    assembly   at 
Drumceat,  and  a  luminous  cloud  sent  forth  brilliant  beams 
of  light,  which  penetrated  the  gloom  of  the  prison  in  which 
Scanlan  was  confined;  and  then  was  heard  a  voice  command- 
ing the  prisoner  to  go  forth  from  his  cell.     Scanlan  followed 
an  angel  who  acted  as  his  guide,  and  having  in  a  moment 
of  time,  and  without  any  apparent  movement,  transferred 
him  from  the  prison  to  the  monastery  at   Derry,  left  him 
there   and  immediately  disappeared  from  sight.     Probably 
the  good  Prince  of  Tyrconnell,  at  the  time  he  wrote  this, 
l.ad  been  reading  over  the  history  of  St.  Peter's  liberation 
from    prison  by  angelic  ministry,  and  by  mistake  trans- 
ferred the  substance  of  the  story  into  the  life  of  his  patron. 
Adamnan's  account  of  the  matter  is  simpler,  and  we  will 
transcribe  it : — l 

At  the  same  time,  and  in  the  same  place  [i.e.  Drumceat],  the 
saint  wishing  to  visit  Scanlan,  son  of  Colman,  went  to  him  where 
he  was  kept  in  prison  by  king  Aedh,  and  when  he  had  blessed 
him,  he  comforted  him,  saying:  'Son,  be  not  sorrowful,  but 
rather  rejoice  and  be  comforted,  for  king  Aedh,  who  has  you  a 
prisoner,  will  go  out  of  this  world  before  you,  and  after  some 
time  of  exile  you  shall  reign  in  your  own  nation  thirty  years. 

1  Adamnan,  Book  i.,  ch.  ii. 


THE   CONVENTION   OF   DROM-CEAT  313 


And  again  you  shall  be  driven  from  your  kingdom,  and  shall  be 
in  exile  for  some  days ;  after  which,  called  home  again  by  your 
people,  you  shall  reign  for  three  short  terms,'  all  of  which  was  fully 
accomplished  according  to  the  prophecy  of  the  saint :  for  after 
reigning  for  thirty  years,  he  was  expelled,  and  was  in  exile  for 
some  space  of  time,  but  being  invited  home  again  by  the  people, 
he  reigned  not  three  years,  as  he  expected,  but  three  months, 
after  which  he  immediately  died. 

He  remained  captive  at  Derry  until  the  death  of  Aedh, 
who  was  killed  by  Bran  Dubh  in  the  battle  of  Dunbolg 
near  Baltinglass  in  the  county  Wicklow,  in  594,  or  accord- 
ing to  others,  in  598. 

One  other  circumstance  in  connection  with  St.  Columb's 
coming  to  Drumceat  we  may  be  permitted  to  notice  before 
closing,  and  that  is  the  fact  of  so  many  bishops  following  in 
his  retinue  and  yielding  him  obedience.  As  belonging  to 
the  superior  or  highest  grade  of  the  priesthood,  the  bishops 
would  naturally  be  expected  to  have  the  precedence ;  but 
here  that  order  is  reversed,  and  no  less  than  twenty  bishops 
follow  in  the  wake  of  the  illustrious  abbot  with  a  docility 
and  submission  worthy  of  novices.  This  circumstance  was 
noted  and  satisfactorily  explained  by  the  Venerable  Bede, 
and  still  later  by  Geoffrey  Keating,  in  his  History  of  Ireland, 
and  by  Dr.  Coyle,  Bishop  of  Eaphoe,  in  his  Collectanea  Sacra, 
or  Pious  Miscellany.  In  the  appendix  to  his  Antiquities  of 
Down  and  Connor,  Dr.  Eeeves  gives  the  substance  of  these 
remarks,  and  though  the  question  is  not  of  much  importance 
in  our  present  essay,  a  portion  of  Dr.  Beeves'  explanation  may 
not  be  unacceptable  to  the  readers  of  the  I.  E.  RECORD  : — 

In  the  year  590  was  convened  a  council  at  Drumceat,  on  the 
river  Eoe,  one  great  object  of  which  was  to  arbitrate  between  the 
respective  claims  of  Aidus,  king  of  Ireland,  and  Aidan,  king  of 
the  British  Scots,  to  the  kingdom  of  Dalriada,  in  Ireland.  And 
hither  Columbkille  also  came  from  his  monastery  at  Hy,  attended 
by  a  company  which  is  thus  described  by  his  contemporary, 
Dalian  Forgall  :— 

'  Twoscore  priests  was  their  number, 
Twenty  bishops  of  excellence  and  worth, 
For  singing  psalms,  a  practice  without  blame, 
Fifty  deacons  and  thirty  students.' 

These  lines,  though  written  with  great  poetical  licence,  are 
of  undoubted  antiquity,  and  not  only  illustrate  the  ancient 
frequency  of  bishops,  but  confirm  what  Bede  said  of  the 


314  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

subjection  of  the  neighbouring  provinces  to  the  Abbot  of  Hy. 
This  subjection  is  satisfactorily  accounted  for,  to  use  the  words 
of  Bishop  Lloyd,  by  the  consideration  that  :  '  Whereas  in  almost 
all  other  places  there  were  bishops  before  there  were  monasteries, 
and  then  it  was  not  lawful  to  build  any  monastery  without  the 
leave  of  the  bishop,  here  at  Hy,  on  the  contrary,  there  was  no 
Christian  before  Columba  came  thither.  And  when  he  was  come, 
and  had  converted  both  king  and  people,  they  gave  him  the 
island  in  possession  for  the  building  of  a  monastery ;  and  withal, 
for  the  maintenance  of  it,  they  gave  him  the  royalty  of  the 
neighbouring  isles ;  six  of  which  are  mentioned  by  Buchanan  as 
belonging  to  the  monastery.  And,  therefore,  though  Columba 
found  it  necessary  to  have  a  bishop,  and  was  pleased  to  give  him 
a  seat  in  his  island,  and,  perhaps,  to  put  the  other  isles  under  his 
jurisdiction,  yet  it  is  not  strange  that  he  thought  fit  to  keep  the 
royalty  still  to  himself  and  his  successors.  It  is  no  more  strange 
that  it  should  be  so  there  than  that  it  is  so  now  in  many  places ; 
and  at  Oxford  particularly,  where  a  bishop  now  lives,  and  is  as 
well  known  to  be  a  prelate  of  the  English  Church  as  any  other ; 
the  government  in  the  University  exclusively  of  him ;  and  not 
only  the  Chancellor  and  his  deputy  have  precedence  of  the  bishop, 
but  every  private  scholar  is  exempt  from  his  cognizance  and 
jurisdiction. '  The  power  of  order  and  jurisdiction,  it  is  to  be  borne 
in  mind,  are  quite  distinct.  'A  person  may  be  consecrated  bishop, 
to  all  intents  and  purposes  as  to  the  power  of  order  without  pos- 
sessing any  jurisdiction.  Vice  versa,  a  person  of  the  clerical  order 
may,  although  not  actually  a  bishop,  be  invested  with  episcopal 
jurisdiction.  Thus,  if  he  be  elected  to  a  see,  and  regularly  con- 
firmed, he  becomes,  prior  to  his  consecration,  possessed  of  the  juris- 
diction appertaining  to  said  see,  and  if  it  be  metropolitan,  the 
suffragan  bishops  subject  to  him  as  if  he  had  been  actually 
consecrated.' 

The  latter  part  of  this  extract  Dr.  Reeves  gives  on  the 
authority  of  the  learned  Dr.  Lanigan. 

We  have  dwelt  thus  in  detail  on  the  circumstances,  tra- 
ditions, and  legends  connected  with  the  ancient  parliament 
held  on  the  banks  of  the  Roe,  not  .so  much  for  their  own 
sake,  as  for  that  of  the  great  assembly  with  which  they  are 
linked.  Our  English  neighbours,  it  is  true,  are  wont  to  scoff 
at  our  boasting  of  the  ancient  civilization  of  our  country,  and 
to  turn  into  ridicule  those  great  men  of  our  land,  who  are 
still  fresh  in  the  minds  of  the  people,  and 

"Whose  distant  footsteps  echo 
Through  the  corridors  of  time  ; 

but,  their  sneers  notwithstanding,  we  love  to  dwell  on  the 


THE   CONVENTION   OF   DROM-CEAT  315 

days  of  old,  and  like  eagles  to  gaze  upon  the  sun  of  glory 
which  then  illumined  our  island.  We  feel  it  an  honour  to 
belong  to  the  race  which  led  the  van  in  evangelizing 
and  educating  the  proudest  nations  of  modern  Europe  ;  who 
founded  schools  and  universities  where  the  sacred  fire  of 
knowledge  was  guarded  with  more  than  vestal  care  during 
the  stormiest  periods  of  Vandal  and  Gothic  barbarism ;  who, 
when  the  lamp  of  learning  was  extinguished  from  the  Seine 
to  the  Tiber,  opened  the  monastic  halls  of  holy  Ireland  to  the 
thousands  of  students  that  flocked  to  her  shores.  Surely  the 
land  and  the  age  that  produced  such  men  as  Columbanus, 
Virgilius,  Fridolin,  and  a  host  of  others  equally  celebrated, 
are  not  to  be  regarded  as  barbarous.  And  where  in  the 
history  of  any  country  is  there  a  name  more  dearly  or  more 
deservedly  cherished  than  that  of  the  '  Dove  of  the  Church,' 
our  own  saint  Columbkille?  No  name  brings  before  the 
Irish  mind  more  glorious  reminiscences  than  his ;  and 
whether  as  a  stripling  in  the  paternal  halls  of  Kilmacrenan, 
as  a  youth  by  the  banks  of  Strangford  Lough,  in  the  school 
of  St.  Finnian,  or  as  the  great  apostle  in  the  lonely  and 
penitential  cell  of  lona,  he  is  ever  to  us  a  model  of  spotless 
purity,  of  burning  fervour,  of  distinguished  wisdom  and 
prudence,  and  of  a  patriotism  that,  next  to  his  love  of  God, 
consumes  his  very  soul.  Thirteen  centuries  have  passed 
away  since  he  breathed  his  last  amid  his  sorrowing  monks 
in  Hy,  and  yet  is  he  familiarly  spoken  of  by  the  Irish  people 
in  every  region,  as  if  he  had  lived  and  moved  amongst  them 
from  their  childhood.  The  holy  wells,  popularly  believed  to 
have  been  blessed  by  him;  the  stones  where  he  knelt  in 
prayer,  and  left  the  sacred  impress  of  his  knees;  the  blessings 
or  the  maledictions  uttered  by  him — what  are  they  all  but 
mementos — fond,  though  it  may  be  fanciful — that  a  grate- 
ful race  has  cherished  and  nursed  for  generations  regarding 
this  wonderful  man.  The  tall  commanding  form,  the  keen 
and  flashing  eye,  the  angelic  loveliness  of  the  countenance,  the 
rich  melodious  voice,  the  copious  and  impressive  eloquence 
which  subdued  even  kings  and  courts,  and  swayed  the 
destinies  of  nations  yet  unborn ;  the  statesmanlike  and 
highly-cultivated  mind — these  have  all  been  familiar  to  us 


316  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

from  childhood,  and  are  pictures  on  which  fancy  has  loved  to 
dwell  from  our  earliest  years.  Nowhere,  however,  does  the 
innate  nobleness  of  his  character  shine  to  greater  advantage 
than  at  the  Convention  of  Drnmceat,where,  in  the  presence  of 
hostile  kings  and  mutually  jealous  clans,  he  pleaded  the  cause 
of  justice,  of  learning,  and  of  mercy.  The  princes  and  the 
rulers  of  the  land  were  there ;  the  prelates,  and  priests,  and 
poets  had  their  respective  positions  in  that  assembly;  various 
feelings  and  various  interests  were  at  work ;  but  the  master- 
hand  of  the  Abbot  of  Ion  a  blended  into  one  harmonious 
whole  the  conflicting  interests  of  the  assembled  thousands, 
and  like  another  Moses,  swayed  a  people  scarcely  less 
stubborn,  and  scarcely  less  fickle,  than  the  tribes  of  Israel. 
If  war  between  the  Dalriadian  colony  and  the  parent  country 
were  averted,  to  Columba  is  the  honour  due  ;  if  the  cause  of 
learning  in  the  persons  of  the  poets  were  preserved  from 
destruction,  to  the  apostle  of  Scotland  must  the  credit  be 
given ;  and  if  the  fetters  of  the  captive,  Scanlan  Mor  of 
Ossory,  were  not  broken,  it  was  not  that  the  fervid  eloquence 
of  Columbkille  was  wanting,  but  that  the  heart  of  Hugh 
was  steeled  against  the  inroads  of  the  slightest  feelings  of 
mercy  for  his  prisoner. 

What  good  for  future  generations  the  wise  counsels 
of  the  saint  effected  at  the  Convention  we  cannot  now 
sufficiently  appreciate ;  but  we  know  that  it  was  the 
salutary  regulations  there  enacted  that  made  the  schools 
of  Ireland  for  so  many  centuries  afterwards  the  light  and 
glory  of  Christendom.  To  Columba  was  this  mainly  due, 
and  to  him  must  every  son  of  Ireland,  in  ages  yet  to  come, 
reverently  bow,  as  the  great  father  and  protector  of  litera- 
ture. Though  the  schools  which  sprang  into  existence 
about  that  time  are  now  no  more ;  though  Bangor, 
Clonmacnoise,  Clonard,  Moville,  Kells,  and  Derry,  are 
stripped  of  their  ancient  glories;  though  the  bards  who 
governed  the  colleges  have,  like  their  schools,  long  since 
passed  away ;  still  the  name  of  him,  who  pleaded  so  well 
the  cause  of  master  and  pupil,  is  written,  and  for  ever 
shall  be  indelibly  written,  on  the  hearts  of  the  Irish  people. 
While  the  Koe  steals  down  from  its  distant  fountain  in 


THE  DECADENCE  OF  ECCLESIOLOGICAL  ART         317 

Glenshane,  and  mingles  its  waters  with  the  turbid  Foyle; 
while  the  winter  storms  beat  vainly  against  the  rocky 
battlements  of  Magilligan,  and  howl  in  fury  round  the 
summit  of  the  Keady ;  while  returning  spring  scatters  its 
thousand  beauties  over  the  broad  lands  of  O'Cahan,  and 
restores  the  buds  and  blossoms  to  the  widowed  forests,  so 
long  shall  the  name  of  Columbkille  be  handed  down  with 
benedictions  from  generation  to  generation,  and  the  blessings 
that  his  golden  eloquence  won  for  the  people  at  the  Parlia- 
ment of  Drumceat,  be  for  ever  lauded  by  the  patriot,  the 
philanthropist,  and  the  scholar. 

<%  JOHN  K.  O'DoHERTY. 


THE  DECADENCE  OF  ECCLESIOLOGICAL  ART 
IN  IRELAND,  AND  SUGGESTIONS  AS  TO 
ITS  REVIVAL 

'Domine,  dilexi,  decorem  domus  tuae.' 

IN  the  present  state  of  art,  and  especially  ecclesiastical 
art,  in  this  country,  we  are  living  in  a  most  remark- 
able period.  It  may  safely  be  asserted  that  more  churches, 
chapels,  parochial  and  conventual  buildings  have  been 
erected  in  Ireland  during  the  last  fifty  years  than  during  any 
corresponding  period  since  the  close  of  the  twelfth  century. 
On  every  side  we  see  large  edifices,  costing  great  sums  of 
money,  rising  in  cities  and  towns,  and  even  in  small  country 
villages.  It  seems  now  that  the  moment  has  come  to 
review  our  progress  in  ecclesiological  art  as  expressed  in 
these  buildings  of  every  degree.  I  use  the  word  '  ecclesio- 
logical '  advisedly,  for  the  knowledge  and  the  practical 
application  of  ecclesiology  seems  to  me  to  be  not  only 
rarely  shown,  but  to  be  absolutely  wanting  in  the  greater 
number  of  these  church  buildings,  especially  in  their 
interiors,  and  what  ought  to  be  their  essential  fittings  and 


318  THE  IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

furniture.  The  study  of  ecclesiology,  in  its  applied  forms, 
is  utterly  neglected ;  whereas  that  of  archaeology,  as  a 
popular  science,  is  ardently  pursued,  whether  it  relates  to 
historical  or  mediaeval  buildings,  or  to  the  rude  structures 
and  labours  of  pre-historic  periods.  Every  quarter  of 
the  year  produces  its  own  crop  of  archaeological  treatises 
on  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  objects  of  antiquity,  possessing 
either  a  historic  or  artistic  value — at  least  in  the  eyes  of 
those  who  write  about  them.  But  as  far  as  ecclesiology, 
pure  and  simple,  is  concerned,  we  seldom,  if  ever,  read 
any  article  of  interest  or  instruction,  which  might  serve 
to  guide  us  in  the  difficult  task  of  re-edifying  and  restoring 
all  those  adjuncts  to  the  services  of  the  Catholic  Church, 
which  were  swept  away  so  ruthlessly  during  the  last  three 
centuries. 

No  student  of  our  ancient  ecclesiastical  history  can 
enter  one  of  the  numerous  ruined  churches  in  this  land 
without  noticing  remains  of  these  adjuncts,  such  as  sedilia, 
aumbries,  corbels,  or  holes  for  the  reception  and  support 
of  parcloses  or  screens,  and  rood  beams,  along  with 
(in  many  cases)  spacious  porches,  chancel-crypts,  and  the 
almost  total  absence  of  '  vestries '  from  the  greater  number 
of  such  antique  churches  and  oratories.  In  this  day  of 
building  and  restoration,  I  think  it  highly  advisable  that 
we  should  endeavour  to  get  back  again  those  portions 
of  the  sacred  edifices  of  the  Church  of  which  we  have 
been  so  long  deprived,  without  in  the  least  degree  impairing 
the  usefulness  of  the  buildings  as  regards  the  social 
needs  of  modern  life  and  practice.  It  will  not  suffice, 
however,  to  stop  short  at  the  mere  fact  of  restoring  the 
buildings;  we  must  try  by  studying  what  has  been  done 
around  us  in  other  lands,  to  recover  and  take  up  again  the 
golden  traditions  of  good  taste  which  were  abandoned  in 
the  sixteenth  century,  from  two  causes  :  namely,  the 
destructive  influence  of  the  '  New  Learning,'  as  it  was  then 
called  (somewhat  like  the  '  New  Criticism  '  of  our  days),  and 
the  giving  up  of  Christian  models  for  the  Neo-Classical 
forms,  which  were  then  being  so  ardently  pursued  by  the 
talented  architects,  artists,  and  designers  of  the  Benaissance. 


THE   DECADENCE   OF    ECCLESIOLOGICAL   ART        319 

In  looking  at  the  dire  effects  ot  the  powerful  wave  of 
classicalism  which  swept  over  the  minds  and  thoughts 
of  European  nations,  from  Italy  to  the  furthest  confines 
of  the  north,  and  even  to  the  newly-discovered  lands  of 
America,  we  now  see  how  many  things  that  were  both 
beautiful  and  true,  in  harmony  with  nature,  and  the  genius 
ot  the  different  peoples  that  produced  them,  were  despised, 
neglected,  and  laid  aside  for  the  revived  so-called  pagan 
ideals  of  Greece  and  Home.  I  am  fully  aware  that  the  art 
of  the  middle  ages,  in  its  struggle  to  obtain  supremacy  over 
brute  matter — as  in  its  solving  of  the  complex  problems 
involved  in  the  solution  of  '  vaulting,'  and  the  '  thrust '  of 
vast  masses  of  masonry — ran  riot  in  the  luxuriance  of  the 
flamboyant  forms  of  its  latter  architectural  period.  Bat 
it  had  this  merit,  at  least,  that  it  was  a  glorious  contest  of 
human  intellect  against  matter,  in  struggling  to  attain  to 
the  perfection  of  such  marvellous  creations  as  we  still  see 
left  in  an  unfinished  state,  in  such  magnificent  edifices  as 
the  cathedrals  of  Rouen,  Chartres,  Bourges,  Amiens,  and 
even  our  own  beautiful  specimen  of  late  work  in  the  choir 
of  Holy- Cross  Abbey,  county  Tipperary.1  Now,  in  spite  of 
the  terrible  stoppages  which  occurred  in  all  literary  or 
artistic  works  in  the  country  after  the  close  of  the  fourteenth 
century,  and  even  previous  to  that  time,  I  consider  that 
Irish  ecclesiastical  art  was  slowly  but  gradually  advancing 
in  the  way  of  progress,  on  sure  and  certain  lines.  I  have 
perceived  many  traces  of  this  progress,  even  in  the  smallest 
and  least  known  of  the  numberless  churches  and  oratories 
which  cover  the  face  of  our  country.  Take,  for  instance, 
one  familiar  example,  amongst  many,  which  occurs  to  me 
at  this  moment,  in  the  now  ruined  and  ivy-grown  church  of 
Kilmolash,  in  the  county  Waterford,  on  the  banks  of  the 


1  In  this  choir,  which  was  evidently  planned  by  masons  thoroughly 
acquainted  with  the  southern  European  style  (having  worked  in  Portugal  at 
the  Abbey  of  Batalha,  under  Bishop  William  Hackett,  of  Kilkenny,  circa 
A.D.  1465),  there  is  a  '  sedilia  '  which — so  dense  the  ignorance  respecting  such 
matters — has  been  the  subject  of  violent  discussions  between  Irish  archaeologists 
in  past  years,  some  asserting  that  it  was  a  tomb,  others  that  it  was  not ;  all 
seemingly  unaware  of  its  being  simply  the  seat  for  the  use  of  the  ministers  at 
the  altar. 


320  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

Finisk  river.  In  this  small  but  interesting  edifice  I  can 
trace  the  progress  of  architectural  knowledge  and  taste  from 
the  close  of  the  sixth  up  to  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth 
century.  Herein  I  have  found  decided  signs  of  the 
'  iconostasis '  cr  chancel-screen  which  separated  the  sanc- 
tuary from  the  nave,  as  in  the  Greek  Church  even  to  the 
present  day ;  the  aumbries,  or  deep  square  receptacles  in 
the  walls  near  where  the  altars  were  placed,  and  in  the 
western  fa9ade,  there  is  a  late  pointed  doorway,  of  which 
the  mouldings  are  of  a  distinctly  flamboyant  type,  showing 
how  the  later  builders  were  imbued  with  the  taste  then 
prevailing  in  the  rest  of  Europe.  I  could  multiply  such 
instances.1  My  reason  for  now  citing  this  one,  is  to 
demonstrate  how  the  Irish  ecclesiologists  and  architects 
of  that  day  were  progressing  towards  a  style  which,  if  it 
had  not  been  rudely  interrupted  by  civil  and  religious 
warfare,  would  have  led  to  a  development  of  architecture 
in  Ireland,  destined  to  produce  works  that  would  have 
been,  doubtless,  a  glory  to  their  country. 

For,  I  believe  firmly,  as  the  Irish  were  distinguished  not 
only  as  illuminators  of  manuscripts,  and  workers  in  metal, 
but  also  as  builders — as  witness  Cormac's  chapel  at 
Cashel,  Kilmalkedar,  Aghadoe,  and  Tuam — long  previous  to 
the  Norman  invasion,  so  by  their  Celtic  quickness  of  intellect 
and  their  intuitive  faculty,  especially  in  the  domain  of  art, 
they  would  have  attained  a  high  degree  of  perfection  in 
constructive  and  decorative  work  of  every  description. 
Many  persons  object  to  this  theory,  that  all  such  artistic 
forms  as  are  shown  in  the  buildings  that  I  have  mentioned, 
have  been  importations  from  Byzantine  and  other  foreign 
sources.  Still,  admitting  that  our  Irish  types  had  been,  in 
a  great  measure,  derived  from  such  extraneous  sources,  I 
assert  that  the  Celtic  mind  had  modified,  in  a  most  remark- 
able  degree,  the  leading  characteristics  of  such  imported 
models,  so  as  to  make  them  '  racy  of  the  soil,'  and  full  of 

1  There  is  a  charming  specimen  of  late  work,  most  probably  design*,  d  and 
erected  by  Bishop  Hackett,  in  the  shape  of  a  small  pointed  arched  doorway, 
carved  in  limestone,  with  profiles  admirably  adapted  to  the  material,  now 
standing  in  the  outer  wall  of  Kilkenny  cathedral. 


THE   DECADENCE   OF   ECCLESIOLOGICAL   ART       321 

that  quaint  beauty  which  displays  itself,  to  the  admiration 
of  civilized  Europe,  in  the  graceful  curves  of  its  manuscripts 
and  of  its  goldsmiths'  works. 

In  submitting  these  preliminary  remarks  to  the  readers 
of  the  I.  E.  EECOED,  I  am  desirous  of  reviving  in  Ireland, 
and  especially  amongst  the  clergy  and  educated  laity,  the 
spirit  of  research  into  the  past  artistic  story  of  our  old 
churches,  leaving  aside  for  the  moment  their  purely  historic 
and  archaeological  aspects ;  and  seeing  whether  we,  in  this 
day  of  revival,  cannot  take  hold  again  of  the  golden  cord  of 
artistic  tradition  and  of  Catholic  ritual  in  its  fulness,  which 
may  lead  us  through  the  chaotic  labyrinth  of  the  mis- 
named— in  so  many  cases — ecclesiastical  art  of  the  present 
day  in  our  land. 

Instead  of  the  depressing  silence  which  now  broods 
over  all  such  studies  in  this  country,  I  wish  to  see  intelligent 
criticism  evoked  and  used  fearlessly  and  pitilessly  as  regards 
all  the  buildings,  furniture,  and  other  objects  employed  in 
the  services  of  the  Church.  Public  interest  must  be 
awakened  to  the  absolute  necessity  of  restoring  the  art 
forms  which  were  thrown  aside  at  an  unfortunate  period, 
and  which  drifted  away  from  men's  memories,  during 
the  dark  days  of  wars,  rebellions,  and  penal  laws  which 
so  long  prevailed  in  this  unhappy  island.  We  see  our 
neighbours,  in  England  as  well  as  in  Belgium,  fully 
awake  to  the  consciousness  that  the  '  talking  about,' 
and  the  '  writing  on '  ecclesiology,  as  a  sort  of  pseudo- 
science,  does  not  avail  much  in  a  practical  way  in  these 
practical  days  ;  but  that  the  results  of  the  investigations 
and  the  knowledge  acquired  during  this  last  half  century, 
must  be  brought  to  bear  on  artistic  productions,  for  the  use 
of  the  Church  in  our  times. 

We  are  too  near  the  twentieth  century  to  be  any 
longer  producing  merely  '  correct '  copies  of  '  correct ' 
churches  and  cathedrals,  a  la  Pugin  type.  Without 
pursuing  the  '  Will-o'-the-Wisp '  idea  of  a  bran-new 
architectural  style,  our  English  and  Belgian  ecclesiological 
friends  are  beginning  to  discover  by  degrees  that  a  real 
architectural  style  is  being  developed  out  of  the  elements  of 
VOL.  in.  x 


322  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

preceding  centuries,  which  show  that  it  is  a  worthy  product 
of  these  latter  days,  and  is  admirably  adapted  to  the  needs 
of  the  present  time,  as  we  see  in  the  works  of  learned 
ecclesiologists,  such  as  the  late  John  Sedding,  Pearson, 
Bodely,  Caroe,  Delacenserie,  Bethune,  and  many  more  of  the 
band  of  gallant  workers  who  with  hand  and  brain,  pencil  and 
pen,  hammer  and  chisel,  are  delivering  us  from  the  thraldom 
of  the  cold,  cast-iron  forms,  and  inept  traditions  which  still 
prevail  throughout  Ireland,  in  all  their  '  out-of-date,'  and 
painfully  '  correct '  reproductions  of  the  thirteenth  century 
Cistercian  churches,  and  Hiberno-Lombardic  chapels,  mostly 
all  derived  from  French  sources,  without  the  slightest  attempt 
to  show  that  the  buildings  belong  to  the  present  day,  and 
are  not  merely  clever  archgeological  puzzles,  to  be  both 
wondered  and  smiled  at  by  succeeding  generations  of 
educated  Irish  people. 

I  shall  endeavour,  if  I  receive  the  hospitality  of  the  pages 
of  the  I.  E.  RECORD,  to  show  what  a  pressing  need  there  is  for 
a  diffusion  of  ecclesiological  knowledge  among  the  clergy  and 
laity  of  Ireland,  and  especially  for  the  practical  teaching  of 
such  knowledge  in  colleges  and  seminaries,  as  has  been 
organized  for  more  than  thirty  years  past  by  the  well-known 
Professor  Reusens,  in  the  Catholic  University  of  Louvain, 
of  which  course  a  most  admirable  resume  has  lately  been 
published. 

MICHAEL  J.  C.  BUCKLEY,  M.E.  S.A.I. 


323 


IRISH    EXILES    IN    BRITTANY 

IV. 

fT!  HE  storms  that  swept  over  the  Irish  Church  in  the 
J_  course  of  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  should, 
humanly  speaking,  have  destroyed  every  vestige  of  the  ancient 
faith  in  the  land.  Bishops  were  proscribed  and  banished, 
priests  were  hunted,  altars  overthrown,  and  on  their  ruins 
another  cultus  had  been  raised  which,  in  any  other  country, 
might  have  become  in  popular  esteem  the  national  religion. 
There  seemed  no  hope  left  for  the  faith  of  our  fathers.  The 
prelates  were  gone  ;  the  ministry  of  the  priests  who  stayed 
with  their  stricken  flocks  was  accomplished  only  at  the  cost 
of  a  heroism  which  could  never  be  the  normal  condition  of 
any  Church  ;  and  for  the  future  there  appeared  but  little 
chance  that  with  the  years  better  things  might  come.  Irish 
politics  at  this  juncture  had  become  hopelessly  Anglicized, 
and  the  fortunes  of  the  country  no  longer  rested  on  '  native 
swords  and  native  ranks,'  but  found  their  only  support  in  the 
precarious  honour  of  a  royal  house  which  certainly  does  not 
live  in  history  for  its  fealty  to  principle  or  friends.  So  that 
the  actual  state  of  the  Church  in  Ireland,  bad  as  it  was,  yet 
might  have  issued  in  a  condition  of  things  still  worse,  if  some 
plan  had  not  been  found  to  fill  up  the  decimated  ranks  of  the 
clergy  by  others  who  were  able  to  hand  on  unquenched  to 
another  generation  the  flickering  lamp  of  the  national  faith. 
In  point  of  fact,  this  work  was  done,  and  well  done ;  and 
nothing  in  our  annals  more  splendidly  attests  the  superb 
tenacity  of  the  national  conscience  to  the  Catholic  faith 
than  the  army  of  youths  who  for  over  a  hundred  years  had 
sought  in  foreign  lands  the  training  and  the  learning  needed 
in  every  age  for  those  who  should  bear  the  burden  of  the 
Christian  priesthood.  They  left  home  at  a  tender  age,  ran 
all  the  risks  of  travel  by  sea  and  land,  at  that  time  infested 
by  the  enemies  of  their  mission  abroad ;  and  all  this  that 
they  might  be  buried,  in  the  flower  of  their  age,  in  an 


324  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

obscure  corner  of  some  foreign  city,  and  so  grow  worthy  of 
their  future  work,  whose  highest  crown  would  be  martyr- 
dom, and  which,  in  any  event,  was  sure  to  be  accompanied 
in  its  course  by  every  species  of  privation  and  suffering.  I 
think  this  picture  has  no  counterpart  in  history,  and  enough 
has  scarcely  been  done  to  put  it  in  its  right  relief  before  the 
students  of  our  national  annals.  Travelling  was  not  then 
the  luxury  it  has  since  become ;  the  mystery  of  time  and 
distance  had  not  then  been  solved  as  it  has  been  for  us ;  and 
the  weary  vigils  of  our  scholars  abroad,  in  the  eighteenth 
century,  had  little  of  the  solace  which  very  easily  comes  to 
modern  exiles.  They  were  cut  off  absolutely  from  their 
people,  and  every  day  might  easily  have  imagined  that  ruin 
had,  at  length,  reached  their  homes  through  the  incidence 
of  the  incessant  wars  and  persecutions  of  the  time.  This 
alone  must  have  been  a  terrible  accompaniment  to  the  years 
of  study  and  prayer  which  should  elapse  before  they  too 
might  take  part  in  the  struggle,  and  taste  all  the  bitter 
fortunes  of  war.  One  cannot  imagine  any  human  motive 
for  this  voluntary  torture.  It  could  not  be  love  of  letters, 
for  these  might  be  had  at  home  at  a  certain  price ;  nor  mere 
love  of  country,  for  this  would  hardly  place  them  in  a 
position  so  little  likely  to  further  state  interests  ;  so  that  we 
are  compelled  to  hold  that  perfect  loyalty  to  God  and  His 
Church  alone  explains  the  generous  sacrifice  of  home,  and 
youth,  and  pleasure  made  by  so  many  Irishmen  in  the  past, 
in  order  that  they  might  prepare  their  hearts  and  minds  for 
the  duty  of  ministering,  in  dark  and  evil  days,  to  the 
spiritual  needs  of  their  suffering -country. 

It  renders  the  history  of  the  Irish  exiles  in  Brittany  still 
more  interesting,  and  fully  typical  of  the  times,  that  a 
seminary  for  their  use  was  established  at  Nantes,  whose 
constitutions  and  various  fortunes  can  be  fully  followed 
from  its  earliest  moments  to  its  final  close.  It  will  be  the 
scope  of  this  chapter  to  deal  with  this  foundation,  and, 
happily,  I  have  under  my  hands  the  documents  necessary  to 
sustain  the  narrative. 

I  had  not  been  in  Nantes  but  one  day  when  I  heard  of  the 
Rue  des  Irlandais,  and  of  the  buildings  that  still  evidence 


IRISH  EXILES   IN   BRITTANY  325 

the  presence  of  our  countrymen  in  the  city.  This  fact  first 
suggested  to  me  the  idea  of  compiling  these  notes,  and 
awakened  my  interest  in  gathering  the  details  of  the  Irish 
colony  here.  The  site  of  the  seminary  is  still  occupied  by 
a  noble  pile  of  buildings,  some  of  which  were  in  actual 
possession  of  the  exiles,  while  others  have  been  since  added, 
and  now  serve  for  municipal  uses.  What  remains  of  the 
older  buildings  is  marked  by  a  very  beautiful,  if  severe,  style 
of  architecture,  and  the  halls  and  refectory  witness  to  the 
elaborate  scale  of  the  foundation.  The  new  section  is  a 
superb  structure,  crowned  by  a  square  tower,  which  goes  by 
the  name  of  '  La  Tour  des  Irlandais,'  and  admirably  serves 
to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  those  whose  residence  there  gave 
a  peculiar  mark  to  the  neighbourhood.  It  is  of  interest  to 
know  that  the  Irish  museum,  now  kept  in  another  part  of 
the  city,  will  eventually  rest  within  these  buildings,  and 
so  permanently  unite  all  the  evidence  which  proves  the 
presence  of  Irish  footsteps  in  the  historic  strata  of  Nantes. 

The  first  form  of  this  foundation  was  rather  that  of  an 
hospice  than  of  a  seminary.  The  necessity  for  such  an 
institution  arose  from  the  peculiar  circumstances  which 
arose  towards  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century,  when 
Nantes  was  crowded  by  numbers  of  Irish  ecclesiastics, 
without  employment  and  without  means.  In  the  course  of 
time  some  were  enabled  to  undertake  ministerial  functions, 
and  became  more  or  less  incorporated  with  the  diocesan 
clergy ;  others,  however,  were  not  so  happily  circumstanced, 
and  became  a  source  of  anxiety  to  the  authorities.  It  is 
said  that  some  of  them  laid  aside  the  ecclesiastical  dress, 
and  sought  their  livelihood  in  purely  secular  pursuits.  I 
have  no  means  to  determine  what  proportion  of  the  exiled 
priests  fell  so  far  below  the  level  of  their  state  of  life,  but  I 
believe  it  cannot  have  been  very  large.  The  greater  number 
either  assisted  the  local  clergy  or  else  opened  schools,  and 
so  solved  the  most  urgent  problem  of  life.  It  is  said  that 
these  schools  were  not  notably  successful.  They  had  often 
to  open  their  doors  to  students  who  had  been  rejected  from 
other  academies,  and  this  element  did  not  raise  the  tone 
either  of  study  or  discipline.  At  length  the  disorder  became 


326  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

so  extreme  that  the  University 1  intervened,  and  revoked  the 
licence  for  teaching,  so  that  the  exiles  were  once  more  with- 
out occupation,  and  the  diocese  face  to  face  with  the  problem 
of  making  provision  for  their  needs.  At  this  crisis  the 
authorities  determined  that  the  best  and  only  means  of 
meeting  the  difficulties  of  the  situation  was  the  establish- 
ment of  a  hospice,  where  the  Irish  priests  might  enjoy  the 
security  of  community  life,  and  where  responsible  superiors 
could  exact  discipline,  and  enforce  a  rule  whose  sanction 
would  be  immediate  and  personal. 

This  community  was  founded  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Ambrose 
Madden,  of  the  diocese  of  Clonfert,  and  the  Eev.  Dr.  Edward 
Flannery,  of  Waterford.2  Its  first  quarters  were  in  the  Rue 
de  la  Paume,  now  the  Rue  du  Chapeau-Rouge,3  and  here  the 
society  remained  for  about  five  years.  The  date  of  the 
foundation  was  about  1689,  when  the  Irish  element  was 
very  strong  in  the  city  owing  to  the  arrival  of  the  Jacobites, 
who  sought  in  great  numbers  asj'lum  in  France  after  the 
defeat  of  their  cause.  Their  stay  in  this  place  extended 
over  five  years,  and  as  far  as  I  can  gather  was  not  marked 
by  any  incident  of  note.  At  the  close  of  this  period  an 
opportunity  of  better  quarters  was  given  them  by  the  vaca- 
tion of  the  Manoir  de  la  Touche  by  the  religious  congregation 
who  had  been  some  time  in  residence  there,  and  to  this 
noble  residence  the  exiles  passed  in  1694.  This  good  fortune 
came  to  them  through  the  generosity  of  the  Bishop  of 
Nantes,  Monseigneur  Gilles  de  Beauveau,  who  showed 
himself  peculiarly  favourable  to  our  countrymen.  Their 
new  bouse  was  a  place  of  distinguished  souvenirs,  and  had 
been  occupied  by  the  dukes  of  Brittany.4  Later  on  it 
served  as  the  episcopal  palace5  for  a  lengthened  period.  Its 
position  is  one  of  the  best  in  the  city,  as  it  is  high  up  the 
slope  from  the  river  on  which  the  city  is  mainly  built,  and 
it  touches  the  very  heart  of  the  most  populous  quarters.  A 


1  Instruct  ion  publique.    Par  L.  Maitre,  p.  167. 

2  Sir  James  Ware,  Antiquities,  vol.  ii.,  p.  255. 

*  Guimar,  Annales,  p.  476 . 

*  Jean  v  y  etait  mort,  le  mercredi  29  aout,  1442,  Ogee.  Diet,  de  Bretngne. 
•*  Archives  du  Chapitre. 


IRISH   EXILES   IN   BRITTANY  327 

fine  garden  is  attached  to  the  property,  and  this  rendered  it 
still  more  suitable  for  the  purposes  of  a  seminary.  There  is 
no  question  that  if  the  city  was  searched,  even  now,  a  more 
desirable  site  could  hardly  be  found  ;  and  so  the  exiles  had 
one  more  solid  reason  to  bless  the  generosity  of  their 
princely  benefactors. 

The  contract  between  the  Irish  priests  and  the  bishop 
was  signed  on  May  5,  1695  ;  but  the  consent  of  the  Chapter 
was  not  given  until  January  23,  1697.  The  document  in 
which  the  canons  consented  to  the  transfer  is  worth  giving 
here,  as  it  shows  quite  a  sharp  business  spirit,  and  clearly 
describes  the  condition  of  the  property  : — 

Messieurs  Barrin,  chantre,  et  Daniel,  tous  deux  chanoines, 
deputes  pour  voir  les  batiments  de  la  maison  du  bois  de  la  Touche, 
et  les  espaces  de  terre  que  Mons.  1'Eveque  de  Nantes  a  affeages  a 
la  communante  des  prestres  hibernois,  etablie  en  cette  ville, 
ont  fait  rapport  que  par  1'information  qu'ils  ont  fait,  sur  les  lieux, 
ils  ont  connu  que  lesdites  choses  affeages  ne  valloient  de  revenu 
annuel  que  la  somme  de  cent  cinquante  livres  portee  par  1'acte 
d'affeagement,  que  lesdits  prestres  hibernois  se  sont  oblig6  de 
payer,  par  an,  de  rente  feodale.  Outre  que  les  batiments  sont 
sujets  a  de  grosses  reparations  qui  en  doivent  notablement  dimi- 
nuer  le  prix,  desquelles  ladite  communante  les  doit  entretenir  ; 
mesme  y  pourra  faire  des  augmentations  ;  qu'ainsi  ledit  affeage- 
ment  est  profitable  audit  Seigneur  Evesque  et  a  ses  successeurs. 

Apres  quoy,  le  chapitre  deliberant  a  consenti  pour  son  interest 
que  ledit  afleagement  subsiste  en  la  forme  et  teneur  de  1'acte 
rapporte  par  Pesneau  et  Alexandre,  Notaires  Koyaux,  le  5e  Mars, 
1697. 

Mercredy,  23  Janvier,  1697.1 

The  work  of  reparation  was  at  once  begun,  and  such 
disposition  of  the  manoir  was  made  as  rendered  it  suitable 
to  its  new  occupants.  Sir  James  Ware 2  tells  us  that  the 
chapel  was  restored,  and  gives  as  a  particular  fact,  that  a 
statue  of  St.  Gabriel,  to  whom  it  was  dedicated,  was  placed 
over  the  high  altar.  He  further  states,  that  the  archangel 
was  represented  with  his  wings  outspread  over  the  figure  of 
a  youth  ;  and  in  this  we  may  see  the  symbol  of  the  objects 
of  the  foundation. 


1  Archives  du  Chapitre  de  Nantes. 
-Antiquities,  vol.  ii.(  p.  255. 


328  THE  IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

Such  was  the  material  structure  that  should  give  asylum 
to  the  outcast  priests.  One  should  have  said  that  those  for 
whom  it  was  established  would  have  taken  the  shortest 
route  to  its  hospitable  doors,  and  eagerly  entered  into  the 
possession  of  a  calm  and  regular  life.  Will  it  be  believed 
that  it  turned  out  quite  otherwise?  The  house  was  open 
and  ready,  but  the  guests  were  in  no  haste  to  come.  Some, 
whose  love  of  study  and  observance  made  a  life  of  routine 
and  work  a  source  of  delight,  eagerly  accepted  the  proffered 
hospitality ;  but  they  were  comparatively  few.  The  greater 
number,  who  were  probably  among  those  who  had  felt  '  the 
weight  of  too  much  liberty,'  were  in  no  haste  to  narrow 
themselves  to  this  '  scanty  plot  of  ground,'  and,  resisting  all 
ordinances  and  inducements,  somehow  managed  to  continue 
a  life  which  must  have  been,  at  times,  a  heavy  burden  to 
carry.  Owing  to  these  causes  the  hospice  had  at  first  but 
little  success,  and  a  quarter  of  a  century  had  passed  before 
the  community  could  be  said  to  be  seriously  established. 
This  was  at  last  effected  through  the  vigorous  action  of  the 
bishop,  who  put  an  end  to  what  seems  to  have  been  a  period 
of  license  and  disorder  by  the  issue,  in  1725,  of  the  following 
ordinance : — 

Christopher-Louis  Turpin  Crisse  de  Sausay  par  le  misericorde 
le  Dieu  .  .  • .  :\  tous  les  Doyens,  Eecteurs,  Cures  ou  Vicaires  de 
notre  diocese,  Salut  et  Benediction. 

II  nous  a  ete  represented  que  plusieurs  pretres  et  ecclesiastiques 
Irlandois,  ne  demeurent  pas  dans  la  communaute  qui  a  ete  etablie 
pour  les  former  aux  fonctions  de  leur  ministere  ;  et  se  privent 
ainsi  des  avantages  que  nos  Predecesseurs  ont  eu  dessein  de  leur 
procurer  par  un  si  sage  erection ;  et  que,  par  une  suite  comme 
necessaire,  ils  se  trouvent  exposes  a  tous  les  dangers  qui  sont 
inseparables  de  la  dissipation  et  de  1'oisivete. 

C'est  pour  y  remedier  efficacement  que  nous  avons  resolu  de 
les  rassembler  en  communante,  et  que  nous  allons  incessamment 
donner  nos  ordres  pour  1'arrangement  de  la  maison  qui  leur  est 
destines  et  leur  procurer  une  honnete  subsistance.  Nous  esperons 
que  la  p  iet£  des  Eideles  qui  vous  aident  si  liberalement  dans  les 
autres  osuvres  de  charite,  nous  secondera  dans  celle-ci,  d'autant 
plus  volontiers  qu'il  ne  s'agit  pas  seulement  de  pourvoir  aux 
besoins  des  ministres  de  Jesus-Christ,  mais  encore  a  ceux  de 
1'eglise ;  puisque  ces  Pretres  instruits  par  nos  soins  des  devoirs 
de  leur  etat  et  affermis  dans  les  pratiques,  les  maximes  et  les 


IRISH   EXILES   IN   BRITTANY  329 

principes  de  notre  sainte  religion,  seront  en  etat,  lorsqu'ils  sont 
rapelles  dans  leur  Patrie  d'y  confirmer  dans  la  foi  ceux  de  leurs 
Freres  qui  ont  ete  assez  heureux  pour  la  conserver  dans  sa 
purete  ;  et  de  faire  rentrer  dans  le  sein  de  1'eglise  Eomaine  ceux 
que  ,le  schisme  et  l'H6resie  en  ont  retranche.t 
A  ces  causes  Nous  ordonnons. 

1.  A  tous  les  Pretres  et  Ecclesiastiques  Seculiers  Irlandois 
qui  sont,  on  qui  seront  dans  la  suite,  dans  notre  diocese  de  ne 
faire  leur  demeure  ailleurs  que  dans  la  maison  que  leur  est  des- 
tinee  et  s'y  retirer  au  plus  tard  au  premier  Janvier  prochain. 

2.  Leur  defendons,  sous  peine  de  suspense  encourue  par  le 
seul  f ait,  de  dire  la  Messe  dans  notre  diocese  ni  d'exercer  aucunes 
fonctions  de  leurs  ordres,  ledit  jour  passe,  sans  une  permission 
par  ecrit  de  nous,  ou  de  nos  Grands-Vicaires. 

3.  Declarons  que  nous  n'accorderons  ladite  permission  qu'a 
ceux  qui  demeureront  dans  ladite  communaute  et  qui  nous  rapor- 
teront  un  certificat  de  capacite  et  de  bonne  conduite  du  Prefet 
que  nous  avons  etabli  pour  le  Gouverner  ;  lequel  nous  chargeons 
de  faire  observer  le  re'glement  que  nous  avons  dresse  pour  le  bon 
ordre  de  cette  maison,  sans  qu'il  lui  soit  permis  d'y  rien  changer 
que  de  notre  consentement. 

4.  Voulons  que  les  permissions  que   Nous  leur  accorderons 
pour  dire  la  Messe  dans  la  chapelle  dite  de  Bon-Secours  ou  autres 
eglises  ou  chapelles  de  notre  Diocese,  ne  puisse  valoir  que  pour 
six  mois  ;    lequel  temps  expire  leur  defendons  sous  les  memes 
peines  de  suspense  ipso  facto  de  s'en  servir,  qu'ils  n'en  ayent 
obtenude  Nous  la  renovation,  en  Nous  representant  une  nouvelle 
attestation  du  Prefet. 

5.  Leur  defendons  de  quitter  ladite  communaute  pour  servir 
dans  les  paroisses  ou  chapelles  domestiques  sans  une  permission 
par  ecrit  dudit  Prefet,  qui  ne  s'accordera  que  rarement  et  pour  un 
mois  tout  au  plus. 

From  the  three  following  sections  of  this  severe  regula- 
tion we  learn  that  other  foreign  ecclesiastics  lived  in  Nantes 
at  this  period,  for  whom  special  ordinances  had  also  to  be 
made.  As  their  affairs  do  not  come  within  our  scope,  we 
pass  on  to  the  paragraphs  that  affect  the  affairs  of  our 
people  :— 

9.  Kevoquons  toutes  les  permissions  de  dire  la  Messe  qui 
auroient  ete  ci-devant  accordees  ausdits  Pretres  Irlandois,  ou 
autres  etrangers  et  leur  defendons  sous  les  memes  peines  de  s'en 
servir,  ledit  terme  premier  Janvier  expire. 

1  From  this  passage  it  is  evident  that  the  foundation  was  essentially  a 
seminary  where  provision  was  made  for  the  training  of  Irish  missionaries  for 
home  work. 


330  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

10.  A  1'egard  des  Pretres  etrangers,  meme  les  Irlandois  qui 
viendront  a  1'avenir  dans  notre  Diocese,  nous  accordons  huit  jours 
u  ceux  qui  ne  retireront  pas  1'honoraire  de  leur  Messe,  pendant 
lequel  temps  ils  pourront  dire  la  Messe  dans  notre  Diocese  ;  et  le 
sudit  terme  expire,  leur  defendons,  sous  la  meme  peine  de  la 
cele'brer,     sans     notre    permission    ou    celle    de    nos    Grands- 
Yicaires. 

11.  Nous    n'entendons    neanmoins   comprendre   dans  notre 
presente  ordonnance,  les  Pretres  Etrangers,  meme  les  Irlandois 
qui  auroient  quelque  titre  ecclesiastique  dans  notre  Diocese,  ou 
quelque  emploi,  approuve  de  nous  ou  qui  demeureroient  dans 
Notre  Grand  et  petit  Seminaire. 

Enjoignons  i\  Notre  Promoteur  de  tenir  la  main  a  1'execution 
de  notre  presente  Ordonnance  que  nous  voulons  etre  lue  et 
publie'e  aux  Prones  des  Paroisses  et  affichee  daus  les  Sacristies, 
et  partout  ou  besoin  sera,  afin  que  personne  n'en  ignore. 

Donne  a  Nantes,  dans  notre  Palais  Episcopal,  ce  29  Novembre 
1725. 

(Signe)  f^f  CHBISTOPHE-I/EVEQUE  DE  NANTES. 

Par  Em.  de  Mgr.  : 

M.  BBULE,  pretre,  Ch.  Sec.1 


We  are  assured  that  this  ordinance  was  carried  out  in  all 
its  [details  by  the  authorities  of  the  diocese.  First  of  all, 
the  building  was  set  in  order,  and  rendered  suitable  for  the 
reception  of  a  large  number  of  occupants.  The  resources 
needed  for  this  work  were,  no  doubt,  in  some  degree,  supplied 
by  the  generosity  of  the  faithful,  to  whom  the  bishop  had 
made  such  a  strong  appeal ;  but  in  some  measure,  at  least, 
the  expenses  were  also  defrayed  by  funds  in  the  possession 
of  the  exiles  themselves,  as  we  find  testified  in  a  contempo- 
rary document.2  In  1727-1728  new  buildings  were  added, 
and  the  whole  seemed  a  large  and  commodious  establish- 
ment. We  are  told  that  the  seminary  contained  a  common- 
room,  lecture-rooms  for  the  classes  in  theology  and  philo- 
sophy, a  refectory,  with  ten  tables ;  four  apartments  for 
the  professors,  and  seventy-two  cells  for  the  students. 


1  Statitts  et  ord.  de  Mgr.  Tttrpin,  I74o.  p.  14o. 

2  Decf.  liens  du  Cler/je,  n.  7,  Nantes. 


IRISH  EXILES   IN  BRITTANY  331 

From  this  it  will  be  seen  that,  at  length,  the  Irish 
seminary  in  Nantes  was  well  under  way  and  satisfactorily 
equipped,  at  least  materially,  for  its  beneficent  and  patriotic 
mission. 

The  years  immediately  following  were  not  marked  by 
any  incident  of  note  ;  indeed,  they  have  left,  so  far  as  I  can 
gather,  absolutely  no  trace  of  themselves  upon  the  records 
of  the  time.  This,  however,  should  not  occasion  surprise  ; 
as  the  very  nature  of  the  foundation,  in  its  initial  stages, 
should  lead  us  to  expect  a  very  quiet  and  hum-drum 
character  in  all  its  affairs.  It  was  simply  a  rendezvous  for 
the  poor  exiled  priests,  whose  principal  concern  must  have 
been  to  find  the  means  to  sustain  themselves  in  their  new 
home.  It  would  be  unreasonable  to  look  for  intellectual 
output  from  such  a  society  of  worn-out  veterans,  whose 
enthusiasm  for  study  and  literary  pursuits  can  hardly  have 
survived  the  stress  of  the  careers  they  had  hitherto  been 
forced  to  follow.  The  fact  is  that  no  work  of  any  kind 
remains  to  give  a  clue  to  their  character  or  talents ;  there  is 
no  list  even  of  those  who  came  into  residence  after  the 
bishop's  mandate ;  and  for  twenty  years  absolute  silence 
broods  over  the  history  of  the  place. 

Towards  the  year  1745  the  Annuaire  of  the  diocese 
begins  to  give  evidence  of  the  presence  of  Irish  priests  in 
Nantes.  In  the  list  of  university  doctors  there  occurs,  in 
that  year,  the  unmistakable  Irish  patronymic,  Donnellan, 
which  appears  again  in  1748.  In  1751  he  is  mentioned 
among  the  officials  of  the  diocese  as  Promoter  and  Doctor 
in  the  Faculty  of  Theology,  and  with  him  the  singular 
name  of  Hargadane  (?),  who  is  credited  with  being  Vicar- 
General  of  Tuam,  in  Ireland.  In  this  year  also  I  find  the 
name  Mac-hugo,  who  is  given  as  belonging  to  the  Irish 
foundation.  In  1752  these  three  names  again  occur.  In  1755 
the  superior  of  the  Irish  foundation  is  given  as  M.  O'Byrne, 
Doctor  of  the  University,  and  with  him  the  above-named 
Hargadane  and  Mac-hugo.  This  community  remained 
unchanged  for  four  years,  when  the  name  Salver  is  added, 
with  the  quality  of  Professor  of  the  Faculty  of  the 
seminary.  These  officials  continued  in  office  during  1760, 


332  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

1761-1764,  but  in  1765   Salver  was  withdrawn.     In  1760 
the  names  are  given  in  this  order  : — 

Sup.  M.  DANIEL  0' BYRNE,  University  Doctor. 
M.  DOYHEMIARD  (?),  Treasurer  of  the  Cathedral,  Protonotary 
Apostolic. 

Univ.  Docteurs  :  MAC-HUGO. 
O'LOGHLIN. 
SHERMANT. 

This  year  marks  an  epoch  in  the  annals  of  the  house, 
and  deserves  special  mention,  for  within  it  was  conceded 
the  charter  by  which  the  foundation  became  a  seminary, 
and  was  entitled  by  law  to  receive  students  for  the  Irish 
mission.  The  royal  letters  by  which  this  favour  were  con- 
ceded were  granted  at  the  prayer  of  Father  Daniel  Byrne, 
who  had  been  superior  from  1755.  It  would  appear  from 
this  interesting  document  that  a  strong  community  was  for 
some  time  in  residence  at  the  Manoir  de  la  Touche,  and 
that  the  immediate  reason  for  demanding  the  legal  status  of 
a  seminary  was  the  distance  of  the  house  from  the  diocesan 
seminary,  where  evidently  studies  had  hitherto  been  pursued, 
and  the  consequent  necessity  of  having  a  teaching  faculty  in 
residence.  It  would  further  seem  that  the  corporate  capacity 
of  the  institution  had  not  had  complete  legal  acceptance, 
and  needed  a  royal  charter  to  have  the  legal  right  to  accept 
legacies  and  donations.  All  these  favours  were  granted  by 
the  King,  in  letters  dated  1765,  and  given  at  Fontainbleau 
in  the  fifty-first  year  of  his  reign.  It  would  serve  no  useful 
purpose  to  cite  them  at  their  full  length  ;  but  some  extracts 
may  be  of  interest,  as  they  illustrate  the  position  of  the 
seminary,  and  also  give  us  an  idea  of  how  such  things  were 
done  in  the  France  of  that  day. 

The  opening  sentence  puts  us  au  courant  with  the  state 
of  the  seminary  at  that  time  : — 

Louis,  par  le  grace  de  Dieu,  roy  de  France  et  de  Navarre,  a 
tous  presens  et  a  venir,  salut :  notre  trer  cher  et  bien-aime  le 
pere  Daniel  Byrne  prestre  superieur  du  Seminaire  irlandais  de  la 
ville  de  Nantes  nous  a  fait  representer  que  le  feu  roy,  Louis  XIV. 
notre  tres-honore  seiyneur  et  bis  aieul  aurait  autorise  1'etablisse- 
ment  des  prestres  irlandais  dans  plusieurs  villes  de  notre  royaume 
et  leur  avait  donne  des  maisons  et  differents  bien  fonds  pour 


IRISH   EXILES   IN   BRITTANY,  333 

pouvoir  s'y  soutenir ;  que  plusieurs  prestres  de  la  meme  maison 
persecutes  dans  leur  parrie  a  cause  de  la  religion  Catholique  se 
seraient  refugies  a  Nantes  en  1'annee  1695  et  eauraient  ete  recus 
par  les,  evesques  de  cette  ville  dans  une  maison  nommee  bois  de  la 
Touche  et  dependente  de  1'eveche  de  Nantes,  que  ladite  maison 
ou  ces  prestres  ont  vecu  dabord  en  communaute  a  ete  erigee 
eusuite  en  seminaire  ou  ils  sont  actuellement  pres  de  soixante  ;  que 
leurs  principales  fonctions  consistent  dans  la  desserte  de  plusieurs 
paroisses  ou  ils  exercent  avec  beaucoup  de  zele  les  fonctions  du 
St.  Ministere ;  qu'ils  sont  encore  employes  en  qualite  d'aumoniers 
dans  les  hospitaux,  sur  nos  vaisseaux,  sur  ceux  de  la  compagnie 
des  Indes,  et  sur  les  navires  marchands  ;  mais  comme  leur  etab- 
lissement  n'a  pas  ete  par  nous  encore  autorise  et  par  cette  raison 
il  n'a  pu  jusqu'ji  present  estre  pourvu  a  sa  dotation,  1'exposant 
nous  a  fait  tres  humblement  fait  supplier  de  vouloir  bien  approuver 
et  confirmer  par  lettres  patentes  ledit  seminaire,  ensemble  de  lui 
permettre  de  recevoir  et  d'acquerir  par  dons,  legs  et  donatives,  etc. 

From  this  it  would  appear  that  the  authorization 
hitherto  given  was  purely  local,  and  came  altogether  from 
the  bishops  of  Nantes.  It  would  also  seem  to  follow,  from 
the  words  cited,  that  the  students  and  priests  came  to 
France,  not  with  the  intention  of  returning  home  after  their 
ordination,  but  with  the  purpose  of  permanently  settling 
down  in  the  ministry  abroad.  This  is  a  point  worth  noting, 
especially  in  reference  to  the  further  disposition  now  made 
by  the  King,  and  more  clearly  still  stated  by  the  local 
authorities.  The  letter  goes  .on  to  say  : — 

(Nous)  Permettons  en  outre  au  dit  sieur  evesque  de  Nantes  de 
faire  del  reglement  qu'il  jugera  convenable  tant  pour  le  spirituel 
que  pour  le  temporel  dudit  seminaire  ou  la  philosophic  de  meme 
que  la  theologie  pourra  estre  enseignee  par  des  professeurs  de  la 
nation  irlandaise,  accordons  a  cet  effet  aux  etudiants  la  faculte  de 
prendre  leurs  degres  dans  1'universite  de  Nantes  en  subissant  les 
examens  et  soutenant  les  theses  ordinaires,  sans  toutefois  que 
nos  presentes  lettres  puissent  prejudicier  ou  porter  atteinte  aux 
droits  des  evesques  de  Nantes  et  a  ceux  de  Tuniversite  de  la  dite 
ville. 

From  these  passages  we  may  gather  that  the  national 
character  of  the  foundation  became  more  emphasized,  as  it 
is  laid  down  as  a  condition  that  the  professors  be  of  Irish 
birth,  in  view  evidently  of  the  real  scope  of  the  College, 
which  was  to  prepare  priests  for  the  work  of  the  sanctuary 


334  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

in  Ireland.  By  this  document,  too,  we  learn  that  the  juris- 
diction of  the  Bishops  of  Nantes  was  supreme  in  the 
community,  and  consequently  to  them  we  must  trace  the 
selection  of  the  superiors  and  the  appointment  of  the  staff. 
In  this  the  seminary  differed  from  all  such  establishments 
now  in  existence,  whose  affairs,  I  believe,  are  invariably 
directed  by  the  hierarchy  at  home. 

Before  the  privileges  conceded  by  the  King  could  be 
actually  enjoyed,  the  letters  patent  had  to  be  submitted  to 
the  local  authorities ;  the  permission  of  the  University  had 
to  be  obtained  for  the  institution  of  the  new  teaching 
faculty ;  and  ultimately  the  Breton  Parliament  had  to 
sanction  the  whole  proceeding.  From  the  action  of  the 
University  authorities  we  can  see  how  extensive  their  powers 
were.  They  would  seem  to  have  not  alone  the  right  to  rule 
their  institute  proper,  but  to  have  had  territorial  jurisdiction 
with  respect  to  all  educational  work.  They  took  the  question 
of  the  Irish  seminary  into  consideration  at  a  meeting  held 
in  Nantes,  on  May  20, 1766,  and  laid  down  with  great  preci- 
sion the  conditions  which  should  qualify  the  powers  granted 
by  the  royal  authority.  First  of  all,  they  lay  down  that  no 
derogation  of  the  rights  of  their  corporation  can  be  per- 
mitted, for  to  them,  they  hold,  '  the  care  and  supervision  of 
studies  have  been  confided  by  the  laws  of  Church  and 
State.'1  Then  they  proceed  to  determine  exactly  the 
character  and  nationality  of  those  who  should  be  members 
of  the  new  school,  and  accord  the  right  of  affiliation  only 
to  students  of  Irish  birth  who  wish  to  prepare  for  the  Irish 
mission,  and  who  are  bound  to  return  home  on  the  comple- 
tion of  their  studies.2  For  such  they  permit  that — 

The  school  which  is  to  be  established  in  the  community  of 
Irish  priests,  situated  in  the  parish  of  St.  Nicholas,  in  the  city  of 

*Sans  qu'il  soil  neanmoins  porte  aucune  atteinte  aux  droits  de  ladite 
universite  a  qui  le  soin  et  1'inspection  des  etudes  sont  speciallement  confiees 
par  les  loin  de  I'eglise  et  de  1'etat.  (Registres  des  deliberations  de  F  university  dc 
Nantes.} 

2  L1  universite  voulant,  d'un  costs,  procurer  aux  prestres  Irlandais  la 
facultd  de  s'instruire  et  de  s'acquerir  les  connoisances  qui  puissent  les  mettre 
en  etat  de  travailles  dans  la  suite  au  progres  de  la  religion  catholique  dans  leur 
patrie  en  laquelle  ils  sont  tenus  de  retourncr  aussi  tost  apres  leurs  etudes 
(Registres  des  deliberations  de  Funiversite  de  Mantes,  20  Mai,  1766.) 


IRISH   EXILES   IN   BRITTANY  335 

Nantes,  should  become  a  school  of  the  University,  with  the  view 
of  granting  to  the  students  of  philosophy  and  theology  the  right 
of  taking  the  degrees  of  the  University.1 

These  concessions  were,  however,  qualified  by  the 
following  conditions,  which  go  to  show  how  rigid  was  the 
supervision  of  schools  at  this  period,  and  how  jealous  the 
corporations  of  the  learned  were  of  giving  others  any  part 
in  their  prerogatives.  The  extract  is,  I  fear,  somewhat 
long,  but  it  will  interest  all  who  are  concerned  with  the 
history  of  educational  methods. 

In  the  University  registers  already  quoted  I  find  the 
following  regulations  : — 

A  I'effet  que  les  etudians  de  ladite  ecole  tant  de  philosophic 
que  de  theologie  puissent  prendre  des  grades  dans  ladite  universite 
aux  conditions  suivantes : 

PBIMO 

Ladite  ecole  tant  de  philosophic  que  de  theologie  ne  sera  que 
pour  les  seuls  ecclesiastiques  venus  d'Irlande  et  des  isles  Britani- 
ques  en  France  pour  y  faire  leurs  etudes  et  demeurant  dans  ladite 
communaute  sans  qu'  aucuns  externes  de  quelque  pays,  nom  ou 
qualite  qu'ils  soient,  meme  Irlandais,  puissent  prendre  des  lemons 
dans  ladite  ecole. 

SECUNDO 

Leurs  deux  professeurs  de  philosophie  et'  de  theologie  de  la 
dite  ecole  se  feront  recevoir  maitres  es  arts,  en  subissant  les 
examens  ordinaires  avant  de  commencer  leurs  lecons,  et  ils  presen- 
teront  leurs  lettres  de  maitres  es  arts  et  leurs  mandements  de 
professeurs  a  la  faculte  des  arts  que  le  doyen  fera  assembler  a 
cet  effet,  indiquant  aux  dits  professeurs  le  jour  et  1'heure  de 
ladite  assemblee. 

TEKTIO 

Les  professeurs  de  theologie  qui  ne  peuvent  pas  etre  plus  de 
deux  a  la  fois  seront  au  moins  Bacheliers  en  theologie  avant  de 
commencer  le  cours  de  leurs  leQons ;  ils  seront  tenus  en  outre  de 
prendre  le  bonnet  de  docteur  en  theologie  dans  ladite  universite 
au  moins  dans  1'espace  de  trois  annees,  en  sontenant  les  theses  et 
autres  actes  que  les  bacheliers  ordinaires  sont  obligees  de  soutenir 
sans  que  leurs  qualites  de  professeurs  puissent  les  en  exempter ; 
et  ils  presenteront  a  la  faculte  de  theologie  la  mandement  qu'ils 
auront  eu  de  leur  superieur  pour  professor  suivant  1'usage  des 
autres  professeurs  de  theologie. 

1  Eegistres  des  deliberations  de  ^universite  de  Nantes, 


336  THE  IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 


QUARTO 

Les  dits  professeurs  de  philosophie  et  de  theologie  commence- 
ront  leurs  cours  de  Ie9ons  a  1'ouverture  des  ecoles  de  1'universite 
et  ils  ne  finiront  pas  avant  la  cloture  des  cours  academiques  de 
ladite  universite ;  les  dits  professeurs  donneront  aux  sindics  des 
facultes  de  philosophie  et  de  theologie  a  1'ouverture  des  ecoles  les 
noms  de  leurs  ecoliers, 

QUINTO 

Les  dits  professeurs  de  theologie  et  de  philosophie  auront  soin 
de  faire  soutenir,  chaque  annee  au  moins,  a  quelq'un  de  leurs 
ecoliers  des  actes  et  theses  publiques  en  leur  maison  et  commu- 
naute  ;  et  ils  seront  tenus  de  faire  examiner  et  indiquer  leurs 
theses  encore  bien  qu'elles  ne  soient  pas  destinees  a  1'impres- 
sion,  scavoir,  les  theses  de  philosophie  par  le  sindic  de  la  faculte 
des  arts  et  leurs  theses  de  theologie  par  le  sindic  de  la  faculte 
de  theologie,  suivant  1'usage  et  1'arrest  de  la  cour  du  vingt-deux 
aoust  mil  sept  cent  cinquante  neuf ;  et  les  professeurs  avant  de 
soutenir  se  presenteront  devant  le  Eecteur  de  1'universite  pour 
qu'il  leur  prescrive  le  jour  et  heure  convenable  des  theses, 
afin  que  le  dit  sieur  Becteur  y  assiste  si  bon  lui  semble  conforme- 
ment  audit  arrest ;  les  dits  actes  et  theses  s'ils  sont  imprimes 
le  seront  par  Fimprimeur  de  1'universite. 

SEXTO 

A  chaque  prima  mensis  d'aoust  les  dits  professeurs  se  presen- 
teront a  la  faculte  de  theologie  suivant  1'usage  des  autres  profes- 
seurs pour  lui  indiquer  les  traittes  qu'ils  se  proposeront  de  donner 
a  leurs  ecoliers  dans  le  cour  de  1'annee  suivante,  et  la  faculte 
veillera  a  ce  qu'ils  enseignent  a  leurs  dits  ecoliers  les  traittes  et 
matieres  les  plus  utilles  et  les  plus  convenables ;  et  pour  qui^est 
de  la  philosophie  les  professeurs  enseigneront  a  leurs  ecoliers  les 
differentes  parties  de  la  philosophie  suivant  1'usage  dans  le  cours 
des  deux  annees. 

SEPTIMO 

Les  dits  professeurs  de  theologie  enseigneront  a  leurs  ecoliers 
les  quatre  propositions  du  clerge  de  France  de  mil  six  cent  quatre 
vingt  deux  et  les  leur  feront  soutenir  dans  les  theses  suivant  que  les 
matieres  les  demanderont,  et  ceux  de  leurs  e'coliers  qui  voudront 
prendre  des  grades  en  la  faculte  de  theologie  seront  de  soutenir 
obliges  leurs  actes  pour  les  dits  grades  dans  la  salle  ordinaire  de  la 
faculte.1 

1  This  article  shows  what  a  high  price  our  students  paid  for  the  privileges 
accorded  to  them.  We  may  easily  imagine  that  the  sturdy  Irish  faith  of  many 
of  them  revolted  against  the  doctrine  they  found  themselves  forced  to  defend. 
This  article  is  of  further  interest  to  those  who  study  the  history  and  develop- 
ment of  theology  in  the  Irish  Church,  and  gives  a  clue  to  some  peculiar 
opinions  held  by  some  Irish  Churchmen  far  into  the  course  of  the  present 
century. 


IRISH   EXILES   IN   BRITTANY  337 


OCTAVO 

Les  ecoliers  qui  apres  leurs  cours  de  philosophie  voudront  se 
faire  receiver  maitres  es  arts  se  presenteront  a  la  faculte  des  arts 
pour  estre  examines  comme  le|sont  les  etudiants  de  la  philo- 
sophie, apres  quoi  ils  assisteront  a  1'inauguration  solennelle  de  la 
Magdeleine  pour  y  recevoir  le  bonnet  de  maitre  es  art  suivant 
1'usage 

NONO 

En  quelque  nombre  que  soient  les  docteurs  Irlandais  Anglais 
ou  Ecossais  en  la  faculte  de  theologie,  il  ny  aura  jamais  que  les 
deux  professeurs  en  theologie  et  exerceant  actuellement  et  recus 
docteurs,  comme  il  est  dit  cy  dessus,  a  avoir  voix  et  suffrage  dans 
les  assemblies  et  actes  tant  de  la  facults  que  de  I'universit6  sans 
qu'ils  puissent  estre  supplies  ;  et  quand  aux  assemblies  de  1'uni- 
versite  qui  seront  de  ceremonies  publiques,  les  autres  docteurs 
pourrent  y  assister  sans  pouvoir  deliberer  ayant  ete  resus  gratis. 


DECIMO 

Les  gradues  et  docteurs  Irlandais  se  conformeront  au  surplus 
a  tous  les  reglemens  de  1'universite  et  des  facultes  cy  devant  faits 
a  leur  regard  en  ce  qui  ne  se  trouvera  point  du  contraire  aux 
presentes  conditions  notament  au  sujet  du  decanat  et  rectorat. 

II  a  encore  ete  arreste  et  enonce  par  Monsieur  le  Eecteur 
qu'une  copie  de  la  presente  sera  delivree  au  Sieur  O'Byrne  et 
une  autre  envoyee  a  Monsieur  le  Procureur  General  du  parle- 
ment  et  que  les  lettres  patentes,  arrest  de  la  cour  et  requeste 
dont  il  s'agist  seront  enregistrees  sur  le  livre  des  deliberations 
pour  y  avoir  recours  au  besoin. 

Signe 

BONNAMY,  Pr.  General. 

Such  were  the  constitutions  of  this  university  college  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  and  no  one  can  doubt  the  ability 
and  precision  with  which  they  were  framed.  They  were  at 
once  accepted  by  the  Parliament,  which  added  scarcely  a 
word  to  them,  except  to  emphasize  still  more  that  the 
foundation  was  for  Irish  students,  and  no  others,  and  that 
its  sole  raison  d'etre  was  the  preparation  of  priests  for  the 
mission  in  Ireland,  whither  they  were  bound  to  return  on 
the  completion  of  their  college  course.  They  repeat  the 
order  of  the  University  with  respect  to  the  local  colour  of 
the  theology  to  be  taught  in  the  new  seminary,  and  they 
ordain  that  nothing  be  taught  '  de  contraire  aux  libertes  de 

VOL.  III.  * 


338  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

1'eglise  Gallicane,  surtout  a  la  declaration  de  1682.' l    They 
further  confirmed  a  clause  in  the  royal  letters  by  which 
the  Irish  Seminary  was  entitled  to  receive  donations  and 
bequests,  and  they  agreed  also  to  the  suppression  of  the 
priory  of  St.  Crispin,  in  the  diocese  of  Nantes,  which  was 
held  by  the  president  as  a  personal  appanage,  but  which 
henceforward  was  to  belong  to  the  Seminary  in  its  corpo- 
rate capacity.  All  these  facts  and  privileges  were  registered  in 
the  Bureau  of  the  Breton  Parliament,  on  14th  August,  1766. 2 
Having  given  at  such  length  the  conditions  of  studies 
and  tenure  of  the  Seminary,  we  may  now  resume  the  annals 
of  the  house.    In  1767  the  personnel  remained  unchanged, 
except  that  a  new  member  joined  the  faculty  as  professor. 
His  name  is  given  as  Dr.  Picamilli,  which  certainly  does 
not  savour  of  Ireland.     There  was   then  no  change  until 
1769,  when   Dr.  O'Donoghue    came   into  residence.     This 
community  continues  until  1777,  when  the  Annuaire  gives 
the  list  of  priests  as  follows  : — 

Superior,  M.  DANIEL  O'BYKNB. 
Univ.  Docteurs  :  MAcHuoo  en  Irlande. 
O'LOGHLIN          ,, 
SHENANT  ,, 

DONOGHUE          ,, 

O'FALON  Professeur  de  faculte  aux  Irlandais. 
O'FuNN  Professeur  de  Philosophic  aux  Irian- 
dais. 

In  1778  we  find  Father  O'Falon  absent,  and  in  1779 
Father  O'Connor  comes  into  view.  In  1780  the  position  of 
president  is  marked  vacat,  and  here  Father  Daniel  O'Byrne 
falls  out  of  the  annals  of  the  place ;  for  on  December  18, 
1778,  I  find  the  following  record  : — 

V.  et  D.  O'Byrne,  pretre  superieur  du  Seminaire  des  Irlandais 
de  Nantes  oii  il  est  mort. 

I  am  sorry  I  cannot  give  any  particulars  of  the  birth  or 
lineage  of  this  distinguished  man.  The  details  concerning 
his  personal  character  can  only  be  deduced  from  the  public 

1  Archives  Curieuses  de    la    Vilk  de    Nantes.     Par  F.  J.  Verger,  tome  iii., 
p.  242. 

2  Jieyistres  dc  la  Chambre  des  Comptes  de  Bretagne. 


IRISH   EXILES   IN   BRITTANY  339 

acts  associated  with  his  name.  That  he  was  a  man  of 
ability  is  evidenced  by  his  academic  distinction,  and  his  tact 
and  energy  are  clearly  shown  by  his  success  in  the  difficult 
work  of  obtaining  tha  royal  charter  for  his  college.  I  should 
be  glad  to  fix  the  diocese  that  gave  the  Irish  exiles  in 
Brittany  such  a  distinguished  leader ;  but  the  absolute 
dearth  of  evidence  hinders  me  giving  any  opinion  which 
would  avail  more  than  the  merest  conjecture  in  settling  the 
question.  Perhaps  some  documents  may  be  found  in  Ireland 
that  can  throw  some  light  upon  his  early  days;  but  I  am  safe  in 
saying  there  are  none  such  in  Nantes.  I  cannot  even 
determine  the  place  of  his  burial,  and  must  be  content  to 
breathe  a  prayer  that  he  may  rest  well  in  his  nameless 
foreign  grave. 

The  members  of  the  community  for  1780  are  given  in 
this  form  in  the  Annuaire  : — 

(Super,  (vacat) 

Univ.  Docteurs  :  O'LOGHLIN  en  Irlande. 
SHENANT  ,, 

O'DONOGHUE       ,, 

O'FuNN  Professeur  de  la  faculte  aux  Irlandais. 
O'CONNOR  Vicaire  de  la  Marne. 
JEAN  WALSH  en  Irlande. 

This  is  the  first  mention  of  the  name  Walsh  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Seminary,  but  it  afterwards  occurs  every  year 
until  the  revolution.  In  1781  the  list  reads  : — 

Superior,  Monsieur  WALSH. 
Univ.  Docteur  :  O'LOGHLIN  en  Irlande. 
SHENANT  ,, 

DONOGHUE          ,, 

O'FLINN  professeur  de  la  faculte  aux  Irlandais. 
JEAN  WALSH  en  Irlande. 

J.  B.  WALSH  l  Docteur  de  la  Faculte  de  Paris 
agrege  i\  cette  de  Nantes,  Superieur  de 
Seminaire  des  Irlandais. 


1  This  very  distinguished  man  was  not  a  native  of  Ireland,  but  came  of 
Irish  ancestry.  His  family  reached  Nantes  with  James  II.,  and  were  noted 
for  their  fealty  to  the  royal  cause.  They  became  nobles  of  France,  and  settled 
at  the  Chateau  of  Serrant,  in  Anjou.  They,  perhaps,  were  the  best  known  of 


340  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

In  1782  the  same  names  occur,  with  the  addition  of 
these  others  : — 

O'KEARDON  en  Irlande. 
GRANGER  Irlandais. 

In  1783  a  very  interesting  list  is  given,  which  throws 
some  light  upon  the  antecedents  of  the  members  of  the 
community.  They  reached  this  year  the  largest  number 
yet  recorded,  and  are  given  in  this  way : — 

Superior,  M.  WALSH. 

Univ.  Docteurs  :  O'LOGHLIN  Archediacre  de  Killaloe  en  Irlande. 
SHENAN  Vicaire  de  Kilfenora  „ 

O'DoNOGHUE  Eecteur  de  Birr  ,, 

O'FLYNN  Professor  de  la  faculte  aux  Irlandais. 
O'CoNOR  Aumonier  du  Eegiment  du  Maire. 
JEAN  WALSH  Vicaire  de  Couna  (?)  en  Irlande. 
WALSH  docteur  comme  en  1681. 
L'ouis  WALSH  Vicaire  de  Eoss  en  Irlande. 
STAPLETON  Procureur  du  Seminaire. 
GRANGER  Professeur  dudit  Seminaire. 
O'EioRDAN  en  Irlande. 

From  this  it  follows  that  many  members  of  the  house 
were  not  in  residence,  but  retained  their  rights  in  it  even 
after  they  had  returned  home,  and  entered  upon  the  work 
of  their  dioceses.  From  the  important  charges  confided  to 
them  by  their  ordinaries  we  may  conclude  that  the  discipline 
and  schools  of  Nantes  were  successful  in  moulding  worthily 
the  characters  and  talents  of  the  men  confided  to  their  care. 
The  year  following1  the  list  remains  unchanged,  except  that 
Father  Coyle  is  added,  with  his  residence  given  as  at 
Home.  In  1787  the  new  president  is  given  as  Monsieur 


the  Irish  exiles,  and  have  won  great  distinction  from  the  brilliant  writers  they 
have  given  to  France  during  the  past  two  centuries.  When  about  to  undertake 
my  researches  in  the  archives  and  libraries  of  the  city,  I  had  some  doubt  as  to 
whether  I  should  receive  all  the  help  I  needed,  but  was  assured  by  a  member 
of  the  Comeil  General  of  the  department  that  my  name  would  be  an  'open 
sesame  '  to  all  the  archaeological  treasures  of  the  city. 

1  At  this  period  the  Superioress  of  the  Hotel  Dieu  of  the  city  is  given  in 
the  Annuaire  as  Madame  "Walsh,  who  must  have  been  of  Irish  birth  or 
extraction. 


IRISH   EXILES   IN   BRITTANY  341 

O'Byrne,   and    with    him    the    following    doctors    of   the 
University : — 

O'LoGHLiN  ut  supra. 

SHENAN  ,, 

O'DONOGHUE    „ 

O'FLYN  a  Aigrefeuille. 

O'CoNNoE  ut  supra. 

JEAN  WALSH    ,, 

Louis  WALSH  ,, 

J.  B.  WALSH    docteur    de   la   faculte   de  Paris 

aggrege  a  cette  de  Nantes,  a  chateau  de 

Serrant. 

O'KiOKDAN  en  Irlande. 
GRANGER  ,, 

STAPLELON         ,, 
COYLE  ,, 

The  new  president  was  an  alumnus  of  the  college  which 
he  was  now  to  rule.  He  was  born,  in  1757,  of  respectable 
parents,  in  the  parish  of  Clonfeacle,  county  Tyrone,  and  at 
the  close  of  his  classical  studies  came  as  a  student  to  Nantes. 
At  the  close  of  his  course  he  stood  the  usual  tests  of  the 
University,  and,  having  made  all  the  acts  according  to  the 
charter,  was  declared  doctor  of  divinity,  en  Sorhonne.  He 
was  afterwards  chaplain  to  the  Due  d'Angouleme,  and  on 
the  occasion  of  his  appointment  was  presented  with  a  rich 
set  of  vestments,  which  are  still,  I  believe,  in  the  possession 
of  some  of  his  kinsmen  in  the  diocese  of  Armagh.  His 
term  of  office  in  Nantes  coincided  with  stirring  times,  as  we 
shall  see  in  the  sequel. 

In  1788  the  community  remained  practically  the  same, 
the  last  in  the  list  for  this  year  being  another  Dr.  O'Byrne, 
of  the  Faculty  of  Paris,  who  is  given  as  Professor  of 
Theology  and  Hector  of  the  Irish  Seminary.  From  the 
records  I  cannot  judge  exactly  whether  this  is  not  the  same 
as  the  Superior  of  Nantes,  who  this  year  is  entitled  grand 
vicaire  d' Armagh.  In  1789,  Dr.  Walter  Walsh  is  added  to 
the  names  given  in  the  preceding  year ;  but  he  is  a  non- 
resident member  of  the  community.  The  house  remained 
practically  unchanged  during  the  two  succeeding  years,  and 
in  1792,  for  the  last  time,  the  community  of  Irish  priests  is 


342  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

given  in  the  Annuaire  of  the  province.     It  consists  of  the 
following : — 

O'BYKNE  (Patrice-Jacques)  superieur,  docteur  en  Sorbonne, 
Grand  Vicaire  d' Armagh. 

COYLE,  pretre,  docteur  en  theologie, 

O'CONNOR  „  „ 

O'DONOGHUE        „  „ 

STAPLETON  ,,  ,, 

WALSH  (Gautier)  (Jean-Baptiste). 

Le  Seminaire  contient  de  70  a  80  seminaristes. 

During  the  year  1792  the  fatal  tide  of  the  great  revolu- 
tion was  flowing  at  its  highest  through  France,  and  was  fast 
submerging  in  its  waters  every  vestige  of  religious  prin- 
ciples. The  whole  fabric  of  religion  was  being  sapped  to 
its  very  foundations,  and  there  seemed  no  one  left  to  make 
any  worthy  resistance  to  the  influences  that  were  openly 
destroying  the  true  life  of  France.  It  is  a  fact  of  which  we 
may  well  feel  proud  that  our  countrymen  in  the  Seminary 
of  Nantes  did  not  remain  inactive  at  this  supreme  crisis. 
Among  the  faithless  they  were  faithful  found,  and  through 
their  brave  resistance  to  the  principles  of  those  evil  days 
they  brought  upon  themselves  the  anger  of  the  authorities, 
who  in  Nantes,  as  elsewhere,  had  already  caught  the  deadly 
contagion.  On  July  2, 1792,  their  action  was  brought  before 
the  Municipal  Council,  and  the  following  order  was  issued 
in  their  regard  : — 

Le  Conseil  ou'i  ces  renseignements,  considerant  que  les  pretres 
Irlandais,  d'apres  les  sentiments  qu'ils  ont  manifestos  sur  notre 
glorieuse  revolution  ne  peuvent  que  concourir  par  des  manoeuvres 
secretes,  conjointement  avec  les  pretres  non-assermentes  a  executer 
et  entretenir  les  troubles  et  le  fanatisme;  considerant  que  le  local 
dont  ils  jouissent  est  un  demembrernent  du  domain  national, 
auquel  il  doit  etre  reuni ;  considerant  qu'infractaires  des  condi- 
tions auxquelles  ils  ont  promis  d'etre  fideles  et  de  se  soumettre 
aux  lois  civiles  et  religieuses  de  1'etat  ils  ont  eux  memes  rompu  le 
traite  qui  leurs  garantissent  un  asile  paisible  et  les  bienfaits  d'un 
peuple  libre  et  genereux ;  considerant  enfin  qu'il  serait  aussi 
injuste  qu'impolitique  que  la  loi  qui  a  frappe  les  pretres  qui 
refusent  de  reconnaitre  cette  souverainete  du  peuple  n'atteignit 
pas  ceux-ci  par  ce  qu'ils  sont  etrangers,  eux  qui  veulent  mecon- 
naitre  cette  scuverainete  qui  les  protege,  le  procuretir  de  la 
commune  entendu  dans  ses  conclusions  le  conseil  general  est 


IRISH   EXILES   IN   BRITTANY  343 

d'avis  que  le  directoire  du  department  peut  et  doit  exercer  a  leur 
egard  les  memes  moyens  de  repression  et  se  resaissir  au  profit  de 
la  nation  des  biens  dont  elle  leur  avait  conditionellement  accorde 
la  jouissance.1 

However  false  the  conclusions  of  the  Council  may  have 
been,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  their  premisses  were 
absolutely  true.  Further  evidence  of  the  spirit  prevailing 
in  the  Seminary  was  brought  before  the  authorities  in 
August  23  of  the  same  year,2  when  it  was  testified,  in  public 
session,  that  the  Masses  celebrated  by  the  Irish  priests  at 
the  Chapel  of  Bon  Secours  brought  together  large  crowds, 
which  became  the  occasion  of  disorder  and  tumult,  such  as 
the  authorities  were  bound  to  prevent ;  and  in  consequence 
the  Irish  priests  were  forbidden  to  celebrate  Mass  in  the 
Chapel  of  Bon  Secours,3  or  in  any  other  except  that  attached 
to  their  residence. 

This  measure  did  not  suffice  to  repress  the  ardour  of  the 
exiles,  and  a  further  order  was  made,  on  September  10, 
1792,  which  took  from  them  what  remained  of  their  liberty. 
In  the  municipal  register  for  that  date  I  find  the  follow- 
ing :— 

Sur  la  plainte  portee  par  plusieurs  citoyens  centre  quelques 
pretres  Irlandais,  pour  injures  et  propos  tres  grossiers  par  eux 
tenus  contre  la  garde  national,  le  Conseil  charge  de  Procureur  de 
la  Commune  de  leur  notifier  1'ordre  qui  leur  defend  jde  sortir  de 
leur  maison  et  de  vaguer  dans  les  rues  de  cette  ville  sous  peine  et 
d'etre  detenus  au  chateau,  meme  d'etre  exportes  de  la  France.4 

Life  had  evidently  become  insupportable  under  such  a 
regime  as  this ;  the  reign  of  terror  had  at  length  been 
realized  in  all  its  horrors  ;  and  it  was  only  a  question  of  a 
little  time  until  the  last  threat  should  be  verified.  How  the 
interval  was  spent  in  the  Seminary,  which  was  now  become 
their  prison,  I  have  no  document  to  sustain  any  surmise ; 

1  Archives  Curicuses  de  la  Vilde  den  Nantes.     Par  F.  J.  Verger,  tome  iii., 
p.  242. 

2  fbulem,  p.  280. 

3  This  chapel  was  near  the  cathedral,  and  close  by  the  river  ;  its  ruins  are 
yet  to  be   seen.      The  altar  in  use   during  the  last  century  is  now  in  a 
church  at  Basse-Goulaine,  near  Saint-  Sebastien.     My  attention  was  called  by 
Monsieur  Bonamy  de  la  Ville  to  this  interesting  relic  of  our  exiled  countrymen. 

*  Verger,  tome  v.,  p.  289. 


344  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

but  that  strange  things  must  have  happened  between 
September,  1792,  and  April  5,  1793,  we  may  deduce  from 
the  following  paragraph  : — 

Les  pretres  Irlandais  detenus  aux  Carmelites  obtiennent  la 
permission  de  s'embarquer  sur  un  navire  de  leur  nation,  la 
'  Peggi,'  allant  a  Cork.1 

So  ended  the  story  of  the  Irish  Seminary  at  Nantes. 
The  further  fortunes  of  the  returned  exiles  lie  outside  the 
limits  of  this  paper,  and  I  cannot  follow  them  in  their 
subsequent  careers.  Of  the  distinguished  man  who  was  the 
last  superior  I  may,  however,  be  allowed  to  say  a  word.  On 
his  return  to  Ireland  he  ruled  successively  two  parishes  in 
his  diocese,  and  then  became  President  of  Maynooth,  hold- 
ing this  high  office  for  three  years,  when  he  resigned.  I 
believe  his  portrait  is  still  in  the  National  College.  He 
afterwards  became  Dean  and  Vicar-General  of  the  prima- 
tial  see,  and  died  as  parish  priest  of  Armagh. 

I  have  given  at  such  great  length  the  history  of  the 
Nantes'  Seminary  because  it  is  the  strongest  link  in  the 
chain  that  binds  Ireland  to  Brittany.  I  regret  the  material 
under  my  hands  does  not  enable  me  to  give  the  narrative 
any  of  those  personal  touches  that  give  life  and  colour  to 
such  a  story.  I  have  been  able  only  to  give  a  bare  outline 
of  facts  which,  though  of  great  moment  to  the  purpose  I 
have  in  view,  yet  cannot  but  be,  from  the  nature  of  the  case, 
very  dry  reading.  The  absence  of  all  .literary  remains 
on  the  part  of  the  occupants  is  remarkable  in  relation  to  a 
college  of  such  eminence ;  but  not  a  line,  so  far  as  I  can 
find,  survives  to  show  what  manner  of  men  those  were 
who,  in  their  day,  attained  to  such  academic  distinction. 
We  must  suppose  that  the  stress  of  their  daily  duties 
absorbed  all  their  intellectual  energies,  and  left  no  time  for 
the  more  enduring  work  which  outlives  its  author,  and 
grows  more  precious  with  the  passing  of  the  years. 

Perhaps,  too,  my  personal  sympathy  enters  more  largely 

1  Premier  register  des  deliberations  du  Comite  Central.    Verger,  tome  v.,  p  433. 

a  I  rather  suspect  this  Italian  name  may  well  have  had  another  and  more 
familiar  form  ;  in  fact,  I  believe  under  this  disguise  we  have  the  name  whose 
praises  Father  Prout  sang  so  well. 


ANOTHER   BATCH   OF   LETTERS  345 

into  this  than  the  other  chapters,  and  in  this  way  I  have 
been  led  to  seek  out  its  details  with  all  possible  fulness. 
With  all  the  exiles  I  have  a  fellow-feeling,  but  with  these 
especially,  since  within  a  stone-throw  of  their  home  I  am 
engaged  in  work  precisely  similar  to  that  to  which  they 
devoted  their  lives. 

A.  WALSH,  O.S.A: 


ANOTHER   BATCH    OF    LETTERS 

IN  August,  1897,  this  review  put  into  print  a  few  un- 
published letters  of  Cardinal  Newman,  Father  Peter 
Kenny,  S.J.,  Dr.  Kieran  of  Dundalk,  and  Dr.  Whitehead 
of  Maynooth.  The  example  thus  set  was  meant  to  be 
contagious.  It  may,  indeed,  in  cases  that  have  not  come 
under  our  notice,  have  induced  some  to  look  over  their 
bundles  of  old  letters ;  and  in  two  instances  it  has  added 
to  our  own  store  of  such  documents. 

Sir  Henry  Bellingham,  Bart.,  of  Castlebellingham,  in 
County  Louth,  broke  through  all  the  prejudices  of  his  race 
and  class,  and  entered  the  Catholic  Church  about  thirty 
years  ago.  He  married  Lady  Constance  Noel,  daughter 
of  another  convert,  the  Earl  of  Gainsborough,  better 
known,  perhaps,  by  the  title  which  he  held  at  the  time 
of  his  conversion,  Viscount  Campden.  Ten  years  ago 
Mr.  Bellingham — as  he  then  was,  in  the  lifetime  of  his 
father  Sir  Allan  Bellingham — seems  to  have  mentioned  to 
Cardinal  Manning  a  letter  addressed  by  the  latter  to 
Lord  Gainsborough,  which  had  come  into  Mr.  Bellingham's 
possession. 

ARCHBISHOP'S  HOUSE,  WESTMINSTER, 

January  2Qth,  1888. 

MY  DEAR  MR.  BELLINGHAM, — Your  mention  of  the  letter  which 
I  did  not  know  to  exist,  is  very  interesting  to  me,  and  makes  me 
wish   to  see  it.     If  you  will  kindly  let  me  have  it,  it  shall  be 
returned  to  you.     Or  come  here,  and  let  me  see  it. 
Always  very  truly  yours, 

<?&  HENRY  B.,  Card.  Archbishop, 
To  HENRY  BELLINGHAM,  ESQ.,  M.P. 


346  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

The  following  is  the  letter  asked  for,  written  thirty- 
seven  years  before,  when  Archdeacon  Manning  had  just 
given  up  his  Anglican  living  : — 

44,  CADOGAN  PLACE, 

January  ]4</t,  1851. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND, — Your  letter  has  just  reached  me.  Eumours 
have  already  made  premature  statements  of  the  step  you  now 
announce.  God  grant  it  may  have  been  His  will  and  guidance. 
I  c^n  never  forget  the  bond  which  is  (I  will  not  say  was)  between 
us,  and  I  trust  it  may  never  be  dissolved. 

Since  we  parted  I  have  been  through  deep  sorrow.  My 
conviction  had  long  been  formed  that  I  could  not  continue  to 
hold  on,  under  oath  and  subscription  ;  but  obedience  to  others 
made  me  wait.  When  this  anti-Eoman  uproar  broke  forth,  I 
resolved  at  once.  I  could  lift  no  hand  in  so  bad  a  quarrel, 
either  to  defend  a  Royal  Supremacy  which  has  proved  itself  to 
be  indefensible,  or  against  a  supremacy  which  the  Church  for 
six  hundred  years  obeyed.  I  therefore  at  once  went  to  the 
Bishop  of  Chichester,  and  requested  him  to  receive  my  resigna- 
tion. He  was  most  kind  in  desiring  me  to  take  time;  but  I, 
after  a  few  days,  wrote  my  final  resignation. 

What  my  human  affections  have  suffered  in  leaving  my  only 
home  and  flock,  where  for  eighteen  years  my  whole  life  as  a  man 
has  been  spent,  no  words  can  say  ;  but  God  gave  me  grace  to 
lay  it  all  at  the  foot  of  the  Cross,  where  I  am  ready,  if  it  be  His 
will,  to  lay  down  whatever  yet  remains  to  me.  Let  me  have 
your  prayers  for  light  and  strength. 

May  God  ever  keep  you. 

With  my  kindest  remembrances  to  Lady  Campden, 
Believe  me,  my  dear  friend, 

Yours  very  affectionately, 

H.  E.  M. 

To  THE  VISCOUNT  CAMPDEN. 

Sir  Henry  Bellingham,  to  whose  kindness  we  owe 
the  privilege  of  printing  the  preceding  letter,  published, 
about  twenty  years  ago,  a  valuable  work  on  the  '  Social 
Aspects  of  Catholicism  and  Protestantism.'  Lady  Constance 
Bellingham  presented  a  copy  to  Dr.  Newman.  Here  is  his 
letter  of  thanks  : — 

THE  ORATORY, 

June  8th,  1878. 

DEAR  LADY  CONSTANCE, — Thank  you  for  your  kind  and 
welcome  letter  and  for  the  gift  which  it  heralded.  I  am  very 
glad  to  have  a  volume  on  a  subject  so  interesting  and  at  this 


ANOTHER   BATCH   OF   LETTERS  347 

time  so  needing  a  careful  discussion.  I  have  read  enough  already 
to  understand  with  great  satisfaction  that  Mr.  Bellingham, 
abstaining  from  the  generalities  and  assumptions  so  frequent  just 
now,  argues  out  his  points  on  the  basis  of  an  accumulation  of 
facts  and  of  unbiassed  and  even  hostile  testimony.  I  am  often 
asked  by  Catholics  for  a  book  on  the  subject  he  has  taken,  and 
it  is  so  pleasant  to  have  reason  for  anticipating  that  he  has  supplied 
so  serious  a  want. 

I  am,  my  dear  Lady  Constance, 

Sincerely  yours, 

JOHN  H.  NEWMAN. 
To  LADY  CONSTANCE  BELLINGHAM. 

Nearly  ten  years  later  Cardinal  Newman  wrote  the 
following  letter  to  Sir  Henry  Bellingham : — 

THE  ORATOKY,  BIRMINGHAM, 

Feb.  1th,  1887. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  thank  you  very  sincerely  for  your  kindness 
in  sending  for  my  perusal  the  interesting  correspondence  between 
the  Bishop  of  Winchester  and  Canon  Wilberforce.  I  have  taken 
the  date  of  the  newspaper  in  which  it  occurs,  and  will  bring  it 
before  those  who  are  able,  and  may  be  willing,  to  take  the  subject 
up.  But  it  is  a  subject  which  requires  very  delicate  and  exact 
treatment,  and  a  complete  knowledge  of  the  facts  of  the  case. 

Speaking  under  correction,  I  should  say  that  the  High 
Church,  even  the  '  High  and  Dry,'  have  always  held,  as  by  a 
tradition,  that  the  identity  of  the  Anglican  Church  was  not 
broken  at  the  Reformation.  The  peculiarity  of  Ritualists  is  not 
this  principle,  but  the  introduction  of  Roman  doctrines  into  their 
worship,  such  as  the  Mass.  The  Ritualists  and  High  Church 
agree  together  in  holding  the  ante  and  post  identity  of  the 
Anglican  Church,  resting,  as  they  can,  on  the  unlucky  fact  of  its 
having  continued  all  along  in  possession.  This  has  been  its  one 
note,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  four  notes  of  the  Creed.  What 
Ritualism,  as  well  as  Tractarianism,  has  risen  up  to  oppose  and 
rival  is  not  High  Churchism,  but  the  Evangelical  schools. 

My  fingers  will  not  write,  and  a  friend  has  been  kind  enough 
to  take  my  pen  for  me. 

Very  truly  yours, 

ifc  JOHN  H.  CARD.  NEWMAN. 
To  H.  BELLINGHAM,  Esq. 

Another  document  which  the  August  '  Batch  of  Letters ' 
was  the  means  of  placing  in  our  hands  is  a  long  letter 
which  the  Very  Kev.  James  Maher,  P.P.,  of  Carlow  Graigue, 


348  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

uncle  to  Cardinal  Cullen,  sent  from  Rome  to  his  brother-in- 
law,  Mr.  Edmund  Cullen,  more  than  fifty  years  ago.  The 
physicians  had  ordered  for  him  a  long  period  of  rest  after  a 
serious  illness.  He  spent  the  year  1845  in  the  Eternal 
City,  returning  to  Carlow  in  June,  1846.  We  may  mention 
that  he  was  born  in  1793,  and  died  in  1874. 

This  letter  was  not  discovered  in  time  to  be  included 
in  the  large  volume  which  Cardinal  Moran  published  of  his 
grand-uncle's  correspondence.  We  owe  it  to  the  kindness  of 
Mrs.  Maher,  of  Moyvoughly,  who  received  it  from  Mother 
Paul,  of  the  Convent  of  Mercy,  Westport,  the  only  survivor 
out  of  the  large  family  of  the  gentleman  to  whom  this  letter 
was  addressed.  Father  Maher's  two  sisters  were  married 
to  two  brothers — Mary  to  Hugh  Cullen,  father  of  the  first 
Irish  cardinal  of  our  day,  and  Margaret  to  Edmund  Cullen, 
the  recipient  of  the  following  letter  : — 

THE  IBISH  COLLEGE,  ROME, 

11th  February,  1845. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — Your  friends  at  Eome,  though  they  have  not 
troubled  you  with  many  letters,  have  never  been  forgetful  of  you. 
Every  day  we  remember  you  at  the  altar  in  our  supplications.  It  is 
one  of  the  great  consolations  of  our  holy  religion,  that  friends,  no 
matter  how  far  separated,  are,  as  it  were,  brought  together  daily, 
and  united  by  charity,  helping  and  aiding  each  other  by  their 
prayers  and  good  works. 

Father  Tom  has  left  us  a  few  days  since,  bringing  with  him  the 
affectionate  regards  of  all  his  Eoman  acquaintances.  He  was  a 
great  favourite  in  the  Irish  College  ;  his  time  in  Italy  has  been 
turned  to  the  best  account ;  he  has  laid  up  a  good  store  of 
ecclesiastical  knowledge,  which  he  will  find  of  infinite  advantage 
in  the  discharge  of  his  sacred  duties.  He  has,  we  have  every 
reason  to  believe,  imbibed  the  true  spirit  of  his  vocation: 
zealous  for  spiritual  things — the  honour  and  glory  of  God — and 
perfectly  indifferent  as  to  the  things  of  this  life.  May  heaven 
grant  him  grace  to  persevere  to  the  end ! 

Dr.  Cullen,  in  consequence  of  his  delicate  health  (and  he  is  far 
from  being  strong)  is  thinking  of  going  to  Ireland  after  Easter,  and 
I  remain  for  a  time  to  look  after  the  affairs  of  the  establishment. 
He  will  travel  home  in  company  with  Dr.  Haly.  The  bishop's 
visit  to  Eome  has  improved  his  health ;  he  is  greatly  pleased  with 
everything  here  in  the  Christian  capital,  especially  with  the 
talent,  piety,  knowledge,  and  ecclesiastical  spirit  of  the  Irish 
College  ;  he  has  sent  a  candle  by  Father  Tom  to  his  mother, 


ANOTHER   BATCH    OF   LETTERS  349 

blessed  by  the  Pope,  and  carried  by  the  bishop  in  the  procession 
at  St.  Peter's,  on  the  Feast  of  the  Purification.  It  is,  perhaps, 
the  prettiest  piece  of  waxwork  you  have  ever  seen.  It  has  not,  I 
hope,  been  injured  by  the  journey  ;  it  will  be  a  fine  emblem  of  our 
faith,  burning  brightly,  as,  entering  the  dark  portals  of  death,  we 
close  our  eyes  for  the  last  time  upon  the  transitory  glories  of  this 
world,  to  open  them,  as  we  humbly  hope,  to  the  beatific  vision  of 
God  in  the  next. 

How  many  unexpected  events  have  occurred  since  last  I  had 
the  pleasure  of  writing  to  you.  Four  priests  of  the  diocese  (three 
of  them  rather  young)  have  been  called  to  the  other  world.  On 
hearing  of  Father  Doran's  death  (a  priest  whom  I  greatly 
esteemed),  the  thought  forced  itself  on  me,  times  innumerable, 
that  we,  whether  old  or  young,  have  in  good  truth  very  little 
business  in  this  life,  beyond  making  a  good  preparation  to  leave 
it.  Who  could  have  thought  a  few  months  ago,  that  the  grave 
would  so  soon  have  closed  over  him  ?  How  much  of  life  and  vigour 
and  health  he  enjoyed  when  I,  one  year  since,  left  him,  delicate 
and  infirm  myself;  and  yet  here  am  I  now  in  health  (how 
inscrutable  are  the  ways  of  heaven  !)  discoursing  of  his  death.  If 
death  be  on  his  march,  and  sure  to  triumph  whenever  he  arrives, 
we  are  not,  however,  blessed  be  God,  without  cheering  prospects 
at  the  other  side  of  the  grave,  '  God  so  loved  the  world  [his 
Apostle  tells  us],  as  to  give  His  only  begotton  Son,  that  whoso- 
ever believeth  in  Him  may  not  (perish,'  but  may  have  life 
everlasting.  Here  we  have  firm  footing  ;  here  we  have  the 
ground  of  hope.  Earthly  life  is  only  the  infancy  of  man,  a 
mere  commencement  of  existence.  When  we  pass  it,  eternal 
life  begins.  To  see  Jesus  Christ,  our  divine  Saviour,  in  His 
glory  even  for  one  moment,  would  afford  more  happiness  than 
has  ever  been  enjoyed  by  mortal  in  this  life.  The  thought  of  our 
sinfulness  damps  our  hopes.  No  doubt  all  have  sinned,  but 
if  we  have  repented,  it  is  equally  certain  that  God  has 
forgiven  us.  Sin  is  beyond  comparison  the  greatest  evil  that  can 
befall  man.  All  other  evils — the  loss  of  property,  even  the 
overthrow  of  kingdoms — leave  not  a  trace  behind  in  a  few 
generations;  whilst  sin,  if  not  effaced  by  penance,  involves  the 
offender  in  punishment  which  never  ends.  It  is,  therefore,  clearly 
the  greatest  of  all  evils,  and  to  be  proportionately  detested ;  but  we 
have  a  sacrifice  for  sin,  an  atonement  for  our  iniquity  :  the 
Saviour  has  offered  Himself  to  suffer  in  our  stead,  and  His 
sufferings  have  been  accepted  in  liquidation  of  our  debt.  Oh,  how 
heinous  must  sin  be  which  requires  such  an  atonement,  and 
how  supereminently  holy  must  God  be  to  whom  such  a  victim  for 
the  violation  of  His  law  has  been  offered  ! 

If,  then,  we  be  fast  approaching  the  boundary  line  which 
separates  time  and  eternity,  detesting  as  we  ought,  and  as  I  hope 
we  all  do,  all  past  transgressions,  and  relying  with  full  but  humble 


350  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

hope  on  the  mercies  of  Him  who  laid  down  His  life  to  save  us, 
what  evil  can  befall  us?  Our  hope  is  in  Him  who  has  triumphed 
for  us  over  death  and  hell.  We  have  faith .  Oh  yes,  we  believe  ; 
we  are  not  tossed  by  every  wind  of  doctrine,  for,  aided  by  the 
grace  of  Jesus  Christ,  we  believe  whatever  God  has  revealed,  and 
what  the  Church,  the  organ  of  communication  with  us,  proposes 
to  our  belief.  We  receive  all  truth  with  a  full  and  unhesitat- 
ing faith;  we  see,  at  present,  under  the  sacramental  symbols,  by 
the  light  of  faith,  the  victim  of  our  salvation,  our  security,  our 
hope  ;  but  when  the  mystic  veil  necessary  to  our  present  con- 
dition shall  be  removed,  we  shall  see  Him,  face  to  face,  as  He  is 
in  Himself.  Then  heaven  begins. 

Let  us  wait  with  patience  for  awhile,  every  hour  preparing ; 
1  for  He  that  is  to  come,  will  come,  and  will  not  delay.' 

In  viewing  with  an  eye  of  faith  the  mysteries  of  religion, 
nothing  strikes  us  so  forcibly  as  the  excessive  love  of  Jesus 
Christ  for  man— '  The  Son  of  God  loved  me  [says  St.  Paul],  and 
delivered  Himself  for  me.'  Paul  was  a  sinner,  a  persecutor  of 
the  Church,  at  that  time  ;  and  yet  Christ  so  loved  him  as  to 
make  Himself  responsible  for  Paul's  sin,  and  thereby  saved  him. 
Now  what  He  has  done  for  the  Apostles  He  has  done  for  us  all. 
He  has  suffered  in  His  own  person  the  chastisement  which, 
were  it  not  for  His  love  for  us,  would  have  fallen  upon  our  own 
guilty  heads.  No  wonder  then  that  St.  Paul  should  have 
exclaimed  :  '  Who  can  comprehend  what  is  in  the  breadth  and 
length,  and  height,  and  depth  of  the  charity  of  God  which 
surpasseth  all  knowledge  !'  Nay,  St.  Paul  goes  farther.  Inflamed 
with  the  love  of  the  Saviour,  and  filled  with  a  holy  indignation 
against  our  sensibility,  he  cries  out :  '  If  any  man  love  not  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  let  him  be  anathema,'  that  is,  accursed. 

Who,  taking  time  to  reflect  upon  the  subject,  can  remain 
insensible  to  the  divine  love,  and  not  seek  to  repay  it  by  a  return 
of  love  ?  God  is  entitled  to  the  affections  of  the  heart,  and  will  be 
satisfied  with  nothing  less.  As  the  night  is  approaching  in  which 
no  man  can  work,  we  ought  certainly  to  use  every  moment  at 
our  disposal  to  increase  in  faith,  in  hope,  in  charity;  these 
virtues  will  not  come  of  themselves,  we  must  acquire  them  by 
aid  from  above,  by  fervent  prayer,  by  meditation  on  the  passion 
of  our  Saviour,  by  frequenting  the  sacraments  :  we  must  exert 
ourselves,  not  only  every  morning,  but  really  every  hour  in  the 
day  we  ought  to  turn  our  thoughts  to  God,  to  thank  Him  for 
past  favours,  to  implore  the  graces  which  are  still  wanting  to  us, 
to  disengage  our  hearts  perfectly  from  all  earthly  concerns,  to 
prepare  us  for  Himself.  The  closing  scene  of  life  is  too 
important  to  the  Christian  to  waste  any  portion  of  it  in  those 
affairs  which  shall  so  soon  end.  By  our  efforts,  we  can,  even 
amidst  the  infirmity  of  old  age,  lay  up  for  ourselves  treasures 
in  heaven.  Faith,  and  hope,  and  charity  are  the  legitimate  title- 


ANOTHER   BATCH   OF   LETTERS  351 

deeds  to  the  inheritance  of  the  children  of  God,  the  passport 
to  the  kingdom  of  heaven ;  with  these  in  our  hands — and 
through  the  grace  of  God,  we  may  be  furnished  with  them — 
have  we  not,  as  we  advance  to  the  house  of  eternity,  bright 
prospects  before  us  ? 

Instead  of  a  letter,  I  have,  I  find,  been  writing  a  sermon.  To 
hear  something  of  Italy  might  amuse  for  a  moment;  but  we 
know  enough  if  we  only  know  how  to  love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
who  first  loved  us,  who  has  created  and  redeemed  us  for  Himself. 
It  is  better,  then,  to  write  about  the  affairs  of  eternity. 

A  letter  from  Edmund  reached  the  Irish  College  a  few  days 
since,  bringing  us  the  most  welcome  news  of  your  improvement 
in  health.  What  favour  has  not  heaven  bestowed  upon  you  ? 
The  prayers  of  those  holy  virgins  who  have  grown  up  under  your 
roof,  whom  you  watched  from  infancy,  educated,  and  amply 
provided  for ;  their  prayers  in  your  behalf  have  been  heard  in 
heaven.  I  often  look  back  to  the  three  happy  years  in  which  I 
myself  had  the  happiness  to  be  one  of  your  family.  The  eleven 
children  were  then  all  at  Crawn,  both  the  parents  and  the  parish 
priest.  What  a  crowded  house  we  had,  and,  as  latter  events 
have  proved,  what  a  seminary  of  virtue  ?  How  many  religious 
vocations  cherished  and  brought  to  maturity  in  our  family?  Six 
out  of  eleven  have  already  resigned  the  hopes  of  the  world,  conse- 
crated themselves  by  vow  to  God.  One  has  visited  Eome,  the 
centre  of  Catholic  unity,  to  drink  at  the  fountain-head  of  that 
water  springing  up  into  life  everlasting.  Another  has  crossed  the 
Atlantic.  May  heaven  protect  our  dear  sister  Josephine  to  wait 
on  the  Lord  in  the  person  of  the  poor.  The  rest  have  left  father 
and  mother,  house  and  lands,  nay,  have  counted  with 
Saint  Paul,  '  all  things  to  be  loss  for  the  excellent  knowledge  of 
Jesus  Christ,'  and  Crawn  has  paid  her  thousands  to  enable  them 
to  effect  their  holy  designs.  These  deeds,  my  ever  dear  sir,  will 
tell  on  the  great  accounting  day.  With  the  royal  prophet  you 
ought  often  to  exclaim,  '  Not  to  us,  0  Lord,  not  to  us  ;  but  to 
Thy  name  be  glory  given.' 

I  have  filled  my  paper,  and  yet  have  said  very  little  of  all  I  had 
to  say  ;  but  I  must  be  satisfied.  Prepare  for  the  other  life  under 
the  protection  of  the  ever  Blessed  Virgin  ;  the  preparation  will  be 
the  better  made,  and  the  more  easily,  through  her  aid.  She 
makes  such  matters  very  easy,  smooths  down  all  our  difficulties, 
removes  unnecessary  fears,  and  consoles  and  sweetens  our  last 
days.  Don't  forget  her ;  she  has  been  left  to  us  by  her  Divine 
Son  as  our  most  affectionate  and  loving  mother.  On  His  cross, 
addressing  Saint  John,  He  said,  '  Behold  thy  mother,'  alluding  to 
the  Virgin. 

Give  my  love  to  my  sister.  How  can  she  be  sufficiently 
grateful  to  heaven  for  th?  rich  graces  of  religious  vocations  which 
have  been  so  abundantly  bestowed  on  her  children  ?  The 


352  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

prophecy  of  old,  descriptive  of  the  multitude  and  magnitude  of 
the  graces  and  mercies  to  be  enjoyed  under  the  Gospel  dispen- 
sation, has  been  verified :  '  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  the  last, 
days,'  saiththe  Lord, '  I  will  pour  out  of  My  Spirit  upon  all  flesh,' 
All  have  partaken  of  it,  some  more  abundantly  than  others,  by 
corresponding  faithfully  with  the  first  graces  received. 

Eemember  me  to  Hugh  and  Pauline  ;  they  will,  I  doubt  not, 
be  as  good  as  those  who  have  gone  before  them.  Affectionate 
regards  to  James  and  Alicia  and  the  little  ones,  especially  Clare. 
Best  respects  to  Edmund  and  Mary  and  the  young  brace,  and  to 
sister  Juliana  :  but  I  intend  in  a  short  time  to  write  to  the 
convent  to  discharge  all  my  obligations  there.  Dr.  Cullen  and 
P.  Moran1  desire  to  be  most  affectionately  remembered  to  you 
all.  The  latter  has  grown  very  tall,  enjoys  good  health,  and  is  a 
very  promising  young  ecclesiastic.  The  bishop  has  the  greatest 
regard  for  him.  We  have  just  heard  to-day  of  the  death  of 
Sister  Vincent  Benny,  of  the  Mercy  Convent.  The  recollection 
of  all  her  virtues  will  long  survive  ;  she  was  a  most  amiable 
and  perfect  soul,  all  innocence,  all  purity,  devoted  with  her 
whole  heart  to  the  service  of  her  Creator ;  she  has  had  a 
happy  exchange.  May  our  last  end  be  like  unto  hers ! 

Well,  I  must  finish.  Farewell !  May  heaven  protect  you 
and  yours,  and  may  we  never  forget  the  one  thing  necessary. 

Affectionately  yours, 

JAMES  MAHER. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  ascertain  the  number  of 
priests  and  nuns  that  have  come  from  those  united 
families  of  Cullens,  Mahers,  and  Morans.  Some  delightful 
books  have  treated  of  the  biography,  not  of  individuals,  but 
of  many  generations  of  the  same  family — the  Herschels, 
the  Trenches,  the  Mendelssohns.  An  interesting  book  of 
another  kind  might  be  devoted  to  the  history  of  a  family 
such  as  we  are  referring  to.  The  lady  to  whom  we  owe 
Father  Maher's  epistolary  sermon  has  kindly  supplied  the 
following  list  of  the  relatives  of  Cardinal  Cullen  who  became 
priests  or  nuns  : — 

Paul  Cullen,  who  was  destined  to  play  so  important  a 
part  in  the  ecclesiastical  history  of  Ireland,  was  the  son  of 
Hugh  Cullen  and  Mary  Maher.  His  father's  brother, 
Michael,  and  his  mother's  brother,  James,  were  parish 
priests  in  the  diocese  of  Kildare.  Two  sisters  of  his  mother 

1  His  Eminence  the  Cardinal  Archbishop  of  Sydney. 


ANOTHER   BATCH   OF   LETTERS 


entered  the  Presentation  Convents  at  Carlow  and  Kildare, 
in  which  latter  Convent  his  sister  also  became  a  nun.  '  His 
nephew,  Patrick  Francis  Moran,  is  now  Cardinal  Archbishop 
of  Sydney ;  and  the  Most  Eev.  Michael  Verdon,  Bishop  of 
Dunedin,  is  another  nephew. 

The  late  William  Cullen  stood  in  the  same  relationship 
to  our  first  Irish  Cardinal,  as  do  also  the  Eev.  James  Maher, 
late  Vice-Eector  of  the  Irish  College,  Home ;  the  Eev. 
Edmund  Cullen,  C.M.,  and  the  Eev.  Paul  Cullen,  C.M. 

Amongst  the  Cardinal's  nieces  are  Mrs.  Cullen,  of  the 
French  Sisters  of  Charity  at  Darlington ;  Mrs.  Keatley,  of 
ths  Convent  of  Mercy,  Drogheda ;  and  Mrs.  Cullen,  Irish 
Sister  of  Charity,  Superior  of  St.  Vincent's  Hospital, 
St.  Stephen's-green,  Dublin.  Of  the  Cardinal's  grand- 
nieces,  two  bearing  his  name  are  amongst  the  French 
Sisters  of  Charity  in  North  William-street,  Dublin,  and 
Dunmanway,  co.  Cork ;  while  two  of  the  Cummins  family 
are  Sisters  of  Mercy  at  Callan,  and  a  third  at  Westport. 
The  Eev.  Michael  Cullen,  S.J.,  Beaumont  College,  Windsor, 
is  a  grand-nephew  of  Cardinal  Cullen.  The  letter  we  have ' 
printed  speaks  of  '  Father  Tom,'  a  cousin  of  the  Cardinal's, 
namely,  Father  Thomas  Cullen,  P.P.,  of  the  diocese  of 
Kildare.  Cousins  of  the  name  of  Cullen  are,  or  were,  Sisters 
of  Mercy  at  Westport  and  Pittsburgh,  and  two  together 
in  the  Convent  of  Mercy,  Carlow,  while  a  fifth  was  a 
Presentation  Nun  in  Mountmellick. 

Other  cousins  of  the  name  of  Maher  entered  the 
Dominican  Convent,  Wicklow,  and  the  Convents  of  Mercy, 
Athy,  Callan,  and  Carlow ;  while  two  of  the  Kenna  family 
joined  the  Presentation  Convent,  Kildare.  In  the  next 
degree  of  kinship  stand  the  Eev.  Edmund  Cullen,  C.C.,  of 
Kingstown  ;  the  Eev.  Hugh  Cullen,  C.C.,  Naas  ;  Eev.  Walter 
Hurley,  C.C.,  Delgany ;  Eev.  Gerald  Cummins  of  the  Kil- 
dare diocese ;  three  Dominican  Nuns  of  Wicklow,  and  a 
Sister  of  Mercy  at  Westport.  Our  catalogue  furnishes  other 
names,  amongst  which  are  those  of  Mother  de  Eicci  Maher, 
of  the  Dominican  Convent,  Cabra  ;  Mother  Columba  Maher 
of  the  same  Convent ;  Eev.  John  Kearney  and  Eev.  Edmund 
Kearney  of  the  Kildare  diocese ;  Eev.  Thomas  Maher,  S.  J. ; 

VOL,  m.  z 


354  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

Rev.  Martin  Maher,  S.  J.,  &c.   But  we  need  not  trace  further 
the  branches  of  this  remarkable  Levitical  family. 

Amongst  the  not  very  numerous  letters  which  Dr.  Russell, 
President  of  Maynooth  College,  1857-1880,  preserved  out  of 
his  vast  correspondence  was  the  following  from  Mr.  John 
Rogers  Herbert,  R.A.     This   distinguished  painter  would, 
doubtless,  have  had  more  vogue  if  he  had  continued,  as  at 
first,  to  draw  his  inspiration  from  pagan  or  worldly  themes. 
But,  when   drawn   into  the    Catholic    Church    about   his 
thirtieth  year,  in  1840,  partly  through  the  influence  of  the 
enthusiastic  convert,  Augustus  Welby  Pugin,  he  seems  to 
have  deemed  it  a  duty  to  devote  his  talents  to  the  illustration 
of  religious  subjects,    not  so   popular  among  the  English 
public  of  the  nineteenth  century  as  in  the  country  and  the 
century    of  Fra  Angelico.      But  Mr.  Herbert's  reputation 
stood  sufficiently  high  to   secure  him  the   commission  to 
decorate  with  frescoes  the  Peers'  robing  room  in  the  Houses 
of  Parliament  at  Westminster.     To  these  he  alludes  in  this 
letter.     He  chose  the  subjects  from  the  Old  Testament — the 
Fall  of  Man,  the  Building  of  the  Temple,  &c.     The  greatest 
of  his  works  is  said  to  be  '  Moses  bringing  the  Tables  of  the 
Law.'     The  son,  whose  soul  he  commended  to  Dr.  Russell's 
prayers,  was  already   dead  seven   years.      Though  Arthur 
Herbert  was  only  twenty-two  years  old  when  he  died,  in 
1856,  he  had  exhibited  paintings  two  years  with  success  in 
the  Royal  Academy.     Before  Mr.  J.  R.  Herbert  died,  in  his 
eightieth  year  (1890),  he  had  also  lost,  in  1882,  a  son  of  still 
greater  promise,  Cyril  Wiseman  Herbert : — 

7,  GKAVESEND  PLACE, 

ST.  JOHN'S  WOOD-ROAD, 

Sept.  15th,  1863. 

VERY  EEV.  DEAR  SIR, — I  have  not  forgotten  the  very  kind 
expressions  which  fell  from  your  lips  when  I  spoke  of  the  loss  of 
my  dear  son  Arthur  John — that  you  would  say  a  mass  for  his 
soul  if  I  reminded  you  of  the  anniversary  of  his  death.  Friday, 
the  18th  November,  is  the  day. 

I  am  sure  you  will  be  pleased  to  hear  that  the  members  of  the 
Government  have  been  greatly  impressed  with  my  doings  at 
Westminster,  and  that  the  enemies  in  the  House  of  Commons 
have  become  warm  friends,  and  that  they  have  it  I  am  a  sort  of 


ANOTHER   BATCH   OF   LETTERS  355 

Master  in  Israel.  I  am  glad  if  Catholic  Art  rises,  and  commends 
religious  thoughts  to  the  spectator.  I  shall  not  become  vain  at  its 
success.  It  has  not  been  done  with  ease,  and  if  I  am  entrusted 
with  any  talent  it  is  for  good,  and  not  of  my  own  making. 
Forgive  my  having  spoken  of  my  own  doings,  but  I  know  you  are 
interested  in  them,  and  I  have  ventured  to  give  you  the  tidings  of 
the  impression  of  my  work.  How  glad  I  shall  be  to  see  you  here 
or  at  Westminster  whenever  you  come  to  London. 

My  friend  Mr.  Kenelm  Digby  invites  me  to  Ireland.  I  am 
uncertain  of  my  plans.  If  I  can  get  west,  I  shall,  I  hope,  get  your 
blessing  at  Maynooth  ;  and  meanwhile  I  beg  it  now. 

My  daughters  join  me  in  hearty  wishes  for  your  health  and 
every  good  thing  to  you. 

Believe  me,  Very  Bev.  Dear  Sir, 

Your  faithful  humble  servant, 

J.  B.  HERBERT. 

The  writer  of  this  letter  shares  with  the  friend  whom  he 
mentions  the  distinction  of  being  the  only  Englishmen  who 
were  elected  honorary  members  of  the  Irish  Ecclesiological 
Society,  which  had  been  organized  a  little  earlier,  under  the 
presidency  of  Dr.  Kussell,  of  Maynooth.  All  these  names 
occur  again  in  a  letter  of  the  poet  Denis  Florence 
MacCarthy,  which  followed  me  to  St.  Beuno's,  a  month 
after  the  date  of  the  preceding  letter : — 


SUMMERFIELD   HOUSE,   DALKEY, 

28th  October,  1863. 

DEAR  MR.  EUSSELL, — I  am  glad  to  find  that  new  duties,  new 
associations,  and  new  scenery  have  not  quite  put  out  of  your 
head  all  recollection  of  the  little  (or  big)  circle  at  Summerfield. 
It  would  give  me  great  pleasure  indeed  to  visit  North  Wales 
while  you  are  there;  not,  indeed,  in  search  of  the  picturesque, 
because  to  those  who  have  eyes  the  beautiful  is  everywhere,  but 
for  the  romantic  variety  of  the  picturesque  which  North  Wales  so 
abundantly  provides.  I  do  not,  however,  see.  much  probability  of 
my  being  able  to  do  so.  Besides,  your  mention  of  Dr.  Johnson 
sets  my  back  up  even  against  the  Vale  of  Clwyd.  I  would  be 
inclined  to  say  (if  you  were  not  there)  as  that  sturdy  old  hater 
said  of  the  Giant's  Causeway,  that  it  was  worth  seeing,  but  not 
worth  going  to  see.  But  I  withdraw  the  disparaging  quotation, 
and  will  go  sometime  or  other,  you  may  rely  upon  it,  if  I  can. 

I  fear  for  my  poor  '  Underglimpses '  in  the  hands  of  a 
Coleridge.  Attuned  as  his  ear  must  be  almost  hereditarily  to 


356  THE  IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

the  melody  of  '  Genevieve '  and  '  Kubla  Khan,'  my  impromptu 
pipings  must  seem  very  small  indeed. 

Since  I  last  saw  you,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  making  the 
acquaintance  in  an  accidental  way  of  one  of  your  late  reverend 
associates  at  Limerick,  Sir  Christopher  Bellew.  Dr.  Madden  and 
I  were  going  over  Killiney  one  day  to  pay  a  visit  to  Kenelrn 
Digby.  In  a  shower  of  rain  we  both  sheltered  under  a  hawthorn 
tree,  and  were  joined  by  a  distinguished-looking  priest,  who  had, 
as  I  unpatriotically  thought,  an  Oxford  or  Cambridge  look  about 
him.  In  a  few  minutes  after,  we  met  at  Mr.  Digby's,  who  was 
good  enough  to  introduce  us  to  him,  and  I  found  to  my  amaze- 
ment that  he  was  as  well  up  in  the  Marquis  de  Villars'  controversy 
and  the  Chevalier  de  Chatelain's  Rayons  et  Reflets  as  I  was 
myself.  Your  uncle,  Dr.  Eussell,  also,  was  good  enough  to  call 
here  one  day  with  Mr.  Kenelm.  Digby,  whose  acquaintance  I  was 
very  glad  to  make,  and  who  impressed  us  all  here  very  favourably. 
Your  uncle  kindly  asked  me  to  Maynooth  to  meet  the  Attorney- 
General,  but  unfortunately  I  could  not  go.  See  what  an  auto- 
biography you  have  brought  upon  you  by  your  friendly  note. 

Believe  me,  dear  Mr.  Eussell, 

Sincerely  yours, 

D.   F,    M'CARTHY. 


The  two  out-of-the-way  books  which  afforded  Father 
Bellew  an  opportunity  of  gratifying  Mr.  MacCarthy,  at  their 
first  meeting,  by  showing  his  familiarity  with  them,  were, 
of  course,  connected  with  the  poet  himself.  Rayons  et 
Reflets  gave  French  metrical  translations  of  some  of  his 
sweetest  lyrics,  and  the  Memoires  de  Villars  was  a  curious 
old  book,  published  by  the  Philobiblon  Society,  in  1862,  6n 
which  MacCarthy  had  read  a  very  erudite  paper  before  the 
Koyal  Irish  Academy.  This  drew  from  Lady  '  Speranza ' 
Wilde  a  remonstrance  in  blank  verse,  beginning  : — 

Descend  not,  poet,  from  the  heights. 

A  certain  college  professor,  better  known  afterwards  as  a 
preacher  and  as  dean  of  a  great  diocese,  had  a  little  of  that 
amiable  vanity  which  has  distinguished  some  very  good  and 
very  able  men.  One  day,  walking  with  a  colleague  up 
and  down  in  front  of  the  college  (not  Maynooth),  he  and 
bis  companion  passed  a  donkey  that  was  browsing  placidly 
on  the  lawn,  'That  poor  animal,'  said  he,  'little  knows 


ANOTHER  BATCH  OF    LETTERS  357 

how  much  theology  is  passing  by.'  That  hawthorn-tree 
upon  Killiney  Hill,  under  which  Denis  Florence  MacCarthy 
and  Richard  Robert  Madden  sought  refuge  from  a  summer 
shower,  on  their  way  to  the  author  of  Mores  Catholici  and 
The  Broadstone  of  Honour,  was  just  as  little  aware  how 
highly  it  was  honoured  in  sheltering,  at  the  same  moment, 
the  sweetest  of  our  poets,  the  venerable  historian  of  the 
United  Irishmen,  and  the  only  Irish  baronet  who  ever  gave 
up  the  world  to  become  a  priest. 

MATTHEW  RUSSELL,  s.j. 


358    ] 


IRotes    anb  Queries 

THEOLOGY 

ABSOLUTION  FROM  A  RESERVED  SIN  AND    THE    MAYNOOTH 
SYNODAL    DECREES 

KEY.  DEAR  SIR, — Would  you  kindly  give  your  opinion  on  the 
force  and  value  of  the  following  sentence,  to  be  found  in  the  Acts 
and  Decrees  of  the  Maynooth  Synod,  par,  86,  cap.  xvi.,  De 
Poenitentia :  '  Casus  reservatus  in  dioecesi  confessarii  non  subtra- 
hitur  reservation!  ea  de  causa  quod  non  reservatur  in  dioecesi 
poenitentis.'  My  difficulty  is  whether  a  confessor  in  Ireland  can 
absolve  a  penitent  coming  from  another  diocese  in  Ireland  from 
a  sin,  which  is  reserved  in  the  diocese  of  the  confessor,  but  not  in 
that  of  the  penitent.  According  to  many,  if  not  most,  modern 
theologians,  it  is  solidly  probable  that  a  confessor  can  absolve  a 
penitent  when  the  sin  is  reserved  in  the  diocese  of  confessor,  but 
not  in  the  diocese  of  penitent.  They  ground  their  opinion  on 
the  commonly-received  belief  that  the  penitent's  bishop  supplies 
jurisdiction  when  the  subject  confessed  in  another  diocese,  and  as 
he  has  not  reserved  the  sin  in  the  case  made,  the  confessor  can 
freely  absolve. 

I  should  have  no  hesitation  in  following  this  opinion  in 
practice  were  it  not  for  the  sentence  in  the  Maynooth  Decrees 
already  referred  to.  Does  this  sentence  prevent  a  confessor  in 
Ireland  from  following  the  opinion  just  given  ?  If  it  does,  then 
it  must  have  the  force  of  a  legislative  enactment  to  this  extent, 
that  the  bishops  collectively  and  individually  refuse  jurisdiction 
on  behalf  of  their  subject  in  such  circumstances.  I  don't  think 
this  sentence  can  have  such  meaning  or  force,  but  if  it  hasn't,  it 
seems  to  be  merely  the  expression  of  a  theological  opinion  on  the 
part  of  their  Lordships  ;  and  so  it  may  be  departed  from  in 
practice  by  any  confessor  who  thinks  the  opposite  more  probable 
or  solidly  probable.  You  will  much  oblige  by  enlightening 
myself  and  others  on  this  matter. — I  remain,  &c. 

DUBITANS. 

Our  correspondent  contemplates  the  case,  for  example,  in 
which  a  penitent  from  another  diocese  confesses  to  him  a 


NOTES  AND  QUERIES  359 

certain  sin  reserved  in  loco  confessionis,  but  not  in  dioecesi 
poenitentis.  Can  lie  absolve  such  a  penitent  ?  It  is  assumed, 
of  course,  that  the  penitent  is  not  in  danger  of  death,  that 
there  is  no  special  necessity  for  receiving  absolution,  and 
nothing  to  prevent  the  penitent  from  having  recourse  to  his 
superior.  We  assume,  moreover,  that  the  confessor  has  not 
got  special  faculties  for  absolving  from  the  reserved  sins  of 
his  diocese. 

The  question  may  be  considered  from  the  point  of  view 
of  the  general  law  of  the  Church,  or  with  special  reference 
to  the  law  that  obtains  in  this  country.  Viewing  the  matter 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  general  law,  theologians  are 
divided  on  this  question.  They  differ  as  to  the  source  from 
which  the  diocesan  clergy  (as  distinct  from  regulars)  derive 
the  jurisdiction  to  absolve  peregrini,  and  hence  arises  a 
diversity  of  opinion  on  the  question  raised  by  our  corre- 
spondent. Some  derive  the  jurisdiction  over  peregrini  from 
the  bishop  of  the  place  where  the  confession  is  heard,  and 
hence  infer  (rightly  or  wrongly)  that  a  peregrinus  is  subject 
to  the  reservations  of  the  place  in  which  he  confesses. 
Others  derive  the  jurisdiction  from  the  bishop  of  the 
penitent,  and  hence  infer  that  a  peregrinus  can  be  absolved 
from  all  sins  not  reserved  in  his  own  diocese.  Others, 
again,  think  that  jurisdiction  to  absolve  peregrini  is  a 
legal  jurisdiction  coming  from  the  Pope,  inasmuch  as  he 
approves  the  general  custom  according  to  which  confessors 
treat  peregrini  (fraude  seclusa)  just  as  they  treat  other 
penitents.  We  need  not  stop  to  specify  further  modifications 
of  these  opinions.  The  two  latter  opinions  are  now  very 
generally  admitted  to  be  both  probable.  We  look  upon  the 
opinion  last  mentioned  as  the  more  probable  of  the  two. 
But  our  correspondent  can  undoubtedly  claim  good  authority 
for  the  opinion  which  derives  the  jurisdiction  over  peregrini 
from  the  bishop  of  the  penitent's  domicile,  and  lays  down 
that  a  confessor  can  absolve  a,  peregrinus  from  a  sin  reserved 
in  loco  confesssioni  tontum. 
Lehmkuhl  says : — 

Practice  statui  potest    ut  peregrinuin  absolvere  liceat   nisi 
aut  (1)  peccatum  reservatum  sit  utrobique,  i.e.,  in  loco  confessionis 


360  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

et  in  loco  domicilii  poenitentis  aut  (2)  '  in  fraudem  legis  ...  in 
alienam  dioecesim  se  transtulerit.'1 

And  Haine : — 

Si  casus  est  reservatus  tantum  in  loco  confessionis  [confessarius 
absolvere  potest] .  Et  haec  sententia  est  practice  tuta ;  turn  quia 
stante  solida  probabilitate  hujus  sententias,  reservatio  jam  evadit 
dubia  [ideoque  nulla],  turn  quia  licitum  est  ex  communi  DD. 
absolvere  cum  jurisdictione  probabili  probabilitate  juris. 

We  have  no  right,  therefore,  to  quarrel  with  our  cor- 
respondent's practical  conclusion  when  he  says  that,  viewing 
the  matter  from  the  standpoint  of  the  general  law,  he  would 
have  no  hesitation  in  following  the  practical  rule  laid  down 
by  Lehmkuhl. 

We  think,  however,  that  the  general  law — and  here  we 
differ  from  our  correspondent — is  modified  in  this  country  by 
the  words  above  quoted  from  the  Synod  of  Maynooth.  We 
cannot  admit  that  these  words  express  a  mere  theological 
opinion,  the  authority  of  which  may,  as  our  correspondent 
suggests,  be  discounted  by  the  weight  of  authority 
against  it. 

In  form,  indeed,  the  words  quoted  are  not  mandatory, 
but  affirmative.  And  it  is  for  this  reason,  perhaps,  that  our 
correspondent  understands  them  to  contain  a  mere  expres- 
sion of  theological  teaching.  On  the  other  hand,  however, 
it  may  be  contended  that  we  should  not,  in  any  case,  expect 
the  words  to  take  an  imperative  form ;  for  the  obligation,  if 
there  were  one,  was  to  fall  on  the  legislators  themselves — 
binding  them  to  withdraw  jurisdiction.  But,  moreover — 
and  this  is  what  weighs  with  us — we  should  not  assume 
unnecessarily  that  the  bishops  undertook,  in  these  words, 
what  they  had  no  power  whatever  to  accomplish.  They 
had  no  authority  to  decide,  or  to  attempt  to  decide 
definitively,  a  question  hotly  disputed  among  the  first  theolo- 
gians of  the  time.  Yet  the  interpretation  suggested  to  us 
makes  the  bishops  adopt,  and  seem  to  teach,  one  of  the  rival 
opinions,  without  as  much  as  condescending  to  notice  any 

1  ii   n.  403. 


NOTES   AND   QUERIES  361 

other.  They  are  made  to  decide  by  implication,  and  teach 
us  the  origin  of  jurisdiction  over  peregrini, -wit}!  the  same 
apparent  confidence  and  authority  with  which  they  tell 
us,  a  page  or  two  before,  that  the  Easter-time  begins  in 
this  country  on  Ash  Wednesday,  and  ends  on  Ascension 
Thursday,  or  on  the  octave-day  of  the  Feast  of  SS.  Peter 
and  Paul.  We  could  admit  such  an  interpretation  only 
under  compulsion. 

But  there  is  no  necessity  for  having  recourse  to  it. 
Whatever  the  bishops  thought  speculatively  of  the  merits 
of  the  controversy  above  referred  to,  they  came  to  the 
conclusion,  we  may  suppose,  that  the  ends  of  reservation, 
the  good  of  penitents,  and  the  convenience  of  confessors 
as  well,  would  be  best  served  by  a  common  arrangement 
that,  in  this  country,  a  confessor  should  not,  for  the  confes- 
sions of  peregrini,  have  jurisdiction  over  a  case  reserved  in 
loco  confessionis,  though  not  reserved  in  dioecesi  poenitentis. 
That  the  bishops  could  have  made  such  an  agreement  cannot 
be  disputed.  That  they  actually  did  make  this  arrangement 
will  be  admitted  by  all  who  refuse  to  accept  the  only  alter- 
native of  placing  the  bishops  of  the  synod  in  a  false  and 
untenable  position. 

Our  interpretation  does  no  violence  to  the  words  of  the 
Synod ;  and  so  far,  perhaps,  it  can  claim  no  advantage  over  the 
alternative  interpretation.  But,  our  interpretation  avoids 
the  necessity  of  supposing  that  the  bishops  of  the  Synod 
took  up  an  untenable  view  of  their  authority.  For  this  reason 
we  commend  it  to  our  correspondent.  We  may  further  remark 
that  confessors  find  it  sometimes  difficult  enough  to  master 
the  reserved  cases  of  their  own  diocese ;  in  our  cor- 
respondent's view,  they  would  need,  for  the  efficient 
discharge  of  their  duties,  to  know  the  reserved  cases  of  the 
dioceses  as  well.  The  bishops  at  the  Maynooth  Synod 
ruled  that  confessors  must  (unless  in  case  of  fraud)  treat 
peregrini  just  as  they  treat  their  own  penitents,  and  so  in 
most  cases  practically  relieved  confessors  from  the  trouble  of 
knowing  the  reservations  of  other  dioceses  than  their  own. 
We  doubt  if  the  interests  of  confessors  or  penitents  would, 
as  a  rule,  be  served  by  reverting  to  the  state  of  things 


362  THE  IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

practically  existing  under  the  general  law.  Penitents 
would  more  frequently  escape  the  reservations  of  their  own 
pastors,  and  confessors  would  have  more  need  to  be  familiar 
with  the  reservations  of  neighbouring  dioceses. 

The  special  inter-diocesan  arrangement  for  this  country 
holds,  of  course,  only  so  long,  and  so  far,  as  the  bishops  of 
the  country  continue  to  abide  by  the  regulation  of  the 
Maynooth  Synod.  There  is  nothing,  for  instance,  to  prevent 
two  bishops  from  reverting  to  the  common  law,  or  making 
an  express  agreement  in  virtue  of  which  the  confessors  of 
their  dioceses  would  have  the  power  which  our  correspondent 
is  desirous  to  exercise.  Manifestly,  too,  the  arrangement 
does  not  in  any  way  suggest  our  correspondent's  jurisdiction 
over  a  peregrinits  who  does  not  belong  to  an  Irish  diocese. 

D.  MANNIX. 


LITURGY 

THE    VOTIVE    MASS    OF    THE    HOLY    GHOST 

EEV.  DEAK  SIR, — I  shall  feel  very  much  obliged,  if  you  will 
kindly  answer  the  following  question : — 

Can  a  priest  say  the  Mass  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  obtain  some 
temporal  favour;  v.g.t  to  prevent  the  loss  of  cattle,  to  relieve  or 
cure  a  person  suffering  from  a  severe  malady,  &c.,  on  a  semi- 
double,  simple,  or  ferial,  not  within  an  octave,  or  other  time 
which  excludes  Votive  Masses  ? 

The  reason  of  my  asking  the  question,  is,  that  some  priests 
affirm  that  the  Mass  of  the  Holy  Ghost  cannot  licitly  be  cele- 
brated, even  on  these  days,  except  for  some  grave  spiritual 
necessity. 

Until  I  heard  this  opinion  advanced,  I  thought  that  as  a 
priest  was  free  to  say  a  requiem  ;  Mass  on  these  days  for  a 
deceased  person,  so  he  was  equally  free  to  say  the  Mass  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  on  the  same  days  for  the  temporal  benefit  of  a 
person,  in  the  usual  way  in  which  Mass  is  offered  up  to  obtain 
any  temporal  favour. 

If  a  priest  cannot  lawfully  say  the  Mass  of  the  Holy  Ghost 


363 


except  for  a  grave  spiritual  necessity,  perhaps  it  may  be  con- 
sidered that  such  a  necessity  is  generally  present  with  the 
temporal  one  for  which  the  priest  is  asked  to  celebrate  the 
Mass. 

Yours  sincerely, 

P.P. 

Our  correspondent  need  have  no  scruple  about  saying 
the  Votive  Mass  of  the  Holy  Ghost  on  any  day  on  which 
the  rubrics  permit  the  celebration  of  a  Requiem  or  other 
Votive  Mass.  The  object  for  which  this  Mass  is  offered 
need  not  necessarily  be  a  spiritual  one,  either  grave  or  other- 
wise ;  it  may  quite  lawfully  be  offered  for  the  purpose  of 
obtaining  temporal  blessings.  Our  correspondent's  advisers 
seem  to  possess  hazy  notions  of  one  or  two  correct  prin- 
ciples. It  is  true  that  the  Mass  of  the  Holy  Ghost  is  one 
of  the  three  that  may  be  said  as  a  Solemn  Mass  of  thanks- 
giving ;  it  is  also  true  that  a  Solemn  Votive  Mass  cannot  be 
celebrated  unless  for  a  grave  cause.  But  it  is  nowhere 
stated  that  a  Solemn  Votive  Mass,  whether  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  &c., 
cannot  be  celebrated  for  any  other  object  than  '  a  grave 
spiritual  necessity.'  On  the  contrary,  a  grave  temporal 
necessity  affords  quite  the  same  justification  for  the  cele- 
bration of  a  Solemn  Votive  Mass  as  does  a  similar  necessity 
in  the  spiritual  order. 

We  may  seem  to  be  wandering  from  the  question  which 
we  have  undertaken  to  answer ;  but  our  object  is  not  merely 
to  show  our  correspondent  that  he  was  not  wrong  in  follow- 
ing the  practice  to  which  his  friends  objected,  but  also  that 
the  opinion  put  forward  by  his  friends  could  not,  in  any 
conceivable  circumstances,  be  right.  A  private  Votive  Mass 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  may  be  offered  for  any  becoming  object 
on  any  day  permitting  a  Votive  Mass,  and  a  Solemn  Votive 
Mass  of  the  Holy  Ghost  may  be  offered  for  temporal  as 
well  as  for  spiritual  objects.  We  give  the  following  extract 
from  De  Herdt  in  support  of  the  latter  statement,  because 
we  are  quite  certain  that  it  was  some  confused  notion  regard- 
ing Solemn  Votive  Masses  that  led  our  correspondent's 


364 


friends  to  tender  him  the  erroneous  advice  to  which  he 
refers.  We  may  remark  that  a  grave  public  cause  is 
required  to  justify  a  bishop  in  permitting  a  Solemn  Votive 
Mass  : — 

Quae  est  causa  gravis  et  publica  quae  requiritur  ad  cantandum 
votivam  solemn  em  ? 

Resp.  Talis  est  spirituals  vel]  temporalis  necessitas,  quae 
communitatem  vel  saltern  majorem  ejus  partem  afficit  v.g.  pro 
obtinenda  pace,  serenitate  aeris,  etc.  pro  acquirendo  gravi  et 
publico  beneficio,  vel  avertendo  malo,  pro  recuperanda  sanitate 
Pontificis,  Episcopi  Eegis,  etc.  ;  si  gratiae  pro  magno  accepto 
beneficio  sint  agenda,1  etc. 

D.  O'LoAN. 


1Toni  vi.,  n.  27. 


[     365     ] 


DOCUMENTS 

BISHOPS     WHO     HAVE     POWER     TO     DISPENSE     IN     AGE 
CAN     DISPENSE     SECULAR     AND    REGULAR    CLERICS 

EX  S.  CONG.  S.  R.  U.  INQUISITIONIS 

EPISCOPI  QUI  POTIUNTUK  FACULTATE  DISPENSANDI  A  DEFECTU 
AETATIS,  DISPENSARE  VALENT  CLERICOS  SAECULARES  ET 
REGULARES 

Feria  IV,  die  29  Ian.  1896. 

In  Congregatione  General!  S.E.  et  U.  I.  habita  coram  Emis 
et  Emis  DD.  Cardinalibus  contra  haereticam  pravitatem  Gene- 
ralibus  Inquisitoribus  propositum  fuit  sequens  dubium  : 

In  facultatibus  quinquennalibus  S.  C.  de  Propaganda  Fide  sub 
formula  III.  n.  13  conceditur  facultas  '  Dispensandi  super  defectu 
aetatis  unius  anni,  ob  operariorum  penuriam,  ut  promoveri  possint 
ad  sacerdotium  si  alias  idonei  fuerint.'  Quaeritur  utrum  haec 
facultas  extendatur  etiam  ad  Eegulares. 

Et  omnibus  diligenti  examine  perpensis,  praehabitoque 
DD.  Consultorum  voto,  iidem  Emi  ac  Emi  DD.  Cardinales 
respondendum  mandarunt :  '  Affirmative,  facto  verbo  cum  SSmo.' 

Feria  vero  V.  die  30  eiusdem  mensis  et  anni  in  solita  Audientia 
r.  p.  d.  Assessor!  impertita,  facta  de  suprascriptis  accurata 
relatione  SSmo  D.  N.  Leoni  PP.  XIII,  Sanctitas  Sua  resolutionem 
Eminentissimorum  Patrum  approbavit  et  contirmavit. 

I.  CAN.  MANCINI,  S.  E,  et  U.  I.  Not. 

EXCOMMUNICATION    BY    ROMAN    CONGREGATIONS 

EXCOMMUNICATIO  LATA  A  SS.  CONGR.  ROMANIS  NON  RESERVATUR 
ROM.  PONTIFICI  CEU  ILLA  AB  EO  LATA  IN  COMMUNICANTES  IN 
CRIMINE  CRIMINOSO 

Feria  IV.,  die  16  luim,  1894. 

In  Congregatione  General!  S.  E.  et  U.  I.  habita  coram  Emis 
et  Rmis  DD.  Cardinalibus,  contra  haereticam  pravitatem  Gene- 
ralibus  Inquisitoribus,  propositum  fuit  sequens  dubium  : 

In  Constitutione  s.  m.  Pii  Papae  IX.  quae  incipit  '  Apostolicae 
Sedis,'  excommunicatione  Eom.  Pontifici  simpliciter  reservata 


366  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 


innodantur  :  '  Communicantes  cum  excommunicate  nominatim  a 
a  Papa  in  crimine  criminoso,  ei  scilicet  impendendo  auxilium  vel 
favorem.'  Quaeritur  utrum  his  verbis  comprehendantur  etiam 
excommunicati  a  Komanis  Congregationibus,  saltern  quando 
earum  decretis  accedit  approbatio  Sumrai  Pontificis. 

Et  omnibus  diligenti  examine  perpensis,  praehabitoque  DD. 
Consultorum  voto,  iidem  Enii  ac  Bmi  DD.  Cardinales  respon- 
dendum  mandarunt :  '  Negative.' 

Feria  vero  VI.,  die  18  eiusdem  mensis  et  anni,  in  solita 
Audientia  r.  p.  d.  Adsessoris  S.  O.  impertita,  facta  de  suprascriptis 
accurata  relatione  SSmo  D.  N.  Leoni  PP.  XIII.,  Sanctitas  Sua 
resolutionem  Eminentissimorum  Patrum  adprobavit  et  con- 
firmavit. 

I.  CAN.  MANCINI,  S.  B.  et  U.  I.  Not. 


SHOULD  MEMBERS  OF  CONFRATERNITIES  FOLLOW  THE 
PROCESSION  OF  THE  BLESSED  SACRAMENT  WITH  HEADS 
UNCOVERED  P 

DUBIUM,     QUAEEITUR    AN     SODALES    PROCEDERE    DEBEANT     CAPITE 
OMNINO   NUDO   IN   PKOCESSIONIBUS   CUM    SSMO   SACRAMENTO 

Postulate  Sacrae  Bituum  Congregationi  exhibito  :  Utrum  in 
processionibus  cum  SSmo  Sacramento  confraternitatum  sodales 
semper  nudo  omnino  capite  procedere  debeant?  Sacra  eadem 
Congregatio,  referente  Secretario,  auditoque  voto  Commissionis 
Liturgicae  respondendum  censuit  :  Affirmative,  ad  tramites 
BitualisBomani,CaeremonialisEpiscoporum  et  Decretorum  Aesina 
23  Januarii  1700  ad  2  ;  Mutinen.  22  Septembris  1837  ad  2  ;  et 
Toletatm,  21  August!  1872,  ad  II.  Atque  ita  rescripsit,  die  22  Julii 
1897. 

C.  CARD.  MAZELLA  EP.  PRAENESTIN.  S.  B.  C.  Praef. 
L.  *S 

D.  PANICI,  S.R.C.  Secret. 


BANNERS   TO  BE  CARRIED  IN  PROCESSION 

DE   ADMITTENDIS   NECNE   VEXILLIS,  TUM   INTRA   ECCLESIAS,  TUM   IN 
POMPA   FUNEBRI   DUCENDA,   CLERO   COMITANTE 

Ab  H.  S.  Inquis.  sequentis  dubii  solutio  ex  postulata,  est 
nimirum  : 

Utrum!  admitti  possint  vexilla,  sive  vexillum  dictum  nationale, 


DOCUMENTS  367 


in  Ecclesiis,  occasione  functionum  religiosarum,  et  in  adsociatione 
cadaverum  ad  coemeterium  cum  funebri  pompa  et  interventu 
cleri  ? 

Responsum  fuit  die  3  Oct.  1887  : 

'  Quatenus  agatur  de  vexillis,  quae  praeseferunt  emblem  ata 
manifesto  impia  vel  perversa,  si  ea  extollantur  in  pompa  funebri, 
clerus  inde  recedat  ;  si  in  Ecclesiam  per  vim  inducantur,  tune 
si  missa  nondum  inchoata  fuerit,  clerus  recedat,  si  inchoata, 
post  earn  absolutam  auctoritas  ecclesiastica  solemnem  protes- 
tationem  emittat  de  violata  templi  et  sacrarum  functionum 
sanctitate.  Quatenus  agatur  de  vexillis  ita  dictis  nationalibus, 
nullum  emblema  de  se  vetitum  praeferentibus,  in  funebri  pompa 
tolerari  posse,  dummodo  feretrum  sequantur,  in  Ecclesia  vero 
non  esse  toleranda.' 

Quid  vero  agendum,  si  vexilla  dicta  nationalia  violenter  in 
Ecclesiis  introducantur  ? 

Idem  S.  Officium,  sub  die  24  Nov.  1897  respondit :  '  detur 
Decretum  S.  Poenitentiariae  in  Apuana  sub  die  4  Aprilis  1887.' 

Decretum  autem  sic  sonat : 

'  Quatenus  agatur  de  vexillis,  quae  praeseferunt  emblemata 
manifeste  impia  vel  perversa,  si  ea  extollantur  in  pompa  funebri, 
clerus  inde  recedat ;  si  in  ecclesiam  per  vim  inducantur,  tune  si 
missa  nondum  inchoata  fuerit,  clerus  recedat ;  si  inchoata  post 
earn  absolutam  auctoritas  ecclesiastica  solemnem  protestationem 
emittat  de  violata  templi  et  sacrarum  functionem  sanctitate. 
Quatenus  agatur  de  vexillis  ita  dictis  nationalibus,  nullum 
emblema  de  se  vetitum  praeseferentibus,  in  funebri  pompa 
tolerari  posse  dummodo  feretrum  sequantur ;  in  ecclesia  vero 
non  esse  toleranda,  nisi  secus  turbae  aut  pericula  timeantur.' 


CERTAIN  DEFECTS  IN  ORDINATION 

ITEBETUB   SECBETO   OBDINATIO   DIACONI,  IN  QUA  EPUS  CEBTO  CAPUT 
OBDINANDI,    PHYSICE   NON   TETIGIT 

Beatissimo  Padre.1 

N.  N.  prostrate  ai  piedi  della  S.  V.,  umilmente  espone  che 
egli,  due  anni  or  sono,  fu  ammesso  all'  ordinazione  del  Diaconato. 

1  N.  N.  ad  pedes  S.  V.  provolutus  humiliter  exponit  quod  duobus  abhinc 
annis,  ad  recipiendum  Diaconatus  Ordinem  fuit  admissus.  Nunc  autem  circa 
hanc  ordinationem  dubiis  premitur.  Optime  enim  meminit  quod  Epus,  dum 
manus  imponeret,  ipsum  physice  nou  tetigit;  de  hoc  aliquamdiu  turbatus 


368  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

Oggi  pero  ha  del  clubbii  su  quella  ordinazione.  Egli  ricorda 
bene  che  il  Vescovo  nello  imporgli  le  mani,  non  lo  tocco  fisica- 
mente :  ne  visse  inquieto  per  qualche  tempo  ;  ma  pensando  che 
il  tatto  fisico  non  e  essenziale,  si  lascio  poco  dopo  promuovere  al 
sacerdozio.  Se  non  che,  avendo  non  guari  appreso  che  la  imposi- 
zione  delle  mani  senza  contatto  corporale  rendeva  dubbia  1'  ordi- 
nazione, agitato  da  novello  timore,  chiede  se  la  sua  ordinazione  a 
diacono  debba  essere  reiterata  sotto  condizione. — Che  ecc. 
Far.  IV,  26  lanuarii  1898. 

In  Congregatione  Generali  S.  R.  et  U.  Inquisitionis  habita  ab 
E.mis  ac  R.mis  D.D.  Cardinalibus  Generalibus  Inquisitoribus, 
proposito  suprascripto  dubio,  praehabitoque  RR.  DD.  Consul- 
torum  voto,  iidem  EE,mi  ac  RR.mi  DD.ni  responded  man- 
darunt : 

Detur  Decretum  Fer.  IV  2  lanuarii  1875 ;  scilicet  iteretur  sub 
conditione  Ordinatio  Diaconatus,  quae  iteratio  fieri  potest  a  quo- 
cumque  catholico  Episcopo  secreto,  quocumque  anni  tempore 
etiam  in  sacello  private,  facto  verbo  cum  SS.mo. 

Feria  vero  VI,  die  28  eiusdem  mensis  et  anni,  in  solita 
Audientio  R.  P.  D.  Adsessori  S.  0.  impertita,  facta  de  his  omni- 
bus relatione  SS.  D.  N.  Leoni  PP.  XIII,  idem  SS.  Deminus 
resolutionem  EE.  ac  RR.  Patrum  confirmavit  ac  facilitates  omnes 
necessarias  et  opportunas  impertiri  dignatus  est. 

I.  Can.  MANCINI,  S.  M.  et  U.  I.  Not. 

OBDINANDUS  BEGEPIT  PBIMAU  ET  SECUNDAM  IMPOSITIONEM  MANUUM 
CUM  INTENTIONS  NKUTBA,  QUAM  AFFIBMATIVAM  EFFECIT  ANTE 
MANUUM  CONSECBATIONEM  :  ACQUIESCAT 

Beatissimo  Padre.1 

N.  N.  prostrate  ai  piedi  della  S.  V.,  umilmente  espone  che 
egli  fu  ordinato  sacerdote  con  questa  intenzione  :  Dubitando  se 

exstitit ;  sed  putans  tactum  physicum  non  esse  essentialem,  ad  sacerdotium,  se 
promoveri  indulsit.  lamvero  quam  nuper  audierit,  ex  impositione  manuum 
sine  contactu  corporal!  peracta,  dubiam  evadere  ordinationem,  iterum  timore 
pressus,  postulat  utrum  sua  ordinatio  ad  Diaconatum,  debeat  sub  conditione 
iterari. 

1  N.  N.  ad  pedes  S.  V.  provolutus  humiliter  exponit  se  sacrum  recepisse 
presbyteratus  ordinem  cum  sequent!  intentione :  quum  enim  dubitaret  utrum 
ad  presbyteratum  idoneus  esset  necne,  ex  una  parte  volebat  excludere  inten- 
tionem  reeipiendi  characterem,  ex  altera  vero  illam  ponere  volebat  Tandem 
ita  sibimet  dixit :  pono  illam  intentionem,  quam  in  decursu  ordinationis  pro 
certa  statuam.  Ita  dubitans,  primam  et  secundam  manuum  impositionem 
recepit;  et  tune  solum,  intentionem  reeipiendi  sacerdotium  efformavit,  quum 
ad  manuum  consecrationem  perventum  est.  Nunc  autem,  conscientia  presnus, 
postulat  utrum  valida  sit  ordinatio  sic  recepta. 


DOCUMENTS  369 


era  idoneo  o  pur  no  al  presbiterato,  da  una  parte  voleva  togliere 
la  intenzione  di  esser  prete,  dall'altra  voleva  metterla.  Final- 
mente  disse  cosi  :  metto  quella  intenzione  che  determinero  certa- 
mente  in  qualche  punto  dell'ordinazione.  Dubbioso  semprc, 
ricevette  la  prima  e  la  seconda  imposizione  delle  mani ;  e  solo 
quando  si  fu  alia  consacrazione  delle  mani  risolse  di  esser  prete 
Or,  inquieto  di  coscienza,  chiede  se  sia  valida  1'ordinazione  cosi 
ricevuta. 

Per.  IV,  26  lanuarii  1898. 

In  Congregatione  Generali  S.  E.  et  U.  Inquisitionis  habita  ab 
EE.mis  et  KE.mis  DD.  Cardinalibus  Inquisitoribus  Generalibus, 
proposito  suprascripto  dubio,  praehabitoque  voto  ER.  DD.  Con- 
sultorum,  responderi  mandarunt : 

Acquiescat. 

Feria  vero  VI,  die  28  eiusdem  mensis  et  anni,  in  soliti 
Audientia  E.  P.  D.  Adsessori  impertita,  facta  de  his  omnibus 
relatione  SS.  D.  N.  Leoni  PP.  XIII,  idem  SS.  D.nus  resolutionem 
EE.morum  PP.  adprobavit. 

I.  Can.  MANCINI,  S.  R.  et  U.  I.  Not. 


THE    CEREMONIES    OF   LOW   MASS 
PARISIEN 

VAEIA   SOLVUNTUR   DUBIA   QUOAD    GENUFLEXIONES   CORAM" 
SS.    SACRAMENTO,    ETC. 

E.  D.  Augustinus  Dauby,  Sacerdos  et  Moderator  pii  Institubi 
a  Sancto  Nicolao  nuncupati,  in  Civitate  Parisiensi,  de  consensu 
sui  Emi  Ordinarii,  sequentium  Dubiorum  solutionem  a  Sacra 
Eituum  Congregatione  humillime  expetivit,  nimirum  : 

I.  Quoad  genuflexiones  faciendas  a  ministro  Missae  privatae, 
quae  iusta  de  causa  et  praevia  licentia  celebretur  in  Altari 
expositionis  SSmi  Sacramenti,  quaeritur  : 

1.  Minister,  qui  transfert  missale  a  cornu  Epistolae  ad  cornu 
Evangelii  et  genuflectit  in  piano  ante  medium  Altaris,  debetne 
etiam  genuflectere  in  accessu  ad  cornu  Altaris  et  recessu  ? 

2.  Quando  idem  minister  ad  oflertorium  et  purificationem 
ascendit  ad  Altare  et  descendit,  ubinam  genuflectere  debet  ? 

II.  Rubricae  Missalis  ad  titulum  '  Eitus  servandus  in  celebra- 
tione  Missae  V.,  n.  6,  praescribunt  ;    "  Si  in  altar i  fuerit  taber- 
naculum  SSmi  Sacramenti,  accepto  thuribulo,  antequam  incipiat 
VOL.  in,  2  A 


370 


incensationem,  genuflectit,  quod  item  facit  quotiescuinque  transit 
ante  medium  altaris ; "  '  quaeritur  :  Utrum  etiam  in  Missa  privata 
debeat  Sacerdos  genuflectere  : 

1.  quando   defectu  ministri,  ipse  transfert  Missale   a   cornu 
Epistolae  ad  cornu  Evangelii,  et  vicissim  ; 

2.  quando  in  Maiori  Hebdomada  transit  a  cornu  Epistolae  ad 
cornu  Evangelii  ad  legendam  Passionem  ? 

III.  Bituale   Eomanum   in  tit.     *  Ordo  ministrandi   Sacram 
Communionem,'  haec  habet :  '  Sacerdos  reversus  ad  allare  dicere 
poterit :  0  sacrum  convivium,  etc.,  v.  Domine  exaudi,  etc.     Et 
clamor,  etc.,  Dominus  vobiscum,  etc.  ;'  quaeritur: 

1.  Utrum  istae  precea  convenienter  dicantur,  iunctis  manibus 
antequam  cooperiatur  pyxis  et  digiti  abluantur  ? 

2.  Utrum  Sacerdos  duas  genuflexiones  facere  debeat,  unam 
statim   ac    deposuit    pyxidem    super    Altari  et   antequam  earn 
cooperiat ;    alteram  priusquam,  reposita  in   tabernaculo   pyxide, 
ipsius  tabernaculi  ostiolum  claudat  ? 

IV.  luxta    Caeremoniale     Episcoporum,    ad    benedictionem 
impertiendam   cum   SSmo   Sacramento    ipse    celebrans    accipit 
ostensorium  super  Altari  positum  ;  sed  receptum  est,  ut  Diaconus 
accipiat  ostensorium  et  porrigat  celebranti,  qui  post  benedictionem 
Diacono  tradit  super  Altari  collocandum,  quaeritur:  Utrum  liceat 
in  bac  duplici  ostensorii  traditione  ritum  servare,  qui  praescribitur 
pro  feria  V  in  Coena  Domini  et  in  festo  SS.  Corporis  Christi  ante 
et  post  processionem  SSmi  Sacramenti  ? 

V.  Licetne  aliquid  canere  lingua  vernacula. 

1.  In  Missa  solemni  dum  sacra  Communio  distribuitur  per 
notabile  tempus  ? 

2.  In  solemni  processione  SSmi  Sacramenti,  alternatim  cum 
hymnis  liturgicis  ? 

VI.  luxta  Caeremoniale  Episcoporum  in  solemni  Officio  ad 
nonam  Lectionem  et  in  Laudibus  Hebdomadarius  et  Assistentes 
pluviali  sunt  induti,  quaeritur  : 

1 .  Utrum  idem  fieri  possit  a  principio  Matutini  ? 

2.  Utrum  lectori  septimae  Lectionis  Evangelii  homiliae  duo 
acolytrn'  cum  cereis  accensis  assistere  possint,  durante  lectione 
Evangelii  ? 

Et  Sacra  Congregatio,  ad  relationem  subscripti  Secretarii, 
exquisito  voto  Commissionis  Liturgicae,  omnibusque  accurate 
perpensis,  rescribendum  censuit : 

Ad  I.  quoad  primam  quaestionem  ;  Unicam   genuflexionem 


DOCUMENTS  371 


esse  faciendam  in  piano  ante  medium  Altaris  ;  quoad  alteram 
quaestionem :  Tarn  ante  ascensionem  ad  Altare,  quam  post  de- 
scensionem  de  eodem  in  piano  genuflexionem  esse  faciendam. 

Ad  II.  Negative  ad  utrumque. 

Ad  III.  Quoad  primam  partem :  Negative  et  preces  dicendae 
sunt  infra  ablutionem  et  extersionem  digitorum.  Quoad  alteram 
partem  :  Affirmative  iuxta  Decretum  in  Romano,  d.  d.  23  Decem- 
bris  1862,  et  praxim  Basilicarum  Urbis. 

Ad  IV.  Aut  servatur  ritus  a  Caeremoniali  Episcoporum  lib. 
II.,  cap.  32,  §  27  praescriptus,  aut,  iuxta  praxim  Romanam, 
Diaconus  ostensorium  celebranti  tradere  vel  ab  eodein  recipere 
potest,  utroque  stante. 

Ad  V.  Negative  ad  utrumque. 

Ad  VI.  Si  non  adsit  legitima  consuetude,  Negative  et  servetur 
Caeremoniale  Episcoporum  lib.  II.,  cap.  VI.,  §  16. 

Atque  ita  rescripsit.  Die  14  lanuarii  1898. 

C.  CAKD.  MAZZELLA,  Ep.  Praenestinus  S.  R.  C.,  Praef. 

D.  PANICI,  Secret. 
L.  *S. 


VARIOUS  QUESTIONS  REGARDING  CHURCHES  AND  CHURCH 
PRACTICES   IN  ENGLAND 

Bmus  Dnus  Cuthbertus  Hedley,  Ordinis  S.  Benedict!, 
Episcopus  Neoporten.  Sacrae  Eituum  Congregationi  ea  quae 
sequuntur  humillime  exposuit,  nimirum  : 

I.  In  Anglia  nee  dari  Paroecias  strictim  dictas,  nee  Beneficia, 
quibus  adnexum  sit  onus  Divini  Officii  recitandi ;  verurn  Ecclesiis 
singulis   addictos   esse  unum  vel  plures  Sacerdotes,  qui  ibidem 
residences,  munia  quasi  parochialia  in  Territorio  sive  (ut  aiunt) 
in  Districtu  Missionario  ipsius  Ecclesiae  ratione  muneris  exer- 
cent. 

II.  Rectores    Ecclesiarum    alios    esse    ad    nutum    Episcopi 
amovibiles,  alios   vero  nonnisi   praevio   Processu   Canonico  vel 
Resignatione  sponte  oblata  et  accepta  :  universes  autem  Vicarios, 
sive  Sacerdotes  Assistentes  esse  ad  nutum  Ordinarii  amovibiles. 

III.  Ecclesias  per  Angliam  perpaucas  esse  consecratas,  ceteras 
benedictas  sub  invocatione  Sancti  Titularis  :  nonnunquam  vero 
Fideles  (deficiente  Aede  Sacra)  congregari  ad  Missam  audiendam 
Sacramentaque  suscipienda  in  Schola  vel  alia  Aula  congrua  pro 
publico  Oratorio  ab  Ordinario  designata. 


372  THE    IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

Quare  idem  Emus  Episcopus  Orator,  apprime  cupiens  cuncta 
quae  cultum  divinum  respiciunt  in  sua  Dioecesi  ad  tramites 
Decretorum  Sacrae  Eituum  Congregationis  disponere,  enixe 
postulavit,  nempe  : 

I.  An  apud  Anglos  in  Ecclesiis  Cleri  Saecularis  Calendarium 
Dioecesanum  a  laudata  Sacra  Eituum  Congregations  approbafoyn 
et  singulis  annis  iussu  Ordinarii  editum,  additis  festis  SS.  Titula- 
rium,  Dedicationis,  atque  aliis  (si  quae  fuerint)  a  Sancta  Sede 
concessis,  censeatur  Calendarium  uniuscuiusque   Ecclesiae,  cui 
proinde   quivus   Celebrans   in   Sacro   faciendo  atque  Sacerdotes 
Ecclesiae,  etiam    in    Officio    Divino    recitando    se    conformare 
debeant  ? 

II.  An  liceat  Eegularibus,  si  quando  ipsis  precario  committe- 
retur  una  cum  cura  animarum  administratio  alicuius  Ecclesiae 
Saecularium,  Sacras  Functiones  iuxta  ordinem  Calendarii  propriae 
Eeligiosae  Congregationis  peragere,  relicto  Calendario  Dioecesano, 
cui  populus  iam  assuetus  fuerit  ? 

III.  An  Eegularis,  Ecclesiae  Saeculari  aliquando  ad  tempus 
sive  ad  beneplacitum   Episcopi  (Superiore  Eeligioso  assentiente) 
praepositus,  atque  privatim  recitans  Horas  Canonicas,  adhibito 
iuxta  decreta  a   S.  Eituum    Congregatione    Calendario  proprii 
Ordinis,  teneatur  nihilominus  ad  Officium  Sancti  Titularis  Eccle- 
siae  Saecularis  praedictae  et  quidem  sub  ritu  duplicis  primae 
classis  cum  Octava? 

IV.  Item,  an,  commissa  absque  tempore  praefinito,  administra- 
tione  Ecclesiae  Eegularis  Sacerdoti  saeculari,  huic  liceat.  amoto 
Calendario   Eegularium,  quo  hactenus  usus  fuerit  Clerus  illius 
Ecclesiae,  ordinare  Missas  et  Officia  publica  iuxta  Calendarium 
Dioecesanum  ? 

V.  Quid  decernendum   de   Calendario    illorum    Districtuum 
(sive  sint  de  iure  Cleri  Saecularis  sive  de  iure  Cieri  Eegularis) 
ubi,  Ecclesia  nondum  aedificata,  populus  ad  Sacra  adunetur  in 
aedificiis,  nonnisi  transitorie  ad  cultum  destinatis  ? 

VI.  Cum  saepenumero  eveniat  (vi  privilegii  a  Sancta  Sede 
concessi)  Canonicos  Ecclesiae  Cathedralis  praepositos  esse,  cum 
cura   animarum  et  onere   residentiae,    Ecclesiis  dissitis  nee  a 
Cathedrali  dependentibus,  utrum  a  Canonico  Eectore  huiusmodi 
Officium   divinum   sit  persolvendum   iuxta  Calendarium  Cathe- 
dralis, vel  potius  iuxta  Galendarium  Ecclesiae,  cui  hac  ratione  et 
stabili  modo  sive  etiam  vita  perdurante  ipse  fuerit  adscriptus  ? 

VII.  Ad  Sacerdotes  A  ssistentes  sive  Vicarii  teneantur  in  reci- 


DOCUMENTS  373 


tatione  privata  divini  Officii  se  conformare  Calendario  Ecclesiae, 
cui  sunt  addict!  ? 

VIII.  Ad  liberum  sit  Canonico  Rectori,  quamdiu  hoc  munere 
fungitur,    statuere  pro    arbitrio    Calendarium    Cathedralis    pro 
Calendario  Ecclesiae  et  Districtus  Missionarii,  sive  quasi  Paroe- 
ciae,  cui,  ut  supra  praeest,  ne  scilicet  Missa  ab  Officio  discrepet  ? 

IX.  Utrum  Officium  Vesperarum  Dominicis  festisque  diebus 
publice  decantari   solitum,  ordinandum    sit   iuxta   Calendarium 
Ecclesiae,   in   qua   persolvitur :    an   potius   concordandum   cum 
Officio  privatim  recitaudo  a  Rectore  Ecclesiae,  partes,  ut  pluri- 
mum,  hebdoniadarii  agente? 

Et  Sacra  eadem  Congregatio,  ad  relationem  subscript!  Secre- 
tarii,  exquisite  voto  Commissionis  Liturgicae,  omnibusque  mature 
perpensis,  rescribendum  censuit : 

Adi.  Affirmative. 

Ad  II.  Negative. 

Ad  III.  Negative. 

Ad  IV.  Affirmative. 

Ad  V.  Calendarium  Dioecesanum  adhibendum  est. 

Ad  VI.  Negative  ad  primam  partem,  Affirmative  ad  secun- 
dam. 

Ad  VII.  Affirmative. 

Ad  VIII.  Negative. 

Ad  IX.  Affirmative  ad  primam  partem,  Negative  ad  secundam. 

Atque  ita  rescripsit.     Die  4  Februarii  1898. 

C.  CARD.  MAZZELLA,  Ep.  Praenestinus  S.JR.C.  Praef. 

D.  PANICI,  Secret. 
L.  *  S. 


LITANIES    OF    THE    HOLY    FAMILY 
DUBIUM 

SERVENTUR      DKCRETA      CIRCA      RECITATIONEM      LITANIARUM,     NON 
OB8TANTE   CONSUETUDINE 

R.  P.  Petrus  Blerot  e  Congregatione  SSmi  Redemptoris  et 
director  generalis  Archiconfraternitatis  a  Sancta  Familia  nuncu- 
patae,  quae  Leodii  in  Belgio  anno  1844  canonice  erecta,  titulo 
Arcbiconfraternitatis  anno  1847  ab  Apostolica  Sede  decorata  fuit, 
a  Sacra  Rituum  Congregatione,  de  expresso  consensu  plurium 
Rmorum  Antistitum,  sequentis  dubii  solutionem  humUlime  effla- 


374  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

gitavit ;  nimirum  :  Utrum,  attentis  decretis  a  Sacra  Rituum 
Congregations  editis  relate  ad  recitationem  Litaniarum,  conti- 
nuari  possit  consuetudo,  qua  sodales  praedictae  Archiconfraterni- 
tatis  in  congressibus,  ad  quos  in  Ecclesiis  et  Oratoriis  publicis, 
etiam  ianuis  clausis,  ipsi  soli  admittuntur,  et  extra  functiones 
liturgicas,  non  privatim  sed  communiter  recitant  quasdam 
Litanias,  gesta  et  exempla  Sanctae  Familiae,  a  qua  nomen 
habent.  referentes  et  a  plerisque  Rmis  Ordinariis  approbatis  ? 

Et  Sacra  eadem  Congregatio,  ad  relationem  subscripti  Secre- 
tarii,  exquisito  voto  Commissionis  Liturgicae;  omnibusque  accu- 
rate perpensis,  proposito  dubio  respondendum  censuit :  Serventnr 
decreta,  non  obstante  conmetudine. 

Atque  ita  rescripsit,  et  servari  mandavit. 

Die  11  Februarii  1898, 

C.  CARD.  MAZZELLA.  Ep.  Praenestinus  S.R.C.  Praef. 
DIOMEDES  PANICI,  Secret. 

L.  i*S. 

SPECIAL    LITANIES 

DUBIA 
CIRCA  RECITATIONEM   LITANIARUM 

Praeter  tres  Litanias  pro  usu  publico  in  universali  Ecclesia 
approbatas,  h,  e.,  Litanias  Sanctorum,  Litanias  B.M.V.,  et 
Litanias  SSmi  Nominis  lesu,  peculiares  quaedam  Litaniae 
habentur  ex.  gr.  de  Sacratissimo  lesu  Corde,  Purissimo  Corde 
B.M.V.,  aliaeque  ab  uno  vel  altero  Rmo  Ordinario  pro  usu  tantum 
privato  approbatae,  quae  idcirco  neque  in  Breviario  neque  in 
Rituali  Romano  continentur. 

Quaeritur  1.  num  eiusmodi  peculiares  Litaniae  ita  strictim 
prohibeantur,  ut  Monialibus  sive  religiosis  Institutis  non  liceat 
illas  privatim  canere  vel  recitare  ad  instar  precum  oralium  ? 

2.  Et  quatenus  negative,  num  iisdem  religiosis  Familiis  illas 
liceat  canere  vel  recitare  communiter  in  Choro,  aut  respective 
Oratorio  ? 

3.  Item  quaeritur  num  peculiares,  eiusmodi  Litanias  liceat 
Fidelibus  in  publica    Ecclesia  sive  privatim  sive  communiter 
cantare,  vel  recitare  ad  modum  quarumcumque  precum? 

Et  Sacra  Rituum  Congregatio,  ad  relationem  infrascript 
Secretarii,  omnibus  in  casu  perpensis,  ita  rescribendum  censuit, 
videlicet : 

Ad  I.  Negative,  h.  e.,  ita  strictim  non  sunt  prohibitae,  ut 
singulis  privatim  eas  non  liceat  cantare,  vel  recitare. 


DOCUMENTS  375 


Ad  II.  Affirmative,  h.  e.,  ita  strictim  prohibentur  ut  commu- 
niter  in  Choro  publico,  vel  publico  Oratorio  illas  Litanias  cantare 
vel  recitare  minime  liceat. 

Ad  III.  Ad  I.  partem,  h.  e.,  privatim,  Affirmative :  ad  ii. 
partem,  h.  e.,  communiter,  Negative. 

Atque  ita  rescripsit,  et  servari  mandavit. 

Die  11  Februarii  1898. 

C.  CARD.  MAZZELLA,  Ep.  Praenestinus  SM.C.  Braef. 

D.  PANICI,  Secret. 
L.  *  S. 

CONDIMENTS   ON   PAST  DAYS 

E    SACRA   POENITENTIARIA 
CIRCA    CONDIMENTA    IN    DIEBUS    JEJUNII  1 

II  Sac.  Evaristo  Mosconi,  Parroco  di  S.  Maria  delle  Grazie 
presso  Montepulciano,  propose  alia  S.  Penitenzieria  i  seguenti 
dubbi : 

1.  Nei  di  in  cui  e  permesso  il  condimento  di  strutto  e  lardo, 
chi  usa  il  lardo  medesimo  per  condire  minestra,  polenta,  frittata 
ecc.,  puo  liberamente  mangiare  quei  pezzetti  di  lardo  che  restano, 
dopo  essere  stati  soffritti  per  estrarne  lo  strutto  ? 

2.  Nei  di  di  stretto  magro,  ne'  quali  sono  vietate  le  uova,  si 
puo    bagnare    leggermente    coll'uovo    sbattuto  le   erbe,  v.  g.  i 
carciofi  ? 

3.  Nei  giorni  di  stretto  magro  &  lecito  1'uso  dell'olio  in  cui 
siasi  fritta  la  carne,  o  almeno  e  oio  lecito  nei  giorni  di  semplice 
astinenza  ? 

Sacra  Poenitentiaria  ad  proposita  dubia  respondet  ut  sequitur  : 
Ad  lum  Affirmative  dummodo  pergant  esse  pars  condimenti. 
Ad  2"m  Condimentum  ex  ovis  quando  haec  prohibentur,  non 
licere. 

Ad  3um  Qui  ita  agunt  non  ess  inquietandos. 

Datum  Bomae  in  S.  Poenitentiaria  die  17  novembris  1897. 

B.  POMPILI,  S.  P.  Corrector. 

A.  C.  MARTINI,  S.  P.  Praef. 

Tersio  lalina. 

1  1.  In  diebus  in  quibus  pennittitur  condimentum  ex  adipe  et  larido,  ille 
qui  adhibet  laridum  pro  condimento  offae,  pubnenti  ex  farina  eesami,  ovorum  ' 
intritae,  potestne  licite  edere  ilia  fragmenta  quae  supersunt  ex  larido,  postquam 
fricta  f  uerint  ad  extrahendum  adipem  ? 

2.  In  diebus  strictioris  abstinentiae,  in  quibus  ova  vetantur,  licetne  parum- 
per  perf undere  cum  ovis  permixtis,  herbas,  ut  v.  g.  cinaras  ? 

3.  In  diebus  strictioris  abstinentiae  estne  licitus  usus  olei,  in  quo  perfricta 
uerit  caro  ;  vel  salteii}  licitusne  erit  in  diebus  simplicis  abstineqtiae  p 


376  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

NEW  VOLUME    OF    '  DECBETA    ATJTHENTICA  ' 
DECRETA   AUTHENTICA   CONGRIS    8ACKOBUM   KITUUM,   VOL.  I. 


Sanctissimus  Dominus  Noster  Leo  Papa  XIII,  cujus  jussu  efc 
auctoritate  Sacra  Eituum  Congregatio  Decreta  c  suis  regestis 
selecta,  revisa  et  typis  commissa  in  lucem  profert,  in  Audientia, 
subsignata  die,  ab  infrascripto  Cardinale  sacrae  eidem  Congre- 
gation! Praefecto  habita,  collectionem  horum  decretorair,  quae  in 
praesenti  volumine  ceterisque  mox  edendis  continentur,  apostolica 
sua  auctoritate  approbavit,  atque  authenticam  declaravit ;  simul- 
que  statuit  Decreta  hucusque  evulgata  in  iis,  quae  a  Decretis  in 
hac  collectione  insertis  dissonant,  veluti  abrogata  esse  censenda, 
exceptis  tantum  quae  pro  particularibus  Ecclesiis  indultis  seu 
privilegii  rationem  habeant.  Insuper  idem  Sanctissimus  Dominus 
noster  de  praedictis  praesens  Decretum  in  forma  authentica 
expedire,  atque  huic  editioni  cusae  typis  Sacrae  Congregation  is 
de  Propaganda  Fide,  praefigi  mandavit  contrariis  non  obstantibus 
quibuscunque,  etiam  speciali  mentione  dignis. 

Die  16  Februarii  anno  1898. 

C.  CARD.  MAZZELLA,  Ep.  Praenestinus, 

SM.C.,  Praefectus. 
k,*S; 

DIOMEDES  PANICI,  S.R.C.,  Secretarius. 

THE    '  OR  ATIO    IMPEBATA '    OF    ANOTHEB    DIOCESE 
DUBIUM 

Quum  juxta  decretum  Sacrorum  Rituum  Congregationis  datum 
9  Decembris  1895  omnes  sacerdotes  sive  saeculares  sive  regulares 
Missas  in  aliena  Ecclesia  vel  alieno  Oratorio  publico  celebrantes 
omnino  se  conformare  debeant  dictae  Ecclesiae  vel  Oratorio,  ab 
eadem  Sacra  Congregatione  expostulatum  fuit : '  Utrum  sacerdotes 
alienae  Dioecesis  obligentur  etiam  ad  dicendam  Orationem  prae- 
scriptam  ab  Episcopo  loci,  ubi  celebrant,  an  potius  sint  liberi  ab 
hac  oratione  imperata  ?' 

Et  sacra  ipsa  Congregatio,  ad  relationem  subscript!  Secretarii, 
exquisito  etiam  voto  Commissionis  Liturgicae,  reque  mature 
parponsa,  proposito  dubio  respondendum  censuit :  Affirmative  ad 
p'rimam  partem  ;  Negative  ad  secundam  Atque  ita  rescripsit. 

Die  5  Martii  1898. 

C.  CARD.  MAZZELLA,  Praefectus. 
L.  *  S. 

D.  PANICI,  Secretarius. 


[     377     ] 


NOTICES    OF    BOOKS 

SERMONS  AND  MORAL  DISCOURSES  FOR  ALL  THE  SUNDAYS 
OF  THE  YEAR  ON  THE  IMPORTANT  TRUTHS  OF  THE 
GOSPEL.  Edited  and  in  part,  Written  by  Kev.  F.  X. 
McGowan,  O.S.A.  2  Vols.  New  York  and  Cincinnati : 
Pustet  &  Co. 

IN  the  preface  to  the  first  of  these  volumes  the  author, 
gives  expression  to  the  hope  that  the  sermons  will  prove 
'  interesting,  useful,  and  instructive.'  After  careful  perusal  of 
of  several  of  the  discourses,  selected  here  and  there  at  random, 
we  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  this  hope  has  been  fully 
realized.  For,  even  if  there  be  nothing  in  the  subject  matter 
which  has  not  been  touched  upon  already  in  works  of  a  similar 
kind — and  the  author  makes  no  pretentions  to  novelty  on  this 
score — still  the  method  of  treatment  is  sometimes  original  and 
often  attractive,  the  ideas  are  clothed  in  clear  and  well-chosen 
language,  and  the  themes  treated  of  are  among  the  most  practical 
in  the  domain  of  moral  and  religious  truth.  So  that  the  collection 
seems  to  have  before  it  a  great  future  of  usefulness  for  the 
missionary  priest. 

For  a  long  time  it  has  been  our  conviction  that  the  sermon- 
book  is,  more  or  less,  an  evil.  If  we  had  no  such  ready  aids  to 
preaching,  we  should  be  compelled  to  go  for  our  information  to 
the  sources  of  Theological  and  Scriptural  knowledge,  to  plan  the 
framework  out  of  designs  of  our  own  invention,  and  to  fill  in  with 
matter  collected  after  the  expenditure  of  much  careful  labour. 
All  this  would  have  the  happiest  results.  Our  intellectual  culture 
would  be  still  more  perfected ;  our  acquaintance  with  the  sacred 
sciences  more  amply  extended,  and  our  memories  stored  to  better 
advantage  with  facts  which  would  be  useful  for  future  occasions. 
But  while  there  are  numbers  of  hard-worked  missionary  priests 
who  profess  not  to  have  enough  respite  from  duty  to  undertake 
so  elaborate  a  method  of  preparing  their  discourses,  the  use 
of  the  set  sermon  book  as  a  model  is,  at  the  least,  a  necessary 
evil.  And  to  those  who  aim  at  putting  together  in  a  brief 
space  of  time,  with  order  and  lucidity,  some  thoughts  to  serve 


378  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

as  an  instruction  on  the  Gospel  of  the  day,  or  on  any  of  the 
great  Christian  truths,  we  heartily  recommend  the  two  volumes 
under  notice. 

The  book  is  brought  out  by  the  well-known  firm  of  Pustet, 
New  York,  and  wants  nothing  in  the  way  of  good  binding  and 
printing. 

P.  M. 


PBAELECTIONES  DOGMATICAE,  quas  in  Collegio  Ditton-Hall, 
habebat  Christianus  Pesch,  S.  J.  Tom.  V.,  De  Gratia, 
de  lege  positivia  divina.  Tom.  VI.,  De  Sacramentis  in 
Genere,  de  Baptismo,  de  Confirmatione,  de  Eucharistia. 
Tom.  VII.,  De  Sacramento  Poenitentiae,  de  Extrema 
Unctione  de  Matrimonio.  Freiburg :  Herder. 

THE  favourable  impression  created  by  the  earlier  portions  of 
Father  Pesch's  work  on  Dogmatic  Theology  is  maintained,  if  not 
further  enhanced,  by  the  merit  of  the  three  volumes  now  before 
us.  They  continue  to  exhibit  what  was  so  observable  in  their 
earlier  brothers — erudition,  depth  of  thought,  lucid  arrangement, 
and  strength  of  treatment.  Like  all  parts  of  the  book,  they  are 
written  well  up  to  date,  and  the  latest  discussions  appertaining  to 
their  subject  matter  will  be  found  embodied  in  their  pages. 

Beyond  these  statements  of  general  excellence  it  is  unneces- 
sary to  particularize  the  treatment  of  special  questions.  In  the 
treatise  De  Gratia,  the  whole  Pelagian  controversy  will  supply  a 
good  example  of  the  author's  learning,  his  acquaintance  with 
original  sources,  and  his  profound  grasp  of  theological  principles. 
On  the  everlasting  controversies  as  to  the  nature  of  Grace, 
sufficient  and  efficacious,  and  the  harmonizing  of  the  latter  with 
Free-will,  he  is  a  Molinist  of  the  Molinist,  and  it  would  be  hard  to 
find  a  stronger  presentation  than  his  of  the  Jesuit  system. 

One  of  the  best  features  of  the  book  is,  and  has  been  through- 
out, its  copious  extracts  from  Patristic  writings — a  feature  most 
commendable ;  for  it  not  only  familiarizes  students  with  the 
language  of  the  fathers,  but  awakens  in  their  opening  minds  a 
desire  for  the  personal  examination  of  ancient  records.  For 
instance,  the  well-known  friendly  discussion  between  St.  Jerome 
and  St.  Augustine  as  to  when  the  Old  Law  ceased  to  be  lawful 
and  became  |*  mortifera,'  is  here  transferred  bodily  from  their 
writings,  and  occupies  three  pages  of  Father  Pesch's  book. 


NOTICES  OF   BOOKS  379 

We  were  not  surprised  to  find  him  in  the  treatise  De  Sacra- 
mentis  in  Gen  ere,  an  uncompromising  opponent  of  the  Physical 
Causality  of  the  Sacraments;  but  having  sided  with  Lugo  here  as 
against  Suarez,  he  restores  the  balance  of  power,  rather  unex- 
pectedly too,  in  the  tract  De  Eucharistia*;  for  on  the  question  as 
to  how  far  '  destructio  victimse,'  is  required  for  a  sacrifice,  and 
how  this  idea  is  verified  in  the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  he  boldly 
rejects  the  very  widely  received,  and  since  Franzelin's  time,  very 
popular  opinion  of  De  Lugo,  adopting  in  preference  the  opinion 
of  Suarez — we  must  admit  too  with  considerable  weight  of 
reason. 

On  Father  Pesch's  volume  on  Penance,  Indulgences,  Orders, 
Matrimony,  we  could  write  many  well-deserved  encomiums,  but 
we  have  said  enough  to  show  our  appreciation  of  the  book  in  all 
its  parts.  Of  course  we  do  not  endorse  all  the  author's  con- 
clusions. For  instance,  in  the  Matrimonial  treatise  he  propounds 
the  opinion  that  the  '  Casus  Apostoli '  applies  to  the  case  when 
the  converted  party  is  a  convert  to  a  heretical  sect.  This  opinion, 
we  are  aware  has  been  advanced  by  other  theologians,  but  we 
have  never  seen  '  a  reasonable  reason  '  for  it.  Father  Pesch,  we 
suspect,  would  readily  admit  that  the  arguments  mentioned  by 
him  are  not,  to  say  the  least,  conclusive.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
opinion  seems  to  run  counter  to  the  clear  words  of  Scripture 
when  there  is  question  throughout  of  the  '  fidelis '  who  in  the 
text  is  surely  not  a  baptized  heretic,  but  a  member  of  the  true 
Church — the  'frater'  and  '  soror.'  Besides,  in  addition  to  the 
express  and  formal  statement  of  Innocent  III.,  one  cannot  help 
asking,  is  it  likely  that  this  privilege,  whether  we  regard  it  as 
coming  immediately  or  mediately  from  Christ,  was  ever  intended 
per  se  or  per  accidens  as  a  favour  to  heresy  ? 


MOBAL  PRINCIPLES  AND  MEDICAL  PRACTICE.  By  Eev. 
Charles  Coppens,  S.J.  New  York,  Cincinnati,  and 
Chicago :  Benziger  Brothers. 

THIS  handy  volume  of  222  pages,  brought  out  in  Benziger's 
usual  high-class  style,  contains  the  lectures  addressed  by  the 
author  to  the  medical  students  of  the  John  A.  Creighton  Medical 
College,  Omaha,  Nebraska.  Fr.  Coppens  is  not  a  lawyer,  but  a 
Jesuit  priest  of  considerable  versatility,  being  author,  as  he  tells 
us  himself,  of  text-books  on  Metaphysics,  Ethics,  Oratory,  and 


380  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

Rhetoric.  These  lectures  do  not  profess  to  give  a  full  and  elaborate 
exposition  of  the  various  enactments  of  the  United  States 
legislature  concerning  medical  men.  They  contain  rather  the 
principles  that  ought  to  underly  medical  jurisprudence.  These 
principles  are  the  ordinary  conclusions  of  moral  theologians  and 
moral  philosophers  applied  to  the  special  cases  that  may  be 
expected  to  trouble  [and  perplex  medical  practitioners.  The 
lectures,  however,  contain  many  of  the  special  medical  enactments 
of  the  United  States  legislature,  and  more  than  once  set  forth  the 
judicial  decisions  of  the  British  courts  as  denning  the  common 
law  of  the  United  States. 

In  his  preface  Fr.  Coppens  gives  us  the  reason  for  the  publi- 
cation of  these  lectures  :  '  The  leading  medical  writers  and 
practitioners  are  sound  at  present  on  the  moral  principles  that 
ought  to  direct  the  conduct  of  physicians.  It  is  high  time  that 
their  principles  be  more  generally  inculcated  on  the  younger 
members,  and  especially  on  the  students  of  their  noble  profession. 
To  promote  this  object  is  the  purpose  aimed  at  by  the  author.' 

That  the  book  is  calculated  to  promote  that  object,  nobody 
can  reasonably  deny.  For  the  orthodox  teaching  of  theologians 
in  those  difficult  cases  that  may  disturb  the  consciences  of  some 
physicians  is  inculcated  clearly  and  forcibly.  Though  eloquence 
is  seldom  aimed  at,  the  interest  in  the  subject  is  well  sustained 
throughout,  and,  in  a  word,  the  lectures  are  very  readable.  A 
glance  at  the  titles  of  the  chapters  will  satisfy  us  that  no  serious 
difficulty  is  evaded ;  all  the  most  difficult  which  are  also  frequently 
the  most  unclean  questions  are  grappled  with.  The  author  is  to 
be  congratulated  on  having  lectured  so  forcibly  and  convincingly 
on  such  subjects  as  craniotomy,  abortion,  and  venereal  excesses, 
without  saying  or  suggesting  anything  that  could  disturb  the 
most  sensitive  conscience.  Often,  indeed,  plain  speaking  is 
necessary,  but  there  is  never  the  slightest  suspicion  of  pandering 
to  pruriency. 

The  book  is,  in  the  first  instance,  intended  for  medical 
students,  and  they  must  find  it  a  great  boon  to  have  at  hand  so 
trustworthy  and  convenient  a  guide  through  their  difficulties.  But 
its  sphere  of  usefulness  is  by  no  means  restricted  to  the  students. 
The  lectures  possess  exceptional  interest,  and  ought  to  be  of 
considerable  use,  not  only  to  medical  men  generally,  but  to  all 
who  are  interested  in  the  scrupulous  application  of  moral 
principles  to  medical  practice. 

M.B, 


NOTICES  OF   BOOKS  381 


MISSA  IMMACULATA  I.H.  B.M.  VIEGINIS  IMMACULATAE  AD 
III.  voc.  AEQU.  Auctore  P.  Griesbacher,  Op.  26.  Score 
and  Parts.  Ratisbon :  CopDenrath. 

THIS  Mass  of  Griesbacher's  for  three  equal  voices  is  scarcely 
as  classical  in  style  as  most  of  his  earlier  efforts.  The  composer 
has  moderated  his  polyphonic  part-writing  in  favour  of  a  more 
simultaneous  progression  of  the  voices.  A  slight  touch  of  senti- 
mentality is  sometimes  imparted  through  the  use  of  such 
'  modern  '  accomplishments  as  the  '  chord  of  the  ninth,'  or  chord 
formations  produced  by  parallel  motion  of  the  three  parts,  as  at 
the  beginning  of  the  second  Kyrle,  or  the  minor  subdominant  in 
major  cadences.  The  rather  frequent  use  of  sequences,  too,  in 
our  opinion  somewhat  detracts  from  the  ideal  beauty  of  the 
composition.  Most  of  these  things,  however,  will  probably 
recommend  the  Mass  all  the  more  to  those  choirs  for  whom 
it  is  written.  They  will  find,  moreover,  besides  a  sweetness  of 
harmonies,  that  melodic  interest  in  all  the  parts  which  betrays 
the  hand  of  a  master  to  whom  contrapuntal  thinking  is  quite 
natural.  The  organ  accompaniment  requires  a  fairly  good  player, 
to  whom  it  affords  plenty  of  scope. 

H.  B. 

CATHOLIC    CEREMONIES     AND     EXPLANATION     OF     THE 
ECCLESIASTICAL    YEAR.      From    the    French    of   the 
Abbe  Durand.     With  96  Illustrations   of  articles   used 
at  Church  ceremonies,  and  their  proper  names.    New 
York,  Cincinnati,  Chicago :     Benziger  Brothers,  1896. 
THIS  little  book  gives,  on  283  24mo  pages,  a  good  deal  of 
excellent  information  on  the  ceremonies  and  prayers  of  the  Mass 
and  Vespers,  explaining  the  sense  of  the  prayers,  and  the  sym- 
bolical meaning  of  the  actions  performed,  as  well  as  the  things 
used  in  the  Liturgy,  such  as  the  altar,  sacred  vestments  and 
vessels,  &c.      A  short,  but  fairly  exhaustive  explanation  of  the 
ecclesiastical  year  is  added,  and  well  brought  out  and  judiciously 
selected  illustrations  serve  to  give  the  reader  a  clear  idea  of  the 
things  spoken  of.     The  book  is  intended  primarily  to  introduce 
the  faithful  to  the  spirit  of  the  Liturgy,  to  give  them  an  interest 
in  the  grand  and  impressive  ceremonies  of  the  Church,  and  to 
enable  them  to  follow  these  ceremonies  with  intelligence   and 
devotion.     For  this  purpose  the  book  is  admirably  adapted,  and 
we  should  like  to  see  it  in  the  hands  of  every  Catholic. 


382  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

CANTUS  SACRI.  Eight  Easy  Benediction  Pieces,  with  the 
Psalm  Laudate  Dominum  in  the  VI.  and  VIII.  Tones 
for  two  Parts  (Soprano  and  Alto),  with  organ  accom- 
paniment. By  J.  Singenberger.  Score  and  Parts. 
Batisbon  :  Pustet  &  Co. 

SINGENBERGER,  the  President  of  the  American  Society  of 
St.  Cecilia,  knowing  the  conditions  of  a  large  number  of  church 
choirs,  has  made  a  special  study  of  the  art  of  writing  easy  music 
without  becoming  either  trivial  or  monotonous.  Hence  we  can 
give  his  compositions  the  best  recommendations.  The  above 
Benediction  pieces  will  probably  be  particularly  welcome  to 
choirs  wanting  in  high  Soprano  voices,  and  to  nuns  who  have 
frequently  to  sing  before  breakfast,  as  the  Soprano  part  does 
not,  as  a  rule,  ascend  above  F  2.  Only  in  two  pieces  F  2  $  is 
required  ;  but  as  these  pieces  are  in  D  and  A  respectively,  a 
transposition  downwards  can  easily  be  effected. 

H.  B. 

DATA  OF  MODERN  ETHICS  EXAMINED.  By  John  J.  Ming, 
S.  J.  Second  Edition.  New  York,  Cincinnati,  Chicago  : 
Benziger  Brothers. 

WE  are  glad  that  this  reply  to  the  Data  of  Modern,  that 
is  evolutionary,  Ethics  of  Mr.  Herbert  Spencer,  has  reached  a 
second  edition.  The  second  edition  does  not  differ  in  anything 
substantial  from  the  first,  which  was  already  reviewed  in  the 
I.  E.  EECORD.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  it  has  the  same  excellences 
to  commend  it  as  the  first  edition,  and  that  in  the  exposition  of 
the  system  the  author  examines  much  may  still  be  desired. 


THEOLOGIA     MORALIS    PER    MODUM 

Auctore  Clarissimo  P.  Benjamin  Elbel,  O.S.F.  Novis 
CurisEdidit  P.F.Irenaeus  Bierbaum,  O.S.F.  ,  Provinciae 
Saxoniae  S.  Crucis  Lector  Jubilatus.  Editio  secunda 
(iii.-iv.  Mille).  Cum  Approbatione  Superiorum.  Volumen 
Tertium.  Continens  Partes  Tres.  Paderbornae.  Ex 
Typographia  Bonifaciana  (J.  W.  Schroeder). 

ELBEL'S  Moral  Theology  is  justly  famous  on  account  of  its 
exhaustiveness,  clearness  of  style,  reliableness,  and  practical 
usefulness  for  priests  on  the  mission.  Fr.  Bierbaum  's  re-edition 


NOTICES  OF   BOOKS  383 

of  the  work,  revised  and  completed  so  as  to  meet  all  modern 
requirements,  met  with  so  much  approbation  that  a  second 
edition  became  necessary,  of  which  the  third  and  last  volume  is 
the  one  under  review.  To  facilitate  the  sale  of  the  excellent 
work,  the  publisher  has  reduced  the  price,  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  this  second  edition  is  enlarged  as  compared  with  the 
first. 

MISSA  IN  HONOEEM  SANCTi  SpiRiTUS.  For  two  Parts, 
Soprano  and  Alto  (Tenor  and  Bass  ad  lib.),  with  organ 
accompaniment.  By  J.  Singenberger.  Score  and  Parts. 
Hatisbon :  Pustet  &  Co. 

THIS  Mass  is  described  by  the  author  as  '  very  easy,'  and 
ought  to  be  within  the  power  of  the  weakest  choirs.  It  is  very 
simple,  of  course ;  but  with  proper  declamation  of  the  words  it 
ought  to  produce  a  pleasing  and  dignified  effect.  Tenor  and 
Bass  parts  may  be  added  ad  libitum,  an  arrangement  which  may 
recommend  the  Mass  to  choirs  that  only  occasionally  have  the 
assistance  of  male  voices. 

MISSA  IN  HONOEEM  PuEissiMi  CoEDis  B.V.M.  For  four 
mixed  voices,  with  organ  accompaniment.  By  J.  Singen- 
berger. Score  and  Parts.  Ratisbon  :  Pustet  &  Co. 

IN  this  Mass  the  composer  has  allowed  himself  a  wider  scope, 
and  produced  a  work  of  a  festive  splendour.  Occasionally  he 
makes  use  of  the  licence  of  subdividing  parts,  so  as  to  attain 
fuller  harmonies.  On  the  whole,  however,  the  work  is  by  no 
means  difficult,  and  can  be  recommended  to  choirs  of  moderate 
attainments.  It  is  modern  in  style,  easy  to  comprehend,  and 
will  probably  give  pleasure  and  edification  to  both  singers  and 
listeners. 

H.  B. 

TWELVE  EUCHAEISTIG  CHANTS.  For  two  or  three  female 
voices,  with  organ  accompaniment.  Edited  by  Alban 
Lipp.  Score  and  Parts.  Augsburg  and  Wien:  A.  B  ohm 
and  Sons. 

THIS  is  a  collection  of  chants  by  various  composers.  Naturally 
they  differ  both  in  artistic  excellence  and  in  liturgical  suitability. 


384  THE  IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

But  there  is  no  number  that  must  be  pronounced  as  unworthy  of 
the  house  of  God,  though  we  should  be  slow  to  recommend 
No.  5,  an  0  Salutaris  by  Lohle.  One  of  the  most  interesting 
numbers  is  a  Panye  lingua,  by  Bruno  Stein  in  which  the  Alto 
part  is  formed  on  the  Gregorian  melody  of  that  hymn,  and, 
according  to  a  note  of  the  author,  is  to  be  made  prominent  in 
performance.  The  full  contents  of  the  collection  is  :  Two  two- 
part  and  two  three-part  Pange  lingua,  by  Bill,  Bruno  Stein,  Lipp, 
and  Eeidl ;  a  two-part  0  Salutaris,  by  Lohle ;  a  two-part 
Adoramus,  and  a  two-part  Vexilla  Regis,  by  Griesbacher ;  a 
two-part  0  Sacrum  Convivium,  by  Bruno  Stein  ;  a  two-part  Jesu 
dulcis  memoria,  by  Bill ;  a  two-part  Adoro  te,  by  Thaller ;  a  two- 
part  Ad&ramus,  by  Beidl,  and  a  three-part  0  Esca  Viator  urn,  by 
Frz.  Miiller. 

H.  B. 


g3^mra^^ 


AILEACH  OF  THE  KINGS:  A  BRIEF  SKETCH 
OF  THE  HISTORY  AND  TRADITIONS  OF 
THE  ANCIENT  NORTHERN  RESIDENCE  OF 
THE  IRISH  KINGS 

God  bless  the  grey  mountains  of  dark  Donegal ! 
God  bless  royal  Aileach,  the  pride  of  them  all ; 
For  she  sits  evermore  like  a  queen  on  her  throne, 
And  smiles  on  the  valleys  of  green  Innishowen.J 

C.  G'.  DUFFY. 

I.  THE    ORIGIN   AND    SITE   OF  AILEACH 

ON  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Swilly,  on  the  summit 
of  a  hill  802  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  lie 
the  remains  of  a  cyclopean  fortress,  with  whose 
history  was  closely  interwoven  the  story  of  our 
country  in  the  forgotten  years  of  the  hazy  past.  Few  of  the 
pleasure-seekers  who  visit  it  in  the  glowing  summer  or  the 
mellow  autumn,  and  who  gaze  enraptured  on  the  glorious 
scenery  it  presents  to  their  view,  think  for  a  moment  that 
the  soil  they  tread  on  is  both  royal  and  sacred,  the  former 
court  of  kings,  and  the  arena  of  Patrick's  combat  with 
paganism.  Yet  so  it  is  ;  for  here  on  Greenan  Hill  was  the 
Northern  Tara,  known  to  us  in  history  as  '  Aileach  of  the 
Kings ; '  and  here  did  Ireland's  great  apostle,  when  visiting 
'  Tyrowen  of  the  Islands,'  as  Innishowen  was  then  called, 
confront  and  conquer  the  learning  of  the  Druids,  and  win 
to  the  faith  the  monarch  himself. 

One  requires,  indeed,  to  be  told  that  this  was  once  the 

FOUKTH  SERIES,  VOL.  III. — MAY,  1898.  2  B 


386  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

seat  of  royalty,  for  no  indication  of  its  former  greatness 
now  remains,  save  the  debris  of  the  fallen  palace  that  crowns 
the  mountain.  Kerne  and  gallowglass  are  now  supplanted 
by  browsing  sheep  and  lazy  kine,  and  the  matin  hymn  of 
the  sky-lark  awakes  the  echoes  instead  of  the  soldier's 
trumpet ;  but  still  there  is  a  halo  of  bygone  glory  about  the 
place  which  even  its  present  desolation  cannot  utterly 
destroy.  Its  history  stretches  back  to  remote  ages,  but  the 
misty  atmosphere  of  uncertainty  hangs  about  its  origin  ;  so 
that  we  can  trace  it  but  dimly,  just  as  one  traces  from  afar 
the  outlines  of  a  city  revealed  only  by  the  faint  reflection  of 
its  lamps  in  the  midnight  air.  Nor  can  we,  in  this  sketch, 
pretend  to  more  than  a  collection  of  some  of  the  reliable 
historical  authorities  regarding  it ;  but  these,  inasmuch  as 
they  are  not  accessible  to  all,  may  possess  some  interest  for 
readers  of  the  I.E.  KECOBD. 

So  thoroughly  had  our  local  history  been  buried  in 
obscurity,  that  the  origin  of  the  name  and  the  very  site  of 
the  palace  of  Aileach  had  long  been  matter  of  dispute ;  but, 
thanks  to  the  researches  of  Petrie,  O'Donovan,  O'Curry,  and 
a  host  of  others,  these  vexed  questions  are  now  satisfactorily 
settled.  The  general  outlines  and,  as  far  as. possible,  the 
details  of  this  sketch  have  been  mainly  drawn  from  the 
authority  of  these  antiquarians  ;  and  though  all,  perhaps, 
may  not  be  disposed  to  adopt  their  particular  views,  at  least 
all  will  respect  the  learning  and  the  zeal  which  these  men 
displayed  in  the  cause  of  their  country's  history  and  anti- 
quities. The  importance  of  their  writings  on  the  subject  of 
this  essay  must  be  our  apology  for  drawing  so  largely  upon 
them. 

O'Curry,  in  his  Lectures  on  the  Manners  and  Customs  of 
the  Ancient  Irish,  commenting  on  the  historical  poems  of 
Flann  Mainistrech,  or,  as  he  is  more  popularly  called, 
Flann  of  the  Monastery,  speaks  thus : — 

The  seventh  is  a  poem  of  thirty-five  stanzas,  or  one  hundred 
and  forty  lines,  on  the  origin  and  history  of  the  ancient  palace  of 
Aileach  [near  Deny,  in  the  present  county  of  Donegal).  The 
origin  of  this  celebrated  palace,  according  to  this  account  of  it 
[containing  a  specimen  of  poetic  etymology  which  I  only  quote 


387 


for  what  it  is  worth],  was  shortly  this  : — When  the  great  Daghda 
was  chief  king  of  the  Tuatha  de  Danaun  in  Erinn,  holding  his 
court  at  Tara,  he  on  one  occasion  entertained  at  his  court 
Corgenn,  a  powerful  Connacht  chief,  and  his  wife.  During  their 
stay  at  Teamair,  Corgenn's  wife  was  suspected  of  being  more 
familiar  with  the  monarch's  young  son,  .ZEdh  [or  Hugh],  than  was 
pleasing  to  her  husband,  who  in  a  fit  of  sudden  anger  slew  the 
young  prince  in  the  very  presence  of  his  father.  Corgenn's  life 
would  have  paid  for  the  murder  on  the  spot,  but  that  the  old 
monarch's  sense  of  justice  was  too  strong  to  kill  a  man  for 
avenging  a  crime  so  heinous  as  he  believed  his  son  to  have  been 
guilty  of ;  but,  although  he  would  not  consent  to  have  his  guest 
put  directly  to  death,  he  passed  on  him  such  a  sentence  as, 
whether  he  intended  it  so  or  not,  ended  in  the  same  manner. 
The  singular  sentence  which  the  king  passed  upon  the  unfor- 
tunate Corgenn  was  [according  to  the  story]  to  take  the  dead 
body  of  the  prince  on  his  back,  and  never  to  lay  it  down  until  he 
had  found  a  stone  to  fit  him  exactly  in  length  and  breadth, 
and  sufficient  to  form  a  tombstone  for  him,  and  then  to 
bury  him  in  the  nearest  hill.  Corgenn  was  obliged  to  submit, 
and  accordingly  set  out  with  his  burden.  After  a  long  search 
he  found  at  last  the  stone  he  sought  for,  but  found  it  only 
so  far  off  as  by  the  shore  of  Lake  Feabhail  [now  called  Loch 
Poyle,  at  Derry].  Here,  then,  depositing  the  body  on  the  nearest 
eminence  to  him,  he  went  down,  raised  the  stone,  and  carried  it 
up  the  hill,  where  he  dug  a  grave  and  buried  the  prince,  and  with 
many  an  ach  [or  groan]  placed  the  stone  over  him ;  but,  wearied 
by  his  labour,  he  had  hardly  done  so  before  he  dropped  dead  by 
its  side.  And  it  was  from  these  achs,  or  groans,  of  Corgenn  that 
[compounding  the  word  ach  with  ail,  an  ancient  Gaedhelic  name 
for  a  stone]  the  old  monarch,  when  informed  of  what  had 
happened,  formed  the  name  of  Aileach.  for  his  son's  grave — that 
is,  stone  and  groan — a  name  that  the  place  has  ever  since 
retained.  It  was  the  custom  in  ancient  times  in  Erinn,  when  a 
great  personage  had  died,  to  institute  assemblies  and  games  of 
commemoration  at  his  grave;  and  this  was  done  at  his  son's 
grave  at  Aileach  by  the  monarch  Daghda. 

The  poem,  however,  contains  two  further  explanations  of  the 
name  of  Aileach.  In  some  time  after  the  death  of  Corgenn,  it  is 
said  Neid,  son  of  Indai  [a  semi-mythological  personage  who  may 
be  called  the  Mercury  of  the  Tuatha  de  Danaun],  brother  to  the 
monarch  the  Daghda,  built  a  palace  and-  fortress  here,  after  which 
it  was  called  Aileach-Neid.  Neid  was  himself  afterwards  killed 
by  the  Pomorians  or  Pirates,  and  the  place  having  gone  to  ruin, 
its  history  is  not  recorded  from  that  time  down  to  the  reign  of 
the  monarch  of  Erinn,  Fiacha  Sraibtine,  who  was  slain  at  the 
battle  of  Dubh-Chomar,  A.D.  322.  In  this  Fiacha's  reign,  how- 
ever, it  is  stated  that  Frigrinn,  a  young  Scottish  chief,  eloped 


388  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

with  Ailech,  that  is,  '  the  splendid,'  daughter  of  Fubtaire,  the 
King  of  Scotland,  brought  her  over  to  Erinn,  and  put  himself 
under  the  Irish  king's  protection.  And  it  is  said  that  King 
Fiacha  gave  the  youthful  lovers  the  ancient  fortress  of  Aileach 
for  their  residence  and  security,  and  that  here  Frigrinn  built  the 
magnificent  house  which  is  described  in  the  poem,  whence  the 
place  got  the  name  otAileach-Frigrinn,  as  well  as  the  older  name 
of  Aileach-Neid. 

Flan n' s  curious  poem  begins  :  — 

Should  anyone  attempt  to  relate 

The  history  of  host  -crowded  Aileach, 

After  Eachaidh  the  illustrious. — 

It  would  be  wresting  the  sword  out  of  Hector's  hand. 

I  must  observe  here,  however,  that  the  ancient  name  of 
Aileach  was  certainly  Ail-each-Neid,  and  the  investigations  of 
antiquaries  [including  the  cautious  Dr.  Petrie]  have  led  to  the 
same  conclusion  to  which  we  should  come  by  following  the 
ancient  manuscript  authorities — that  the  stone  ruins  at  Atieach, 
as  well  as  several  other  similar  stone  erections  in  several  parts  of 
Erinn,  must  be  referred  to  the  Tuatha  de  Danaan,  if  not  to  the 
Firbolgs,  certainly  to  a  race  superior  to  the  Milesians.  A  simpler 
etymology  may  easily  be  suggested  for  the  name,  for  when  we 
remember  that  the  Milesians  always  used  wooden  buildings  in 
preference  to  the  stone  used  by  their  predecessors,  we  can  easily 
understand  why  they  should  emphasize  such  an  erection  under 
the  name  of  Aileach.  The  word  aileach  itself  may,  in  fact,  signify 
simply  '  a  stone  building,'  since  ail  is  a  stone,  and  ach  the 
common  adjective  termination  ;  so  that  ail-each  would  literally 
signify  '  stony,'  i.e.,  of,  or  belonging  to,  or  made  of,  stone. 

The  eighth  poem  of  Flann's  is  one  of  thirty-four  stanzas,  or 
one  hundred  and  thirty-six  lines,  also  on  Aileach,  and  apparently 
a  continuation  of  its  history  from  his  former  poem.  It  gives  the 
names  and  the  lengths  of  the  reigns  of  every  king  of  the  race  of 
EogJian,  son  of  Niall  of  the  Nine  Hostages,  who  reigned  in  it  as 
king  of  the  northern  O'Neills,  from  Eoghan  himself  down  to  the 
Domhnall  O'Neill  mentioned  above,  who  died  in  the  year  978. 
This  poem  begins  :— - 

Four  generations  after  Frigrinn, 

By  valiant  battle, 
The  noble  Aileach  was  taken  by  the  warriors 

Of  the  hosts  of  Eoghan. 

The  Eoghan  mentioned  here,  whose  clann  took  possession  of 
Aileach  under  compact  with  his  other  brothers,  was  Eoghan  the 
son  of  Niall  of  'the  Nine  Hostages,'  who  gave  name  to  the 
territory,  which  ever  after  bore  his  name,  as  Tyr  Eoghan  [or 
Tyrone — a  name,  however,  now  applied  to  a  more  limited  district]. 
This  Eoghan  was  visited,  at  his  palace  of  Aileach,  by  St.  Patrick, 


AILEACH   OF   THE   KINGS  389 

when  he  embraced  the  Christian  faith,  and  received  baptism  at 
the  hands  of  the  great  apostle.1 

In  the  third  volume  and  nineteenth  lecture,  O'Curry 
again  returns  to  the  subject  of  Aileach,  and  treats  of  its 
antiquity  and  the  style  of  its  architecture  : — 

The  next  great  building  [says  he],  in  point  of  antiquity  and 
historical  reminiscence,  is  the  great  Bath,  or  rather  Cathair,  of 
Aileach  [in  the  county  of  Donegal],  so  well  described  by 
Dr.  Petrie  in  the  Ordnance  Memoir  of  the  parish  of  Templemore. 
This  great  Cathair  is  said  to  have  been  originally  built  by 
The  Daghda,  the  celebrated  king  of  the  Tuatha  de  Danann,  who 
planned  and  fought  the  battle  of  the  second  or  northern  Magh 
Tuireadh  against  the  Fomorians.  The  fort  was  erected  around 
the  grave  of  his  son,  ^edh  [or  Hugh],  who  had  been  killed 
through  jealousy  by  Corgenn,  a  Connacht  chieftain. 

The  history  of  the  death  of  Aedh,  and  the  building  of 
Aileach  [or  '  The  Stone  Building'],  is. given  at  length  in  a  poem 
preserved  in  the  Book  of  Lecan,  which  poem  has  been  printed, 
with  an  English  translation  [but  with  two  lines  left  out  at 
verse  xxxviii.],  by  Dr.  Petrie,  in  the  above  memoir.  The  follow- 
ing extract  from  this  curious  and  important  poem,  beginning  at 
verse  32,  will  suffice  for  my  present  purpose  : — 

Then  were  brought  the  two  good  men, 

In  art  expert, 

Garbhan  and  Imcheall,  to  Eochaid  (Daghda), 

The  fair-haired  Vindictive ; 

And  he  ordered  them  a  rath  to  build 

Around  the  gentle  youth  : 

That  it  should  be  a  rath  of  splendid  sections  — 

The  finest  in  Erinn. 

Neid,  son  of  Indai,  said  to  them, 

(He)  of  the  severe  mind, 

That  the  best  hosts  in  the  world  could  not  erect 

A  building  like  Aileach. 

Garbhan,  the  active,  proceeded  to  dress 

And  to  cut  (the  stones). 

Imcheall  proceeded  to  set  them 

All  around  the  house. 

The  building  of  Aileach's  fastness  came  to  an  end, 

Though  it  was  a  laborious  process  ; 

The  top  of  the  house  of  the  groaning  hostages, 

One  stone  closed. 

In  a  subsequent  verse  of  this  poem  [verse  54]  the  author  says 
that  Aileach  is  the  senior,  or  father,  of  the  buildings  of  Erinn  :  — 

It  is  the  senior  of  the  buildings  of  Erinn — 

Aileach-Frigrind ; 
Greater  praise  than  it  deserves 

For  it  I  indite  not. 

It  appears  clearly  from  this  very  ancient  poem  that  not  only 
1  O'Curry,  Lectures,  vol.  ii.,  Lect.  7. 


390  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

was  the  outer  rath,  or  protective  circle  of  Aileach,  built  of  stone 
by  the  regular  masons,  Imcheall  and  Garbban,  but  that  the 
palace  and  other  houses  within  the  enclosure  were  built  also  of 
stcne  [nay,  even  of  chiselled  and  cut  stone].  All  these  buildings, 
probably,  were  circular,  as  the  House  or  Prison  of  the  Hostages, 
certainly  must  have  been,  when,  as  the  poem  says,  it  was  '  closed 
at  the  top  with  one  stone.'  This,  however,  is  a  matter  concerning 
which  I  shall  have  something  to  say  in  a  future  lecture. 

The  time  to  which  the  first  building  of  Aileach  may  be 
referred,  according  to  the  chronology  of  the  Annals  of  the  Four 
Masters,  would  be  about  seventeen  hundred  years  before  the 
Christian  era  ;  but  another  and  much  later  erection,  within  the 
same  Rath  of  Aileach,  is  also  spoken  of  in  ancient  history,  and 
as  having  conferred  a  name  upon  this  celebrated  palace. 

It  is  stated  further  in  this  poem  that  Aileach,  in  after 
ages,  obtained  the  name  of  Aileach-Frigrind,  as  it  is,  in  fact, 
called  in  the  stanza  quoted  above.  According  to  another  poem 
[written  by  Flann  of  Monasterboice],  preserved  in  the  Book  of 
Leinster,  this  Frigrind  was  a  famous  builder,  or  architect,  as  he 
would  be  called  in  our  day.  Having  travelled  in  Scotland,  he 
was  well  received  at  the  court  of  Ubtaire,  the  king  of  that 
country,  where,  having  gained  the  affections  of  the  king's 
daughter,  the  beautiful  Ailech,  she  eloped  with  him,  and  he 
returned  to  his  own  country  with  her.  Fearing  pursuit,  however, 
he  claimed  the  protection  of  the  then  monarch  of  Erinn,  Fiacha- 
Sraibhthine  [the  same  who  was  slain  in  the  battle  of  Dubh-Chomar, 
in  Meath,  A.D.  322 J ;  and  the  monarch  accorded  it  at  once,  and 
gave  them  the  ancient  fort  of  Aileach  for  their  dwelling-place,  for 
greater  security.  Here  Frigrind  built  a  splendid  house  of  wood 
for  his  wife.  The  material  of  this  house,  we  are  told,  was  red 
yew,  carved,  and  emblazoned  with  gold  and  bronze,  and  so  thick 
set  with  shining  gems,  '  that  day  and  night  were  equally  bright 
within  it.'  I  may  observe  that  Aileach  is  one  of  the  few  spots  in 
Ireland  marked  in  its  proper  place  by  the  geographer,  Ptolemy  of 
Alexandria,  who  nourished  in  the  second  century,  or  nearly  two 
hundred  years  before  the  time  of  Frigrind.  By  Ptolemy  it  is 
distinguished  as  a  royal  residence. 


II.  GREENAN  ERRONEOUSLY  REPUTED  A  TEMPLE  OF 
THE  SUN 

That  this  place  was  the  principal  or  chief  residence  of 
the  Tuatha  de  Danann  princes,  and  was  known  then  by  the 
distinctive  appellation  of  Aileach-Neid,  at  the  time  that  ItJi, 
the  uncle  of  Milesius,  visited  this  country,  we  learn  from 
Keating.  In  his  account  of  Ith's  voyage  to  and  landing  in 


AILEACH   CF    THE   KINGS 


this  island,  Keating  informs  us  that  the  prince  landed  on  a 
certain  part  of  the  northern  coast,  and,  after  sacrificing  to 
Neptune,  inquired  the  name  of  the  country,  and  of  the  king 
who  governed  it.  He  was  told  that  the  country  was  called 
Inis-Alga,  and  was  governed  at  that  time  by  three  princes 
(who  were  grandsons  of  the  Daghda),  and  that  they  were 
then  residing  at  their  palace  of  Aileach-Neid.  He  was, 
moreover,  informed  that  they  were  at  that  time  quarrelling 
amongst  themselves  about  a  quantity  of  jewels  that  had 
been  left  them,  and  that  their  dispute,  if  not  soon  amicably 
settled,  was  likely  to  end  in  blood.  Ith  set  out  immediately 
for  Aileach,  was  kindly  received  by  the  princes,  and,  after 
hearing  the  causes  of  their  disagreement,  proposed  such 
an  arrangement  as  gave  satisfaction  to  all.  On  leaving  he 
urged  them  to  union  and  fraternal  love,  pointed  out  the 
great  advantages  of  their  country,  and  how  little  reason 
there  was  for  disputes  among  them  ;  in  a  word,  spoke  as  a 
man  who  had  closely  observed  the  fertility  of  their  soil  and 
the  natural  wealth  of  their  country.  After  his  departure 
the  princes  meditated  on  his  words,  and,  suspecting  that 
he  had  some  evil  design  on  their  kingdom,  they  gathered 
together  a  chosen  band  of  followers,  and  pursued  the 
strangers.  Overtaking  them  soon,  a  battle  was  fought,  in 
which  Ith  was  slain,  and  his  companions  routed  ;  and  the 
plain  was  called  from  that  time  Magh-Ith  ;  that  is,  the 
Plain  of  Ith.  It  has  long  been  a  subject  of  dispute  where 
the  exact  spot  lies  in  which  this  battle  was  fought;  but 
O'Donovan,  in  a  note  given  in  his  edition  of  the  Book  of 
Eights,  states  that  '  it  is  an  extensive  plain  in  the  barony  of 
"  Kaphoe,"  Donegal.  The  church  of  "  Donaghmore,"  near 
the  little  town  of  Castlefinn,  is  mentioned,  in  the  Tripartite 
Life  of  St.  Patrick,1  as  in  this  plain.'  He  then  quotes  the 
words  of  Colgan  in  support  of  this  statement.  However, 
the  settlement  of  this  point  is  not  to  our  present  purpose  ; 
it  is  enough  for  us  to  learn  that,  at  the  remote  period 
referred  to,  the  palace  of  the  De  Dauann  was  known  as 
Aileach-Neid. 

iLib.  ii.,  c.  114. 


392  THE  IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

Like  most  of  the  kingly  residences  of  remote  times, 
Aileach  suffered  many  an  attack,  was  frequently  plundered 
and  reduced  to  ruin,  but  was  again  restored  by  its  royal 
masters.  Thus  in  A.D.  674,  we  read  in  the  Annalists  :  '  The 
destruction  of  Aileach-Frigrinn  by  Finnshneachta,  son  of 
Dunchadh.'  Again,  at  A.D.  900,  we  are  told  that  '  Aileach- 
Frigrinn  was  plundered  by  the  foreigners;'  and  we  are 
informed  that  thirty-seven  years  later  'Aileach  was  plundered 
by  the  foreigners  against  Muircheartach,  son  of  Niall,  and 
they  took  him  prisoner,  and  carried  him  off  to  their  ships, 
but  God  redeemed  him  from  them.' 

Aileach  ceased  to  be  the  residence  of  the  kings  of  Ulster  of  the 
Ui-Neill  line  after  the  death  of  Muircheartach,  the  son  of  Niall 
Glundubh,  who  was  killed  in  a  battle  with  the  Danes  at  Ath- 
Firdiadh  (now  Ardee),  in  the  year  941. 1 

However,  though  it  may  not  have  been  the  permanent 
residence  of  the  Ulster  kings  from  this  period,  it  must  still 
have  been  their  occasional  abode  till  the  time  of  its  final 
destruction,  which  the  Four  Masters  thus  record  under  the 
year  1101 : — 

A  great  army  was  led  by  Muircheartach  Ua-Brian,  King  of 
Munster,  with  the  men  of  Munster,  Leinster,  Osraighe,  Meath, 
and  Connaught,  across  Eas-Euaidh,  into  Inis-Eoghan,  and 
burned  many  churches  and  many  forts  about  Fathan-Mura,  and 
about  Ardstraha,  and  he  demolished  Grianan-Oiligh,  in  revenge 
for  Ceanncoradh,  which  had  been  razed  and  demolished  by 
Donihnall-Ua-Lochlain  some  time  before,  and  Muircheartach 
commanded  his  army  to  carry  with  them  from  Oileach  to 
Luimneach  a  stone  [of  the  demolished  building]  for  every  sack 
of  provisions  which  they  had.  In  commemoration  of  which  was 
said  : — 

I  never  heard  of  the  billeting  of  grit  stones, 

Though  I  heard  of  the  billeting  of  companies, 

Until  the  stones  of  Oileach  were  billeted 

On  the  horses  of  the  Kings  of  the  West. 

To  understand  the  meaning  of  this  novel  mode  of  taking 
revenge,  we  must  turn  to  the  Annals  ofThomond  to  learn  its 
cause.  We  read  there  that : — 

In  1064  MacLoughlin,  Prince  of  Aileach,  invaded  the  princi- 
pality of  Mortoghmore  O'Brien,  King  of  Munster ;  among  other 

1  O'Curry,  Lect.  xx. 


AILEACH   OF   THE   KINGS  393 

predatory  acts  he  plundered  and  demolished  the  Palace  of 
Kincora.  Mortagh,  after  re-edifying  it,  marched  into  Ulster  and 
burned  down  the  royal  Palace  of  Aileach,  and  made  each  man  of 
his  army  bring  away  a  stone  of  it  into  Thomond.  How  peace- 
fully he  waited  for  three  years,  during  which  time  he  had  his 
ancestral  palace  in  course  of  construction  before  he  thought  of 
bringing  away  the  stones  of  Aileach  from  the  North.  This  was 
an  act  of  vengeance  with  a  vengeance,  which  put  to  the  blush  the 
wildest  exploit  of  his  fiercest  enemy. 

The  date  1064  in  this  extract  is  at  variance  with  that 
given  by  the  Annalists  of  Donegal.  The  correct  date  is 
1088. 

In  his  Lays  and  Legends  of  TJiomond,  Michael  Hogan, 
the  '  Bard  of  Thomond,'  thus  refers  to  this  event  in  his  lines 
on  '  The  Destruction  of  Kincora ' : — 

But  the  King  to  the  blue  North  his  wrathful  face  turned, 
And  Aileach  the  Pompous  to  ashes  he  burned ! 
And  his  clansmen  returned,  each  bringing  a  stone, 
Of  the  proud  palace  walls  by  his  vengeance  o'erthrown. 

This  [says  Petrie]  is  the  last  notice  of  Aileach,  as  a  royal  resi- 
dence, to  be  found  in  the  Irish  annals,  and  it  appears  never  again 
to  have  been  re-edified.  The  kings  of  the  Kinel-Owen,  or 
Northern  Hy-Niall,  still  indeed  retained  for  some  time  the  name 
of  Aileach  as  their  title,  as  the  kings  of  Southern  Hy-Niall  did 
that  of  the  deserted  Temur,  or  Tara ;  but  they  transferred  their 
residence  to  Inish-Enaigh,  iu  the  parish  of  Urney,  in  Tyrone, 
where  they  probably  continued  to  reside  till  after  the  arrival  of 
the  English.  It  may  also  be  remarked  that  this  destruction  of 
Aileach,  like  that  of  Emania,  was  regarded  as  an  epoch  in  Irish 
history. 1 

Aileach,  however,  was  known  by  the  distinctive  title  of 
Grianan-Aileach,  and  the  former  part  of  the  name  is  that  by 
which  it  is  at  present  known  under  the  form  of  Greenan, 
though  until  a  comparatively  recent  period  it  was  still  desig- 
nated Greenan-Ely.  The  fact  of  another  ruined  castle, 
named  Elagh,  situated  about  two  miles  distant,  being  in 
existence,  sufficiently  explains  why  the  name  of  Aileach 
connected  with  Greenan  fell  into  disuse.  Mistakes  were 
likely  to  occur  from  having  two  places  so  near  each  other 
bearing  the  same  name ;  and  therefore  Aileach,  or,  as  the 

1  Ordnance  Memoir  of  the  Parish  of  Templemore. 


394  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

people   called   it,   Ely,   was   dropped,   and    the    distinctive 
appellation  of  Grianan,  or  Greenan,  was  retained. 

But  the  very  name  of  Grianan,  or  Greenan,  has  been 
made  an  argument  against  the  theory  of  the  royal  palace  of 
Aileach  having  ever  been  built  upon  this  hill.  It  is  urged 
that  the  present  ruin  is  the  remains  of  a  '  Temple  of  the 
Sun,'  and  that  the  name  itself  is  proof  of  this.  In  the 
Ordnance  Memoir  already  referred  to,  Dr.  Petrie  takes  up  this 
argument,  and  shows  its  want  of  foundation  ;  still,  we  find 
it  repeated  in  a  comparatively  recent  work,  and  Petrie' s 
proofs  contemned  as  worthless  assumptions.  Mr.  Anthony 
Marmion,  in  the  Introduction  to  the  fourth  edition  of  his 
History  of  the  Maritime  Ports  of  Ireland,  thus  writes  : — 

But  not  only  these  caves,  but  also  what  is  called  the  Military 
Eath,  as  well  as  the  Dane's  Fort  and  Eound  Tower,  were  all 
originally  connected  with  sun-worship.  The  name  of  the  rath  at 
Lough  Swilly,  already  described,  would  indicate  this,  notwith- 
standing Mr.  Pe trie's  chapter  on  Antiquities  in  the  Ordnance 
Memoir  to  the  contrary,  who  interprets  Grianan  as  synonymous 
with  duna,  fortress  or  palace,  and  calls  Grianan-Aileach  a  royal 
palace  ;  but  its  more  correct  translation  is  Grianan,  the  sun,  and 
Aileach,  a  stone  building — Grianan-Aileach  would,  therefore,  be. 
the  Stone  Temple  of  the  Sun. 

Nearly  thirty  years  before  this  edition  of  Mr.  Marmion's 
work  appeared,  the  same  argument  was  advanced  in  an 
elegant  and  forcible  manner  in  an  article  on  '  Burt  Castle,' 
published  in  the  second  volume  of  the  Dublin  Penny 
Journal : — 

This  we  know  [writes  the  author  of  that  article]  on  the 
concurring  testimony  of  Keating,  Vallencey,  and  O'Connor,  that 
the  Phoenicians  and  Celts  brought  into  this  country  the  sun- 
worship  of  their  own.  This  was  undoubtedly  one  of  their 
temples,  and  the  very  etymology  of  its  name  strongly  corroborates 
the  opinion,  for  the  Celtic  name  of  the  sun  is  Gryan,  and  Ane  is  a 
temple  ;  similar  names  have  been  given  to  other  places  dedicated 
to  the  same  divinity.  Strabo,  confirmed  by  Pausanias,  mentions 
a  Grynium  at  Eolis,  and  described  it  as  a  temple  and  grove 
of  Apollo  (or  the  sun).  Eupherion  of  Chalais,  writing  on  the 
origin  of  Oracles,  describes  a  circular  Grynium  sacred  to  Apollo. 
So  Virgil,  in  his  sixth  Bucolic  : — 

'  His  tibi  Grynai  nemoris  dicatur  origo 
Ne  quis  sit  Iticus,  quo  Be  plus  jactet  Apollo.' 


AILEACH   OF    THE   KINGS  395 

In  these  two  quotations  is  foand  the  substance  of  all  the 
arguments  advanced  in  favour  of  the  sun-temple  theory. 
Petrie  refutes  them  at  such  length,  that  it  would  be  impos- 
sible to  introduce  here  his  reasoning  in  extenso.  We  shall, 
therefore,  content  ourselves  with  the  principal  portions,  and 
refer  the  reader  to  the  Ordnance  Memoir  for  the  remainder: — 

It  has,  indeed,  been  supposed  by  some  ingenious  writers 
[says  he]  that  this  curious  remains  of  antiquity  was  erected  as  a 
temple  of  the  sun — a  conjecture  resting  on  the  etymology  of  its 
name  Grianan,  which,  as  they  state,  does  literally  mean  '  the 
place  of  the  sun,'  or,  'appertaining  to  the  sun.'  But  etymology 
is  at  best  but  an  uncertain  foundation  for  historical  hypothesis ; 
and  the  habit  so  generally  indulged  in  by  Irish  antiquaries  of 
drawing  positive  conclusions  from  etymological  conjectures,  has 
done  more  to  retard  than  advance  the  knowledge  of  the  history 
and  antiquities  of  the  country. 

That  Crrian,  or  the  sun,  was  an  object  of  worship  among  the 
Pagan  Irish  is  not  to  be  denied  ;  but  that  the  word  Grianan 
was  ever  applied  to  denote  a  temple  of  the  sun,  or  a  temple  of  any 
kind,  no  authority  has  been  as  yet  adduced,  or  found,  while  there 
are  abundant  evidences  that  it  was  constantly  used,  in  a  figurative 
sense,  to  signify  a  distinguished  residence,  or  a  royal  palace.  It  is 
thus  explained  by  O'Eeilly  :  — '  Grianan,  a  summer-house,  a  walk, 
arched  or  covered  over  on  a  hill  for  a  commodious  prospect  [a 
balcony],  a  royal  seat.'  O'Brien,  an  earlier  and  better  authority, 
also  explains  it  as  a  '  royal  seat ;'  and  gives  as  an  illustration  the 
name  of  the  very  place  in  question  ; — '  Grianan-Oilig,  the  regal 
house  of  O'Neill  in  Ulster.' .  O'Flaherty  and  MacFirbis,  without 
explaining  the  word,  use  it  to  express  a  royal  habitation. 

After  quoting  the  authority  of  Keating,  and  his  learned 
translators,  John  Lynch,  Colgan,  Cormac  Mac  Cullenan, 
apd  giving  examples  from  each,  of  the  word  being  used  in 
the  sense  he  explains  it  in,  he  shows  that  it  was  also 
synonymous  with  Dun,  a  fortress,  and  proves  this  from 
extracts  taken  from  a  MS.  in  Trinity  College,  and  from  a 
tale  in  the  Book  of  Glendalough.  He  then  proceeds  :— 

In  like  manner,  examples  almost  equally  numerous  might  be 
quoted,  from  similar  documents,  of  the  application  of  this  term  to 
the  palace,  or  royal  fortress,  of  the  northern  Irish  kings.  Of 
this  fact  two  instances  may  here  suffice,  as  others  will  be  found 
in  the  succeeding  pages.  Both  these  occur  in  the  poem  of 
Cormacan  Eigeas,  the  bard  of  Murtagh  of  the  Leather  Coats, 


396  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

written  in  the  year  939,  and  which  has  been  given  in  full  in  the 
general  history  of  the  county,  prefixed  to  this  work,  viz.  :— 

O  Murtagh,  son  of  noble  Niall, 
Thou  hast  taken  the  hostages  of  Inis-Fail ; 
Thou  broughtest  them  all  10  Aileach, 
Into  the  Splendid  Grianan  of  horses. 

Conor,  son  of  Tiege  the  bull-like, 
Puissant  arch-king  of  Connaught, 
Came  with  us  without  a  bright  fetter, 
Into  the  green  Grianan  of  Aileach. 

But,  even  though  it  were  allowed  that  the  word  Grianan  was 
sometimes  applied  to  the  temple  of  the  sun,  the  Irish  authorities 
still  abundantly  prove  that  this — the  Grianan  of  Aileach  — was 
not  a  monument  of  that  description.  In  all  the  Irish  histories 
the  palace  of  the  Northern  Irish  kings  is  designated  by  the  name 
Aileach  simply,  or  Grianan- A  High,  Aileach-Neid,  or  Aileach- 
Fririn;  and  its  situation  is  stated  to  have  been  on  a  hill  in 
the  vicinity  of  Derry. 

So  far  Petrie  on  the  meaning  of  the  word,  and  its 
application  to  the  ruin  on  Greenan  Hill. 

Professor  W.  K.  Sullivan,  in  his  introductory  volume 
to  O'Curry's  Lectures,  already  quoted,  writes  as  follows 
on  the  word  Grianan  :— 

In  duns  and  large  raths  there  was  also  a  special  chamber 
placed  in  a  sunny  aspect,  and  called  from  this  circumstance  a 
Grianan.  This  chamber  appears  to  have  been  erected  on  the 
wall  of  the  dun,  or  in  some  elevated 'position,  so  as  to  command 
a  view  of  the  surrounding  country,  and  escape  the  shadow  of  the 
encircling  mound. 

In  this  we  find  nothing  to  favour  the  sun-temple  theory. 
If  the  opinion  relative  to  Greenan  having  been  a  temple  of 
the  sun,  were  not  of  modern  origin,  it  is  strange  that  John 
Toland  would  have  passed  it  over  in  his  History  of  the 
Druids.  Toland  was  himself  a  native  of  Inishowen,  born, 
as  Harris  states,  in  Iskaheen,  and  educated  in  his  earlier 
years  at  Kedcastle,  in  the  parish  of  Moville.  His  work  on 
the  Druids  was  expressly  written  to  give  an  account  of  their 
mode  of  worship,  and  of  the  remains  of  their  temples  or 
monuments.  In  his  second  letter  on  the  subject  he  makes 
mention  of  the  Cam,  or  Druidical  remain,  on  the  top  of 
Fahan  Hill,  and  of  another  opposite  on  the  top  of  Inch  Hill, 


397 


both  distant  only  a  few  miles  from  Grianan-Aileach,  and 
within  sight  of  it,  but  says  not  a  word  of  Greenan  Hill. 
This  is  the  more  remarkable  inasmuch  as  in  this  same  letter 
he  explains  the  word  Grian,  and  of  Greannach,  an  Irish 
adjective  which  he  translates  as  '  long-haired,'  and  which, 
he  says,  '  is  a  natural  epithet  of  the  sun  in  all  nations.' 

From  the  foregoing  our  readers  will  be  able  to  form  a 
pretty  accurate  notion  of  the  meaning  of  the  term  Grianan, 
and  in  what  sense  it  is  to  be  taken  in  the  present  instance. 
"We  shall  now  return  to  Ailech,  and  treat  as  briefly  as 
possible  of  its  former  importance  in  Ireland,  and  of  the  part 
taken  by  some  of  its  leading  kings  in  the  events  of  the 
several  periods  in  which  they  respectively  lived. 

III. — THE   KINGS   OF  AILEA.CH 

Making  all  due  allowance  for  the  amount  of  fable  mixed 
up  with  the  accounts  of  its  origin  and  early  history,  still 
from  every  reliable  document  on  ancient  Irish  history  we 
learn  that  it  was  a  place  of  the  greatest  importance  long 
before  the  Christian  era.  Its  very  situation,  which  now 
seems  to  us  so  ill  chosen  and  so  unsuited  to  a  royal  fortress, 
is  just  such  as  we  might  expect  to  be  selected  by  the  eastern 
people  who  are  said  to  have  been  its  founders.  It  was 
modelled  after  what  they  had  seen  in  the  east ;  surrounded 
with  three  several  walls,  or  fortifications,  at  stated  distances 
from  each  other  ;  inaccessible  to  any  sudden  attack  from  an 
enemy,  and  commanding  a  most  extensive  view  of  the 
waters  of  the  Foyle  and  of  the  Swilly.  No  hostile  fleet 
could  enter  either  lough,  without  being  at  once  perceived ; 
and  by  land  it  would  be  difficult  for  any  force  to  approach 
without  being  observed  from  afar,  and  means  being  adopted 
to  repel  them.  It  was  what  Thomas  Davis  designated  "  a 
rath  on  a  far-seeing  hill,"  which  commanded  the  view  of 
the  country  far  and  wide,  and  which  could  scarcely  be 
surprised  by  an  enemy.  Petrie,  in  his  Antiquities  of  Tara 
Hill,  remarks  the  great  similarity  in  the  sites  of  Tara, 
Emania,  and  Aileach,  with  the  exception  that  Aileach  was 
on  a  much  more  elevated  situation  than  either  of  the 
others.  However,  Aileach  was  not  without  a  parallel  as  to 


398  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

the  loftiness  of  its  position  even  in  the  north  of  Ireland,  for 
on  a  hill  about  four  miles  west  of  Coleraine  (now  called  the 
Giant's  Sconce)  are  the  remains  of  a  cyclopean  fortress, 
identified  by  Dr.  O'Donovan  as  the  famous  '  Munitio 
Cetherini '  mentioned  by  Adamnan.  This  fortress  derived 
its  name  from  Cethern,  son  of  Fintau,  one  of  the  heroes 
of  the  Red  Branch,  who  flourished  in  Ulster  about  the 
beginning  of  the  Christian  era.  This  hill  is  797  feet  above 
the  sea-level.1  Another  similar  pile  exists  on  the  top  of  a 
hill  in  the  parish  of  Cloncha  (Malin),  but  its  history  is 
buried  in  obscurity.  The  ruin  is  known  simply  by  the  title 
of  '  The  Castle,'  and  the  hill  is  called  Knock-Eath,  or  the 
Hill  of  the  Eath  or  Fort.  Mr.  Petrie  points  out  the 
similarity  as  to  situation,  encircling  ramparts,  &c.,  between 
Ecbatana  in  Media,  described  by  Herodotus,  and  Aileach ; 
and  shows  that  there  is  nothing  strange  in  the  selection  of 
such  an  elevated  situation  for  the  royal  palace  and  fortress. 

The  importance  of  Aileach,  or  rather  of  its  kings,  can 
best  be  estimated  by  the  power  which  they  wielded,  and  by 
the  tributes  that  were  paid  them.  These  are  set  down  very 
clearly  and  definitely  in  the  Book  of  Eights;  and  though  we 
may  be  inclined  to  smile  at  times  at  the  primitive  mode  of 
paying  taxes  observed  by  our  ancestors,  we  must  admit  that 
it  answered  their  purpose  just  as  well,  if  not  even  better, 
than  our  income-tax  and  poor-rates  do  at  present.  At 
certain  periods  the  King  of  Aileach  was  also  King  of  Ireland; 
but  when  this  was  not  the  case,  he  was  to  receive  a  stated 
revenue  from  the  Irish  chief  king,  in  consequence  of  his 
high  position  as  head  of  the  northern  Hy  Niall  :— 

The  King  of  Aileach  himself,  then,  when  he  was  not  King 
of  Eire,  is  entitled  to  sit  by  the  side  of  the  King  of  Eire  at 
banquet  and  at  fair,  and  to  go  before  the  King  of  Eire  at  treaties, 
and  assemblies,  and  councils,  and  supplications.  And  he  is 
entitled  to  receive  from  the  King  of  Eire  fifty  swords,  and  fifty 
shields,  and  fifty  bondmen,  and  fifty  dresses,  and  fifty  steeds ; 
these  for  the  King  of  Aileach. 

And  when  the  King  of  Cashel  was  for  the  time  being 


1  See  Reeve's  Adamnan,  p.  94,  n.  1. 


AILEAGH   OF    THE   KINGS  399 

supreme  King  of  Ireland,  he  was  to  pay  a  certain  tribute  to 
the  King  of  Aileach,  as  follows  :— 

Fifty  drinking  horns  and  fifty  swords, 

Fifty  steeds  with  the  usual  trappings 

To  the  man  of  prosperity  of  the  Doires  of  goodly  fruit, 

To  the  prince  of  Aileach  who  protects  all. 

The  special  revenues  due  to  the  King,  as  king  of  Aileach 
are  set  down  separately  by  themselves,  and  are  very  consi- 
derable, indeed.  The  catalogue  of  them  begins  thus  :— 

The  right  of  the  King  of  Aileach  ;  listen  ye  to  it. 

Among  the  oak  forests  immeasurable 

He  is  entitled  to  income,  no  trifling  tribute, 

From  the  tribes  [and]  from  the  Forthuatha. 

A  hundred  sheep,  a  hundred  cloaks,  a  hundred  cows, 

And  a  hundred  hogs  are  given  to  him 

From  Culeantraidhe  of  the  war 

To  the  King  of  Aileach  laboriously. 

Three  hundred  hogs,  &c.,  &c. 

Then  follow  all  the  districts  subject  to  Aileach,  and  the 
amount  of  tributes,  or  rights,  that  they  paid ;  but  certain 
districts  were  exempted  from  the  taxation,  because,  as 
0 'Donovan  explains  in  a  note,  they  were  of  the  same  race 
as  the  King  of  Aileach  himself.  These  districts  were — 
Tullahogue  (the  Hill  of  the  Youths),  in  the  barony  of 
Dungannon ;  Crabh  (Crew  or  Creeve),  a  district  on  the  west 
side  of  the  lower  Bann;  Magh  lotha  (the  plain  of  Ith), 
believed  to  be  an  extensive  plain  in  the  barony  of  Eaphoe ; 
Inis-Eoghain,  and  Tyr-Connell.  The  limits  of  this  last- 
named  district  corresponded  almost  exactly  with  the 
boundaries  of  the  present  county  of  Donegal,  with  the 
exception  of  Inishowen,  which  belonged  to  Tyr-Eoghain, 
or  the  territory  of  Eoghain.  This  district  was  far  more 
extensive  than  the  present  county  of  Tyrone. 

Of  course,  we  are  not  to  suppose  that  the  kings  of  Aileach 
had  not  their  duties  as  well  as  their  rights  to  attend  to.  These 
are  just  as  carefully  marked  down  for  them  as  are  their 
privileges,  and  are  equally  curious  and  interesting ;  but  the 
amount  of  tribute,  or  rights,  as  they  termed  it,  paid  to  them 
evinces  clearly  the  great  power  and  high  position  they  held 
among  the  kings  of  Ireland. 


400  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

The  succession  of  kings  in  Aileach,  from  the  time  of 
its  restoration  by  Frigrinn,  is  difficult  to  trace ;  but  from 
the  notice  by  the  annalists  of  Eoghan  (whom  St.  Patrick 
converted  and  baptized),  it  seems  certain  that  the  place 
was  regarded  then  as  an  ancient  seat  of  royalty.  In  the 
Tripartite  Life  of  St.  Patrick  the  account  of  King  Eoghan's 
conversion  is  given,  where,  after  stating  that  the  King  went 
out  to  meet  and  welcome  Patrick  as  soon  as  he  heard  he 
was  in  his  territories,  the  writer  goes  on  to  tell  that — 

The  man  of  God  accompanied  Prince  Eoghan  to  his  palace, 
which  he  then  held  in  the  most  ancient  and  celebrated  seat  of 
the  kings,  called  Aileach,  and  which  the  holy  bishop  consecrated 
by  his  blessing,  promising  that  from  the  seed  of  Eoghan  many 
kings  and  princes  of  Ireland  should  spring ;  and  as  a  pledge  of 
which  he  left  there  a  certain  stone,  blessed  by  him,  upon  which 
the  promised  kings  and  princes  should  be  ordained.  l 

Dr.  Petrie  considers  it  most  probable  that  this  stone  still 
exists,  and  possibly  is  that  called  St.  Columb's  Stone,  in  the 
garden  of  Belmont,  about  a  mile  from  the  city  of  Derry. 

Eoghan's  principality,  known  by  the  title  of  Tyr-Eoghau, 
embraced  the  present  county  of  Tyrone,  the  county  of  London- 
derry, parts  of  Armagh,  and  the  peninsula  of  Inishown.  Eoghan 
was  one  of  the  sons  of  Niall  of  the  Nine  Hostages,  and  his 
death  is  recorded  by  the  Four  Masters  under  the  year  464  : — 

Eoghain,  son  of  Niall  of  the  Nine  Hostages  [from  whom  are 
descended  the  Cinel-Eoghain],  died  of  grief  for  Conall-Gulban, 
son  of  Niall  of  the  Nine  Hostages,  and  was  buried  at  Uisce- 
Chain,  in  Inis-Eoghain,  concerning  which  was  said  : — 

Eoghan,  son  of  Niall  died 

Of  tears — good  his  nature — 

In  consequence  of  the  death  of  Conall,  of  hard  feats, 

So  that  his  grave  is  at  Uisce-Chain. 

The  place  where  he  was  buried  in  Iskaheen  is  now 
unknown,  but  it  was  probably  in  or  near  the  old  graveyard 
at  the  chapel  in  that  parish. 

Passing  over  the  intervening  kings  from  the  time  of 
Eoghan,  we  come  to  one  who,  a  century  later,  acted  a  pro- 
minent part  in  Irish  affairs,  and  left  in  an  unmistakable 
manner  his  '  footprints  on  the  sands  of  time.'  This  was 
(or  Hugh),  the  son  of  Ainmire,  King  of  Ireland. 

1  Triad.  Tfianm.,  p.  145. 


AILEACH   OF   THE   KINGS  401 

Ainmire  was  first  cousin  of  the  famous  St.  Colurnba,  so  that 
Mdh  and  Columba  stood  in  relation  to  each  other  of  first 
and  second  cousins.  In  his  twenty-fifth  year  St.  Columbkille 
was  obliged  to  leave  the  Monastery  of  Glasnevin,  beside 
Dublin,  in  consequence  of  a  plague  that  had  broken  out  in 
that  locality,  and  to  return  to  the  north.  He  came  to 
Derry,  which  was  then  an  island  on  which  was  a  royal  fort ; 
and  ^Edh,  who  was  then  very  young,  and  who  at  the  time 
was  residing  there,  offered  him  the  southern  portion  of  the 
island  as  a  site  for  a  monastery.  Some  say  that  .ZEdh  was 
then  too  young  to  be  in  power,  and  that  it  was  his  father 
Ainmire  who  bestowed  the  gift  on  his  saintly  cousin.  How- 
ever, be  it  given  by  whom  it  might,  St.  Columba  accepted 
the  gift,  and  founded  there  his  first  great  monastery,  A.D.  545. 
In  after  years  Columba's  heart  ever  turned  with  an  inde- 
scribable love  to  this  his  first  foundation,  and  from  the  place 
of  his  exile  would  he  strain  his  gaze  to  catch  even  a  glimpse 
of  the  distant  hills  that  environed  his  beloved  oak  grove  of 
Doire-Calgach.  There  is  an  ancient  Irish  poem  attributed 
to  the  saint,  in  which  he  expressed  his  great  and  undying 
love  for  the  green  island  in  the  Foyle.  Dr.  Douglas  Hyde 
has  lately  given  us  a  charming  metrical  paraphrase  of  this 
poem,  and  were  it  not  for  fear  of  occupying  too  much  space, 
we  would  gladly  transcribe  this  paraphrase  in  its  entirety. 
We  will  just  venture  to  give  a  few  stanzas : — 

And  oh  !  were  the  tributes  of  Alba,  mine, 
From  shore  unto  centre,  from  centre  to  sea, 

The  site  of  one  house,  to  be  marked  by  a  line, 
In  the  midst  of  fair  Derry,  were  dearer  to  me. 

That  spot  is  the  dearest  on  Erin's  ground, 

For  the  treasures  that  peace  and  that  purity  lend ; 
For  the  hosts  of  bright  angels  that  circle  it  round, 

Protecting  its  borders  from  end  to  end. 
That  spot  is  the  dearest  on  Erin's  ground, 

For  its  peace  and  its  beauty  I  gave  it  my  love ; 
Each  leaf  of  the  oaks  around  Derry  is  found 

To  be  crowded  with  angels  from  heaven  above. 

My  Derry,  my  Derry,  my  little  oak  grove, 

My  dwelling,  my  home,  and  my  own  little  cell ; 

May  God  the  Eternal,  in  heaven  above, 

Send  woe  to  thy  foes  and  defend  thce  well. 
VOL.  in.  2  c 


402  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

Shortly  after  his  accession  to  the  throne  of  Ireland, 
gave  permission  to  his  son  Comasach  to  make  a  friendly 
circuit  round  the  various  courts  of  the  kingdom,  where, 
however,  he  conducted  himself  in  a  most  insolent  manner. 
Bran  Dubh,  King  of  Leinster,  determined  to  put  an  end  to 
this  haughty  youth's  career,  and  had  him  assassinated.  The 
melancholy  tidings  were  borne  in  due  time  to  JEdh,  who 
was  then  residing  at  his  palace  of  Aileach,  and  he  collected 
together  his  forces,  and  marched  into  Leinster  to  avenge  the 
death  of  his  son.  But  the  expedition  proved  a  fatal  one  to 
him,  for  he  was  slain  in  the  battle  of  Dunbolg  (near  Baltin- 
glass),  A.D.  594.  This  ,3£dh  it  was  who  had  summoned  the 
great  Convention  at  Drumceat,  where  such  salutary  laws 
and  regulations  were  enacted. 

Leinster  seems  to  have  been  an  unfortunate  terri- 
tory to  the  northern  kings,  for,  in  the  year  718,  Fergal 
Mac  Maoileduin,  monarch  of  Ireland,  setting  out  from 
Aileach  to  collect  the  Boromean  tribute  in  that  province, 
was  slain  at  the  battle  of  Almhain  (now  the  Hill  of  Allen,  in 
the  county  of  Kildare),  with  six  thousand  of  his  mercenaries, 
and  a  great  number  of  the  northern  chiefs  and  warriors. 

None  of  the  kings  of  Aileach  were  more  fortunate  in 
having  their  names  and  exploits  handed  down  to  posterity 
than  Muircheartach,  or  Mortogh  of  the  Leather  Cloaks,  son 
of  Niall  Glundubh,  or  Niall  of  the  Black  Knee,  who  was  a 
most  distinguished  king,  but  was  killed  in  a  battle  against 
the  Danes,  near  Dublin,  A.D.  919,  after  a  reign  of  three 
years.  Muircheartach  was  son-in-law  of  the  supreme 
monarch,  and  was,  moreover,  Koydamna,  or  heir  presump- 
tive to  the  throne  of  Ireland.  He  was  a  bold  and  successful 
warrior,  and  made  many  hostile  incursions  into  Leinster, 
Connaught,  and  Ulidia;  sailed  on  one  occasion  to  the 
Hebrides,  plundered  them,  and  subdued  their  inhabitants  ; 
contended  frequently  against  the  Danes,  who  once  took  him 
prisoner,  and  twice  destroyed  his  palace  at  Aileach  ;  opposed 
his  father-in-law  in  battle  more  than  once,  but  in  the  end 
coalesced  with  him  against  the  common  enemy,  the  Norse- 
men. In  941  he  planned  and  executed  his  famous  circuit  of 
Ireland,  which  has  transmitted  his  name  to  posterity.  He 


AILEACH   OF    THE   KINGS  403 

was  fortunate  enough  to  have  in  his  retinue  a  distinguished 
poet,  named  Cormacan  Eigeas,  who,  in  the  year  following 
the  expedition,  committed  to  verse  a  history  of  the  whole. 
This  poem  has  been  translated  into  English  and  annotated 
by  Dr.  O'Donovan,  and  published  by  the  Irish  Arch  geological 
Society.  Muircheartach  was,  as  we  have  said,  heir  apparent 
to  the  throne  of  Tara ;  but  he  well  knew  that  his  claims 
would  be  disputed.  He  determined,  therefore,  to  anticipate 
any  opposition,  and  to  reduce  to  subjection  all  those  who 
were  likely  to  oppose  him.  With  this  object  in  view,  he 
selected  a  thousand  chosen  warriors,  dressed  them  in 
leathern  cloaks — from  which  circumstance  he  was  ever 
after  known  as  '  Murtogh  of  the  Leather  Cloaks  ' — and  in 
the  depth  of  winter,  when  he  knew  his  foes  would  be  unpre- 
pared, he  marched  to  Dublin,  whence  he  took  Sitric,  the 
Danish  King,  with  him  as  a  hostage.  He  then  proceeded 
against  Lorcan,  King  of  Leinster,  whom  he  also  carried 
with  him;  marched  from  thence  into  Munster,  and  took 
Cellaghan,  king  of  that  district ;  advanced  next  into 
Connaught,  where  Conchobar,  son  of  Teige,  came  to  meet 
him ;  and  then  returned  to  Aileach,  carrying  with  him  his 
royal  hostages.  In  the  spirit  of  a  true  chevalier,  he  was 
unwilling  to  bring  so  large  and  unexpected  a  party  to  his 
beautiful  queen — '  Dubhdaire  of  the  black  hair ' — without 
due  notice ;  and  he,  therefore,  despatched  a  courier  before 
him,  to  apprise  her  of  his  coming  : — 

From  the  green  Lochan  na  n'each 
A  page  was  despatched  to  Aileach, 
To  tell  Dubhdaire  of  the  black  hair 
To  send  women  to  cut  rushes. 

'  Eise  up,  0  Dubhdaire '  [spake  the  page] ; 
Here  is  company  coming  to  thy  house  ; 
Attend  to  each  man  of  them 
As  a  monarch  should  be  attended.' 

'  Tell  to  me '  [she  answered], '  what  company  comes  hither, 
To  the  lordly  Aileach-Figreann  ; 
Tell  me,  0  fair  page, 
That  I  may  attend  them.' 

'  The  Kings  of  Erin  in  fetters '  [he  replies], 
With  Muircheartach,  son  of  warlike  Niall, 
Ten  hundred  heroes  of  distinguished  valour, 
Of  the  race  of  the  fierce  fair  Eoghan.' 


404  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

For  five  months  Murtagh  detained  his  hostages  at 
Aileach,  but  at  the  end  of  that  time  he  sent  them  to  his 
father-in-law,  Donnchadh,  King  of  Ireland.  Donnchadh, 
however,  not  to  be  outdone  in  generosity,  sent  them  back 
again,  and  it  is  probable  they  remained  at  Aileach  till  the 
death  of  Murtogh,  which  occurred  in  943.  The  Four 
Masters  thus  record  his  death  : — 

Muircheartach  of  the  Leather  Cloaks,  son  of  Xiall  Glundubh, 
lord  of  Aileach,  the  Hector  of  the  west  of  Europe  in  his  time, 
was  slain  at  Ath-Fhirdiadh  by  Blacaire,  son  of  Godfrey  lord  of 
the  foreigners,  on  the  26th  of  March. 

The  modern  name  of  the  place  where  he  was  slain  is 
Ardee,  in  the  County  Louth. 

The  Venerable  Charles  O'Connor,  of  Balanagare,  in  his 
Dissertations  on  the  History  of  Ireland,  contrasting  the 
characters  of  Cellaghan,  King  of  Munster,  and  Murtagh 
King  of  Aileach  concludes  thus  :— 

Murkertagh  made  improvements  in  the  art  of  war.  His 
character  lies  entombed  in  the  history  of  a  people,  hardly  inquired 
after  in  our  own  time.  He  had  as]  great  a  genius  for  war  as  any 
man  that  this  island  has,  perhaps,  ever  produced.  The  endow- 
ments of  his  heart  were  still  greater.  He,  for  some  time,  valued 
himself  and  his  party  too  much  ;  but  loving  his  countiy  more,  he 
relented,  and  reconciled  himself  to  his  sovereign  and  his  brother- 
in  law  [recte,  father-in-law].  Thenceforward  he  never  relapsed 
into  faction.  Of  all  enemies,  he  was  the  most  generous ;  of  all 
commanders,  the  most  affable.  He  never  descended  from  his 
dignity;  but  reconciled  familiarity  to  rank,  which,  in  the  ordinary 
course  of  things,  must  be  kept  separate  from  it.  Elevated,  bene- 
volent, and  captivating,  he  was,  unhappily,  taken  off  at  a  time 
when  his  character  put  him  in  possession  of  a  power  which 
probably  would  have  relieved  his  country  from  bondage. 

In  956,  Domhnall  O'Neill,  son  of  Muircheartagh,  came 
to  the  throne,  and  we  find  his  death  recorded  under  date 
A.D.  978.  It  was  this  monarch  who  was  visited  at  Aileach 
by  the  famous  poet  MacCoise,  whose  palace  in  Meath  had 
been  plundered  by  O'Neill's  people.  O'Curry,  in  the  6th 
of  his  Lectures,  already  quoted  so  often,  gives  a  full  and 
interesting  account  of  this  visit,  and  of  the  curious  poem 
MacCoise  recited  on  the  occasion  to  the  monarch.  It  will 


AILEACH   OF   THE   KINGS  405 

repay  a  perusal,  and,  were  it  not  for  its  length,  we  would 
introduce  it  here.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  the  poem  had  its 
desired  effect,  and  procured  for  its  injured  author  a  full 
compensation  for  all  the  losses  he  had  sustained. 

But  though  Aileach  boasts  many  distinguished  kings 
and  princes,  it  is  questionable  if  any  of  them  have  stronger 
claims  to  a  prominent  place  in  our  history  than  the  last 
resident  king,  who  reigned  and  held  his  court  there. 
Domhnall  Ua  Lochlainn,  or  Donnel  O'Lochlin,  was  a 
warrior  of  whom  any  nation  might  be  proud  ;  and  had  he 
lived  in  a  country  less  torn  asunder  by  petty  jealousies 
and  factions,  would  probably  have  ranked  in  the  first  class 
of  renowned  heroes.  As  it  is,  he  occupies  no  inconsiderable 
place  in  our  annals  ;  and  the  palace  of  Aileach,  first  inha- 
bited by  the  memorable  Daghda,  found,  at  the  time  of  its 
final  destruction,  a  worthy  occupant  in  the  person  of 
Ardghar's  royal  son.  His  entire  reign,  both  as  King  of 
Aileach,  and  afterwards  as  King  of  Ireland,  exemplified 
strongly  the  words  that  '  man's  life  upon  earth  is  a  warfare  ;' 
for  he  seems  to  have  been  cradled  in  the  camp,  and  schooled 
in  the  battle-field,  and  to  have  turned  to  the  best  account 
the  military  genius  with  which  nature  had  endowed  him. 
His  kingly  air,  his  strength  of  mind,  his  unbounded  gene- 
rosity marked  him  out  for  his  high  position ;  and,  though 
success  is  not  always  the  proof  of  valour,  still,  when  victory 
crowned  all,  or  nearly  all,  the  battles  of  eight  and  thirty 
years  of  warfare,  it  is  impossible  to  withhold  from 
Domhnall  Ua  Lochlainn  the  fame  of  a  noble  and  daring 
soldier. 

Under  date  A.D.  1088,  the  Four  Masters  tell  us  that 
Domhnall  proceeded  into  Connaught,  obtained  hostages  of 
all  that  province,  whose  king  likewise  joined  him  in  his 
expedition,  marched  into  Munster  ;  burned  Limerick,  plun- 
dered the  province  of  Munster;  destroyed  Kincora,  the 
ancient  palace  of  the  Munster  kings,  and  carried  off  eight  - 
score  heroes  as  hostages  and  pledges.  Two  years  later  a 
great  meeting  took  place  between  Domhnall,  the  King  of 
Cashel,  the  Lord  of  Meath,  and  the  King  of  Connaught,  and 
all  agreed  to  deliver  hostages  to  the  King  of  Aileach  as  a 


THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

token  of  their  submission  to  him.  In  the  year  1093 
Domhnall  blinded  .ZEdh  Ua-Canannain,  Lord  of  Cinel- 
Connaill ;  and  in  the  following  year  he  slew  the  King  of 
Ulidia  in  the  battle  of  Bealach-Guirt-an-inbhair ;  that  is, 
as  O'Donovan  explains  it,  'The  Koad  or  Pass  of  the  Field 
of  the  Yew.'  '  This  Pass  was  at  Gortimire,  in  the  parish 
of  Killelagh,  barony  of  Loughinsholin,  in  the  county  of 
Londonderry.'  The  same  year  he  marched  to  Dublin, 
joined  by  the  chiefs  of  the  Kinel-Conaill,  Cinel-Eoghan, 
and  others,  proceeded  to  Oughterard,  in  Kildare,  and  after 
burning  that  town  routed  the  Munstermen  in  battle. 

In  1100  his  old  enemy,  Murtagh  O'Brien,  brought  a 
great  fleet  of  the  '  foreigners  '  to  Derry,  but  the  indomitable 
King  of  Aileach  completely  destroyed  them  ;  and  in  the 
same  year  he  took  prisoner  the  King  of  Ulidia,  and  many  of 
his  chiefs  together  with  him.  The  King  of  Munster  was  the 
one  persistent  enemy  who  disturbed  the  rest  and  peace  of 
Domhnall  during  his  whole  long  term  of  sovereignty.  He 
it  was,  who,  in  one  of  his  predatory  incursions  into  the 
North,  destroyed  the  regal  fortress  on  Greenan,  and  caused 
each  of  his  soldiers,  as  we  have  already  seen,  to  carry  back 
to  Limerick  a  stone  of  the  demolished  palace.  It  is  true 
this  destruction  of  Aileach  by  Murtagh  O'Brien  in  A.D.  1101 
was  but  an  act  of  retaliation  for  the  destruction  of  the 
palace  of  Kincora  by  Domhnall  in  1088,  but  the  carrying 
off  of  the  stones  from  the  ruined  mansion  was  a  refinement 
of  savagery  ill  becoming  a  kingly  mind. 

The  remaining  portion  of  Domhnall' s  reign  was  princi- 
pally made  up  of  incursions  into  Meath,  Connaught,  &c., 
until  in  A.D:  1121  we  find  recorded  the  death  of  this 
wonderful  man  in  that  quaint  style  of  eulogy  so  peculiar 
to  the  Donegal  annalists  :— 

Domhnall,  son  of  Ardghar  MacLochlainn,  King  of  Ireland,  the 
most  distinguished  of  the  Irish  for  personal  form,  family,  sense, 
prowess,  prosperity,  and  happiness,  for  bestowing  of  jewels  and 
food  upon  the  mighty  and  the  needy,  died  at  Doire-Choluim- 
Chille,  after  having  been  twenty-seven  years  in  sovereignty  over 
Ireland,  and  eleven  years  in  the  kingdom  of  Ailech,  in  the  seventy- 
third  year  of  his  age,  on  the  night  of  "Wednesday,  the  fourth  of 
the  Ides  of  February,  being  the  feast  of  Mochuarog. 


AILEACH   OF   THE   KINGS  407 

The  title  did  not  die  with  him,  for,  thirty  "years  later,  we 
find  recorded  by  the  same  authorities  that  '  the  hostages  of 
Leinster  were  sent  to  his  house,  to  the  son  of  Niall,  grandson 
of  Lochlainn ;  i.e.,  King  of  Aileach  and  Teamhair.'  On 
till  the  close  of  the  twelfth  century  the  title  of  King  of 
Aileach  is  met  with  in  our  annals ;  but  after  that  time  it 
disappears  from  our  history,  and  is  lost  for  ever. 

IV.  LEGENDS  OF  AILEACH. — THE  PEOSPECT  FROM  THE 
GRIANAN. — THE  PENAL  DAYS 

The  royal  abode  of  so  many  kings  and  warriors  thence- 
forth became  the  prey  of  '  time's  destroying  fingers.'  The 
sound  of  revelry  and  the  clang  of  armour  alike  were  stilled 
within  its  walls.  Captive  kings  no  longer  sat  at  the 
monarch's  board,  and  '  the  house  of  the  groaning  hostages ' 
held  no  more  its  fettered  inmates;  but,  when  the  reality  was 
gone,  imagination  would  still  people  it  with  warlike  hosts, 
ready  to  come  to  their  country's  deliverance  when  the  time 
arrived,  and  the  signal  was  given  them.  In  a  cave  underneath 
the  mountain,  say  the  legends,  lies  entranced  in  magic 
slumber  a  troop  of  horse  belonging  to  Hugh  O'Neill.  They 
have  not,  like  the  fallen  soldiers  of  Sennacherib, '  the  dew  on 
their  brow,  and  the  rust  on  their  mail,'  but  are  equipped  in 
perfect  armour,  well  mounted  on  fiery  chargers,  whose  reins 
they  hold  with  one  hand,  while  the  other  rests  upon  the  hilt 
of  a  shining  blade.  The  spell  that  binds  them  can  only  be 
broken  by  their  destined  leader,  and  everyone  else  is  power- 
less to  disenchant  them.  On  one  occasion  a  man  wandered 
accidentally  into  this  cave,  and  was  terrified  at  the  sight  of 
the  armed  soldiers.  One  of  them  raised  his  head,  and  asked 
'  was  the  time  come  ; '  but  when  no  answer  was  given  him, 
he  fell  back  again  into  his  magic  slumber.  Duffy,  in  his 
spirited  ballad,  entitled  Inishowen,  refers  to  this  legend  :  — 

When  they  tell  us  a  tale  of  a  spell-stricken  band, 

All  entranced,  with  their  bridles  and  broadswords  in  hand, 

Who  await  but  the  word  to  give  Erin  her  own, 

They  can  read  you  that  riddle  in  proud  Innishowen. 

Another  very  beautiful    but   melancholy  legend  is  fre- 
quently told  in  connection  with  Aileach  ;    but  as  Keating 


408  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

relates  it  as  having  occurred  at  Emania,  in  the  time  of 
Connor  MacNessa,  King  of  Ulster,  we  will  merely  given  an 
outline  of  it  here. 

A  certain  noble,  who  was  of  a  warlike  disposition, 
wishing  to  perfect  himself  in  the  exercise  of  arms,  went 
for  that  purpose  to  Scotland,  to  receive  instructions  from 
Sgathach,  a  lady  of  masculine  bravery  and  experience.  Here 
Congculionn,  or  Cuhullin,  fell  in  love  with  a  Scotch  lady, 
named  Aoife,  and  had  his  affection  returned.  He  was 
obliged  suddenly,  and  sooner  than  he  expected,  to  return 
to  his  native  land;  but  ere  leaving  he  gave  directions  to  Aoife 
how  to  train  up  their  child,  if  a  son.  She  was  to  have  him 
instructed  in  the  military  art  by  the  best  teachers,  and  at  a 
certain  age  he  was  to  be  sent  to  Ireland  to  seek  out  his 
father.  A  chain  of  gold  which  he  gave  her  was  to  be  put 
about  the  youth's  neck  when  setting  out  for  the  shores  of 
Erinn,  and  by  this  was  his  father  to  know  him  and 
acknowledge  him  as  his  son. 

Three  obligations,  however,  she  was  to  impose  on  him 
with  all  a  mother's  authority  when  setting  out  on  his 
journey,  and  to  insist  strictly  on  their  observance.  The 
first  was,  that  he  should  never  give  place  to  any  person 
living,  but  rather  die  than  be  obliged  to  turn  back.  The 
second  was,  never  to  refuse  a  challenge  from  the  boldest 
champion  alive,  but  to  fight  with  him  even  though  he  was 
bure  to  fall  in  the  encounter.  And  the  third  was,  never  to 
disclose  his  name  to  anyone  asking  it.  In  due  time  a  son 
was  born,  and  named  Conlaoch.  His  mother  got  him  trained 
by  the  same  Amazon  who  had  instructed  his  father,  and  he 
became  the  greatest  proficient  in  the  military  art  in  Scotland. 
At  the  appointed  time  he  came  to  search  for  his  father, 
Congcullion,  and  directed  his  steps  to  the  king's  palace, 
where  a  great  meeting  was  at  that  time  being  held  to  de- 
liberate on  matters  relating  to  the  province  of  Ulster.  On 
coming  to  court  the  young  Conlaoch  refused  to  disclose  his 
name  even  to  the  king's  messengers;  and  Cuhullin,  who 
formed  one  of  the  assembly  of  nobles  then  met  together, 
asked  the  king's  permission  to  see  this  haughty  youth,  and  to 
force  him  to  obedience.  To  Cuhullin's  inquiry  as  to  his 


AILEACH   OF   THE   KINGS  409 

name  and  the  object  of  his  coming,  Conlaoch  refused  an 
answer,  till  the  father,  incensed  by  the  obstinacy  of  the 
young  warrior,  struck  him  with  his  spear.  Roused  to  fury, 
Conlaoch  sprang  at  Cuhullin,  and,  '  as  meet  two  troubled 
seas,  with  the  rolling  of  all  their  waves,  when  they  feel 
the  wings  of  contending  winds,  in  the  rock-sided  firth  of 
Lurnon,'  so  met  the  warriors  in  deadly  combat.  Never  was 
deadlier  struggle  witnessed;  but  the  fire  of  youth  was  in 
Conlaoch's  veins,  and  the  hitherto  unconquered  Cuhullin  had 
to  yield  to  the  prowess  of  his  adversary.  Worsted  in  the 
conflict,  he  was  forced  to  take  advantage  of  a  ford  in  the 
stream  to  save  his  life.  Maddened  by  his  defeat  he  called 
upon  one  of  his  officers  to  bring  him  the  spear,  called  in  Irish 
the  Gai  Builg,  with  which  he  was  sure  to  destroy  his  adver- 
sary. Grasping  it  in  his  hand,  he  threw  it  with  all  his  force, 
and  surely  enough  pierced  the  body  of  the  unfortunate  youth, 
who  fell  dead  upon  the  spot.  Pity  for  his  fate  and  unmerited 
death  now  seized  upon  the  heart  of  Congcullion,  and  bend- 
ing over  his  fair  young  victim,  from  whose  cheek  and  brow 
the  bloom  of  boyhood  had  scarcely  worn  away,  he  descried 
the  chain  which  years  before  he  had  entrusted  to  the  hands 
of  the  enamoured  Aoife.  His  grief  can  be  better  imagined 
than  described,  for  he  was  now  heartbroken.  They  buried 
the  ill-fated  Conlaoch  in  the  green  valley  below,  and  raised 
above  him  a  hero's  tomb.  The  summer  passed,  the  autumn 
died  away,  and  surly  November  breathed  over  the  landscape, 
stripping  the  quivering  branches  of  their  foliage,  and  sending 
the  withered  leaves  through  their  weird,  fantastic  dances. 
On  an  evening  at  this  season  a  female  form  was  seen  at 
Conlaoch's  grave,  and  the  morrow  found  her  still  kneeling 
there.  It  was  Aoife,  the  loving  mother,  who,  fearing  for  the 
fate  of  her  son,  had  followed  him  to  Erin  ;  and,  learning  the 
sad  story  of  his  melancholy  end,  had  come  to  die  at  her 
loved  one's  tomb.  The  green  sward  opened  its  bosom  for 
her  too,  and  she  sleeps  with  the  child  of  her  love  in  this 
northern  valley,  far  from  the  home  of  her  youth  and  the 
graves  of  her  kindred. 

The  prospect  from  the  summit  of  Greenan  is  grand  in 
the  extreme.     '  It  commands,'  says  Petrie, '  one  of  the  most 


410  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

extensive  and  beautifully  varied  panoramic  prospects  to  be 
found  in  Ireland.'  Westward  lies  Tyrconnell,  with  its 
glorious  mountains  and  verdant  valleys ;  away  towards  the 
north  stretch  the  realms  of  O'Doherty,  historic  Inishowen ; 
eastwards  rise  up  the  basaltic  headlands  of  Magilligan  and 
the  dark  hills  of  Derry  ;  whilst  the  blue  mountain  ranges  of 
Tyrone  close  in  the  beauteous  picture  towards  the  south. 
It  is  a  region  of  romantic  story,  the  scene  of  a  thousand 
battles,  the  natal  soil  of  many  a  saint,  the  asylum  of  the 
poet  and  historian,  and  the  field  where  the  expiring  patriot- 
ism of  Ireland  fought  its  last  death-fight  against  the 
encroachments  of  English  power. 

And  around  this  old  ruin,  which  crowns  the  summit  of 
Greenan,  how  many  glorious  as  well  as  sad  reminiscences 
cluster !  What  revolutions  has  it  not  witnessed !  what 
wonderful  changes  has  it  not  beheld !  How  many  generations 
have  come  and  gone,  have  played  their  part  upon  the  stage  of 
life,  and  then  retired  behind  the  curtain  of  death,  since  first 
the  Daghda's  murdered  son  was  laid  to  rest  upon  the  summit  of 
this  mountain !  Nearly  a  thousand  years  before  Sardanapalus 
perished  amid  the  smoking  ruins  of  Niniveh  did  Corgeann 
sink  here  beneath  his  cruel  burden  ;  and  the  towers  of  Rome 
did  not  fling  their  shadows  over  the  yellow  Tiber  till  ten 
centuries  after  the  first  De  Danann  palace  had  been  erected 
at  Aileach.  Almost  coeval  with  Grecian  Thebes,  ancient 
as  Thyatira,  it  was  centuries  old  before  Antioch  was  founded 
by  Seleucus  Nicator,  and  before  Solomon  had  raised  his 
magnificent  temple  in  the  sacred  city  of  Sion.  It  preceded 
and  survived  the  rise  and  fall  of  many  kingdoms  and  empires ; 
it  has  seen  the  strange  vicissitudes  of  fortune  in  the  old 
world  and  the  new ;  and  whilst  the  proudest  cities  of  bygone 
ages  have  melted  away  like  the  snowflake,  it  still  rests  on 
the  brow  of  the  mountain,  looking  out,  as  of  old,  on  the 
Swilly  and  the  Foyle,  and  guarding,  like  a  faithful  sentinel, 
the  lands  of  O'Doherty,  from  the  peaks  of  the  Scalp  to  the 
distant  shores  of  Malin. 

It  has  seen  countless  changes  in  the  religious  and 
political  systems  of  the  world.  The  strange  doctrines  of 
Buddha,  the  more  elevated  system  of  the  sun  and  fire 


AILEACH   OF    THE   KINGS  411 

worshippers,  the  absurd  theories  of  Grecian  and  Roman 
philosophers,  have  passed,  in  turn,  before  it,  and  the  mystic 
rites  of  the  Druids  have  been  celebrated  around  its  very 
walls.  The  voice  of  Ireland's  great  apostle  has  echoed 
here,  and  in  this  spot  the  warlike  son  of  Niall  the  Great 
reverently  bowed  to  Patrick's  teaching. 

Even  in  the  immediate  locality  around,  what  astonishing 
political  revolutions,  what  changes  of  dynasty,  what  cruel 
butcheries,  have  not  been  witnessed  !  What  temples  of  reli- 
gion has  Aileach  not  seen  rise  in  its  very  vicinity,  then  fall, 
in  the  lapse  of  years,  beneath  the  worse  than  Vandal  power 
of  the  enemies  of  society !  There,  beyond  the  modern 
ramparts  that  connect  Inch  with  Inishowen,  once  arose  the 
cloisters  of  St.  Mura,  or  Muranus,  a  famous  monastery 
founded  by  St.  Columbkille,  and  governed,  in  the  beginning 
of  the  seventh  century,  by  the  illustrious  man  whose  name 
it  ever  afterwards  bore.  St.  Mura  wrote  the  life  of  the 
founder  of  the  monastery  (St.  Columb),  and  from  this 
life  the  Martyrology  of  Donegal  makes  several  extracts. 
Here,  too,  died,  in  A.D.  884,  a  most  distinguished 
scholar  and  writer,  Maelmura,  or  servant  of  Mura,  abbot 
of  Fahan.  In  recording  the  event  the  Four  Masters  thus 
write  : — 

Msealmura,  the  learned  and  truly  intelligent  poet,  the  erudite 
historian  of  the  Scotic  language,  died.  It  is  of  him  this  testimony 
was  given  : — 

There   trod  not  the   charming   earth,  there  never  flourished  at  affluent 

Teamhair, 
The  great  and   fertile  Ireland  never  produced  a  man  like  the  mild,  fine 

Maelmura. 
There  sipped  not  death  -without  sorrow,  there  mixed  not  a  nobler  face  with 

the  dead, 
The  habitable  earth  was  not  closed  over  a  historian  more  illustrious. 

Well  was  that  place  named  Fathen,  or  Fahan  (which 
means  shelter  or  enclosure),  for  the  north  winds  may  rave, 
and  the  tempests  roar,  but  Fahan  heeds  not  their  violence. 
Nestling  at  the  foot  of  the  semicircular  hills  that  shield  it 
from  the  north,  it  for  ever  woos  the  sunshine,  and  smiles  in 
perpetual  verdure  when  all  around  is  wintry  gloom  and 
desolation.  But  the  monastic  glories  of  Fahan  are  gone, 


412  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

and  only  a  crumbling  ruin  of  the  beauteous  church  now 
remains  to  indicate  the  site  of  its  once  famous  schools  and 
sacred  cloisters. 

Across  the  lake,  on  the  opposite  shore  of  the  Swilly, 
stood  the  abbey  of  Kil-o'-Donnell,  a  Franciscan  foundation 
established  by  the  great  Tyrconnel  chieftains.  It  belonged 
to  the  Tertiaries,  or  third  Order  of  St.  Francis,  and,  like  its 
great  parent  house  in  Donegal,  was  both  founded  and 
endowed  by  the  O'Donnells.  Farther  down  along  the 
shore  was  the  Carmelite  Convent  of  Rathmullen,  opposite  to 
which  '  dauntless  Red  Hugh  '  was  entrapped  in  his  fifteenth 
year  by  the  wily  stratagem  of  Sir  John  Perrott,  and  carried 
away  captive  to  Dublin  Castle,  in  whose  dungeons  he 
languished  for  four  years.  He  was  captured  in  1587,  and 
exactly  twenty  years  afterwards  another  vessel  sailed  from 
that  same  Fanad  shore,  bearing  away  for  ever,  from  their 
native  land,  the  noblest  and  most  skilful  generals  that 
Ireland  ever  produced.  These  were  the  '  Earls,'  as  they 
were  usually  styled,  and  the  numerous  retinue  that  accom- 
panied them.  Than  Hugh  O'Neill,  who  for  so  many 
years  out-manoauvred  all  the  generals  of  Elizabeth ;  and 
Rory  O'Donnell,  a  man  in  every  way  worthy  of  the  princely 
name  he  bore,  our  annals  can  produce  no  grander  characters. 
Never  did  Aileach  look  down  upon  a  more  melancholy 
scene  : — 

For  it  is  certain  [say  the  Four  Masters]  that  the  sea  never 
carried,  and  that  the  winds  never  wafted  from  the  Irish  shores, 
individuals  more  illustrious  or  noble  in  genealogy,  or  more 
renowned  for  deeds  of  valour,  prowess,  and  high  achievements. 

Sad  though  was  their  fate,  it  is  consoling  to  know  that 
in  this  our  day  justice  has  at  length  been  done  to  their 
memory,  and  that  the  glowing  and  truthful  pen  of  one  of 
our  best  writers  (the  late  Father  Meehan)  has  pourtrayed 
their  sufferings  and  their  wrongs  in  his  Fate  and  Fortunes 
of  Neill  and  O'Donnell. 

Southwards  from  Fanad  lies  Gartan,  the  birthplace  of 
the  most  remarkable  man  in  Irish  history,  St.  Columbkille. 
Remarkable  was  he  in  every  sense,  for,  like  St.  Bernard  in  a 


AILEACH   OF   THE   KINGS  413 

later  age,  his  word  swayed  the  councils  of  kings,  and  gave  a 
direction  to  the  current  both  of  politics  and  religion.  From 
Greenan  can  we  count  the  sites  of  the  many  religious  houses 
he  established,  stretching  from  Derry,  his  first  great  founda- 
tion, to  the  distant  Tory,  amid  the  waves  of  the  Atlantic. 
And  when  the  mists  ascend,  and  leave  undimmed  the  blue 
expanse  across  the  waters,  the  last  scene  of  his  missionary 
labours — the  isles  and  highlands  of  Scotland — rise  before  us 
like  distant  cerulean  cloudland,  flecked  with  living  streaks 
of  golden  sunshine. 

Immediately  below,  on  this  side  of  the  Swilly,  and 
adjoining  the  base  of  Greenan,  stretch  the  rich  plains  of 
Burt,  one  vast  garden  of  luxuriance  and  beauty,  and  the 
border  fortresses  of  O'Doherty — like  wounded  gladiators, 
now  tottering  to  their  fall — lend  an  indescribable  charm  to 
the  picture.  These  are  the  castles  of  Burt,  Inch,  and 
Elagh,  which,  with  that  of  Buncrana,  were  used  alternately 
by  the  lord  of  Inishowen  as  pleasure  or  convenience  sug- 
gested. Tradition  states  that  these  castles  were  built  in  the 
beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century  by  Neacthan  O'Donnell 
for  his  father-in-law,  O'Doherty.  Their  last  owner  was  the 
chivalrous  but  ill-fated  Sir  Cahir,  who  was  killed  near 
Kilmacrenan,  A.D.  1608.  With  him  passed  away  the  power 
and  the  glory  of  the  old  sept,  and  his  lordly  possessions  were 
seized  upon  by  Sir  Arthur  Chichester,  one  of  the  most  cold- 
blooded and  heartless  reptiles  that  ever  crawled  from  the 
mire  of  English  corruption.  Sir  Cahir's  name  and  history 
fill  a  gloomy  page  in  the  history  of  our  country.  What  he 
might  in  time  have  become  is  now  vain  to  conjecture,  for, 
with  a  burning  feeling  of  personal  injury  rankling  in  his 
soul,  and  with  the  standard  of  battle  once  raised,  he  pro- 
bably would  have  proved  a  deadly  and  troublesome  enemy 
to  the  English  power  in  the  North,  had  his  fate  not  been 
sealed  so  early  on  the  Eock  of  Doon. 

To  barely  enumerate  the  historical  spots  visible  from 
Greenan,  and  to  recount  the  incidents  connected  with  them, 
would  be  to  compress  into  an  essay  the  material  of  a  portly 
volume.  There  is  not  a  foot  of  ground  on  either  side  the 
classic  Swilly  or  lovely  Foyle  that  does  not  bear  testimony 


414  THE   TRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

equally  to  the  prowess  and  the  piety  of  the  ancient  race ;  and 
the  crumbling  arches  of  the  ruined  cloisters,  like  voices  from 
the  dead,  remind  us  that  learning  and  religion  flourished 
here  at  a  time  when  the  tide  of  barbarism  had  swept  away 
everything  sacred  from  the  rest  of  Europe. 

Greenan,  too,  is  a  mute  memorial  of  the  cruel  legislation 
of  the  penal  days ;  for  here,  in  the  last  century,  were  the 
persecuted  Catholics  wont  to  assemble,  and  to  offer  to  God 
that  homage  which  their  faith  dictated.  This  was  not,  as 
Colonel  Blacker  in  his  sun-temple  theory  has  stated,  by  any 
means  '  a  certain  proof  of  the  traditional  sanctity  of  the 
spot/  but  was  rather  a  proof  of  the  fear  and  trembling  with 
which  the  persecuted  race  regarded  the  priest-hunters  of  the 
time,  and  which  induced  them  to  select  a  situation  from 
whence  their  enemies  could  be  seen  from  a  distance,  and 
imprisonment  or  death  be  consequently  avoided.  That  such 
precaution  was  not  unnecessary  we  must  admit,  when  we 
bear  in  mind  how  these  traffickers  in  human  blood  were 
ever  following  in  the  wake  of  their  victims,  and  how 

With  eye  of  lynx,  and  ear  of  stag, 
And  footfall  like  the  snow, 

they  were  ever  alive  to  the  least  movement  of  the  banned  and 
outlawed  race,  and  were  only  too  ready  and  willing  to  betray 
them  to  the  soldiery.  We  can  well  remember  to  hear  our 
venerated  grandsires  tell,  in  the  days  of  our  childhood,  how 
they  attended  Mass  on  Greenan  Hill,  when  Dean  O'Donnell 
(afterwards  Bishop  of  Derry)  was  the  celebrant ;  how  they 
arose  long  hours  before  day,  and  accompanied  their  parents 
through  the  dreary  hills  to  the  sacred  try  sting-place ;  and 
how  in  that  temple  of  nature,  whose  floor  was  the  damp 
heather,  and  whose  canopy  was  the  azure  sky,  they  learned 
practically  the  truth  and  sweetness  of  the  doctrine  that 
'  blessed  are  they  that  suffer  persecution  for  justice'  sake.' 
But  though,  happily,  those  days  are  gone  for  ever,  yet  the 
impress  they  made  was  too  dsep  to  be  easily  obliterated,  and 
the  emancipated  children  of  shackled  parents  can  scarcely 
yet  realize  their  freedom. 

We  cannot  close  this  little  sketch  without  referring  to 


AILEACH   OF   THE   KINGS  415 

an  effort  made  a  few  years  since  to  restore  what  remains 
of  Aileach  to  its  pristine  form.  The  palace  itself,  as  we 
already  saw,  was  destroyed  by  O'Brien  in  1101,  but  what 
Dr.  Petrie  calls  the  \cashel '  was  apparently  not  interfered 
with.  In  the  lapse  of  years  it  gradually  fell,  and  having 
been  constructed  originally  of  uncemented  stones,  it  pre- 
sented at  the  time  of  the  Ordnance  Survey  the  appearance 
of  a  cairn.  As,  however,  the  walls  still  remained  standing 
to  the  height  of  five  or  six  feet,  Petrie  and  his  collaborateurs 
were  able  tD  take  measurements,  and  to  sketch  out  with 
wonderful  accuracy  the  plan  of  the  building.  The  surround- 
ing wall  was  circular,  enclosing  a  space  77  feet  6  inches 
in  diameter,  and  the  breadth  of  the  wall  at  its  base  varied 
from  15  feet  to  11  feet  6  inches.  There  was  one  doorway 
on  the  eastern  side,  there  were  stairs  inside  in  the  walls, 
which  led  to  galleries,  and  brought  one  to  the  top  gallery  or 
platform.  Petrie  conjectured  the  height  of  the  external 
wall  had  been  twice  or  even  four  times  the  height  of  the 
portion  of  the  wall  then  standing,  i.e.,  that  it  might  have 
been  12  or  even  24  feet  high.  It  was  evidently  intended 
for  a  watch-tower,  and  as  a  place  of  defence  from  which 
assailing  enemies  could  be  advantageously  repelled.  It 
would  serve,  moreover,  as  a  store-house  for  the  military 
weapons  used  at  the  period. 

Dr.  Bernard,  a  medical  gentleman  residing  in  the  city  of 
Derry,  undertook  the  work  of  restoration  some  years  ago, 
and  having  enlisted  the  sympathies  of  the  farmers  of  the 
locality,  he  secured  valuable  assistance  from  them  in  carrying 
out  the  work.  He  followed  the  plans  sketched  out  in  the 
Ordnance  Memoir,  and  after  earnest  and  persevering  labours 
he  completed  his  self-imposed  task.  To  him  it  was  a  labour 
of  love,  for  he  is  a  most  devoted  antiquarian,  and  his  labour 
has  been  the  means  of  reviving  the  interest  in  the  place,  and 
of  attracting  numbers  of  tourists  in  the  summer  months. 
He  well  deserves  the  gratitude  of  all  who  take  an  interest 
in  the  bygone  glories  and  in  the  ruins  of  their  native 
land. 

Silence  and  desolation  now  brood  over  this  ancient  seat 
of  royalty ;  the  music  of  the  harp  and  the  sigh  of  the 


416  THE  IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

captive  alike  are  stilled  within  its  walls ;  decay,  with  foot- 
steps as  noiseless  as  the  summer  mist,  has  pressed  upon  it ; 
and  the  green  grass  grows  in  its  kingly  courts,  and  the 
tempests  of  the  North  howl  over  its  fallen  battlements. 
Yet,  though  all  its  grandeur  and  greatness  are  no  more ; 
though  its  kings  and  warriors  have  long  since  mouldered 
into  dust ;  it  has  still  a  charm  for  us  in  its  past,  and  we 
love  to  hear — as  Ossian  expresses  it — '  a  tale  of  the  times 
of  old — the  deeds  of  days  of  other  years.'  When  the  future 
antiquarian  shall  investigate  the  history  of  our  neglected 
ruins  ;  when  the  golden  dawn  of  a  genuine  patriotism  shall 
light  our  countrymen  in  the  study  of  bygone  ages,  then 
shall  we  find  that  not  the  least  interesting  memorial  of 
Ireland's  forgotten  glories  is  the  mouldering  palace  of 
the  Daghda — the  time-honoured  halls  of  '  Aileach  of  the 
Kings.' 

ifc  JOHN  K.  O'DoHEETY. 


OLIVER   KELLY,  ARCHBISHOP   OF   TUAM 

VEEY  little  is  now  known,  or  has  been  ever  published 
in  any  connected  form,  concerning  the  distinguished 
career  and  the  arduous  life  and  labours  of  Dr.  Oliver  Kelly, 
Archbishop  of  Tuam.  In  the  Lives  of  the  Archbishops  of 
Tuam,  written  by  the  late  Sir  Oliver  J.  Burke,  for  which 
the  learned  author  received  the  order  of  the  Papal  knight  • 
hood,  but  very  scant  notice  is  taken  of  the  personal  character 
of  this  prelate,  and  a  short  account  only  given  of  his  public 
action.  This  poverty  of  material  seemed  unavoidable,  as 
Dr.  Kelly  lived  in  a  period  of  stress  and  storm  in  Ireland, 
when  there  was  little  time  or  thought  to  record  the  passing 
events  of  his  day ;  and,  coneequently,  there  remain  but 
scattered  and  incomplete  memorials  of  that  eminent  eccle- 
siastic. That  Dr.  Kelly  was  a  distinguished  and  a  remarkable 
man  is  evident  from  several  facts.  It  is  recorded  of  him 
that  when  intelligence  of  his  death  reached  Rome,  whither 
he  was  bound  at  the  time,  the  Pope  (Gregory  XVI.)  '  wept 
as  for  the  loss  of  an  old  and  valued  friend; '  and  we  fiud 
that  when  the  assembled  bishops  of  Ireland  met,  in  1834, 
to  make  a  pronouncement  upon  the  Veto,  Dr.  Kelly,  Arch- 
bishop of  Tuam,  was  chosen  as  their  presiding  chairman  ; 
and  his  name,  as  such,  appears  appended  to  the  patriotic 
resolutions  they  issued,  showing  the  high  position  of  promi- 
nence he  must  have  attained  in  the  Irish  Church. 

With  the  aid  of  some  material  lately  discovered  in  old 
newspapers  and  from  other  sources,  as  well  as  local  tradi- 
tion, I  am  enabled  to  put  on  paper  some  few  connected  facrs 
respecting  the  deceased  prelate  which,  seeing  the  light  after 
being  so  many  years  immured  in  these  old,  dusty  records, 
may  be  of  interest  not  alone  to  the  wide -scattered  sons  of 
the  see  of  Tuam,  which  he  so  worthily  filled,  but  also  to 
the  ecclesiastics  generally  of  our  Church. 

Oliver  Kelly  was  born  at  Crumore,  or  Curraghmore,  in 
the  county  of  Galway,  in  the  year  1777,  of  pious  and 

VOL.  III.  2  D 


418  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

respectable  parents,  members  of  the  old  Catholic  families  of 
Connaught,  who  clung  to  the  faith  with  the  well-known 
tenacity  of  the  Celt.  A  writer  in  the  Catholic  Magazine 
of  1834,  says  :— 

At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  was  obliged  to  seek  in  a  foreign 
country  that  education  which,  by  the  barbarous  penal  laws,  it 
was  deemed  a  crime  to  receive  in  his  native  land— that  land  so 
famed  in  days  of  yore  for  communicating  religion,  arts,  avid 
civilization,  not  only  to  persecuting  England,  but  to  various  other 
nations  more  grateful  for  the  blessings  they  thus  received. 

Under  the  learned  priest,  who  was  subsequently  Primate 
of  Ireland  (Most  Kev.  Dr.  Curtis),  at  Salamanca,  Oliver  Kelly 
received  that  sound  education  he  used  so  admirably  for 
the  promotion  of  religion.  About  1802  he  returned  to 
Ireland  ordained  a  priest,  and  being  then  twenty-five  years 
of  age,  was  appointed  by  Dr.  Dillon,  Archbishop  of  Taam, 
as  Administrator  of  the  parish  of  Tuam.  At  that  time, 
when  the  sound  of  a  bell  for  worship  could  not  be  heard  in 
that  Catholic  town,  and  when,  instead  of  the  proud  com- 
manding prominence  it  now  occupies,  verily  situated  on  a 
mountain  top,  as  it  were,  their  church,  of  unpretending  size 
and  style,  was  hidden  away  in  an  obscure  quarter  known  as 
Chapel-lane.  The  bishop  and  priests  lived  together  in  a 
small,  thatched  house  on  the  Tullinadally-road.  It  was 
destined  for  Oliver  Kelly  to  build,  not  only  the  present 
Cathedral,  but  the  bishop's  house  and  the  presbytery,  and  it 
was  left  for  the  present  eminently  public-spirited  and  careful 
prelate  to  secure,  out  of  his  own  resources,  all  these  places 
for  the  use  of  the  church,  free  from  the  restrictions  of 
tenancy,  and  the  responsibilities  of  rent.  Working  assi- 
duously in  Tuam  for  some  years,  Father  Kelly  was  appointed 
parish  priest  of  Westport.  There  he  commenced  that 
wonderful  career  of  church  building,  for  which  he  was  so 
distinguished.  While  in  Westport  he  built  the  present 
Catholic  chapel  upon  the  Mall,  a  very  pretty  edifice  in  the 
Grecian  style  of  architecture,  and  having  inscribed  outside 
the  words  of  Holy  Writ :  '  This  is  an  awful  place.'  Upon 
the  death  of  Dr,  Dillon,  in  1809,  Fr.  Kelly  was  appointed 
Vicar  Capitular  of  the  Archdiocese  by  his  brother  priests. 


OLIVER   KELLY,   ARCHBISHOP    OF   TUAM  419 

These  were  troublous  times  for  the  Church,  and  the  Pope,  a 
prisoner  of  the  French  Emperor,  was  unable  to  discharge 
his  high  functions.  Consequently,  Tuam  remained  without 
a  bishop,  and  there  was  an  interregnum  for  five  years  in  the 
see  of  Jarlath,  It  was  only  on  the  4th  of  October,  1814, 
that  Pope  Pius  VII.  was  able  to  issue  his  rescript,  and  that 
Dr.  Kelly  received  his  appointment.  On  the  12th  of  March, 
1815,  he  was  consecrated  in  the  old  Church  at  Chapel  lane. 
In  1829  he  received  the  Pallium  from  the  Holy  See.  In 
Sir  Oliver  Burke's  brief  account  of  Dr.  Kelly,  1814  is  given 
as  the  date  of  his  appointment,  but  the  above  are  the  exact 
dates.  In  the  Catholic  Magazine  for  June,  1834,  we  read  of 
Dr.  Kelly  :- 

His  unalterable  attachment  to  the  purity  of  the  Catholic 
faith,  and  his  desire  to  preserve  it  in  Ireland  against  the  wily 
machinations  of  State  tricks,  were  unequivocally  manifested  in 
his  opposition  to  the  rescript  of  Quarrantotti,  in  1814,  to  the  Vote 
under  every  shape,  and  to  the  pensioning  project  of  1825.  He 
not  only  headed  his  own  immediate  bishops  and  clergy  in 
denouncing  those  measures  but  on  account  of  his  peculiar  firm- 
ness was  chosen  President  of  the  assembled  bishops  of  Ireland, 
in  Synod,  in  1815,  when  in  the  spirit  of  that  great  national 
apostle  they  declared  that  the  giving  of  any  direct  or  indirect 
influence  to  the  Government  of  this  country  by  veto,  nomination 
boards,  or  pension,  over  the  Catholic  clergy,  would  be  as  destruc- 
tive to  the  peace  of  the  country  as  it  would  be  subversive  of  the 
Catholic  religion  in  Ireland. 

Upon  his  appointment  to  Tuam,  Dr.  Kelly  appointed 
Dean  Burke  his  successor  in  Westport,  and  he  was  its  last 
parish  priest,  as  upon  that  good  priest's  death  it  was  attached 
to  Tuam  by  Dr.  MacHale  as  a  mensal  parish,  and  it  so 
continues.  Dean  Burke  was  an  intimate  friend  of  the 
bishop,  and  was  regarded  by  priests  and  people  as  his 
probable  successor,  for  the  translation  of  Dr.  MacHale  from 
Killala  by  Rome  was  at  the  time  somewhat  of  a  surprise  in 
Tuam.  In  1822  famine  stalked  the  land,  and  the  labours  at 
that  time  of  Dr.  Kelly  were  so  untiring,  so  anxious  and 
arduous,  that  they  undermined  his  health,  and  he  was  never 
the  same  afterwards.  Even  so  did  the  rigours  of  black  '47 
make  such  an  impression  on  the  late  Bishop  of  Clonfert, 


420  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

then  parish  priest  of  Cummer,  that  he  never  could  shake 
off  its  effects  upon  his  spirits  and  strength.  A  Belief 
Committee  was  formed  in  Tuaru  consisting  of  the  two 
Archbishops,  Dr.  Kelly  and  Dr.  Trench  (the  last  Protestant 
Archbishop  of  Tuam).  It  may  be  incidentally  mentioned 
that  it  was  the  abolition  of  the  Archbishopric  of  Tuaru,  after 
Dr.  Trench's  death,  by  the  Derby  Ministry,  that  first  made 
Dr.  Newman  consider  the  Erastian  character  of  the  Pro- 
testant establishment,  and  which  made  him  doubt  its  divine 
origin.  A  contemporary  writer  says  of  Dr.  Kelly  during 
this  trying  time  : — 

This  illustrious  bishop  was  to  be  seen  on  the  wilds  of 
Connemara,  or  upon  the  remote  mountains  of  the  West,  relieving 
the  starving  portion  of  his  flock,  and,  like  his  Divine  .Master, 
administering  to  the  wants  of  the  poor  and  afflicted. 

In  1825  Dr.  Kelly,  with  Dr.  Curtis,  Dr.  Murray,  Dr.  Doyle, 
and  Dr.  Magauran,  were  summoned  to  give  evidence  be- 
fore a  Committee  elected  by  Parliament  to  examine  into 
and  report  upon  the  tenets,  morals,  and  discipline  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  and  upon  the  state  of  Ireland  in 
general.  The  evidence  of  these  prelates  had  a  powerful 
effect  in  opening  the  minds  of  the  English  people  ;  but  that 
of  Dr.  Kelly,  '  if  possible,'  says  the  same  writer,  '  exceeded 
the  evidence  of  the  others  in  opposing  the  then  contemplated 
pensioning  and  vetoistical  arrangements. ' 

In  1827  Dr.  Kelly  commenced  the  erection  of  the  magni- 
ficent Cathedral  of  Tuam,  '  the  ornament  and  glory  of  town 
and  diocese.'  As  was  then  said  of  it,  'for  beauty  of 
architecture,  unity  of  parts,  and  chasteness  of  design,  it  is 
superior  to  any  modern  temple  in  the  empire.'  It  may 
have  some  compeers  to-day  in  Ireland,  but  it  must  be 
remembered  it  was  the  first  of  its  size  and  style  that  was 
attempted  after  the  dark  night  of  persecution  had  to  give 
way  to  the  opening  dawn  of  religious  liberty.  At  this 
period  Dr.  Kelly  threw  himself  with  all  his  characteristic 
energy  into  the  struggle  for  Catholic  Emancipation,  and 
from  the  first  was  one  of  the  staunchest  friends  and  ablest 
advisers  of  O'Connell.  In  a  letter  dated  from  Merrion- 


OLIVER   KELLY,   ARCHBISHOP   OF    TUAM  421 

square,  the  30th  December,  1827,  Daniel  O'Connell  thus 
addressed  Dr.  Kelly  :— 

The  public  papers  will  already  have  informed  your  Lordship 
of  the  resolution  to  hold  a  meeting  for  petitions  in  every  parish 
in  Ireland  on  Monday,  31st  January.  I  would  not  presume  to 
call  your  Lordship's  particular  attention  to  this  measure,  or 
respectfully  solicit  your  countenance  and  support  hi  your  diocese, 
if  I  was  not  deeply  convinced  of  its  extreme  importance  and 
utility.  The  combination  of  national  action — all  Catholic  Ireland 
acting  as  one  inan — must  necessarily  have  a  powerful  effect  on 
the  minds  of  the  ministry  and  the  entire  British  nation.  A 
people  who  can  thus  be  brought  to  act  together  and  on  one 
impulse  are  too  powerful  to  be  long  opposed. 

We  know  the  results  of  that  splendid  combination,  even 
if  we  are  not,  by  reason  of  our  own  apathy  and  want  of 
co-operation,  yet  reaping  the  full  fruits  of  O'Connell's 
victory. 

Towards  the  end  of  1833  Dr.  Kelly's  health  declined. 
He  visited  the  Continent,  under  medical  advice,  in  the  hope 
of  recovery  in  that  more  genial  clime,  and  away  from  the 
cares  of  his  diocese.  He  spent  some  months  in  the  South 
of  Europe ;  and  returning  to  Eome  from  Naples,  he  was 
taken  ill  at  Albano,  near  the  Holy  City,  and,  at  the  early 
age  of  fifty-seven,  there  breathed  his  last  on  the  18th  of 
April,  1834.  The  account  of  his  death  is  thus  given  in  the 
Catholic  Magazine  of  August  2,  1834  : — 

After  struggling  with  various  attacks  he  left  Eome  for  Albano 
on  the  13th  of  April,  1834,  and  early  on  the  morning  of  the  18th 
he  calmly  resigned  his  spirit  into  the  hands  of  his  Creator,  after 
receiving  the  consolations  of  religion  from  the  pastor  of  that 
district.  On  that  day  a  splendid  funeral  service  was  performed 
in  the  Cathedral  of  Albano,  and  the  Pope  having  heard  of  his 
death  [letters  from  Eome  acquaint  us]  shed  many  tears  and 
ordered  every  respect  to  be  paid  to  his  remains,  and  that  they 
should  be  conveyed  to  Eome,  where  his  Holiness,  attended  by 
the  Cardinals,  the  Superiors  and  the  Students  of  the  Irish, 
English,  and  Eoman  Colleges,  formed  the  awful  [sic]  procession 
to  the  Church  of  the  Propaganda.  After  the  funeral  service  pre- 
scribed by  Eoman  ritual  had  been  performed,  his  body  was 
placed  in  the  vaults  attached  to  the  Church.  On  the  22nd  of 
April  another  Office  and  High  Mass  were  celebrated,  attended  by 
nearly  the  same  persons.  The  church,  magnificently  hung  with 


422  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

black,  and  illumined  by  the  numerous  wax  candles  which  usually 
adorn  the  churches  on  the  Continent  on  such  solemn  occasions.  The 
Eight  Eev.  Dr.  Baines,  Vicar  Apostolic,  officiated  as  High  Priest. 
Dr.  Kelly  was  the  intimate  friend  and  favourite  of  Leo  XII., 
Pius  VIII.,  and  Gregory  XVI.,  the  present  Pontiff,  who,  during 
his  stay  in  Rome,  paid  him  marked  attention,  and  lamented  in 
his  death  the  demise  of  one  of  the  first  prelates  of  the  Irish 
Church.  What  a  gratifying  account  for  his  friends — what  an 
example  for  his  successor  to  follow  ! 

Such  is  the  writer's  account  of  Dr.  Kelly,  and  such  was 
Tuam's  bishop,  whose  merits  and  fame  are  so  little  known 
even  in  the  place  adorned  by  his  virtues,  and  where  an 
enduring  monument  to  his  memory,  the  magnificent 
Cathedral  of  Tuam,  stands  to  attest  his  zeal  and  love  for 
religion.  To  Dr.  Kelly  Tuam's  archdiocese  is  indebted,  also 
for  the  foundation  of  the  classic  College  of  St.  Jarlath  (so 
called  by  Dr.  Kelly  in  commemoration  of  the  patron  saint 
of  the  archdiocese),  that  school  of  learning  as  famous  in 
its  day  as  was  its  predecessor  at  Cloonfush  (Cluamfois)  in 
the  years  before  the  English  invasion  which,  three  miles 
from  Tuam's  town  was  founded  by  St.  Jarlath — that  place 
which  has  been  for  over  sixty  years  the  training  ground  for 
all  the  priests,  not  alone  of  Tuam's  large  diocese,  but  of  so 
many  scattered  over  the  United  States  and  the  Colonies. 
In  the  Catholic  Magazine  of  June,  1834,  we  read  : — 

The  Tuam  Cathedral,  now  nearly  completed,  has  received,  per 
the  late  Most  Rev.  Dr.  Kelly,  donations  from  Lady  Elizabeth 
Russell  of  £15,  and  £5  from  James  Daly  of  Great  Charles-street. 
St.  Jarlath's  College  is  receiving  that  degree  of  public  support 
it  so  justly  merits.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Brown,  Principal,  and  the 
Professors,  show  extraordinary  care  and  attention  to  its  inte- 
rests. Mr.  Stack,  the  gifted  Professor  of  Elocution,  is  employed 
in  giving  a  series  of  lectures  to  the  students  there. 

Dr.  Kelly's  successor  in  the  see  was  Dr.  MacHale,  who 
completed  and  consecrated  the  Cathedral,  and  dying  full  of 
years  and  honour  was  succeeded  by  the  present  illustrious 
prelate,  Dr.  MacEvilly,  who  has  laid  out  upon  necessary 
repairs  of  Dr.  Kelly's  church  over  £10,000,  making  it 
exteriorly  and  interiorly  one  of  the  finest  places  of  Catholic 
worship  in  the  country. 

EICHAED  J.  KELLY. 


[    423     ] 


THE   'MULS'   AND    THE   'GILS':  SOME   IRISH 
SURNAMES. 

I. 

IT  is  not  generally  known  that  at  least  one  hundred 
thousand  people  of  Irish  birth  or  descent  bear,  in  their 
every-day  surnames,  a  record  of  the  zeal  for  piety  and 
learning  which  distinguished  early  Christian  Ireland. 
According  to  the  last  census,  there  are  in  Ireland  alone 
eight  thousand  three  hundred  persons  called  (in  Irish,  of 
course)  '  descendant  of  the  servant  of  the  Church.'  Then 
there  are  thousands  of  '  descendants  of  the  servants  of  God,' 
of  Christ,  of  Mary,  of  John,  of  Brigid,  of  Finian,  of 
Brendan,  of  Aidan.  I  am  confident  that  many  will  read 
these  phrases  without  at  all  recognising  in  them  their  own 
family  names.  So  far  as  I  know,  the  subject  is  wholly 
untouched ;  but  now  that  the  Irish  people  are  at  last  begin- 
ning to  learn  their  own  language,  they  will  find  that  their 
surnames,  and  many  other  things  which,  so  far,  must  have 
appeared  meaningless,  have  really  a  striking  and  often 
beautiful  signification. 

In  the  present  paper,  I  propose  to  discuss  some  surnames 
formed  from  the  names  of  twenty-six  patrons,  chiefly  Irish 
saints.  The  surnames,  in  their  English  garb,  amount  to 
about  seventy.  I  have  thought  it  necessary  to  say,  first  of 
all,  something  about  Irish  names  in  general. 

Most  Irish  surnames,  although  grievously  disfigured  in 
passing  into  their  present  English  forms,  are  easily  recog- 
nisable as  such.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that,  by  this  time, 
everyone  who  bears  an  Irish  name  knows,  at  least,  that  Mac 
and  0,  the  two  familiar  signs  of  Gaelic  descent,  are  just 
ordinary  nouns,  meaning  son  and  grandson,  but  now  in  our 
surnames  standing  for  descendant.  So  that  every  Irish 
name  beginning  with  Mac  or  0  means  'descendant  of 
some  ancestor  whose  name,  in  the  genitive  case,  forms  the 
remainder  of  the  surname.  All  Irish  surnames  are  derived 


424  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

from  the  names  of  ancestors,  and,  accordingly,  all  should 
have  either  Mac  or  0.  I  speak  of  names  originally  Irish, 
for  there  are  some  names  of  foreign  origin,  though  now,  and 
most  deservedly,  classed  as  Irish,  such  as  Burke,  Hyde, 
Walsh,  which  have  neither  Mac  nor  0,  but  either  retain  the 
de  (in  the  case  of  the  Norman  names),  oftened  softened  to  a, 
as  de  Biirca  or  a  Biirca,  de  h-Ide,  or  assume  an  adjectival 
form,  as  Tomds  Breathnach,  Thomas  Walsh.1 

In  Irish,  all  names  of  men  have  either  Mac  or  0,  and 
names  of  women  have  Ni,  daughter.  Custom  has  extended 
the  use,  in  English,  of  Mac  and  0  to  women's  names. 
Mac  should  be  written  at  full  length,  not  Mc.  We  do  not 
write  Johns11.  Many  Irish  surnames  have  lost  Mac  or  0 ; 
for  this  there  are  various  reasons,  all  discreditable. 

The  English  forms  of  most  of  our  Irish  surnames  origi- 
nated during  the  last  two  centuries,  many  in  this  century. 
We  must  not  forget  that  in  1800,  Ireland  was  to  but  a  slight 
extent  an  English-speaking  country.  Education  had  been 
prohibited  even  in  the  English  tongue.  We  find  the  first 
forms  of  our  surnames,  as  a  rule,  in  those  precious  legal 
documents  which  declare  that  Dermot  Mac  So-and-So  or 
O'So-and-So,  being  a  '  meere  Irishman,'  is  hereby  declared 
to  have  forfeited  the  lands,  &c.  The  English  forms  are  but 
rough  and  ready  phonetic  equivalents  of  the  Gaelic  names ; 
and  as  everyone  could  devise  a  phonetic  system  of  his 
own,  there  were  and  are  often,  several  forms  for  the  same 
family  name. 

To  the  student  of  the  meanings  of  Irish  surnames  the 
English  forms  of  these  names  are  not  only  of  little  or  no 
use,  but  sometimes  are  positively  misleading.  Thus,  in 
names  that  are  now  spelled  Twomey,  Twohill,  Gilfeather, 
^la.cAvenue,  we  see  what  strange  results  come  from  an 
attempted  equation  of  parts  of  these  names  with  certain 
English  words.  To  study  Irish  surnames  to  any  effect,  we 
must  leave  the  English  forms  out  of  sight  for  the  moment, 

1  From  such  names,  possibly,  originated  the  practice  of  saying  an  BrunacJi, 
an  Jiurcach,  corresponding  to  the  modern  English  titles  of  The  Magillicuddy, 
The  O'Neill — forms  unknown  in  classical  Irish,  although  they  are  found  in. 
modern  Scotch  Gaelic.  Possibly,  however,  the  us-age  is  of  French  origin. 


THE  'MULS'  AND  'GILS':  SOME  IRISH  SURNAMES    425 

and  analyze  as  far  as  we  can  the  original  Gaelic  names. 
Some  of  these  names,  coming  to  us  in  their  present  form 
from  prehistoric  times,  may  defy  our  analysis  ;  but  others — 
and  these  fortunately  happen  to  be  large  classes — can  be 
easily  resolved  into  their  constituent  elements.  In  the 
present  paper  I  propose  to  discuss  two  classes  of  surnames. 
These  are  the  names  which  begin,  or  which  should  begin,  in 
O^VIul-  and  MacGil-  (Gaelic  O'Maoil-  and  MacGiolla-),  but 
which  are  found  beginning  in  Mai-,  Mel-,  Mil-,  Mol-,  Mul-, 
and  MacEl-,  Macll-,  Gil-.  Kil-,  MacL-,  C1-,  L-,  and  other 
forms. ! 

We  take  the  Mul-  names  first.  Any  surnames  beginning 
in  O'Mul-, — let  us  say  O'Mulblank, — means  'descendant  of 
Mulblank.'  Mulblank  is  an  ancestor  from  whom  the  family 
derives  its  surname,  and  as  surnames  did  not  come  into  use 
generally  before  the  tenth  or  eleventh  century,  the  ancestral 
Mulblank  must  be  looked  for  before  that  date.  In  most 
names  of  this  class,  as  we  shall  see,  the  ancestor  belongs  to 
the  age  of  the  great  Christian  schools  of  Ireland ;  but  some 
Mul-  names  originated  in  prehistoric  times. 

What,  then,  was  the  meaning  of  the  name  borne  by  the 
original  Mulblank  ?  In  other  words,  what  is  the  meaning 
of  the  Mul-  prefix  ?  In  modern  Irish  the  Mul  is  written 
maoi,  and  this  maol  represents  different  older  Irish  words 
in  different  names,  (a)  In  most  of  our  present  names  the 
Mul  stands  for  'servant  of,'  or  'votary  of.'  And  most  of  these 
names  are  of  Christian  origin,  and  of  very  great  interest. 
Thus,  many  centuries  ago,  a  person  devoted  to  St.  John,  for 
example,  would  assume  the  name  Maol-Eoin, '  servant  of  John' 
Hence  arose  the  modern  surname  O'Maoil-Eoin,  descendant 
of  the  servant  of  John — O'Malone,  Malone.  (b)  In  other 
surnames  the  Mul  stands  for  an  old  Gaelic  word  meaning 
1  hero,  magnate.'  (c)  In  others,  Mul  probably  represents  a 
word  for  '  head.' 

The    Gil-  names   have    had    a   similar    origin.      Many 

1  There  are  a  few  surnames  in  O'Gil.  The  Scotch  surname,  Ogilvy 
(Ogilvie),  which  is  sometimes  quoted  as  the  only  0  name  in  Scotland,  is  probably 
not  Gaelic  at  all.  The  accent  of  the  name  is  on  the  first  syllable,  and  the  name 
is  probably  a  Lowland,  not  a  Highland,  one. 


426  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

centuries  ago  there  lived  persons  who  answered  the  name, 
Gilblank.  In  some  of  these  names,  Gil,  Irish  giolla,  older 
form  gilla,  meant  '  servant,'  as  G-iolla-brigJide,  pron.  gilla- 
breeda,  servant  of  St.  Brigid.  And  now  we  have  the  sur- 
name, Mac-Giolla-Bhrighde,  descendant  of  the  servant  of 
St.  Brigid — in  English  Gilbride,  Kilbride.  In  others  of  the 
Gil-  names  the  Gil-  prefix  must  be  translated  by  '  person, 
fellow,'  as  Mac-Giolla-bhdin,  descendant  of  the  white 
(haired)  person,  now  Macllvaine. 

The  Mul-  names  originated  much  earlier  than  those  in 
Gil.  In  fact,  we  find  no  record  of  Gil-  names  until  after  the 
Danish  invasion ;  and  some  maintain  that  the  word  gilla  is 
of  Danish  origin.  On  the  other  hand,  we  find  Mul-  names  of 
prj-Christian,  and  even  of  prehistoric  origin.  As  far  as  can 
be  ascertained,  the  original  form  of  the  prefix  was  a  word 
maglos,  connected  in  meaning  with  the  Latin  magnus,  and 
meaning  '  magnate/  '  hero,'  or  something  similar.  There 
is  a  Gaulish  inscription,  of  course  of  the  prehistoric  period, 
mentioning  a  certain  magalomarus,  or  '  great  hero.'  When 
Irish  came  to  be  written  in  the  Roman  alphabet,  the  word 
had  become  mad,  and  we  have  record  of  great  numbers  of 
ma  el  names  of  the  pre-Christian  period.  Thus  we  have 
Mael-Midhe,  hero  of  Meath  ;  Mael-Caisil,  hero  of  Cashel, 
Then  we  find  the  prefix  assuming  the  secondary  meaning  of 
'  one  devoted  to  a  servant  of,'  as  Mael-Bresail,  servant  of 
Bresal ;  Mael-cluiche,  addicted  to  play,  gambling ;  and  Mael- 
bracha,  devoted  to  malt !  We  see,  therefore,  that  the  ma-el 
prefix  had  the  meaning  of  '  servant '  even  in  pre-Christian 
times,  and  we  may  assume  that  it  is  the  same  word,  origi- 
nally maglos.  which  we  find  in  names  like  Malone,  and  all 
names  meaning  servant  of  a  saint.1 

No  doubt,  people  already  accustomed  to  such  names  as 
'  servant  of  Bresal '  found  it  very  appropriate,  when  they 
fell  under  strong  religious  influences,  to  assume  such  names 
as  '  servant  of  Patrick,'  '  servant  of  (St.)  Michael,'  '  servant 

1  Some  writers,  however,  think  that  the  prefix,  in  the  surnames  formed 
from  the  name  of  a  saint,  is  the  adjective  mael,  bald,  applied  by  the  Irish  to  the 
first  Christian  missionaries  on  account  of  their  remarkable  tonsure  We  find 
in  a  mediaeval  poem  the  phrase  Melcisedec  mael.  M.,  the  priest ;  and  St.  Patrick 
himself  is  often  called  '  adze-head.' 


THE  'MULS'  AND  'GILS':  SOME  IRISH  SURNAMES     427 

of  Mary.'  Accordingly,  we  find  that  such  names  were  used 
very  soon  after  the  conversion  of  Ireland  to  the  Christian 
faith.  In  an  old  life  of  St.  Cellach  of  Killala,  himself  one  of 
the  early  Irish  saints,  we  find  mention  of  persons  called 
4  servant  of  St.  Ibar  '  (one  of  the  most  ancient  Christian 
missionaries  in  Ireland),  and  *  servant  of  Senach  '  (another 
early  Irish  saint).  The  bulk  of  these  saint-names,  however, 
do  not  occur  so  early ;  they  are  found  chiefly  in  the  annals 
of  the  seventh  to  the  tenth  century,  the  earliest  entry  in  the 
Four  Masters  being  that  of  '  servant  of  Brigid,'  at  the  year 
645.  As  we  have  seen,  the  Gil-names  do  not  occur  so  early, 
the  first  such  record  made  by  the  Four  Masters  being  that 
of  a  '  servant  of  Kevin,'  at  the  year  981. 

Reserving  the  other  names  in  Mai  and  Gil,  we  shall  find 
it  convenient  to  discuss,  in  the  first  place,  the  large,  and, 
from  the  Catholic  standpoint,  most  interesting  class  of 
surnames  which  contain  the  name  of  a  patron  saint. 

II. 

It  was  in  the  golden  age  of  the  early  Irish  schools,  when 
Ireland  was  a  lodestar  that  attracted  students,  scholars,  and 
pilgrims  from  Britain,  France,  and  Germany — from  Borne 
itself,  and  even  from  the  distant  East— that  the  names 
which  we  shall  now  examine  had  their  origin.  Around  the 
great  schools  grew  up  towns  filled  with  native  and  foreign 
students,  in  some  cases  amounting  to  thousands.  Then 
even  the  surrounding  peasantry,  with  that  admiration  for 
learning  which  is  characteristic  of  even  the  humblest  class 
in  Ireland,  gloried  in  th3  fame  for  learning  and  sanctity 
of  the  great  doctors  and  teachers  of  the  colleges.  What 
wonder  if,  in  the  lecture-rooms  of  Clonard,  and  through  the 
neighbouring  country,  should  be  found  many  who  bore  the 
name  of 'servant  of  Finian;'  if  Derry,  Kells,  Durrow,  lona, 
and  many  other  shrines  should  shelter  '  servants  of  Columba;' 
or  if  the  innumerable  places  connected  with  the  names  of 
Patrick  and  Brigid  should  be  visited  by  pilgrims  who  would 
take,  and  bear  ever  afterward,  the  names  of  those  national 
patrons  ?  Probably  the  first  to  adopt  this  practice  were  the 
clerics  attached  to  the  church  or  college  founded  by  the 


428  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

saint.1  The  adoption  of  such  names  would  have  been  facili- 
tated by  the  custom  of  changing  the  names  of  religious  on 
their  entrance  of  the  service  of  the  altar.  The  national 
apostle,  we  know,  was  in  early  life  called  Succat,  a  name 
which,  could  we  but  explain  it,  would  solve  for  us  the  vexed 
question  of  St.  Patrick's  birthplace.  St.  Columba,  too, 
changed  his  ancestral  name  of  Criomhthann,  '  fox,'  for 
Colum,  '  dove.'  There  are  many  later  examples.  Many  of 
the  clerics,  in  all  probability,  already  bore  such  names  as 
Maelbresail,  servant  of  Bresal,  &c.,  and  would  find  it  very 
easy  and  very  appropriate  to  substitute  a  patron  saint  for 
the  Bresal  or  other  prehistoric  ancestor.  The  practice,  if  it 
began  with  religious,  soon  extended  to  all  classes,  and  to 
both  sexes.  If  we  find  the  names  of  women  recorded  but 
seldom,  we  must  remember  that  the  early  annals  deal,  as  a 
rule,  with  transactions  in  which  men  are  generally  the  actors. 

In  the  tenth  century  there  must  have  been  a  large 
number  of  persons  bearing  Mul-  names ;  and  a  little  later, 
when  surnames  began  to  be  formed,  there  were  evidently 
plenty  of  '  descendants  of  servants  of  Patrick '  and  of  other 
patrons.  Heuce,  though  many  such  surnames  became 
obsolete,  and  have  not  reached  our  days,  we  have  still,  in 
English  garb,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  such  surnames. 

Let  us  now  see  them  in  detail.  From  Dia,  God,  came 
the  name  Gilla-de,  '  servant  of  God,'  often  recorded  in 
mediaeval  annals,  and  giving  us  in  later  times  the  surname 
Mac-Giolla-de,  '  descendant  of  the  servant  of  God,'  in 
English  dress  Gildea,  Gilday,  Kilday  (United  States). 
O'Dea,  O'Day  (U.S.),  is  an  old  Gaelic  name  of  pre- 
Christian  origin,  but  the  rage  for  anglicization  has  led  some 
persons  of  the  name  to  change  it  for  Goodwin — Dia-God- 
Good. 

Coimhde,  Lord,  gave  the  personal  name  Giolla-coimhde, 
( servant  of  the  Lord,'  and  thus  arose  the  surname 
MacG.  coimhde,  '  descendant  of  the  servant  of  the  Lord.' 
O'Donovan  gives  the  English  form  as  MacGilcarry,  which  I 
have  not  met  in  use ;  but  we  have  Macllharry,  hence  an 

1  On  the  theory  that  the  Mul-  prefix  stands  for  ,nao1,  a  tonsured  cleric,  this 
would,  of  course,  be  the  case  always. 


THE  <MULS'  AND  'GILS':  SOME  IRISH  SURNAMES    429 

unwarranted  form  Macllhenry  (U.  S.).     It  is  possible  that 
Macllhargy  and  Macllhagga  are  the  same  name,  although 
the  former  would  seem  to  come  from  St.  Forga,  as  noted 
below.     '  Descendant  of  the  servant  of  Christ '  has  survived 
in  the  two  forms ;  the  Mul-  form  is  Mylechrist,  now  used 
only  in  the  Isle  of  Man,  and  the  Gil-  form  is  Gilchrist, 
Gilchreest,  Kilchrist.     In   all    these    names  the  initial  K 
represents  the  final   consonant  of  the  Mac-  prefix.      The 
name  losa,  Jesus,  gave  Maol-Iosa  and  Giolla-Iosa,  both  of 
frequent  occurrence  in  the  old  annals.     We  read  of  one 
1  servant  of  Jesus,'  who  was  Archbishop  of  Armagh,  or,  as 
the  annalist  puts  it,  '  successor  of  Patrick  ; '  another  was 
Maelisa  O'Daly,  poet-in-chief  of  Scotland  and  Ireland,  who 
died  in   1185.     Walter   Scott,    who   has   so   much   of   the 
mediceval  spirit,  has  quoted  the  name  in  the  Lady  of  the 
Lake  : — 

'  Hail,  Malise,  hail !  his  henchman  came. 
Give  our  safe-conduct  to  the  Graeme.' 

From  the    Gil-  form  comes   '  descendant  of  Jesus'    in 
the   various   forms  MacAleese,  Maclise,  McLeish,  Gilleece, 

Gillies. 

The  name  of  Mary  was  particularly  honoured  by  1 
early  Christian  Irish,  and  we  find  record  of  numbers  of 
people,  of  all  ranks  of  life,  who  bore  the  name  of  '  servant 
of  Mary.'  In  the  Four  Masters  we  note,  among  others, 
'  a  daughter  of  Nial,'-  an  '  abbot  of  Ardbraccan,'  a  '  tanist 
of  Leix,'  a  '  priest  of  Clonard,'  '  a  '  successor  of  Patrick,' 
or  Bishop  of  Armagh,  who  bore  this  name,  in  either  of 
its  forms  Maelmhuire  or  Gillamhuire.  The  scribe  of  the 
Lebhar  Brec,  one  of  the  greatest  Irish  manuscripts  that  has 
come  down  to  us,  was  a  « servant  of  Mary,'  whose  father 
was  Conn,  '  friend  of  the  poor.'  One  of  the  most  striking 
characteristics  of  our  native  Christian  literature,  from  its 
earliest  period  down  to  the  present  day,  is  its  constant  and 
tender  reference  to  the  name  of  Mary.  In  Scotland,  where 
the  Christian  faith  was  carried  by  Irish  missionaries,  we 
find  that  even  in  the  districts  now  for  three  centuries 
non-Catholic,  the  cry  of  suffering  in  the  old  tongue  is  still 


430  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

a  Mhoire,  Mhoire  I  0  Mary,  Mary  !l  Both  in  Scotland  and 
Ireland  Maolmhuire  is  in  common  use  as  a  baptismal  name, 
and  in  Ireland  it  has  given  the  surname  O'Maoilmhuire, 
'  descendant  of  the  servant  of  Mary,  in  English  Mullery, 
Mulry.'  As  a  baptismal  name,  the  English  translation  was 
first  Meyler,  and  later  Miles,  a  name  which  really  has  no 
more  connection  with  the  Gaelic  form  than  has  Ned  with 
Nebuchadnezzar.  From  the  Gil-  form  came  the  surnames 
MacElmurry,  Kilmurray,  Kilmary,  Gilmary,  Gilmore — all 
intended  equivalents  for  Mac-Giolla-Mhuire. 

To  the  lively  faith  of  the  Gael,  the  angels  were  very  real, 
We  have  a  striking  poem  of  early  date  (if  not,  as  tradition 
would  have  it,  the  composition  of  Columbcille  himself) 
describing  the  angelic  patrons  of  Arran.  To  St.  Michael,  in 
particular,  there  was  a  peculiar  devotion,  and  to  the  present 
day  his  name  is  of  frequent  recurrence  in  those  household 
hymns  of  great  antiquity,  which,  in  the  Gaelic-speaking 
districts,  have  never  been  superseded  by  the  forms  of  prayer 
we  are  accustomed  to  in  modern  times.  On  the  Sceilg  mhor, 
the  great  lonely  Skelligs  rock  that  rises  precipitously  out  of 
the  Atlantic  to  the  west  of  the  Kerry  coast,  is  buried,  accord- 
ing to  the  old  legends,  the  warrior  Ir,  one  of  the  great 
ancestors  of  the  Irish.  These,  too,  for  many  centuries,  have 
been  a  favourite  shrine  of  St.  Michael,  and  on  the  adjoining 
mainland  the  surname  Mulvihil  (Mulville,  Mulverhill,  U.S.), 
or  descendant  of  s.  of  Michael — O'Maoilmhichil  is  most 
abundant.  MacGilmichael,  with  the  same  meaning,  was 
formerly  an  Ulster  name,  which  is  possibly  now  represented 
by  MacElmeel,  although  that  name  may  be  from  the 
adjective  maol,  as  noted  further  down. 

'  Servant  of  the  saints '  is  now  obsolete  as  a  first  name, 
but  has  left  us  the  surname  Mac-Giolla-na-naomh,  d.s. — 
descendant  of  the  servant — of  the  saints,  in  English  spelling 
MacElnea,  MacAneave.  Eoin  Bruinne,  or  '  John  of  the 
Bosom,'  is  a  usual,  and,  as  all  will  admit,  a  most  appropriate 
name  in  Gaelic  for  St.  John.  As  we  might  expect,  we  find 


1  In  Irish-Gaelic  a  Mhttire,  Mhuire  (a  wirra  wirra).     So  also,  a  Mhuire  is 
truagh  (a  wirra  iss  throoa),  0  Mary,  pity. 


THE  'MULS'  AND  «  GILS':  SOME  IRISH  SURNAMES     431 

that  s.  (servant)  of  John  was  a  popular  name  :  one  of  this 
title,  Maeleoin,  or  Malone,  was  Bishop  of  Trim  in  929. 
The  surname  O'Malone,  '  d.s.  of  St.  John,'  is  well  known, 
and  the  Gilla-Eoin  form  survives  in  Maglone,  MacAloone, 
MacLoone,  Gilloon.  In  Scotland  the  word  Eoin  is  pro- 
nounced Eain ;  Highland  scholars  now  spell  it  Iain ;  the 
more  English  form,  Ian,  is  familiar  to  readers  of  nowaday 
literature.  The  Highland  '  d.s.  of  John '  is,  accordingly, 
Mac-Giolla-Eain — or,  as  they  misspell  it,  Mac-Illeathan— 
and  is  anglicized  MacLane,  McLean.1  Maelpedair,  Maelpoil, 
two  names  we  find  in  the  old  books,  have  left  us  only 
Mullpeters  (U.  S.);  from  the  other  forms  we  have  Gilfedder, 
Gilfidder,  Gilfeather,  and  Gilfoyle,  Kilfoyle— d.s.  of  SS.  Peter 
and  Paul  respectively. 

The  teacher  of  St.  Patrick,  St.  Martin  of  Tours,  has 
always  been  honoured  in  Ireland,  and  Martin  as  a  baptismal 
name,  is  very  common  at  the  present  day.  The  feast  of 
St.  Martin  is  still  observed  with  curious  ceremonies  in  some 
places.  Maelraartin,  s.  of  Martin,  is  recorded  as  having 
been  used  by  various  individuals  in  Clonard,  Clonmacnoise, 
Kells,  and  Connor.  It  is  now  obsolete,  but  Gilmartin, 
Kilmartin  are  to  the  fore — d.s.  of  St.  Martin.  Churches, 
cells,  and  holy  places  without  number  recall  St.  Patrick, 
our  great  national  apostle.  Templepatrick,  Donaghpatrick, 
Kilpatrick,  Toberpatrick  mark,  in  many  places,  the  lines  of 
his  progress  through  Ireland.  The  annals  of  the  middle 
ages  are  filled  with  the  names  of  princes,  priests,  abbots, 
and  bishops  who  bore  the  title  of  Maelpatraic,  s.  of  Patrick, 
now  obsolete,  and  Giolla-patraic,  which  has  left  us  the  sur- 
names Kilpatrick,  Gilpatrick,  MacElfatrick,  MacElfederick. 
These  two  last  names  occur  only  in  north-east  Ulster.  The 
MacGillapatricks,  most  notable,  were  the  princes  of  Ossory, 
and  their  descendants,  as  well  as  many  other  families  of  the 
name,  have  translated  themselves  to  Fitzpatrick,  although 

1  On  account  of  some  similarity  of  sound  between  Lttati,  the  word  for 
Monday,  and  the  last  syllable  of  'd.s.  of  John,'  this  name  is  in  parts  of 
Donegal  translated  Munday  !  To  my  own  knowledge,  a  young  man  named 
MacKeane  (MacTain)  was  advised,  by  one  who  should  have  known  better,  to 
transform  himself  to  Piggott — MacKeane=r;«Mi«M=pigotte !  He  refused,  and 
kept  to  the  grand  old  Gaelic  name,  nor  did  he  regret  it  a  few  years  later. 


432  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

the  prefix  Fitz  is  wholly  out  of  place  here.  The  name  of 
our  saint  is  offered  by  some  modern  lights  of  philosophy  to 
explain  the  legend  of  the  banishment  of  the  snakes  from 
Ireland,  and  the  subject  deserves  a  passing  reference. 
Scientific  men  are  nothing  if  not  iconoclasts,  and,  according 
to  the  latest  theory,  St.  Patrick  had  nothing  to  do  with 
banishing  snakes.  Snakes  had  disappeared  from  Ireland  at 
least  by  the  time  of  the  Danish  invasion,  and  the  Danes, 
noticing  the  absence  of  the  reptiles,  and  hearing  much  of 
the  name  of  St.  Patrick,  interpreted  this  name  as  an  Irish 
attempt  at  padrekr,  from  the  Scandinavian  paddarekr,  toad- 
expeller.  And  so,  according  to  this  theory,  the  legend 
arose  at  first  among  the  Danish-speaking  invaders,  and 
afterwards  was  adopted  by  the  Irish.1 

St.  Brigid,  '  the  Mary  oi  the  Gael,'  had  many  mediaeval 
clients  named  Maelbrighte  and  Gillabrighte.  The  famous 
scholar  of  Mayence,  who  is  known  in  Latin  as  Marianus 
Scotus,  was,  in  Gaelic,  a  '  servant  of  Brigid.'  We  have  now 
Mulbride,  MacGillbride,  MacBride,  Kilbride,  and — horresco 
referens — Mucklebreed;  all  meaning  d.s.  of  St.  Brigid.2 

There  are,  of  course,  many  places  named  Kilbride,  or 
church  of  Brigid,  and  Tubberbride,  or  holy  well  of  Brigid. 
A '  Bride's  Well'  existed  in  London  until  Keformation  times. 
Whether  the  Irish  or  the  Swedish  saint  was  the  patron,  I  do 
not  know ;  probably  the  Irish  saint,  as  the  Swedish  name  is 
properly  Birgitta,  Anyhow,  when  the  Eeformatiou  came 
there  was  no  further  use  for  the  holy  well,  but  somehow 
jails  were  in  great  demand,  and  so  even  the  buildings  sur- 
rounding '  St.  Bride's  Well '  were  '  converted,'  and  hence- 
forth rendered  service  as  a  prison,  and  the  name  '  bridewell ' 
became  synonymous  with  'prison.'  To  such  base  uses  do 
even  words  descend  ! 3 


1  See  Folk-lore,  December,  1894. 

-  Readers  may,  perhaps,  question  the  actual  use  of  some  of  our  less  common 
surnames,  but  I  give  only  names  I  have  heard  myself  or  taken  from  the 
daily  papers  (especially  reports  of  local  meetings),  or  others  whose  use  is 
guarantred  by  the  Secretary  of  the  General  Registry  Office  in  Dublin, 
Mr.  Mathieson,  to  whose  reports  and  personal  letters  I  am  much  indebted 

3  Although  Birgitta  and  Brigid  are  now  different  names,  the  former  may 
possibly  have  been  of  Irish  origin.  At  the  time  of  the  Danish  invasion  some 


THE  'MULS'  AND  'GILS':  SOME  IRISH  SURNAMES    433 

4  In  the  east  and  the  west.'  as  the  old  phrase  ran,  or  in 
Scotland  and  in  Ireland,  St.  Columcille  is  venerated  as  the 
one  in  whom  all  the  highest  ideals  of  the  Gaelic  mind  are 
found  united.  Tradition  has  it  that  his  name  in  childhood 
was  Criomthann,  '  fox,'  and  that  his  late  name,  Colum, 
'  dove,'  was  assumed  on  his  entrance  into  religious  life.  Oat 
of  Ireland  he  is  better  known  by  the  Latin  Columba, '  dove.' 
The  name  '  servant  of  Colum '  has  descended  in  the  form 
Maolcoluim,  Malcolm,  used  only  by  Scotch  families,  although 
a  more  suitable  Irish  and  Catholic  name  it  would  be  hard  to 
find.  From  it  come  the  rather  rare  surnames  Mulholin, 
Maholm,  and  from  the  Gil-  form  comes  MacElholm,  descen- 
dant of  Colum.  At  a  baptismal  name,  Colum  is  still  used 
in  the  Gaelic-speaking  districts  of  both  Ireland  and  Scotland 
(in  the  latter  country  in  the  form  Calum),  giving  the  sur- 
names MacColum  (Scotch  MacCallum),  Colum,  descendant 
of  a  person  named  Colum.  The  rage  for  anglicization  has 
led  to  the  fearsome  form  '  Pidgeon,'  used  as  a  surname  by 
some  benighted  individuals. 

In  his  student  days  Columba  had  been  a  pupil  of  both 
the  Finians,  of  Clonard,  and  Moville.  Of  him  of  Clonard 
says  the  Donegal  Martyrology :  '  Finian  of  Clonard,  in 
wisdom  a  sage;  tutor  of  the  saints  of  Erin  in  his  time. 
...  In  life  and  ethics  he  resembled  Paul  the  Apostle.' 
The  same  ancient  record  likens  Finian  of  Moville  to  James 
the  Apostle.  There  are  several  saints  now  named  in  English 
Finian,  in  Latin  Finianis.  The  older  form  Finan,  used  by 
Bede,  was  much  nearer  to  the  original  Gaelic  Finnan,1  a 
very  common  name  in  ancient  Ireland. 

'  Servant  of  Finian '  has  left  us  the  surname  Mac- 
giolla-Fhionndin ;  in  English,  MacAleenan,  MacAlinnion, 

Scandinavian  names  were  adopted  in  Ireland,  such  as  Auliff,  Ivar,  Otter, 
Sitrice,  which  have  given  us  modern  MacAuliffe,  Maclvor,  MacKeever,  Ivers, 
MacCotter,  Cotter,  MacKittrick ;  and  some  Irish  names,  such  us  Oscar,  "Niall, 
Fergus,  were  adopted  by  the  Scandinavians,  who  use  them  to  the  present 
day. 

1  It  is  a  diminutive  of  the  adjective  Jinn,  now  fionn,  fair-haired ;  but  a 
recent  and  not  unplausible  theory  takes  the  word,  in  these  saint-names,  to 
mean  fair,  pure,  holy.  The  names  of  Finnan  of  Clonard,  Fiunan,  also 
Barr-fhinn,  of  Moville,  and  Finn  Barre  of  Cork,  are  all  Latinized  Finnianus 
(also  Vennianus  and  Vennio,  Venioneiu) .  There  is  also  a  modern  form  Finghin, 
translated  by  '  Florence,'  although  there  is  no  apparent  connection 

VOL.  III.  2  E 


434  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

MacLennon,  McClennan,  Lennon,  Glennon,  Gleenan, 
Giifinnen,  Finnan,  and  the  translated  form  Leonard;  that 
is  to  say,  some  d.s.  of  Finian  have  assumed  the  foreign 
name  Leonard,  because  it  had  a  certain  resemblance, 
in  the  first  .syllable,  to  Lennon.  I  once  spent  a  very 
pleasant  couple  of  weeks  at  the  house  of  one  Padraig 
Mac-Giolla-Fhionnain  in  Southern  Connemara.  In  English 
he  was  known  as  Paddy  Leonard ;  and  this  particular 
servant  of  Finian  would  have  made  the  fortune  of  a 
dozen  folk-lore  societies,  as  his  memory  was  a  regular 
treasure-house  of  Gaelic  tradition. 

Some  of  the  Irish  Gilfillans,  I  am  inclined  to  think,  are 
rather  Gilfinnens,  and  take  their  name  from  Finian,  and 
not  from  St.  Fillan,  who  is  more  identified  with  Scotland, 
and  is  alluded  to  in  Scott's  well-known  lines  : — 

Harp  of  the  North  !  that  inoldering  long  hast  hung 
On  the  witch-elm  that  shades  St.  Fillan's  spring. 

His  name  is  preserved  also  by  Glenfillan,  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  spots  in  the  Highlands,  where,  at  the  head 
of  Lough  Shiel,  lies  the  little  island  of  St.  Fillan,  with  its 
ancient  bells  of  the  saint,  a  short  distance  from  Glenaladale, 
the  home  of  the  MacDonalds,  from  where  come  Archbishop 
Angus  MacDonald  and  Bishop  Hugh  MacDonald,  both  good 
Gaelic  scholars  and  lovers  of  the  old  tongue.  '  Servant  of 
Fillan,'  is  represented  now  by  the  names  Gilfillan,  Gilliland, 
MacClellan,  MacLeland,  Leland.  As  a  baptismal  name 
Finian  is  still  used  in  Kerry,  but  in  Cork  the  'translated' 
form  Florence  has  taken  its  place  in  English.  Derrynane, 
the  home  of  O'Connell,  is  the  '  wood  of  Finian.'  Doire 
Fhionnain — this  is  not  Finian  of  Clonard  or  Moville,  but 
Finian  of  Inisfallen. 

One  of  the  ancestors  of  Finian  of  Clonard  was  the  famous 
pagan  warrior  Celtchar,  who  was  destined  to  have  among  his 
descendants  not  only  such  a  pillar  of  the  Christian  Church 
as  Finian,  but  also  a  most  bitter  enemy  of  the  new  faith  in 
Eonan,  who  had  two  girls  tied  to  stakes  on  the  beach, 
to  be  drowned  by  the  incoming  tide,  for  refusing  to  abjure 
Christianity.  Konan  had  a  son  to  whom  he  gave  the  name 


THE  <MULS>  AND  ''GILS':  SOME  IRISH  SURNAMES    435 

of  Maelcelchair,  or  servant,  admirer  of  the  great  pagan 
ancestor  already  mentioned.  Such,  however,  is  the  irony 
of  fate,  that  this  same  Maelcelchair  became  the  apostle 
of  south-west  Kerry,  where  his  beautiful  stone  oratory, 
Kilmalhedar,  still  stands  in  perfect  preservation,  one  of  the 
chief  glories  of  Irish  archaeologists. 

Bishop  Ere,  of  Slane,  in  Meath,  was  one  of  the  early 
nomadic  missionaries  who  travelled  from  place  to  place 
preaching  the  Gospel.  From  his  name  comes  the  surname 
Mullarkey,  d.s.  of  St.  Ere. 

Dunshaughlin  takes  its  name  from  St.  Seachnall — in 
Latin,  Secundinus — whom  tradition  represents  as  nephew 
of  St.  Patrick.  For  many  centuries,  '  servant  of  Seachlann ' 
(the  metathesized  form  of  Seachnall)  was  a  popular  bap- 
tismal name,  and  is  represented  in  English  history  books 
by  Melaghan,  and  often  by  the  foreign  name  Malachy,  with 
which  it  has  no  further  connection  than  some  phonetic 
resemblance  of  the  first  syllables.  One  of  the  name  was 
the  Malachy  that — 

wore  the  collar  of  gold 
Which  he  won  from  the  proud  invader. 

This  is  the  Malachy  who  is  buried  in  an  island  in  the 
beautiful  Lough  Ennell,  now,  I  regret  to  say,  more  usually 
called  Belvedere,  in  Westmeath.  The  name  is  still  in 
popular  use  as  a  given  name  in  the  forms  Loughlin  (more 
informally  '  Lack,'  '  Loughie  ')  and  Malachy  ('  Mai'),  the 
latter  form  being  usual  in  the  south-west,  where  the 
other  Biblical  forms,  Jeremiah  and  Timothy,  are  also 
mistakenly  used.  The  surname  O'Melaghan,  d.s.  of 
St.  Secundinus,  has  become  merged  in  that  of  MacLoughlin  ; 
and  this  probably  accounts  for  the  abundance  of  folk  of  this 
name  in  Ireland — 17,500,  according  to  the  census  of  1891. 
The  forms  Loughlin,  Lafliii,  Claflin  (U.S.),  are  also  met 
with. 

A  great  body  of  Gaelic  literature  centres  around  the 
two  St.  Kierans,  of  Saighir,  now  called  Serkieran,  and  of 
Clomnacnoise,  by  the  Shannon.  From  him  of  Clonmacnoise, 
probably  come  the  names  0'Maoilchiarain,MacGiollachiaraint 
Mulhern,  Mulheerin,  Macllherron,  d.s,  of  St.  Kieran, 


436  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

Kilalla  takes  its  name  from  St.  Alladh — hence  the  Latin 
form  of  the  name  of  the  diocese,  Alladensis.  From  him  the 
surnames  Mulally,  Lally,  d.s.  of  St.  Alladh.  Another 
bishop  of  the  same  see  was  St.  Cellach,  from  whom  the 
place  name  Kilkelly,  or  church  of  Cellach,  and  also  the 
surname  Kilkelly,  MacGiolla-Ceallaigh,  d.s.  of  St.  Cellach. 
This  St.  Cellach  had  a  very  chequered  career.  Born  of  a 
royal  house,  he  was  destined  for  the  service  of  the  altar,  and 
became  a  student  at  Clonmacnoise.  The  student  was  called, 
by  the  death  of  his  father  in  battle,  to  be  the  reigning  prince, 
and  afterwards  was,  in  turn,  a  fugitive,  again  a  cleric,  Bishop 
of  Kilalla,  a  hermit  on  an  island  of  Lough  Con,  and  finally 
victim  to  the  jealousy  of  his  enemies.  Something  of  a  poet, 
too,  was  this  western  hermit.  Awaiting  his  death  the 
morning  of  his  murder,  and  seeing,  as  he  thought,  all 
those  dark  omens  to  which  Gaelic  tradition  attached  deep 
meaning,  he  sang  a  lay,  of  part  of  which  this  is  a 
translation : — 

Hail  to  the  morning  fair,  that,  as  a  flame,  falls  upon  the 
earth !  Hail  to  Him,  too,  who  sends  it — the  many-virtued 
morning,  ever  new !  O  morning  fair,  so  full  of  pride — sister  of 
the  brilliant  sun — hail  to  thee,  beauteous  morning,  that  lightest 
my  little  book  for  me !  Thou  seest  the  just  in  every  dwelling, 
thou  shinest  on  every  tribe  and  race,  hail !  0  thou  white- 
necked,  beautiful  one,  here  with  us  now — 0  golden-fair  and 
wonderful ! 

My  little  book,  with  chequered  page  [Scripture]  tells  me  my 
life  has  not  been  aright.  Maelcroin  [one  of  the  assassins], 'tis 
he  whom  I  do  well  to  fear  ;  he  comes  to  smite  me  at  the  last. 
O  scaldcrow,  and  O  scaldcrow  !  gray-ccated,  sharp-beaked, 
wretched  bird ;  thy  desire  is  apparent  to  me ;  no  friend  art 
thou  to  Cellach.  O  raven !  thou  that  makest  croaking,  if  hungry 
thou  be,  0  bird,  depart  not  from  this  rath  until  thou  hast  a  feast 
of  my  flesh.  Fiercely  the  kite  of  Chuan-Eo's  yew-tree  will  take 
part  in  the  scramble ;  bis  horn-hued  talons  he  will  bear  away 
tilled  ;  he  will  not  part  from  me  in  kindness.  To  the  blow  that 
kills  me  the  fox  in  the  darkened  wood  will  answer  at  speed;  in  wild 
and  trackless  places  he,  too,  shall  devour  a  portion  of  my  flesh  and 
blood.  The  wolf  in  the  rath  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  hill  will 
come  to  rank  as  chieftain  of  the  meaner  pack.  On  Wednesday 
night  last  I  saw  a  dream,  I  saw  a  dream  :  the  wild  dogs  dragged 
me  east  and  west  through  the  russet  ferns.  I  saw  a  dream  : 
into  a  green  glen  men  took  me .  Four  were  they  that  brought 


THE  'MULS'  AND  < GILS':  SOME  IRISH  SURNAMES    437 

me  thither,  but  (so  meseemed)  ne'er  brought  me  back  again.  I 
saw  a  dream  :  to  a  house  my  fellow-students  led  me  ;  for  me  they 
poured  out  a  draught ;  a  draught  they  quaffed  off  for  me.  0  tiny 
wren !  most  scant  of  tail,  dolefully  thou  hast  piped  a  prophetic 
lay  ;  surely  thou,  too,  art  come  to  betray  me,  and  to  curtail  my 
gift  of  life. 

0  Maelcroin,  and  0  Maelcroin  !  pelf  it  is  that  thou  hast  taken 
to  betray  me ;  for  this  world's  sake  hast  thou  accepted  it,  accepted 
it  for  sake  of  hell.     All  precious  things  whatsoever  I  had,  on 
Maelcroin  I  would  have  bestowed  them,  that  he  should  not  do 
me  this  treason.     But  Mary's  great  Son  above  thus  addresses 
speech  to  me  :  '  Thou  must  have  earth,  thou  shalt  have  heaven. 
Welcome  awaits  thee,  0  Cellach  !  "  * 

As  Kilkelly  comes  from  Cellach,  so  Kilkenny,  both  the 
names  of  the  city  best  known  outside  Ireland  as  the  resi- 
dence of  the  famous  legendary  cats,  and  the  surname  of  the 
same  form,  comes  from  the  name  of  St.  Canice.  Kilkenny, 
accordingly,  means  d.s.  of  St.  Canice.  There  were  at  least 
four  early  missionaries  of  the  name,  one  of  whom  is 
venerated  at  St.  Andrew's  in  Scotland.  The  Gaelic  form  of 
the  name  Canice  is  Coinneach,  and  gives  the  surnames 
Kenny  in  Ireland  and  MacKenzie  in  Scotland. 

Mulholland,  Maholland  are  d.s.  of  St.  Callan,  from  whom 
comes  also  Tyrholland,  or  the  House  of  Callan,  in  the  diocese 
of  Clogher. 

Senanus  is  known  to  general  readers  better  than  the 
majority  of  our  early  saints,  on  account  of  Moore's  poem  of 
the  Holy  Isle,  as  the  saint  had 

Sworn  that  sainted  sod 

Should  ne'er  by  woman's  foot  be  trod. 

Kiltannanlea,  or  Church  of  Grey  Senan,  still  preserves  his 
name,  and  also  the  surname  Gilsenan,  Giltenan,  d.s.  of 
Senan.  Not  improbably,  however,  some  of  the  older  name, 
MacUinnsionain,  have  been  absorbed  by  the  more  familiar 
name,  Gilsenan.  Some  of  the  names  have  'translated' 
themselves  to  '  Shannon.' 

Gilvarry,  a  western  surname,  comes  from  St.  Berach. 
abbot,  of  Cluaincoirpthe,  in  Connaught.  Mulrennin,  in 

1  See  Silva  Gadelica,  i.  56  ;  ii.  59.    This  is  the  best  book  procurable  to  give 
a  general  idea  of  the  character  of  Irish  literature. 


438  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

Gaelic  0' Maoilbhrenainn,  means  d.s.  of  St.  Brendan,  the 
navigator  whose  name  marks  the  map  of  Ireland  and  Scot- 
land from  Mount  Brandon  to  St.  Kilda,  and  whose  Voyages 
are  a  curious  medley  of  Pagan  tradition  blended  with  actual 
experience  of  explorations  of  the  Atlantic, 

This  brings  us  to  a  second  class  of  saint-names  in  Mul 
and  Gil,  which  deserve  to  be  treated  separately. 

E.  O'GROWNEY. 


THE   YELLOW   STEEPLE   OF  TRIM 

ON  the  left,  or  northern,  bank  of  the  Eiver  Boyne,  not 
more  than  thirty  perches  from  the  old  Church  of 
St.  Patrick's,  Trim,  stands  the  stately  tower  known  as  the 
Yellow  Steeple.  Competent  authorities  regard  it  as  one 
of  the  finest  specimens  of  Anglo-Norman  architecture  in 
Ireland.  It  is  built  on  a  portion  of  the  ground  granted 
to  Patrick  and  Loman  by  Feidilmid  '  together  with  his 
son  Fortchern  till  the  day  of  judgment.'  From  whatever 
side  the  traveller  approaches  Trim,  the  first  object  that 
catches  his  eye  is  the  tall  commanding  form  of  this  ancient 
ruin.  Sir  William  Wilde,  on  the  occasion  of  his  visit  to 
Trim,  in  1849,  looking  at  it  from  a  point  of  vantage,  on  the 
Dublin-road,  near  Newtown,  admiring  its  grim  sentinel-like 
appearance,  and  contrasting  it  with  the  other  remarkable 
remnants  of  antiquity  extending  for  the  space  of  above  a 
mile,  styles  it,  in  his  own  poetical  language,  '  the  guardian 
genius  of  the  surrounding  ruins.' 

Anyone  looking  at  the  building,  even  now,  can  see  it  was 
evidently  a  square  tower  of  Gothic  architecture,  and,  like 
most  towers  of  that  period,  used  as  a  place  of  refuge  and 
defence  in  time  of  danger.  Ireland,  at  the  time,  and  indeed 
ever  since  the  Norman  invasion,  was  in  a  very  unsettled  state. 
Feeling  ran  so  very  high  amongst  the  Anglo-Irish  and  the 
native  Celts  that  the  slightest  breath  of  provocation  was 
sufficient  to  set  ablaze  the  smouldering  embers  of  dis- 


THE   YELLOW  STEEPLE   OF   TRIM  439 

content.  As  an  evidence  of  the  strained  relations  that 
subsisted,  I  may  mention  a  little  incident  that  took  place 
in  the  court-house  at  Trim.  The  son  of  Barnewall,  a  local 
lord,  and  the  then  treasurer  of  Meath,  beat  a  Caimen  (a 
stroke  of  his  finger)  upon  the  nose  of  Mac-Mec-Eeorais 
(Bermingham's  son),  which  deed  he  was  not  worthy  of,  and  he 
entering  on  the  Earl  of  Ormonde's  safeguard,  Mac-Feoaris 
felt  so  indignant  at  the  slight  put  upon  him,  that  he 
stole  out  of  the  town  that  night,  went  straight  to  O'Conor 
Offaly,  and  entered  into  an  alliance  with  him.  The  result 
was  a  confederacy  of  war,  made  by  the  Berminghams  and 
Calvagh  O'Conor  against  the  English.  With  their  united 
forces  they  came  into  Meath,  and  preyed  and  burned  a  great 
part  of  the  royal  county ;  so  it  is  hard  to  know,  the  old 
chronicles  add,  if  ever  was  such  abuse  better  revenged  than 
the  said  Caimen;  and  thence  came  the  notable  word  'Cogadh 
au  Caimen.'1  Such  was  the  state  of  feeling  that  prevailed 
when  Richard  Duke  of  York  was  sent  into  Ireland  as  Lord 
Lieutenant,  and,  by  letters  patent,  invested  with  almost 
royal  authority.  The  King,  Henry  VI.,  was  of  weak  mind, 
so  weak  that  the  real  power  of  governing  may  be  said  to 
have  fallen  practically  into  the  hands  of  his  wife,  Queen 
Margaret  of  Anjou,  aided  by  her  favourite  minister,  the 
Earl  of  Somerset.  On  more  than  one  occasion,  when  the 
unfortunate  king  was  wholly  out  of  his  mind,  the  Duke 
of  York  was  appointed  Protector. 

It  may  be  well,  also,  to  bear  in  mind  that  the  Duke  was 
Henry's  nearest  relative,  and  even  when  the  King's  son 
Edward  was  born,  he  had  still  a  strong,  if  not  the  strongest, 
claim  to  the  crown,  as  his  mother  belonged  to  the  elder 
branch  of  the  Mortimers  descended  from  the  Duke  of 
Clarence.  It  was  the  assertion  of  his  claim  that  afterwards 
gave  rise  to  the  disastrous  and  prolonged  struggle  for 
supremacy  between  two  rival  houses,  known  as  the  War  ot 
the  Eoses.  Margaret,  the  Queen,  a  far-seeing  and  ambitious 
woman,  took  in  the  situation,  and  was  anxious  to  have  the 
Duke,  whom  she  feared  as  a  formidable  rival,  put  out  of  the 

1  Arch,  Mac.,  v,  i.,p.  202, 


440  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

way.  Hence,  he  was  sent  to  Ireland  as  Lord  Lieutenant, 
in  the  hope  that  he  would  either  perish  in  the  attempt  to 
rule  the  rebellious  Irish,  or  at  least  that  he  would,  by  his 
drastic  measures  of  repression,  lose  his  reputation.  But  the 
queen  and  her  wily  advisers  were  wrong  in  their  calcula- 
tions. Contrary  to  their  expectations,  by  his  mild  and 
gentle  behaviour  he  won  the  haughty  feudal  lords  and  the 
native  Irish,  and  secured  their  obedience  without  being 
obliged  to  use  force ;  and,  in  fact,  so  endeared  himself  to 
them,  that,  with  the  exception  of  the  family  of  Ormonde, 
they  were  afterwards  loyal  to  himself  and  his  connections,  even 
in  their  greatest  misfortunes.  In  1449,  the  first  year  of  his 
lieutenancy,  he  held  his  court  in  his  hereditary  castle  at  Trim, 
and  not  only  repaired  the  castle,  but  built  in  a  style  of  great 
magnificence  the  tower  known  since  as  the  Yellow  Steeple, 
the  subject  of  our  present  sketch.  The  portion  that  is  still 
standing,  the  eastern  wall,  125  feet  high,  with  its  fine  geo- 
metrical window  and  delicate  tracery,  parts  of  the  side  walls, 
with  the  various  port-holes,  into  which  the  joists  were 
inserted,  indicating  the  several  landings,  are  sufficient  to 
give  us  an  idea  of  the  colossal  size  and  splendour  of  the 
building  in  its  original  shape.  From  a  rude  engraving  that 
is  given  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine,  1786,  it  would  seem 
that  three  sides  of  the  tower  were  then  standing.  The 
following  letter,  that  appeared  in  the  same  magazine,  may 
not  be  without  interest  at  the  present  time  : — 

MB.  URBAN, — I  herewith  send  you  an  inelegant  yet  tolerably 
just  representation  of  an  old  tower  called  the  Yellow  Steeple,  at 
Trim,  in  Ireland.  Above  one-fourth  of  it  is  now  ruined,  having 
been  blown  up  by  Cromwell.  The  principal  curiosity  in  the 
present  state  is  the  part  marked  almost  at  the  top  of  the  building, 
which  overhangs  several  feet,  and  has  done  so  long  before  any 
person  now  living  remembers  this  edifice.  Dangerous  as  the 
attempt  may  be,  the  boys  often  mount  unto  the  top  of  this  tower 
by  ladders  to  the  place  where  the  stairs  begin,  and  which  is  about 
the  place  marked.  The  tower  is  now  undermined  just  at  one  of 
the  angles,  and  probably  will  soon  fall.  But  as  the  inhabitants 
of  the  town,  as  well  as  those  of  the  adjacent  country,  give  them- 
selves no  trouble  to  repair  or  preserve  this  elegant  piece  of 
antiquity,  I  was  tempted  to  trouble  you  with  this  coarse  view  of 
it,  should  you  please  to  preserve  any  appearance  of  so  venerable 
a  monument  of  our  ancestors'  piety.  A.  M.  T. 


THE   YELLOW   STEEPLE   OF   TRIM  441 

A  beautiful  lithograph  of  it  in  its  present  shape  is  given 
in  Wilkinson's  Irish  Architecture.  The  staircase  alluded  to 
in  the  above  letter  is  now  gone,  but  was  in  existence  in  the 
memory  of  the  present  inhabitants  of  the  town.  Amongst 
the  boys  credited  with  the  dangerous  feat  of  climbing  to  the 
top  was  Edward  Crosbie,  afterwards  Sir  Edward  of  balloon 
notoriety,  who  used  to  attend  the  Diocesan  School  of  Meath 
situated  close  by  the  Yellow  Steeple.  Amongst  the  boys 
attending  the  same  school  was  the  celebrated  Duke  of 
Wellington.  When  young  Crosbie  had  reached  the  summit 
of  the  tower  in  his  youthful  freak,  he  took  out  a  pencil,  and 
made  what  he  called  his  will,  disposing  therein  of  his  game 
cocks  and  other  boyish  valuables,  in  case  he  should  be  killed 
in  coming  down.  He  threw  down  the  paper,  which  was 
eagerly  seized  on  by  his  playmates  on  the  ground.  Arthur 
Wellesley  must  have  been  a  very  small  boy  at  the  time,  for 
when  he  saw  nothing  was  left  to  him,  the  future  Iron  Duke 
forthwith  began  to  cry. 

Time  is  telling  its  tale  upon  this  old  historic  tower. 
But  its  present  dilapidated  condition  is  due  not  so  much  to 
the  effacing  finger  of  time  as  to  the  disastrous  effects  of 
Cromwell's  cannon.  Gough,  in  his  additions  to  Camden, 
states  that  the  greater  part  of  the  tower  was  demolished  by 
Oliver  Cromwell,  against  whom  it  held  out  for  a  considerable 
time  as  a  garrison.  There  is,  however,  hardly  sufficient 
historical  evidence  for  the  statement  that  it  held  out  as  a 
garrison,  or  that  Cromwell  himself  ever  appeared  in  Trim. 
This  much  only  is  certain.  The  day  after  the  siege  of 
Drogheda,  Cromwell,  with  a  chosen  company  of  his  veterans, 
and  a  number  of  his  heavy  guns,  marched  along  the  Boyne 
by  the  Bective  road,  and  put  up  for  the  night  at  a  house 
since  identified  as  Trubly  Castle,  the  ruins  of  which  are  still 
standing  three  short  miles  to  the  east  of  Trim.  Next  morn- 
ing, coming  along  with  his  foot,  horse,  and  artillery,  he 
reached  the  corner  of  the  main  road  leading  to  Dublin .  There 
the  Constable  of  Scurlogstown  Castle  had  the  hardihood 
to  challenge  his  approach.  The  Protector  forthwith  ordered 
his  men  to  charge,  and  turning  against  the  castle  one  of  his 
heavy  guns,  by  the  first  volley  he  split  the  building  from  top 


442  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

to  bottom,  and  the  huge  fissure  on  the  eastern  side  of  the 
castle  was  distinctly  visible  up  to  the  year  1858,  when  the 
castle  itself  toppled  to  the  ground.  Cromwell  found  there 
was  no  need  to  proceed  to  Trim,  for  the  castle  there  and  the 
Yellow  Steeple  were  both  abandoned  by  O'Neill  and  the 
men  under  him ;  but  lest  any  of  the  supporters  of  the  royal 
cause  should  return  and  resume  possession,  from  a  fort  close 
by,  since  called  'Cromwell's  Fort,'  he  dismantled  the  Castle  of 
Trim  and  demolished  more  than  one-half  of  the  Yellow 
Steeple,  and  next  day  wrote  a  letter  from  Dublin  to  the 
Parliament  in  England,  thanking  the  Lord  in  his  own  puri- 
tanical fashion  for  all  His  crowning  mercies  vouchsafed  to 
His  unworthy  servant. 

But  there  are  other  associations  clustering  around  the 
venerable  walls  of  this  ancient  ruin  of  far  more  than  historic 
or  antiquarian  interest.  The  Yellow  Steeple  is  all  that 
remains  of  the  renowned  Abbey  of  St.  Mary's.  It  is  the 
one  solitary  link  connecting  us  with  the  past,  and  marking 
the  hallowed  spot  where  stood  for  ages  the  far-famed  statue 
of  our  '  Ladye  of  Trymme.'  The  history  of  that  statue, 
the  wonders  wrought  through  its  agency  from  time  imme- 
morial, the  circumstances  that  led  to  the  demolition  of  the 
shrine,  are  matters  of  such  absorbing  interest,  that  I  offer 
no  apology  for  presenting  a  short  summary  of  them  to  the 
readers  of  the  I.  E.  BECOBD.  The  abbey  of  the  Canons 
Kegular  of  St.  Augustine,  whose  conventual  chapel  con- 
tained the  shrine,  was  founded  by  St.  Patrick,  the  first  year 
of  his  arrival  in  Ireland,  and  was  built  upon  a  site  given  for 
that  purpose  by  Felimid,  son  of  Laighaire,  and  grandson  of 
Niall.  A  list  of  the  several  abbots  who  lived  and  died  in 
this  monastery,  with  other  interesting  information,  is  given 
by  Colgan  and  other  historians  down  to  the  year  1402,  when 
Henry  IV.,  in  the  third  year  of  his  reign,  at  the  supplica- 
tion of  the  abbot  of  St.  Mary  of  Trim,  'took  under  his 
protection  all  pilgrims,  whether  liege  men,  Irish  or  rebels, 
going  on  pilgrimage  to  said  abbey,  according  to  immemorial 
privilege.' l 

i  Rot.  Pat.  3  Henry  IV. 


THE   YELLOW   STEEPLE   OF   TRIM  443 

Thirteen  years  later  his  successor,  Henry  V.,  confirmed 
the  same  privilege,  and  enacted  that  '  all  Irish  rebels  and 
liege  men,  of  whatever  condition,  wishing  to  come  to  said 
place  for  the  sake  of  pilgrimage  in  honour  of  the  Blessed 
Mary,  could  go  there  and  return  from  thence  without 
impediment  of  the  king,  of  the  lords  of  Meath,  or  of  any 
other  person  whatsoever.'1  In  1472,  the  twelfth  year  of 
Edward  IV.,  a  certain  amount  of  property  around  Trim 
was  granted  by  a  Parliament,  held  at  Naas,  to  the  Abbey  of 
St.  Mar}',  '  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  and  supporting  a 
perpetual  wax-light  before  the  image  of  the  Virgin  (in  said 
house),  and  for  supporting  four  other  wax-lights  before  the 
said  image  on  the  Mass  of  St.  Mary.'  It  was  also  enacted 
that  '  if  any  person  should  attempt  to  rob  or  assault  any 
pilgrim  on  his  way  to  or  from  this  abbey,  the  person  or 
persons  so  offending  should  be  attainted  of  felony,  and 
totally  excluded  from  the  royal  protection  ;  and  no  charter 
of  pardon  whatever  should  be  available,  except  by  the 
express  order  of  Parliament.' 

Statutes  such  as  these,  passed  through  Parliament,  and 
stamped  with  the  seal  of  successive  kings,  are  quite  enough 
to  show  the  vast  amount  of  attention  which  the  celebrated 
shrine  of  our  '  Ladye  of  Trymme '  commanded  in  olden 
times,  and  the  position  of  prominence  it  had  attained  even 
in  the  minds  of  the  civil  rulers  of  the  country.  If  one  were 
inclined  to  moralize,  he  would  have  here  a  rich  field  for 
reflection,  a  veritable  Klondyke,  where  he  could  sink  his 
shaft,  and  draw  up  treasures  of  priceless  value.  He  could 
picture  to  himself  Celt  and  Saxon,  lord  and  vassal,  liege 
men  and  rebel,  rich  and  poor,  all  sinking  their  social, 
economic,  and  political  differences,  kneeling  before  the  same 
altar,  and  offering  their  homage  before  the  same  shrine, 
thereby  giving  striking  proof  of  the  unity  of  their  faith,  and 
of  the  benign,  harmonizing  influence  of  religion.  The 
protection  extended  by  Parliament  to  the  various  classes  of 
pilgrims,  journeying  from  afar,  is  also  very  suggestive ;  for 
it  affords  a  practical  proof  of  the  beneficial  results  that,  in 

1  Rot.  Pat.  2  Henry  V, 


444  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

the  mind  of  the  legislators,  were  likely  to  flow  from  a  visit 
to  the  consecrated  shrine  of  our  Blessed  Lady.  Surely 
those  responsible  for  the  government  of  the  country  would 
never  have  allowed  a  free  pass  to  rebels  and  persons  labour- 
ing under  other  disabilities,  unless  they  were  convinced  that 
the  homage  offered  at  the  hallowed  shrine  would  have  a 
humanizing  effect,  and  would  contribute  more  to  the  sup- 
pression of  crime  and  the  reformation  of  morals,  than  the 
most  stringent  measures  that  could  be  adopted  by  the  law. 

That  numberless  favours  were  granted,  and  miracles 
wrought,  in  favour  of  those  who  knelt  in  reality  or  spirit  at 
this  hallowed  shrine  of  our  Ladye,  is  one  of  the  best  authen- 
ticated facts  recorded  in  history.  In  confirmation  of  this 
statement  I  refer  the  reader  to  that  great  standard  work, 
The  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters,  edited  by  O'Donovan.  At 
the  year  1397,  we  read  that  Hugh  McMahon  received  his 
sight  by  fasting  in  honour  of  the  Cross  of  Raphoe  and  the 
image  of  the  Blessed  Mary  at  Ath-Trim.1  Again,  we  find  it 
recorded  that  in  the  year  1412,  the  image  of  Mary  of  Ath- 
Trim  wrought  many  miracles.  O'Donovan,  in  a  note,  quotes 
also  from  The  Annals  of  Ulster,  1412,  '  The  image  of  Mary 
at  Ath-Trim  wrought  great  miracles  this  year.'2  Finally, at 
the  year  1444,  it  is  narrated  that  great  miracles  were 
wrought  by  the  image  of  Mary  at  Trim — viz.,  it  restored 
sight  to  a  blind  man,  speech  to  a  dumb  man,  and  the  use  of 
his  feet  to  a  cripple,  stretched  out  the  hand  of  a  person  to 
whose  side  it  had  been  fastened ;  and  then  follow  other 
particulars  about  a  striking  case,  which  can  be  read  with 
interest  by  those  who  consult  page  937  of  the  same  volume. 
I  might  multiply  quotations,  but  the  passages  cited  are 
sufficient  to  show  that  it  would  be  hardly  any  exaggeration 
to  call  the  Trim  of  those  days  the  Lourdes  of  Ireland. 

But,  it  may  be  asked,  is  this  miraculous  statue,  that  for 
centuries  attracted  so  many  thousands  of  pilgrims,  and  shed 
such  a  halo  of  splendour  on  the  ancient  town  of  Trim,  still 
in  existence,  or  is  there  any  evidence  to  show  what  became 
of  it  ?  On  this  particular  point  our  ancient  annals  give 

1  Vol.  iv.,  p.  751.  2/*id.,p.  809. 


THE    YELLOW   STEEPLE   OF    TRIM  445 

some  Very  important  and  interesting  information.  A  valu- 
able manuscript  volume  of  annals  preserved  in  the  Library  of 
Trinity  College,  Dublin,  gives  the  following  account  at  the  year 
1538.  The  Irish  text  is  given  with  the  following  translation : — 

The  most  miraculous  image  of  Mary,  which  was  at  Baile- 
Atha-Truim,  and  which  the  Irish  people  all  honoured  for  a  long 
time  before  that,  which  used  to  heal  the  blind,  the  deaf,  the  lame, 
and  every  disease  in  like  manner,  was  burned  by  the  Raxons. 

This  event  is  also  thus  recorded  by  Sir  James  Ware,  in 
his  Annals  of  the  Reign  of  King  Henry  VIII.,  p.  96  :— 

Also  about  the  same  time,  among  the  famous  images  where- 
unto  pilgrimages  were  designed,  the  statue  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 
Mary  was  burned,  then  kept  at  Trim,  in  the  abbey  of  the  Canons 
Eegular  of  St.  Austin,  and  the  gifts  of  the  pilgrims  were  taken 
away  from  thence. 

The  Four  Masters  have  also  on  record  how  this  remark- 
able relic,  that  was  held  in  such  veneration  from  time 
immemorial  up  to  the  period  of  the  Eeformation,  was 
publicly  burned  as  an  instrument  of  superstition  :— 

A  heresy  and  a  new  error  broke  out  in  England,  the  effects  of 
pride,  vain-glory,  avarice,  and  sensual  desire,  so  that  the  people 
of  England  went  into  opposition  to  the  Pope  and  to  Eome.  They 
gave  the  title  of  Head  of  the  Church  of  God  during  his  reign  to 
the  King.  There  were  enacted  by  the  King  and  Council  new 
laws  and  statutes  after  their  own  will.  They  ruined  the  orders 
who  were  permitted  to  hold  property — viz.,  monks,  canons,  nuns, 
Brethren  of  the  Cross,  and  the  four  Mendicant  Orders,  and  their 
possessions  and  livings  were  taken  up  for  the  King.  They  broke 
up  the  monasteries,  and  the  roofs  and  bells,  and  the  sacred 
furniture  and  vessels  were  sold  for  the  King.  They  further  burned 
and  broke  the  famous  images  and  shrines  of  Ireland  and  England. 
After  that  they  burned  in  like  manner  the  celebrated  image  of 
Mary  which  was  at  Ath-Trim ,  which  used  to  perform  wonders 
and  miracles,  which  used  to  heal  the  blind,  the  deaf,  the  lame, 
and  the  sufferers  from  all  diseases ;  and  so  great  was  the  persecu- 
tion that  it  is  impossible  to  tell  or  narrate  it,  unless  it  should  be 
told  by  him  who  saw  it. 

According  to  all  these  authorities,  the  statue  of  our 
Lady  of  Trymme  was  publicly  burned  by  the  Saxons  who 
went  into  heresy,  and  were  fired  with  a  fanatical  hatred  for 
every  ^emblem  of  Catholicity.  The  date  of  the  burning  is 
set  down  by  the  Four  Masters,  at  1537;  by  "Ware  and  the 
other  historians,  at  1538.  The  latter  date  is  the  correct 


446  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

one.     Dr.  O'Donovan  proves  clearly  that  the  statue  was  in 
existence  in  1538. 

For,  on  the  10th  of  August,  in  that  year,  a  letter  from 
Thomas  Allen  to  Thomas  Cromwell  (Earl  of  Essex),  and 
Vicar-General  to  Henry  VIII.,  has  the  following  passage  : — l 

The  thre,  viz.,  Archbishop  Browne,  Mr.  Treasurer,  and 
Master  of  the  Eolls,  wold  not  corne  in  the  Chapell  where  the 
Idoll  of  Trym  stode,  to  the  intent,  they  wold  not  occasion  the 
people ;  notwithstanding  my  Lord  Deputie  veray  devoutley 
kneling  before  hir  hard  thre  or  fower  masses. 

The  Lord  Deputy,  in  1538,  was  Lord  Grey. 

But  though  this  famous  statue  was  cast  into  the  fire,  it 
must  have  been  rescued  from  the  flames.  For,  more  than 
a  century  later,  we  find  that  this  precious  relic,  all  charred 
and  blackened  as  it  was,  and  called,  therefore,  the  '  black 
statue,'  was  kept  religiously  in  the  house  of  Laurence 
Hammon  or  Hammond,  the  leading  Catholic  family  in  Trim 
in  those  days.  This  statement  may  seem  strange  and  novel 
to  most  readers,  and  yet  it  is  not  a  mere  conjecture  or 
surmise.  It  rests  upon  a  solid  basis,  and  has  strong 
documentary  evidence  to  support  it  :— 

In  the  year  1641,  the  Irish  [the  Celts]  bethought  to  garrison 
Trim.  Pursuant  thereto  all  Westmeath  forces,  and  the  Eeyllies 
from  the  County  of  Cavan,  marched  thither.  Those  had  some 
inklinge  that  Coote  was  thither  corninge,  and  though  making  the 
best  speed  they  could,  Sir  Charles  Coote  arrived  first,  and  had  the 
towne  without  one  blowe.  The  weather  being  somewhat  could, 
whereof  Sir  Charles  complained,  and  commanded  a  fire  to  be 
made  (he  lodged  in  Mr.  Laurence  Hamon's  house).  Fuell  being 
verie  scarce  there  ;  his  son  Rice  Coote  (quails  arbor  tails  fructus) 
bitted  upon  a  great  ancient  portraiture  or  image  of  our  Blessed 
Ladye  engraven  in  wood ;  kept  with  great  veneration  in  said 
house  since  the  Suppression  of  Holy  Church  in  Henry  the  8th  his 
time  which  young  Coot  caused  to  be  cutt  and  cloven  in  sunder 
to  make  fire  thereof,  for  his  father  against  his  cominge  in. 

But  God  Almighty,  the  righteous  judge,  did  not  prolongs  the 
punishment  of  this  impietie,  for  as  soon  as  Sir  Charles  thought 
to  enjoy  the  benefit  of  that  transformed  divine  fire,  worde  came 
that  the  Irish  had  already  entered  the  town.  Starting  forth, 
trumpett  sounded  and  drum  beaten,  all  ran  to  the  alarum,  being 
very  late  in  the  evening,  Sir  Charles  wasshott  orothcrwise  wounded, 
and  making  as  much  examination  in  this  behalf  as  reasonable  I 

1  Stale  Fiipersy  vol.  iii.,  p.  10.5. 


THE   YELLOW   STEEPLE   OF   TRIM  447 

might,  could  never  learne  how  or  by  whom  wounded,  however,  it 
being  mortall,  was  conveyed  to  his  lodging  dead.  Next  day, 
Sir  Charles  his  corps  was  carried  to  Dublin  bemoaned  by  all  the 
Parliamentarians,  and  interred  with  the  ensuing  epitaph  : — 

England's  honour,  Scotland's  wonder, 
Ireland's  terror  here  lies  under. 

The  above  graphic  description  is  given  verbatim  in  that 
highly-interesting  book,  the  Aphorismical  Discovery,1  edited 
by  Sir  J.  Gilbert,  in  two  volumes ;  and  from  it,  it  is  clear 
that  the  statue  of  our  Lady  of  Trim  was  in  existence  more 
than  a  century  after  the  Reformation,  when  so  many  shrines 
and  sacred  images  were  burnt  as  objects  of  superstition. 
And  there  are  many  holy  souls  around  Trim  who  cannot 
be  induced  to  believe  but  it  is  in  existence  still.  The  town 
of  Trim,  they  say,  was  burnt  more  than  once.  The  very 
church  in  which  the  statue  stood  was  burned,  and  two 
hundred  persons  who  fled  there  for  refuge  perished  in  the 
flames,  and  yet  God  preserved  this  sacred  relic. 

When  the  Reformers  came,  and  ruined  everything,  the 
sacred  image  again  escaped ;  and  though  cloven  in  two  to 
make  fire  for  old  Coote,  see  how  he  paid  for  his  firing  ! 
They  even  point  out,  with  a  feeling  of  pride,  the  garden, 
close  by  St.  Mary's  Abbey,  where  the  statue  is  hidden  away, 
and  show  you  a  large  stone  that  formed  part  of  the  pedestal 
on  which  the  statue  once  stood.  Be  this  as  it  may,  one  thing 
is  unquestionable — the  deep-rooted  reverence  of  the  people 
for  everything  connected  with  the  honour  of  the  Mother  of 
God.  Even  now  the  people  are  giving  practical  proof  of 
their  devotion,  in  the  efforts  they  are  making  to  build  a 
church  on  the  bank  right  opposite  old  St.  Mary's,  and  their 
determination  to  erect  therein  a  special  altar  dedicated  to 
our  Blessed  Lady.  Some  time  ago,  in  replying  to  an  address 
from  the  people  of  Trim,  the  venerated  bishop  of  the  diocese 
Dr.  Nulty,  made  special  allusion  to  this  point ;  and  with  his 
Lordship's  feeling  words  I  will  conclude  this  paper : — 

There  is  one  feature  that  touches  my  heart  very  deeply.  In 
my  early  life,  when  a  curate  here,  I  made  the  history  of  this 
ancient  town  a  subject  of  study.  The  history  of  it  is  very 
interesting  and  very  exceptional.  The  town  did  not  spring  into 
existence  in  the  usual  way,  and  was  not  built  for  the  natural 

1  From  ^ir  J.  Gilbert's  ^iph.  Discovery,  vol.  i.,  p.  32. 


448  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

advantage  of  its  surroundings.  What  gave  rise  to  this  town  is 
the  broad  historic  fact,  viz.,  the  Blessed  Virgin  having,  in  her 
kindness  and  goodness,  chosen  this  town  and  invested  it  with 
sanctity,  like  unto  that  of  Lourdes  or  some  shrine  equally  blessed 
by  her  visible  presence.  Our  Blessed  Lady  selected  the  site  of 
the  Yellow  Steeple  beyond  for  the  manifestation  of  her  miracu- 
lous power  and  goodness  to  our  forefathers  long  ago ;  and  her 
miraculous  interposition  had  the  effect  of  attracting  multitudes 
of  pilgrims  from  every  part  of  the  kingdom,  who  came  here  to 
visit  the  sanctuary  of  our  '  Ladye  of  Trymme. '  Hence  arose 
that  most  gorgeous  church,  even  the  remnant  of  which  impresses 
with  awe  the  visitor  at  the  present  time.  That  church  was  not 
erected  by  the  people  of  Trim,  but  it  was  erected  almost  exclu- 
sively by  the  generosity  of  the  pilgrims  to  this  hallowed  ground. 
People  came  here  from  all  quarters,  and  to  provide  for  their 
accommodation  there  sprung  up,  round  the  shrine  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  this  town  of  Trim.  That  is  how  Trim  began.  That 
sanctuary  was  revered  and  hallowed  for  centuries,  until  at  last 
the  despoiler,  the  tyrant  came,  and  laid  his  unholy  hands 
on  the  temple  of  God.  He  demolished  the  sacred  edince, 
and  the  statue  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  was  burnt  in  the 
market-place.  This  is  our  history.  Gentlemen,  I  had  fondly 
hoped  that  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  would  return  again  to 
this  town  of  Trim.  We  are  going  to  invite  her.  That  church 
which  is  in  course  of  building  outside  is  nothing  like  the  former 
church  erected  to  commemorate  the  special  graces  bestowed  upon 
Trim ;  but  when  complete  it  will  be  a  very  handsome  church, 
indeed.  I  had  fully  expected  to  see  it  completed  and  finished. 
The  people  of  Trim  would  never  be  able  to  complete  that  church  ; 
but  I  knew  that  the  love  of  the  people  of  this  diocese  for  the 
glory  of  God  and  the  honour  of  His  Virgin  Mother,  and  their 
regard  for  your  popular  parish  priest  of  Trim,  will  enable  you  to 
erect  a  worthy  edince  in  your  town,  and  to  re-establish  the  devo- 
tion to  our  Blessed  Lady  in  this  place.  Who  knows  but  that  the 
Mother  of  God  would  give  renewed  proofs  of  her  presence  amongst 
us?  I  expect  to  see  that  beautiful  work  consummated  in  my 
lifetime,  and  I  had  myself  intended  to  have  brought  over  from 
Eome  a  statue  of  our  Blessed  Lady  worthy  of  the  holy  place, 
and  to  place  it  in  the  church,  with  the  inscription  that  was  on 
the  pedestal  of  the  original  statue  :  '  To  our  Lady  of  Trymme.' 

I  shall  add  nothing  to  those  eloquent  and  inspiriting 
words  of  his  Lordship,  beyond  the  expression  of  a  wish  that 
our  venerable  and  venerated  pastor  shall  not  sing  his  Nunc 
Dimittis  until  he  sees  the  fond  hopes,  so  feelingly  alluded 
to  in  the  above  speech,  realized  to  the  full. 

PHILIP  CALLARY,  P.P.,  Y.F. 


[    449    ] 


IRotee   anb  (Queries 

THEOLOGY 

CONDEMNED    SECRET    SOCIETIES 

IN  reply  to  our  correspondent,  'Anxious,'  who  desires  to 
have  the  Documents  in  which  certain  secret  societies  have 
been  expressly  condemned,  we  print  the  following  document, 
which  comes  from  the  Congregation  of  the  Holy  Office  : — 

I.  An  societas  '  Independent  Order  of  Good  Templars,' nun- 
cupata     excommunication!     subjaceat     latae    contra    societates 
secretas  in  constit.  Apos,  Sedis  ?     Et  quatenus  negative  ; 

II.  An  prohibitum  sit  sub  gravi  nomen  dare  isti  societati  ? 
Porro  Emi.  Patres  Inquisitores  Generates,  se  mature  perpensa, 

in  comitiis  habitis  die  9  Augusti,  1893,  sequens  cum  approbatione 
Summi  Pontificis  ediderunt  decretum. 

Ad  I.  Dilata. 

Ad  II.  Affirmative,  seu  deterrendi  fideles  a  dando  nomine 
huic  societati. 

As  for  the  other  societies  about  which  he  inquires,  '  The 
Oddfellows,'  '  The  Sons  of  Temperance,'  and  '  The  Knights 
of  Pythias,'  were  condemned  in  a  letter  sent  to  the  bishops 
of  the  United  States  through  Mgr.  Satolli,  20th  August, 
1894.  The  document  will  be  found  in  full  in  the  I.  E.KECOBD 
for  June,  1896,  page  568.  The  following  extract  will  suffice 
here : — 

Cunctis  per  istas  regiones  Ordinariis  esse  omnino  connitendum, 
ut  fideles  a  tribus  societatibus  praedictis  et  ab  unaquaque  earum 
arceantur,  eaque  de  re  fideles  ipsos  esse  monendos ;  et  si  moni- 
tione  insuper  habita  velint  adhuc  eisdem  societatibus  adhaerere, 
nee  ab  illis  cum  effectu  separari,  a  perceptione  sacramentorum 
esse  arcendos. 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  add  that  subsequently,  in  answer 
to  a  question  of  Cardinal  Satolli,  as  to  whether  persons  who 
had  already  joined  these  benefit  societies  were  bound  forth- 
with to  break  off  all  connection  with  them,  and  thereby  lose 
for  themselves  and  their  families  the  right  to  grants  of 
money  on  the  occasion  of  illness  or  death,  or  whether  they 

VOL.  in.  2  s 


450  THE  IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

might,  avoiding  all  other  communication  with  the  condemned 
societies,  continue  to  pay  their  subscriptions  in  order  to 
maintain  their  claims  against  the  societies,  the  following 
answer  was  returned  by  the  Holy  Office,  19th  January, 
1896  :- 

Generatim  non  licere  et  ad  mentem.  Mens  est,  quod  hoc 
tolerari  possit  sequentibus  conditionibus  et  adjunctis  simul  in 
casu  concurrentibus  sell.  1°  si  bona  fide  sectae  primitus  nomen 
dederint,  antequam  sibi  innotuisset  societatem  esse  damnatam  ; 
2°  si  absit  scandalum  vel  opportuna  removeatur  declaratio,  id  a 
se  fieri,  ne  jus  ad  Emolumenta  vel  beneficium  temporis  in  agere 
aliendo  solvendo  amittat,  a  quavis  interim  sectae  communione  et 
quovis  interventu  etiam  material!  ut  praemittitur,  abstinendo  ; 
3°  si  grave  damnum  sibi  aut  familiae  in  reiiuntiatione  obveniat ; 
4°  tandem  ut  non  adsit  vel  homini  illi  vel  familiae  ejus  periculum 
perversionis  ex  parti  sectariorum  spectato  praecipue  vel  infirmi- 
tatis  vel  mortis,  neve  similiter  adsit  periculum  funeris  peragendia 
ritibus  catholicis  alieni ;  5°  demum  SSmus  D.  Leo  XIII.,  haec 
approbans  jussit,  ut  uniformis  regulae  servandae  causu,  in  casibus 
particularibus  pro  tempore  Delegatus  Apost.  Washingtonopoli 
provideat. 

MASS     ON     BOARD     SHIP 

REV.  DEAR  SIB, — I  will  ask  you  to  reply  to  the  following 
questions  : — 

1st.  Is  a  priest  on  a  voyage  from  Ireland  to  America  or 
Australia  justified  in  saying  Mass  on  board,  without  special  per- 
mission, in  order  to  give  himself  and  the  other  Catholic  passengers 
an  opportunity  of  hearing  Mass  ? 

2nd.  In  case  special  permission  is  required,  from  whom  should 

it  be  obtained? 

SACEBDOS. 

The  priest  in  question  would  not  be  justified  in  celebrating 
Mass  without  special  permission.  He  would  require  a  special 
indult,  which,  at  the  present  day,  at  all  events,  is  granted 
only  by  the  Pope,  or,  in  virtue  of  special  faculties,  by  the 
bishop  of  the  place  from  which  the  ship  sails.1  The  indult 
is  granted  subject  to  the  condition  that  there  be  no  danger 
of  irreverence.  It  is  usually  required,  moreover,  that  there 
be  a  second  priest  or  a  deacon  to  hold  the  chalice. 

1  Via.  Putzer,  161,  iii.  c.  ;  Edit.  Quart. 


NOTES   AND   QUERIES  451 

CUMULATION  OF  MATRIMONIAL  DISPENSATIONS 

We  would  direct  the  attention  of  our  readers  to  a  reply 
of  the  Congregation  of  the  Inquisition  printed  among  the 
Documents  in  the  present  issue.1  According  to  the  hitherto 
received  teaching,  a  bishop  having  extraordinary  Apostolic 
faculties  to  dispense  in  various  matrimonial  impediments 
— diriment  or  prohihent — could  not,  without  a  further  special 
indult,  use  these  extraordinary  faculties  to  dispense  in  a  case 
in  which  there  are  two  or  more  impediments  over  each  of 
which  singly  he  possesses  (extraordinary)  jurisdiction.  Even 
the  most  recent  writers  make  no  distinction  between  private 
and  public  impediments.2  This  matter  was  explained, 
according  to  the  received  teaching  in  a  former  number  of 
the  I.  E.  EECORD.3  Now,  however,  according  to  a  decree 
reaffirmed  and  published  18th  August,  1897,  by  the  Holy 
Office,  the  prohibition  against  using  Apostolic  faculties, 
in  the  event  of  cumulation,  does  not  extend  to  the  case 
in  which  the  Cumulation  arises  from  the  existence  of  an 
occult  with  a  public  impediment.  If  the  two  impediments 
were  public,  special  faculties  are  still  required  to  remove 
them  ;  if  one  is  public,  the  other  occult,  no  special  indult  is 
required.  It  would  seem  to  follow  from  the  document  now 
published,  that  even  the  cumulation  of  one  public  impedi- 
ment with  tioo  or  more  occult  impediments  is  not  a  bar  to 
the  exercise  (without  a  special  indult)  of  extraordinary 
Apostolic  faculties. 

D.  MANNIX. 


1  See  page  464. 

2  Vid.  Putzer,  Ed.   4,  1897.      Becker,    De  Spons,   et  Mat.,    1895,  p.    297. 
Feije,  Ed.  4,  1898,  n.  631,  E.     Gasparri,  Ed.  2,  189.3,  n.  448. 

3  Vid.  I.  E.  RECOBD,  February,  1897,  p.  171. 


[     452     ] 


DOCUMENTS 

METHOD  OP  FILLING  A  VACANT  BISHOPRIC  IN  IRELAND1 

DECRETA  SACRAE  CONGREGATIONS  DE  PROPAGANDA  FIDE  CIRCA 
MODUM  COMMENDANDI  PRESBYTEROS,  QUI  AD  EPISCOPATUM  IN 
HIBERNIA  PROMOVEANTUR 

SANCTISSIMO  PATRI  AC  DOMINO  NOSTRO  LEONI  PP.  XII. 

BEATISSIME  PATER, 

Constans  atque  paterna  solicitudo,  quam  cunctis  retroactis 
seculis  expertae  sunt  Ecclesiae  Hiberniae  a  sanctis  et  venerabili- 
bus  Antecessoribus  tuis,  successoribus  S.  Petri,  quibus  Dominus 
noster,  Jesus  Christus,  Filius  Dei  vivi,  universes  ubique  terrarum 
fideles  regendos  commisit,  nobis  addictissimis  tuis  in  Christo 
filiis,  Archiepiscopis  et  Episcopis  Hiberniae,  pignus  amplissimum 
ultro  suppeditat  vigilis  illius  curae,  qua  Sanctjtas  Tua  cuncta 
negotia  nostra  respicit  atque  tuetur.  Animo  autem  nobiscum 
volventibus  plurimas  eximias  dotes  a  Supremo  Numine,  in 
Sponsae  suae  dilectae  beneficium,  Sanctitati  Tuae  collatas, 
sapientiam  illam  singularem  et  fere  divinam  consiliis  tuis  moder- 
antem,  egregiam  illam  prudentiam  singularum  orbis  Christian! 
Ecclesiarum  necessitatibus,  baud  secus  ac  si  unice  commissae 
fuissent,  prospicientem,  imprimis  autem  sedula  mente  reputanti- 
bus,  quot  quantisque  beneficiis  Ecclesias  Hiberniae  jam  inde  ab 
incoepto  Pontificatu  cumulasti,  non  solum  admiratione,  memor- 
isque  animi  sensibus  perfundimur  erga  Sanctitatem  Tuam,  verum 
Deo  omnium  bonorum  largitori,  gratias  quam  maximas  pectore 
ab  imo  referimus,  qui  Sanctitati  Tuae  istam  infuderit  mentem  ad 
propriarn  ipsius  gloriam  redundantem,  saluberrimamque  Clero 
Populoque  Hiberno,  quibus  jure  quam  optimo  in  Domino  gloriari 
licet,  Sedis  apostolicae  observantissimos,  atque  verae  avitaeque 
fidei  tenacissimos,  semper  extitisse. 

Quae  cum  ita  sint,  Beatissime  Pater,  necessitatum  nostrarum 
memores,  ac  bonitati  tuae  expertae  confisi,  votis,  humillimis 
supplicarnus,  ut  dignetur  Sanctitas  Tua  animum  advertere  ad 
gravia  incommoda,  Sedi  apostolicae  jam  bene  nota,  quae  in 

1  These  Letters  and  Decrees,  which  have  never  hitherto  been  published 
in  the  I.E.  RECOKD.  may  be  found  useful  as  well  as  interesting  to  the  clergy. 


DOCUMENTS.  453 


Hibernia  enascuntur,  ex  defectu  cujusdajn  fixae  ac  determinatae 
formae,  juxta  quam,  sede  aliqua  vacante,  digni  habiti  qui  ad 
Episcopalem  dignitatem  promoveantur,  Apostolicae  Sedi  com- 
mendarentur. 

Ad  quern  finem,  omni  qua  par  est  reverentia,  liceat  Nobis 
Archiepiscopis  et  Episcopis  Hiberniae,  frequenti  ordine  apud 
Dublinium  pridie  Nonas  Februarii  convocatis,  ad  Sanctitatem 
Tuam  referre  quae  nobis  unanimi  consensu  circa  istud  caput 
disciplinae  utilissima  visa  sunt. 

Igitur  Sede  aliqua  Episcopali,  sive  per  Antistitis  obitum, 
translationem,  aliamve  ob  causam  in  posterum  vacante,  Vicarius 
juxta  formam  a  sacris  canonibus  praescriptam  constituatur,  qui 
Dioecesi  viduatae,  durante  vacatione,  praesit.  Metropolitanus 
Provinciae  ubi  vacatio  contigerit,  simulatque  de.  vacatione  et 
Vicarii  electione  certior  factus  fuerit,  literis  mandatoriis  Vicario 
edicet,  ut  in  diem  vigesimum  a  dato  edicto  in  unum  convocet 
omnes  quibus  jus  competat  Summo  Pontifici  commendandi 
tres  dignos  Ecclesiastici  ordinis  viros,  quorum  unus  a  Summo 
Pontifice  Dioecesi  vacanti  praeficeretur.  Quos  autem  suffragii 
jure  gaudere  volumus,  formamque  in  convocando  conventu  ser- 
vandam,  eodemque  post  convocationem  regendo,  sequenti  ordine 
exponemus. 

Qui  in  Hibernia  nuncupantur  Parochi,  scilicet,  clerici  ad 
ordinem  Sacerdotalem  evecti,  censurarum  immunes,  quique 
Parochiae  seu  Parochiarum  unitarum  actuali  et  pacitica  posses- 
sione  gaudeant,  hi  soli  ad  comitia  convocandi  sunt.  Vicarius, 
edicto  Metropolitani  accepto,  intra  octo  dies  singulos  Presbyteros 
supra  designates  literis  scriptis  admonebit,  ut  loco  quodam 
opportune,  in  eadem  monitione  nominatim  exprimendo,  adsint, 
die  in  edicto  Metropolitani  statute,  ad  tractandum  de  negotio 
ibidem  descripto.  Metropolitanus  ipse,  vel  unus  ex  suffraganeis 
ejus  Episcopis  ab  ipso  delegatus,  comitiis  praesidebit,  et  nulla 
prorsus  et  invalida  habenda  sunt  ibidem  acta  et  statuta,  non 
servata  forma  supra  definita,  sive  in  convocando,  sive  in 
raoderando  conventu. 

Parochis,  die  et  loco  statutis,  mane  in  unum  congregatis, 
Missa  solemnis  de  Spiritu  Sancto  celebretur,  Missaque  finita, 
Praeses  super  sedile  in  medio  Ecclesiae  ascendet,  omnibusque 
quorum  nihil  interest,  exire  jussis,  foribusque  Ecclesiae  clausis, 
Vicarius,  catalogum  nominum  omnium  Parochorum  Dioecesis 
vacantis  Praesidi  tradet,  qui  eorundem  nomina,  clara  ac  distincta 


454  THE   IRISH.  ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

voce,  a  Secretario  suo  recitari  mandabit,  et  unicuique  Parocho, 
postquam  nomini  respondent,  sedem  propriam  assignabit.  Si 
unus  aut  plures  Parochi  absint,  Praeses  a  Vicario  probationem 
exquiret,  absentibus  sine  fraude  revera  edictum  fuisse,  et  tali 
probatione  admissa,  absentia  cujusvis  numeri,  raodo  quarta  pars 
totius  Parochorum  numeri  adsit,  nihil  obstabit  quominus  rata  et 
valida  sint  quae  in  comitiis  gerantur.  Parochis,  qui  Vicarii 
monitione,  sive  propter  adversam  valetudinem,  aliamve  ob  causam 
parere  non  valeant,  liberum  erit  suffragia  sua,  propria  ipsorum 
manu  scripta,  involucre  sigillato  inclusa,  et  extrinsecus  ad 
Praesidem  directa,  cuivis  alio  Parocho  ejusdem  Dioecesis  con- 
fidere,  et  suffragio  sic  tradito  et  probato,  eadem  inerit  vis  ac  si 
Parochus  ipse  praesens  adesset :  modo  literae  certificatoriae  de 
adversa  ejus  valetudine  a  duobus  artis  medicinae  peritis  sub- 
scriptae,  ad  Praesidem  transmittantur.  Insuper  Parochus  iste 
priusquam  suffragium  modo  supra  descripto  ferat,  eandem 
declarationem  emittet,  quam  caeteris  Parochis  inter  comitia 
emittere  coram  Praeside  incurnbet,  ejusque  declarationis  coram 
duobus  Parochis  emissae  probatio,  in  medium  proferenda  coram 
Praeside,  antequam  suffragium  admittatur. 

Comitiis  ita  compositis,  ac  Praeside  tractanda  proponente, 
duo  Scrutatores  juxta  consuetas  canonum  formas  eligantur,  dein 
suffragatores  ad  Urn  am  supra  mensam  positam,  singuli  accedent, 
et  clara  altaque  voce,  tactis  simul  manu  pectoribus,  coram  Deo, 
pro  se  quisque  amrment,  se,  neque  gratia,  neque  favore  inductos, 
ei  suffragaturos  quern  dignissimum,  digniorem,  aut  dignum,  pro 
diversis  candidatorum  mentis,  judicent,  qui  Dioecesi  vacanti  prae- 
ficeretur  ;  postea  suffragio  in  Urnam  immisso,  singuli  ad  propriam 
sedem  recedent. 

Tres  suffragiorum  series,  totidemque  scrutinia  institui  volumus, 
suffragatoribus  unum  tantum  nomen  singulis  vicibus  in  Urnam 
mittentibus  ;  nempe  prima  vice  unusquisque  suffragabitur  ei  quern 
dignissimum  judicat,  et  nomen  illius  qui,  facto  scrutinio,  majorem 
suffragiorum  numerum,  ultra  medietatem,  reportarit,  clara  altaque 
voce,  a  scrutatoribus  ad  Praesidem,  et  a  Praeside  ad  conventum, 
renuntiandum  est.  Secunda  vice,  unusquisque  suffragabitur  ei 
quern  digniorem,  et  tertia  vice,  suffragabitur  ei  quern  dignum 
judicet  ;  eademque  forma  respectu  numeri  suffragiorum,  et 
nomina  declarandi  servanda  est,  quae  prima  vice  servata  est. 

Quibus  peractis,  et  nominibus  eorum,  qui  in  unaquaque  serie 
majorem  suffragiorum  numerum  ultra  medietatem  obtinuerint, 


DOCUMENTS  455 


cognitis  et  publicatis,  Praeses  narrationern  authenticam  in  scrip tis 
redactam,  parari  coram  comitiis,  ejusdemque  duo  exemplaria  a 
seipso  et  Secretario  atque  Scrutatoribus  subsignanda,  exscribi 
curabifc.  Ex  istis  exemplaribus,  alterum  Vicario  tradendum,  qui 
idem  ad  Sedem  Apostolicam  transmittat,  alterum  vero  Metropo- 
litano,  cujus  munus  erit  idem  ad  suffraganeos  ejus  Episcopos  in 
unum  congregates  referre.  Quaecumque  jura,  privilegia,  et 
munera  supra  recensentur,  tanquam  Praesidi  conventus  propria, 
eadem,  sede  Metropolitan  a  vacante,  seniori  Provinciae  Suffraganeo 
communicari  volumus.  Episcopis  Provinciae,  Praeside  Metro- 
politano,  aut  ipsius  defectu,  seniori  Provinciae  Suffraganeo,  in 
unum  convocatis,  et  narratione  authentica  supra  memorata 
coram  ipsis  prolata,  de  eadem  coram  Deo  judicium  sententiamque 
ferant.  Si  unanimi  consensu,  aut  majori  suffragiorum  numero, 
approbaverint  a  Parochis  commendatos,  eodemque  ordine,  quo 
in  narratione  inseruntur  nomina,  idem  propria  uniuscuj  usque 
Episcopi,  necnon  et  Praesidis  manu  subscriptum,  et  sigillo 
munitum,  ad  sedem  Apostolicam  Praeses  transmitted  Si 
consensu  unanimi,  aut  majori  suffragiorum  numero,  commendatos 
quidem  approbent,  sed  non  in  eodem  ordine  ,istud  quoque  ad 
Sanctam  Sedem  referent,  ordine  nominum  ipsis  probato,  et 
motivis  quibus  eorum  judicium  innititur,  simul  expositis.  Si 
concordibusanimis,  vel  majori  suffragiorum  numero,  consenserint 
unum  aut  duos  ex  commendatis  parum  dignos  esse,  qui  ad 
ordinem  Episcopalem  evehantur,  summum  Pontificem  de  ea 
quoque  re  certiorem  facient,  simulque  mentem  exponent  de 
dotibus  alterius  commendati.  Si  tandem  consensu  unanimi,  aut 
majori  suffragiorum  numero,  judicaverint,  tres  commendatos 
parum  dignos  esse  ex  quibus  unus  ad  Episcopatum  promoveretur, 
Summum  Pontificem  de  suo  judicio  certiorem  facient,  ejusque 
Sanctitati  supplicabunt,  suffragatoribus  per  Metropolitan!  edictum 
mandare,  ut  tres  alios  juxta  jam  descriptam  formam  de  novo 
commendarent.  Si  suffragatores  animo  obstinate  pravoque, 
eosdem  iterum  commendent,  Summus  Pontifex  accepta  relatione 
Episcoporum  Provinciae,  et  supra,  pro  sua  sapientia  Dioecesi 
viduatae  de  Pastore  providebit.  Si  agatur  de  Episcopi  Coadjutore, 
cum  jure  successionis  cuivis  Episcopo  assignando,  eadem  quae 
sede  vacante  commendandi  forma  servanda  est,  cauto  tamen  varia 
privilegia,  jura,  et  munera,  Metropolitano  aut  seniori  Episcopo 
suffraganeo  jam  attributa,  ad  Archiepiscopum  aut  Episcopum, 
cui  Coadjutor  assignandus  est,  unice  pertinere,  illaeso  tamen 


456  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

servato  jure  Metropolitan!,  quando  suffraganei  ejus  Episcopi  ad 
ferendum  judicium  convenerint. 

Tandem  quicumque  Sedis  Apostolicae  approbation!  com- 
mendentur,  cives  sint  Indigenae  Hiberniae  serenissimo  Imperil 
Britannici  Regi,  fidelitate  incorrupta  obstricti,  morum  integritate, 
pietate,  doctrina,  caeterisque,  quae  Episcopum  decent,  dotibus 
insigniti. 

Haec  sunt,  Beatissime  Pater,  quae  pro  meliore  in  posterum 
regimine    Ecclesiarum   nobis,   licet   indignis,   commissarum,    ad 
Sanctitatem  tuam  humillime  referre  muneris  nostri  esse  duxinius. 
Apostolica  benedictione,  flexis  genibus  implorata,  Deum  O.M 
precamur,  ut  Sanctitatem  tuam,  ad  Ecclesiae  universalis  coin- 
modum,  diutissime  incolumem  servet  ac  sospitet. 
Beatitudinis  Tuae. 

Observantissimi  atque  Amantissimi  Filii. 
Datum  Dublinii,  die  17  Februarii,  An.  1829. 
Nomine  totius  Praesulum  Coetus  rogati  subscribimur. 

PATRITIUS,  Archiepiscopus  Armacanus. 
DANIEL,  Archiepiscopus  Dubliniensis. 
KOBEETUS,  Archiepiscopus  Casseliensis. 


ILLUSTRISSIME   AC   BEVERENDISSIME   DOMIKE 

SSmo  Domino  Nostro  Pio  PP.  VIII.  gratissimae  fuenint 
literae  die  17  Februarii,  Amplitudinis  Tuae  et  reliquorum 
Archiepiscoporum  ac  Episcoporum  Hiberniae  nomine,  Dublino 
scriptae,  de  methodo  quam  tenendam  esse  censuistis  in  com- 
mendandis  Sedi  Apostolicae  iis  quibus  aliquis  Hiberniae 
Episcopatus  conferendus  sit.  Sanctitas  sua  enim  accepit  eas 
literas  tanquam  novum  perspicuum  argurnentum  illius  studii 
singularis  quo  praestatis,  ea  omnia  diligenter  procurandi  quae  ad 
Religionis  Catholicae  incrementum  et  honorem  spectare  possunt. 
Laudavit  autem  praecipue  sapientiam  vestram,  qui  intelligentes 
quam  grave  sit  negotium  electionis  Episcoporum,  et  quantopere 
cum  Ecclesiae  utilitate  conjunctum,  ut  rite  sancteque  absolvatur, 
vestram  curam  eo  praesertim  convertendam  arbitrati  estis,  ut 
methodus  ejusmodi  in  ea  re  servanda  statueretur,  qua  fieret  ut 
Sedes  Apostolica  certissimam  habere  notitiam  posset  meritorum 
eorum  sacerdotum,  pro  quibus  commendationes  afferuntur,  ut  ad 
aliquem  Hiberniae  Episcopatum  eh'gantur. 

Amplissimis  quoque  laudibus,  vestram  ea  de  re  solicitudinem, 


DOCUMENTS  457 


sacra  Congregatio  prosequuta  est,  quae  memoratas  vestras  literas 
in  General!  Conventu,  die  prima  Junii  habito,  perpendit,  una 
cum  supplici  libello  ab  E.  P.  D.  Oliverio  Kelly,  Archiepiscopo 
Tuamensi  die  4  Maii  allato,  quibus  vestro  etiam  nomine  ex- 
ponebat  methodum  de  convocandis  conventibus  Capitulorum  ad 
commendationes  eas  faciendas,  si  alia  methodus  quae  in  literis 
die  17  Februarii,  de  convocandis,  ad  earn  rem  peragendam, 
Parochorum  conventibus,  sacrae  Congregationi  non  placuisset. 

Itaque  Amplitudini  Tuae,  et  per  te  caeteris  Archiepiscopis 
atque  Episcopis  Hiberrdae  significandum  habeo,  Sacram  Con- 
gregationem  judicasse,  expedire  methodum  aliquam  certam 
statuere,  quam  sequi  oporteat  in  commendandis  iis,  qui  ad 
aliquem  Hiberniae  Episcopatum  eligi  debeant :  aliquibus  vero 
adhibitis  modificationibus  probavit  methodum  a  vobis,  recensitis 
superius  literis,  propositam  :  Eae  autem  modifications  sunt 
quae  sequuntur :  1.  Ubi  adest  Capitulum  convocentur  cum 
Parochis  etiam  Canonici.  2.  In  documento  ad  sanctam  Sedem 
transmittendo,  nihil  inveniatur  quod  electionem,  nominationem, 
postulationem  innuat,  sed  simplicem  commendationem.  3.  In 
eo  omittatur  relatio  ac  mentio  trium  scrutiniorum,  sicuti  et 
judicium  de  dignissimo,  digniori  ac  digno,  sed  tantum  requisita 
proferantur  ac  merita  singulorum.  4.  Hujusmundi  autem  do- 
cumentum  sit  in  forma  supplicis  libelli,  ita  concepti,  ut  inde 
pateat  nullam  in  Sanctam  Sedem  inferri  obligationem  eligendi 
unum  ex  commendatis.  5.  Denique  semel  peracta  commenda- 
tione,  si  Episcopi  judicaverint  tres  illos  commendatos  minus 
dignos  esse  quorum  unus  ad  Episcopatum  promoveatur,  tune, 
quin  detur  novae  commendationi  locus,  summus  Pontifex,  pro 
sua  sapientia,  viduatae  Ecclesiae  provideat.  Haec  sunt  quae  in 
exposita  a  vobis  methodo  sacra  Congregatio  immutanda  censuit, 
atque  his  ita  positis  methodum  ipsam  probavit.  Verum  eodem 
tempore  Sacra  Congregatio  declaravit  salvam  semper  atque 
illaesam  manere  debere,  Apostolicae  Sedis  libertatem  in  eli- 
gendis  Episcopis,  ita  ut,  commendationes  lumen  tantum  et 
cognitionem,  Sacrae  Congregationi,  nunquam  tamen  obligationem, 
sint  allaturae. 

Amplitudinis  Tuae  diligentiae  et  summae  in  gravibus  rebus 
gerendis  peritiae  erit,  ita  agere,  ut  quae  Sacra  Congregatio 
immutanda  esse  arbitrata  est,  in  methodi  a  Sacra  Congregatione 
probatae  expositione,  accurate  serventur. 

Precor    Deum    interea,    ut    te    caeterosque    Collegas    tuos, 


458  THE  IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

Archiepiscopos  et  Episcopos  de  religione   optirne    meritos,    diu 
sospitem  ac  felicem  servet. 

Komae  ex  Aedib.  Sacrae  Congreg.  de  Propag.  Fide,  20  Junii, 
1829. 

Amplitudinis  Tuae 

Ad  officia  paratissimus, 

D.  M.  CARD.  CAPPELLARI,  Praefectus, 
Loco  tfr  Sigilli,  C.  CASTBACANE,  Secretarius. 

E.  P.  D.  PATRITIO  CURTIS, 
Archiepiscopo  Armacano. 

DECRETUM    SACRAE     CONGREGATIONIS    GENERALIS    DE     PROPAGANDA 
FIDE,  HABITAE  DIE  PRIMA  JUNII,  ANNO  1829 

Cum  ad  gravissimum  Electionis  Hiberniae  Episcoporum 
negotium  rite  sancteque  absolvendum,  certam  aliquam  methodum 
ubique  in  eo  regno  servandam  statuere  in  primis  opportunum  esse 
Sacra  Congregatio  intellexerit,  qua  fieret,  ut  Sedes  Apostolica 
exploratam  notitiam  habere  possit  meritorum  Sacerdotum  pro 
quibus  commendationes  afferuntur,  ut  ad  aliquem  Hiberniae 
Episcopatum  eligantur,  eadem  Sacra  Congregatio,  postquam  diu 
multumque  de  ea  re  definienda  cogitavit,  in  generali  tandem 
conventu  die  prima  Junii  anno  1829,  referente  Eminentissimo  et 
Reverendissimo  D.  D.  Mauro  S.  R.  E.  Cardinali  Cappellari, 
Sacrae  Congregationis  Praefecto,  censuit  ac  decrevit,  methodum 
in  toto  regno  Hiberniae  super  ea  re  servandam  in  posterum,  esse 
debere  earn  quae  hie  describitur. 

Sede  aliqua  Episcopali,  sive  per  Antistitis  obitum  trans- 
lationem,  aliamve  ob  causam  in  posterum  vacante,  Vicarius, 
juxta  formam  a  sacris  canonibus  praescriptam,  constituatur, 
qui  dioecesi  viduatae,  durante  vacatione,  pracsit.  Metropoli- 
tanus  Provinciae,  ubi  vacatio  contigerit,  simul  atque  de  vacatione, 
et  Vicarii  electione  certior  factus  fuerit,  literis  mandatoriis 
Vicario  edicat,  ut  in  diem  vigesimum  a  dato  edicto  in  unum 
convocet  omnes,  ad  quos  pertinebit  Sum  mo  Pontifici  commendare 
tres  dignos  ecclesiastici  ordinis  viros,  quorum  unus  a  Summo 
Pontifice  Dioecesi  vacanti  praeficiatur.  Qui  sint  ii  qui  convocari 
debent,  quae  forma  in  convocando  et  regendo  conventu  servanda 
sit,  habetur  ex  sequenti  expositione. 

Qui  in  Hibernia  nuncupantur  Parochi,  scilicit  clerici  ad 
ordinem  Sacerdotalem  evecti,  censurarum  immunes,  qui  paro- 
chiae,  seu  parochiarum  unitarum,  actuali  ac  pacifica  possessione 


DOCUMENTS  459 


gaudeant,  ad  comitia  convocandi  sunt.  Ubi  vero  adest  capitulum, 
convocabuntur  cum  parochis  etiani  Canonici.  Vicarius,  edicto 
Metropolitan!  accepto,  intia  octo  dies,  singulos  Presbyteros 
supra  designates,  literis  scriptis,  admonebit,  ut  loco  quodam 
opportune,  in  eadem  monitions  nominatim  exprimendo,  adsint, 
die  in  edicto  Metropolitan!  statute,  ad  tractandum  de  negotio 
ibidem  descripto.  Metropolitanus  ipse,  vel  unus  de  Suffraganeis 
ejus  Episcopus  ab  ipso  delegatus,  comitiis  praesidebit,  et 
nulla  prorsus,  et  invalida  habenda  sunt  ibidem  acta,  et  sta- 
tuta,  non  servata  forma  supra  definita,  sive  in  convocando, 
sive  in  moderando  conventu.  Parochis,  caeterisque  de  quibus 
supra,  die  et  loco  statutis,  mane  in  unum  congregatis,  Missa 
solemnis  de  Spiritu  Sancto  celebretur  :  Missaque  finita,  Praeses 
super  sedile  in  medio  ecclesiae  ascendet,  omnibusque,  quorum 
nihil  interest,  exire  jussis,  foribusque  ecclesiae  clausis,  Vicarius 
catalogum  nominum  omnium  Parochorum  et  Canonicorum,  si 
adsit  ibi  capitulum,  dioecesis  vacantis  Praesidi  tradet,  qui 
eorumdem  nomina,  clara  ac  distincta  voce,  a  Secretario  suo 
recitari  mandabit,  et  unicuique  eorum,  postquam  nomini  res- 
ponderit,  sedem  propriam  assignabit.  Si  unus  aut  plures  Parochi 
absint,  Praeses  a  Vicario  probationem  exquiret,  absentibus  sine 
fraude  edictum  fuisse,  et  tali  probatiorie  admissa,  absentia  cu- 
jusvis  numeri,  modo  quarta  pars  totius  Parochorum  numeri 
adsit,  nihil  obstabit,  quominus  rata  et  valida  sint,  quae  in 
comitiis  gerantur.  Idem  servandum  erit  circa  Canonicorum 
numerum,  in  dioecesi  in  qua  Capitulum  adest.  Parochis 
ac  Canonicis,  qui  Vicarii  monitioni,  sive  propter  adversam 
valetudinem,  aliamve  ob  causam  parere  non  valeant,  liberum 
erit,  suffragia  sua  propria  ipsorum  manu  scripta,  involucro 
sigillato  inclusa,  et  extrinsecus  ad  Presidem  directa,  cuivis 
alio  Parocho  vel  Canonico  ejusdem  Dioeceis  confidere ;  et 
suffragio  sic  habito  et  probato,  eadem  inerit  vis,  ac  si  Parochus 
aut  Canonicus  ipse  praesens  adesset ;  modo  literae  certificatoriae 
de  adversa  ejus  valetudine,  a  duobus  artis  medecinae  peritis 
subscriptae,  ad  Praesidem  transmittantur.  Insuper  Parochus 
iste  vel  Canonicus  priusquam  suffragium,  modo  supra  descripto 
ferat,  eamdem  declarationem  emittet,  quam  caeteri  Parochi  ac 
Canonici  inter  comitia  emittere  coram  Praeside  debebunt ; 
ejusque  declarations  coram  duobus  Parochis  vel  Canonicis 
emissae  probatio,  in  medium  erit  proferenda  coram  praeside, 
antequam  suffragium  admittatur.  Comitiis  ita  compositis,  ac 


460  THE    IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

pracside  tractanda  proponents,  duo  Scrutatores  juxta  consuetas 
canonum  formas,  eligantur.  Dein  Suffragatores  tactis  simul 
manu  pectoribus,  coram  Deo  pro  se  quisque  affirment,  se  neque 
gratia,  neque  favore  inductos  ei  suffragaturos,  quern  dignum 
judicent,  qui  Dioecesi  vacanti  praeficiatur.  Postea  suffragio  in 
urnam  immisso,  singuli  ad  propriam  sedem  recedent. 

His  peractis,  clara  altaque  voce  a  Scrutatoribus  ad  prae- 
sidem,  et  a  praeside  ad  conventUm,  renuntianda  sunt  nomina 
trium  eorum  Sacerdotum,  in  quos  major  suffragioruin  numerus 
convenerit.  Tune  praeses,  narratiohem  authenticam  in  scriptis 
redactam  parari  coram  comitiis,  ejusdemque  duo  exemplaria  a 
seipso  et  secretario  atque  scrutatoribus  subsignanda,  exscribi 
curabit.  Ex  istis  exemplaribus  alterum  Vicario  tradendum,  qui 
idem  ad  Sedem  Apostolicam  transmittat ;  alterum  vero  ad 
Metropolitanum,  cujus  munus  erit  idem  ad  suffraganeos  suos 
Episcopos  in  unum  congregatos  referre.  Quaecumque  jura, 
privilegia,  et  numera  supra  recensentur  tanquam  praesidi 
conventus  propria,  eadem,  Sede  Metropolitana  vacante,  Seniori 
Provinciae  Suffraganeo  communicari  volumus. 

Episcopis  Provinciae,  Praeside  Metropolitano,  aut  ipsius 
defectu  Seniori  Provinciae  Suffraganeo  in  unum  congregatis,  et 
narratione  authentica  supra  memorata  coram  ipis  prolata,  de 
eadem  coram  Deo  judicium  sententiamque  ferent.  Praeses 
Episcoporum  suffraganeorum  sententiam,  de  meritis  trium 
sacerdotum  qui  Sedi  Apostolicae  commendantur,  literis  consig- 
natam,  uniuscujusque  Episcopi  et  Praesidis  manu  subscriptam, 
sigilloque  munitam,  ad  Sedem  Apostolicam  transmitted  Semel 
peracta  commendatione,  si  Episcopi  judicaverint  tres  illoa 
commendatos  minus  dignos  esse,  quorum  unus  ad  Episcopatum 
promoveatur,  tune  quin  detur  novae  commendation!  locus, 
Summus  Pontifex,  pro  sua  sapientia,  viduatae  ecclesiae 
providebit. 

Si  agatur  de  Episcopo  Coadjutore,  cum  jure  successionis 
cuivis  Episcopo  assignando,  eadem,  quae,  sede  vacante,  com- 
mendandi  forma  servanda  est,  cauto  tamen  varia  privilegia,  jura 
et  munera  Metropolitano,  aut  Seniori  Episcopo  Suffraganeo  jam 
attributa,  ad  Archiepiscopum,  aut  Episcopum,  cui  coadjutor 
assignandus  est,  unice  pertinere,  illaeso  tamen  servato  jure 
Metropolitani,  quando  suffraganei  ejus  Episcopi  ad  ferendum 
suffragium  convenerint.  Tandem  quicumque  Sedis  Apostolicae 
approbation!  commendentur,  cives  sint  indigenae  Hiberniae, 


DOCUMENTS  461 


Serenissimo  Imperil  Britannic!  Eegi  fidelitate  incorrupta  obstricti 
morum  integritate,  pietate,  doctrina,  caeterisque  quae  Episcopum 
decent,  dotibus  insigniti. 

Haec  sunt,  quae  in  commendandis  Sedi  Apostolicae  Sacer-' 
dotibus  pro  episcoporum  Hiberniae  electione,  Sacra  Congregatio 
servanda  praescripsit.  Ea  vero  decernens,  significari  omnibus 
voluit,  in  documentis  de  hac  re  pertractantibus,  ad  sanctam 
sedem  transmittendis,  nihil  inveniri  debere,  quod  electionem, 
postulationem,  nominationem  innuat,  sed  simplicem  commen- 
dationem  :  memorata  praeterea  documenta  esse  debere  jussit, 
in  forma  supplicis  libelli  ita  concepti,  ut  inde  pateat  nullam 
in  sanctam  sedem  inferri  obligationem  eligendi  unum  ex 
commendatis. 

Declaravit  denique  Sacra  Congregatio,  salvam  semper  atque 
illaesam  manere  debere  Sedis  Apostolicae  libertatem  in  eligendis 
Episcopis,  ita  ut  commendationes,  lumen  tantuni,  et  cognitionem 
Sacrae  Congregation!,  nunquam  tamen  obligationem,  sint 
allaturae. 

Datum  Eomae  ex  Aedibus  dictae  Sac.  Congregationis,  die 
17  Octobris,  1829. 

Gratis  sine  ulla  omnino  solutione  quocumque  titulo. 

D.  M.  CARD  CAPPELLARI,  Praefectus. 
*  C.  CASTRACANE,  Secretarius. 

(Verum  Exemplar.) 


ILLUSTRISSIME  AC   REVERENDISSIME  DOMINE 

Initum  a  sacra  Congregatione  eonsilium  ut  certain  methodum 
in  regno  Hiberniae  servandam  decerneret  circa  sacerdotes 
commendandos  Apostolicae  Sedi  quando  agitur  de  Episcoporum 
electione  in  eo  totum  versatum  est,  ut  memorata  methodo 
accurate  servata,  Apostolica  Sedes  exploratam  notitiam  habere 
possit,  meritorum  sacerdotum  pro  quibus  commendationes 
afferuntur.  Quare  sacra  Congregatio  in  decreto  quod  die  prima 
Junii  1829  ea  de  re  factum  fuerat  ac  die  17  Octobris  ejusdem 
anni  promulgatum  est,  declaravit  mentem  suam  esse  ut 
commendationes  illae  lumen  tantum  ac  cognitionem  sibi 
compararent  circa  eos  inter  quos  Apostolica  Sedes  Episcopos  est 
electura.  Voluit  quidem  Dioecesanum  Clerum  consuli  atique 
ejusdem  opinionem  circa  sacerdotes  commendandos  per  secreta 
suffragia  requiri.  Id  autem  ea  tantum  de  causa  factum  est,  ut 


462  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

Sanctae  Sedi  constaret  quinam  praecipue  sacerdotes  aestima- 
tionem  obtineant  Cleri  Dioecesani,  et  tale  testimonium  con- 
sequantur,  ex  quo  intelligi  posset  eos  apud  Dioecesanum  clerum 
'  ad  Episcopatum  consequendum  idoneos  censeri.  Hoc  vero  unico 
scrutinio  fieri  posse  manifestum  est,  et  revera  decreti  superius 
memorati  contextus  hie  est,  ut  in  uno  tantum  scrutinio  res 
peragatur,  atque  ex  eo  scrutinio  constet  quinam  sint  tres 
sacerdotes  in  quos  major  suffragiorum  numerus  convenerit. 

Ad  Sacrae  Congregationis  notitiam  nuper  pervenit  in 
aliquibus  Hiberniae  Dioecesibus  hoc  obtinuisse  ut  in  conventibus 
qui  habentur  a  Clero  Dioecesano  ad  sacerdotes  Sanctae  Sedi 
commendandos  ex  quibus  Episcopus  aliquis  eligatur,  non  ununi 
sed  tria  fiant :  intelligens  Sacra  Congregatio  hinc  evenire  posse 
ut  non  tres  praestantiores  ex  clero,  sed  unus  revera  commendetur 
atque  ei  duo  alii  veluti  ad  formam  tantum  adjungantur,  meritis 
omnino  inferiores  :  cupiens  praeterea  eadem  Sacra  Congregatio 
ubique  in  Hibernia  eandem  methodurn  circa  ejusmodi  com- 
mendationes  servari,  scribendum  judicavit  Amplitudini  tuae  hanc 
epistolam,  caeteris  Archiepiscopis  cominunicandam,  ut  in  Dioece- 
sibus omnibus  Hiberniae  constet  unicum  scrutinium  in  con- 
ventibus Cleri  peragendurn  esse  ad  tres  sacerdotes  Sanctae  Sedi 
commendandos  antequam  ipsa  deveniant  ad  Episcopi  alicujus 
Hiberniae  Dioecesis  electionem,  et  hunc  verum  decreti  diei 
1  Junii  1829  sensum  esse.  Precor  Deum  interea  ut  Arnplitudinem 
Tuam  diu  sospitem  ac  felicem  servet. 

Eomae  ex  ^dib.  Sacrae  Congreg.  de  Propag.  Fide,  25 
Aprilis,  1835. 

Amplitudinis  tuae 

Ad  officia  paratissimus, 

J.  C  Card.  FRANSONIUS,  Praefectus. 
Loco  >!«  Sigilli.  A.  MAIUS,  Secretarius. 

E.  P.  DANIELI  MURKAY, 

Archiepiscopo  Dubliniensi. 
Concordat  cum  Originali. 

Ufa  DANIEL   MURRAY. 


DOCUMENTS  463 


INDULGENCES  FOB  ST.  ANTHONY  OF  PADUA. 

TOT  INDULG.  PLEN.  CONCEDUNTUR  CHBISTIFIDELIBUS  QUI,  SEBVATIS 
SEKVANDIS,  FER  13  FERIAS  TERTIAS,  VEL  13  DOMINICAS 
CONTINUAS  INFRA  ANNUM,  IN  HONOREM  S.  ANTONII  PATAVINI, 
PIE  ORAVERINT  ETC. 

LEO    PP.    XIII. 

Ad  perpetuam  rei  memoriam.  lucundo  aniraum  Nostrum  sensu 
perfuderunt,    Nostrisque   plane    responderunt    optatis    supplices 
litterae,  quas  modo  Dilectus  Films  Laurentius  Caratelli  Ordinis 
Minorum  S.  Francisci  Conventualium  Minister  Generalis  ad  Nos 
dedit  significans  cupere  se  atque  optare,  ut  S.  Antonii  Patavina 
cultus  ubique  gentium  augeatur  in  dies  singulos  et  provehatur. 
Verum  catholici  omnes  propriam  habent  rationem  cur  Beatum 
Antonium   praecipuo   prosequantur   honore,    excolant   obsequio. 
Ille  enim  singular!  Dei  concessu  et  munere  gratias  et  beneficia 
quotidiana  populo  christiano  conferre  ita  solet,  ut  ipsa  Ecclesia 
cohortetur    quemlibet    fidelem    ad    eum    confugere,    si    quaerit 
miracula.     Accedit   etiam   calamitosis    hisce   temporibus   quod 
Antonius  Patavinus  quasi  icto  caritatis  foedere  cum  S.  Vincentio 
a  Paulo  quodammodo  consocietur,  atque  ambo  amice  coniurent 
ad  levandas  vel  saltern  deliniendas  aerumnas  miseriasque  tenuioris 
plebis,  ita  ut  beneficiis  alter  panem  comparet,  alter,  diribeat.     Et 
multis  quidem   in  templis   ad  stipem   cogendam  in   alimentum 
egenorum  posita  est  suavis  imago  S.  Antonii  in  ultris  gestantis 
Puerum  Deum,  et  quasi  gratias  ab  Eo  implorantis,  qiiae  imago 
invitare  quodammodo  christifideles  ac  provocare  videtur  ad  ex- 
petenda  beneficia,  quibus  acceptis  dant  stipem  obligatam,  quae 
absumatur  in  emptionem  panis  pro  pauperculis.     Ex  quo  fit  ut 
Vincentianae  Sodalitates,  quae  proletariorum  familiis  necessaria 
vitae  cibaria  ex  institute  dispensant,  validum  ab  Antonio  prae- 
sidium  et  columen  sibi  polliceantur.     Quae  cum  ita  sint  volenti 
lubentique  animo  Nos   admotis   precibus  obsecundamus,   et  ad 
augendam  fidelium  religionem  animarumque  salutem  coelestibus 
Ecclesiae    thesauris   pia   charitate    intenti,   omnibus  et   singulis 
utriusque  sexus  christifidelibus,  qui  vere  poenitentes  et  confessi 
ac  S.  Communione  refecti  tredecim  feriis  tertiis  continuis  et  non 
interpolatis  vel  tredecim  Dominicis  item  continuis  et  non  inter- 
polatis,  quolibet   intra  annum  tempore,  ad    cuiusque  arbitrium 
eligendis,  piis  meditationibus  vel  supplicationibus  vel  aliis  pietatis 
exercitationibus    ad  Dei  gloriam   et   eiusdem   Sancti  honorem 


464  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

vacaverint,  qua  ex  his  feriis  tertiis  vel  Dominicis  id  praestiterint 
Plenariam  omnium  peccatorum  suorum  Indulgentiam  et  remis- 
sionem  vel  defunctis  applicabilem  misericorditer  in  Domino 
concedimus.  In  contrarium  faeientibus  non  obstant.  quibus- 
cumque.  Praesentibus  perpetuis  futuris  temporibus  valituris. 
Volumus  autem,  ut  praesentium  Litterarum  transumptis  seu 
exemplis  etiam  impressis  manu  alicuius  Notarii  publici  subscriptis 
sigillo  personae  in  ecclesiastiea  dignitate  constitutae  munitis 
eadem  prorsus  fides  adhibeatur,  quae  adhiberetur  ipsis  praesenti- 
bus,  si  forent  exhibitae  vel  ostensae;  et  praecipimus,  ut  prae- 
sentium Litterarum  (quod  nisi  fiat  nullas  easdem  esse  volumus) 
exemplar  ad  Secretariam  S.  Congregationis  Indulgentiis  Sacrisque 
Reliquiis  praepositae  deferatur,  iuxta  Decretum  ab  eadem  S. 
Congregatione  die  XIX  lanuarii  MDCCLVI  latum  et  a  Benedicto 
XIV  Decessore  Nostro  rec.  mem.  die  XXVIII  dicti  mensis  pro- 
batum.  Datum  Eomae  apud  S.  Petrum  sub  annulo  Piscatoris  die 
I  Martii  MDCCCXCVIII  Pontificatus  Nostri  Anno  Vigesimo. 

Pro  Dno  CARD.  MACCHI. 

NICOLAUS  MAEINI,  Substitutus. 


FACULTIES   FOB   ACCUMULATING   IMPEDIMENTS 

VI  FACULTATUM  CUMULANDI,  DISPENSAEE  POTEST  EPUS  CIRCA  IMPE- 
DIMENTUM  DIRIMENS  SECRETUM,  CONCURRENTE  ETIAM  ALIO  IMP 
DIR.  PUBLICO  ;  SI  VERO  UNUM  SIT  DIRIMENS,  ALIUD  VERO  IMPE- 
DIENS  (CUIUS  DISPENSATIO  RESERVATUR  S.  SEDl)  INDIGET 
SPECIALI  FACULTATE 

BEATISSIME  PATER, 

Episcopus  Mysurien.  ad  pedes  S.  V.  provolutus,  humiliter 
exponit  se  interdum  ancipitem  haerere  in  usu  facultatum  cumu- 
landi  (ut  aiunt)  quibus  in  tribuendis  dispensationibus  matri- 
monialibus  pollet.  Hinc  enixe  petit  insequentium  dubiorum 
resolutionem  : 

I.  Utrum  concurrente  aliquo  impedimento  dirimente  secreto, 
seu    fori    interni,  cum    alio   impedimento    item    dirimente,  sed 
publico,  necessaria  sit  ad  dispensationem   specialis  cumulandi 
facultas. 

II.  Utrum     concurrentibus    duobus    impedimentis,    quorum 
unum  sit  dirimens  et  alterum  impediens  tantum,  eo  excepto  quod 


DOCUMENTS  465 


mixtae  religiouis  dicunt,  pariter   necesse  sit  ad  dispensatioriem 
specialis  cumulandi  facultas. 

Per.  IV.,  18  Augusti,  1897. 

In  Congregatione  General!  S.  E.  et  U.  Inquisitionis  habita  ab 
Emis  ac  Emis  DD.  Cardinalibus  Generalibus  Inquisitoribus,  pro- 
positis  suprascriptis  dubiis,  praehabitoque  EE.  DD.  Consultorum 
voto  iidem  EEmi  ac  EEmi  DDni  responderi  mandarunt : 

Ad  I.  Negative ;  et  detur  Decretum  diei  31  Martii  1872  in 
Coimbaturen. 

Ad  II.  Affirmative  quoad  impedimenta  impedientia,  quorum 
dispensatio  reservatur  S.  Sedi,  ea  nempe  quae  oriuntur  ex  mixta 
religione  ut  aiunt,  atque  ex  sponsalibus  et  ex  voto  simplici  per- 
petuae  castitatis ;  secus  in  reliquis,  circa  quae  Episcopus  uti 
poterit  iure  suo. 

Feria  vero  VI.,  die  20  eiusdem  mensis  et  anni,  in  solita 
Audientia  E.  P.  D.  Adsessori  S.  O.  impertita,  facta  de  his  omnibus 
relatione  SS,  D.  N.  Leoni  PP.  XIII. ,  idem  SSmus  Dominus  reso- 
lutionem  EE.  ac  EE.  Patrum  in  omnibus  adprobavit. 

Decretum  autem  die  31  Martii  1872  datum  occasione  dubii  a 
E.  P.  D.  Vicario  Apostolico  Coimbaturen.  propositi,  prout  constat 
ex  actis  S.  Congr.  de  Propag.  Fide,  sic  se  habet :  '  SSmus 
Dominus  declaravit  generatim  prohibitionem  concedendi  absque 
speciali  facultate  dispensationes,  quando  in  una  eademque  per- 
sona concurrunt  impedimenta  matrimonialia,  non  extendi  ad  eos 
casus,  in  quibus  cum  impedimento  natura  sua  publico  aliud 
occurrit  impedimentum  occultum,  seu  fori  interni.' 

I.  CAN.  MANCINI,  S.  E.  et  U.  Inq,  Notarius. 

SUCCESSION  OF  FACULTIES 

FACtJLTATES  SPECIALE8,  HABITUALITEB  A  S.  SEDE  ORDINAEIlfS 
CONCESSAE,  TRAN3EUNT  AD  SUCCESSOEES,  PRO  TEMPORE  ET 
IN  TERMINIS  CONCESSIONS. 

Feria  IV.,  24  Novembris  1897. 

In  Cong.  Gen.  S.  Eom.  Univ.  Inquis.  habita  ab  Emis  ac  Emis 
DD.  Card,  in  rebus  fidei  et  morum  Gen.  Inquisitoribus.  iidem  Emi 
Patres,  rerum  temporumque  adiunctis  mature  perpensis,  decev- 
nendum  censuerunt  :  Supplicandum  SSmo,  ut  declarare  seu 
statuere  dignetur  facilitates  ouines  speciales  habitualiter  a  S.  Sede 
Episcopis  aliorumque  locorum  Ordinariis  concessas  non  suspend! 
VOL  HI.  2  G 


466  THE  IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

vel  desinere  ob  eorum  mortem  vel  a  munere  cessationem,  sed  ad 
successores  Ordinaries  transire  ad  formam  et  in  terminis  decretia 
Sup.  hac  Cong,  editi  die  20  Februarii  1888  quoad  dispensationes 
matrimoniales. 

Insequenti  vero  feria  VI.,  die  26  Novembris  1897,  in  solita 
audientia  K.  P.  D.  Adsessori  S.  0.  impertita  facta  de  his  omnibus 
SSmo  D.  N.  D.  Leoni  Div.  Prov.  Pp.  XIII.  relatione,  Sanctitas  Sua 
Emorurn  Patrurn  resolutionem  adprobavit,  atque  ita  perpetuis 
futuris  temporibus  servandum  mandavit,  contrariis  non  obstanti- 
bus  quibuscumque. 

los.  CAN.  MANCINI,  S.  E.ct  U.  I.,Notarius. 


CASE  OF  '  SANATIO  IN  BADICE  ' 

EX  S,  CONOR.  S.  R.  U.  INQUISITIONIS,  EPISCOPI  STATUUM  FOEDE- 
RATORUM  AMERICAE  SEPTENTRIONALIS  CONCEDERE  VALENT 
1  SANATIONEM  IN  RADICE  '  IN  CASU  DISPAKITATIS  CULTUS, 
EXCEPTO  CULTU  IUDAICO. 

BEATISSIME  PATER, 

Ad  pedes  Sanctitatis  Vestrae  humiliter  provolutus  expono  : 
Dionysius  (non  baptizatus)  tribus  annis  elapsis  matrimonium 
contraxit  cum  Maria  losepha  (catholica)  coram  magistratu  civili. 
Pars  acatholica  omnino  renuit  consentire  conditionibus  ab  Ecclesia 
requisites  in  matrimoniis  mixtis,  praesertim  relate  ad  baptisrna  et 
catholicam  prolis  educationem,  quamvis  uxori  liberum  sit  facere 
quid  vellet  relate  ad  puellarum  educationem.  Huic  condition! 
ante  matrimonium  Maria  losepha  consensit.  Nunc  earn  poenitet 
id  fecisse  ;  attamen  quum  vir  sit  bonus  paterfamilias  et  optimus 
provisor  pro  prole,  haud  speraudum  se  virum  derelicturam.  Quare 
ad  validandum  matrimonium  et  prolem  legitimandam  et  pro  bono 
spirituali  matris  et  filiorum  rogo  cum  '  sanatione  in  radice,'  dis- 
pensatio  '  disparitatis  cultus  '  concedatur,  quum  vir  renuat  dare 
consensum,  et  mulier  sciat  suum  matrimonium  esse  invalidum. 

<%  GULIELMUS  ENRICUS,  Archiepiscopus  Cincinnati*. 

RESPONSUM. 

Feria  VI.  die  3  lunii  1892. 

Sanctissimus  D.  N»  Leo  divina  providentia  PP.  XIII  in  au- 
dientia r.  p.  d.  Assessor!  S.  0.  impertita,  attentis  peculiaribus 
circumstantiis  in  casu  concurrentibus  et  indubiis  resipiscentiae 


DOCUMENTS  467 


signis  Oratricis  catholicao,  Mariae  losephae,  benigne  remisit 
preces  prudent!  arbitrio  et  conscientiae  r.  p.  d.  Ordinarii  Ciucin- 
natensis,  ut,  quatenus  utraque  pars  in  consensu  de  praesenti 
perseveret,  sanare  valeat  in  radice  matrimonium  initum  ab  ipsa 
catholica  Maria  losepha  cum  acatholica  non-baptizato,  dummodo 
Oratrix  spondeat  serio  se  curaturam  totis  viribus  educationem 
totius  prolis  in  religione  catholica,  et  dummodo  perseveret  par- 
tium  consensus.  Ipse  vero  Ordinarius  in  hoc  sibi  commisso 
munere  explendo  declaret  se  agere  nomine  Sanctitatis  Suae  et 
tanquam  ab  Apostolica  Sede  specialiter  delegatum .  Serio  moneat 
Oratricem  de  gravissimo  patrato  scelere  :  '  salutares  poenitentias 
ei  imponat,'  a  censuris  absolvat  simulque  declaret  ob  praesentem 
dispensationis  gratiam  a  se  acceptatam  matrimonium  fieri  validum, 
legitimum  et  indissoluble  iure  divino,  et  prolem  susceptam  et 
suscipiendam  legitimam  habendam  esse.  Oratrici  etiam  gva- 
vissime  imponat  ac  declaret  obligationern,  qua  semper  tenetur 
curandi  pro  viribus  conversionern  viri  ad  catholicam  tidem  et 
prolis  utriusque  sexus  tarn  natae  quam  nasciturae  in  catholica 
religione  educationem. — Cum  autem  de  matrimonii  validiUite  in 
foro  externo  constare  debeat,  idem  Ordinarius  nomen  cum  consueta 
personali  indicatione  tarn  mulieris  quam  viri  in  Eegestis  describi 
iubeat,  simulque  autographum  documentumpraesentis  concessionis 
cornmunicationis,  acceptationis,  absolutionis  et  declaratiormni 
Oratricis  ut  supra  facturam,  servetur  in  Curia  Cincinnatensi,  et 
exemplar  authenticum  eidem  Oratrici  sedulo  custodiendum 
tradatur.  Contrariis  non  obstaiitibus. 

I.  CAN.  MANCINI,  S.  B.  et  U.  I.  Not. 

KOMAE,  20  lunii  1892. 

ILLUSTRISSIME  AC  KKVEKENDISHIME  DOMINE, 

Amplitude  Tua  literis  datis  die  24  superioris  mensis  aprilis 
sanationern  in  radice  expetebat  matrimonii  contract!  a  Maria 
losepha  catholica  cum  L'etro  Dionysio  non  baptizato,  nee  non 
matrimonii  contract!  a  Maria  N.  cum  quodam  Henrico  M.  pariter 
non  baptizato.  Rescriptum  S.  Officii  quoad  sanationem  matri- 
monii Mariae  losephae  iam  paucos  ante  dies  ad  te  misi,  nunc 
vero  heic  adnexum  mitto  rescriptum  eiusdem  Suprerni  Tribunalis 
circa  sanationem  alterius  matrimonii  supra  niemoratii.  Tibi 
autem  ex  parte  eiusdem  S.  Otiicii  summopere  commendandum 
habeo  ut  velis  omni  sollicitudine  adniti  quo  proles  in  catholica 
religione  educetur.  lisdem  vero  literia  Amplitude  Tua  duo 


468  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

proponebat  dubia :  primum  erat  utrum  recta  fuerifc  dispensatio  a 
te  aliquando  concessa  cum  '  sanatione  in  radice  '  circa  matri- 
monia  nulla  ex  impedimento  '  disparitatis  cultus  '  cum  pars  non 
baptizata  renueret  satisfacere  conditionibus  de  educatione  prolis 
etc.,  dum  pars  catholica  promitteret  se,  in  quantum  fieri  posset, 
curaturam  ut  filii  filiaeque  baptizarentur  et  in  religione  catholica 
educarentur. 

Alterum  dubium  erat  num  non  obstante  speciali  clausula  de 
iudaeis  in  facultatibus  quas  habes,  recte  dispensaveris  nonnun- 
quam  cum  mulieribus  catholicis  ut  inira  possent  matrimonium 
cum  iudaeis,  qui  cupientes  huiusmodi  nuptias  contrahere  in 
scriptis  ludaismo  renuntiaverint. 

Haec  dubia  delata  pariter  fuerunt  solvenda  ad  Supremum 
Tribunal  Sancti  Officii,  et  illi  End  Patres  Inquisitores  Generales 
in  Congregatione  feriae  V,  loco  IV,  die  2  vertentis  mensis  lunii, 
sequentes  dederunt  resolutiones  a  Summo  Pontifice  adprobatas  : 

Ad  I.  '  Quatenus  urgeret  necessitas,  consensus  perseveraret, 
et  imposituin  fuerit  matri  onus  baptismi  et  educationis  prolis 
totis  viribus  curandae,  potuisse  uti  facultatibus.' 

Ad  II.  Quod  ad  praeteritum,  '  supplicandum  Sanctissimo  pro 
sanatione  in  radice,'  quatenus  opus  sit  (quibus  precibus  Surnmus 
Pontifex  annuit).  Quod  ad  futurum,  recurrat  (Ordinarius)  in 
singulis  casibus,  expositis  omnibus  circumstantiis. 

Haec  tibi  erant  per  me  significanda  :  interim  omnia  fausta 
felicia  Tibi  a  Domino  precor. 
Amplitudinis  Tuae 

Addictissimus  Servus, 

M.  CAKD.  LEDOCHOWSKI,  Praef. 
IGNATIUS  Archiep.  TAMIATHEN,  Secret. 
DOMINO  GULIELMO  ELDEK, 

Achiepiscopo  Cincinnatensi. 

BOOKS     PROHIBITED     BY     THE     ORDINARY 

EX    S.  CONGREGATIONE    INDICIS,  QUOAD  LIBKOS    AB    OEDINAKIIS 
LOCOBUM   PROHIBITOS 

Feria  FJ,  die  6  Decembris  1895. 

Proposito  dubio  :  utrum  qui  habent  generalem  facultatem 
legendi  libros  in  Indice  librorum  prohibitorum  contentos,  legere 
licite  possint  etiam  libros  ab  Ordinario  proscriptos,  sine  speciali 
eiusdem  Ordinarii  licentia  V  Emi  Patres  responded  mandarunt : 
Negative. 


DOCUMENTS  469 


ST.   PASCHAL    BAYLON,    PATRON    OF    ET7CHARISTIC 
CONGRESSES 

E    SECBETAE.    BREVIUM 

S.    PASCHALIS     BAYLON     DECLARATOR    PATRONUS   COETUUM,    EUCHA- 
RISTICORUM,  OMNIUMQUE    SOCIETATEM    A    SSMA    EUCHARISTIA 

LEO  PP.  XIII. 

AD    PERPETUAM   REI    MEMORIAM 

Providentissimus  Deus  fortiter  sauviterque  disponens  omnia, 
singular!  quadam  cura  Ecclesiae  suae  ita  prospexit,  ut  quum 
inclinatae  maxime  res  viderentur,  ex  ipsa  temporum  acerbitate 
insperita  eidem  solatia  suscitaret.  Id,  quum  saepe  alias,  turn 
potissimura  videre  licet  his  rei  christianae  ac  civilis  temporibus. 
Quum  enim  communis  tranquillitatis  osores,  insolentius  se  in  dies 
efferentes,  quotidiano  impetu  eoque  validissimo  adnitantur  Christi 
fidem  omnemque  poene  societatem  evertere,  placuit  divinae 
bonitati  his  rerum  fluctibus  praeclara  studia  pietatis  obiicere. 
Quod  quidem  plane  declarant,  et  sanctissimi  Cordis  lesu  longe 
lateque  propagata  religio,  et  excitatus  ardor  ubique  terrarum 
provehendi  cultus  Marialis,  et  inclyti  eiusdem  Deiparae  Sponsi 
adaucti  honores,  et  catholicorum  coetus  in  vario  rerum  genere  ad 
omnemque  fidei  defensionem  parati,  aliaque  complura,  promo- 
vendo  divino  honori  et  mutae  caritati  fovendae,  sive  amplificata, 
sive  primum  invecta.  Quae  quidem  omnia  etsi  animum  Nostrum 
suavissime  afificiunt,  nihilominus  divinorum  munerum  summam 
hanc  esse  putamus,  auctam  in  populis  in  Eucharistiae  sacramen- 
tum  religionem  post  habitos  in  earn  rem  coetus  per  haec  tempora 
celeberrimos.  Nihil  enim  efficacius  videtur  Nobis,  quod  alias 
significavimus,  catholicorum  animis  excitandis  turn  ad  fidem 
strenue  profitendam,  turn  ad  virtutes  christiano  nomine  dignas 
exercendas,  quam  ut  alantur  et  acuantur  studia  populi  in  admira- 
bile  illud  amoris  pignus,  quod  pacis  vinculum  est  atque 
unitatis. 

Quum  igitur  tanta  res  maxime  Nobis  curae  sit,  quemadmodum 
coetus  eucharisticos  saepe  laudavimus,  ita  nunc  uberiorum  spe 
fructuum  permoti,  faciendum  ducimus  ut  iis  patronus  coelestis 
assignetur  ex  sanctis  coelitibus  qui  in  augustissimum  Corporis 
Christi  sacramentum  vehementiore  affectu  flagarunt.  Inter  eos 
vero,  quorum  ardor  pietatis  in  praecelsum  hoc  fidei  mysterium 
efferbuisse  magis  visus  est,  locum  obtinet  dignissimum  Paschalis 


470  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

Baylon.  Qui  animum  sortitus  rerum  coelestium  apprime  studio- 
sum,  postquam  adolescent! am  in  custodia  gregis  transegit  inno- 
centissime,severioris  vitae  institutum  amplexus  in  Ordine-Minorum 
strictioris  observantiae,  earn  ex  contemplatione  divine  convivii 
meruit  haurire  scientiam,  ut  rudus  ac  litterarurn  expers  potuerit 
et  de  rebus  fidei  difficillimus  respondere  et  pios  etiam  libros  con- 
sci'ibere.  Idem  Eucharistiae  veritatem  publice  palamque  pro- 
fessus  inter  haereticos  multa  et  gravia  perpessus  est,  ac  Tharsicii 
martyris  aemulus,  ad  necem  quoque  crebro  petitus.  Eum  denique 
pietatis  affectum  defunctus  etiam  retinere  visus  est :  quippe 
iacens  in  feretro,  ad  duplicem  sacrarum  specierum  elevationem, 
bis  oculos  dicitur  reserasse. 

Igitur  apparet,  coetus  catholicorum,  de  quibus  loquimur, 
nullius  in  tutela  melius  esse  posse.  Propterea  qua  ratione 
Thomae  Aquinati  cupidam  litteraruni  iuventutem ;  Vincentio  a 
Paulo  consociationes  caritatis  causa  initas  ;  Camillo  de  Lellis 
et  loanni  de  Deo  aegrotos  et  quotquot  aegrotis  adiutandis  dant 
operam,  opportune  commendavimus,  ita,  quod  bonum  faustumque 
sit  et  rei  christianae  benevertat,  suprema  auctoritate  Nostra, 
praesentium  vi,  sanctum  Paschalem  Baylon  peculiarem  coetuum 
eucharisticorum,  item  societatum  omnium  a  sanctissima  Eucha- 
ristia,  sive  quae  hactenus  institutae,  sive  quae  in  posterum 
futurae  sunt,  Patronum  coelestem  declaramus  et  constitui- 
mus.  Atque  ab  eiusdem  Sancti  exemplis  patrocinioque  hunc 
fructum  fidenter  petimus,  ut  e  populo  christiano  quotidie 
plures  animum,  consilia,  amorem  ad  lesum  Cbristum  serva- 
torem  referant,  omnis  salutio  summum  augustissimum- 
que*  principium.  Praesentibus  perpetuis  futuris  temporibus 
valituris.  Non  obstantibus  in  contrarium  facientibus  quibus- 
cumque.  Volumus  autem,  ut  praesentium  litterarum  tran- 
sumptis  seu  exemplis  etiam  impressis,  manu  alicuius  Notarii 
publici  subscriptis,  et  sigillo  personae  in  ecclesiastica  dignitate 
constitutae  munitis,  eadem  prorsus  fides  adbibeatur  quae  adhibe- 
retur  ipsis  praesentibus,  si  forent  exhibitae  vel  ostensae. 

Datum  Eomae  apud  S.  Petrum  sub  anulo  Piscatoris  die 
XXVIII.  Novembris  MDCCCXCVIL,  Pontificatus  Nostri  Anno 
Yicesimo. 

A.  CARD.  MACCHI. 


DOCUMENTS  471 


FORM  OF  BAPTISM  UP  TO  FOURTEEN  YEARS  OF  AGE 

E.  S.  R.  UNIV.  INQUISITIONS 

IN  BAPTISMO  CONFERENDO,  SERVATUR  ORDO  BAPTISM!  PARVULORUM, 
ETSI  BAPTIZANDI  ATTIGERINT  AETATEM  14  ANNORUM 

EME  AC  RME  DNE  OBLME. 

A  Sacra  Eituum  Congregatione  remissum  est  Supremae  huic 
Congregationi  dubium  expositum  ab  Em.  Tua,  utrum  scilicet 
baptizari  possint,  servato  ordine  Baptismi  parvulorum,  ii  pueri 
neophyti  qui  scholis  catholicis  admissi  baptizantur  ante  primam 
Communionem. 

Porro  Emi  Patres  una  mecum  Inquisitores  generales,  mature 
perpenso  proposito  dubio,  respondendum  esse  duxerunt  '  Affirma- 
tive ;  '  responsiones  autem  praescriptae  dentur  a  pueris  baptizandis 
insimul  cum  eorum  patrinis.  Haec  autem  Emorum  Patrum 
responsio  a  SS.  D.  N.  rata  ac  confirmata  est. 

Attamen  mens  est  eiusdem  S.  0.  ut  Em.  Tua  qua  pollet 
apostolica  charitate,  parochorum  zelum  excitet,  qui  current  ut  ii 
pueri  catholicorum  scholis  recepti  opportune  tempore  ad  baptis- 
mum  accedant. 

Haec  autem  dum  pro  rnei  muneris  ratione  E.  Tuae  commu- 
nico,  quo  par  est  obsequio   eiusdem  manus  humillime  deosculor. 
Emae  Tuae 

Eomae,  10  Maii,  1879. 

Humill.  Dnus  servus  verum. 

P.  CARD.  CATERINI. 
EMO  CARDINALI  GUIBERT.  Archiepo  Parisien. 


SOME    DEFECTS    IN    ORDINATION 

IMPOSITIO  MANUUM  OMISSA  CERTE  FUIT  A  SACERDOTIBUS  ADSISTF.N- 
TIBUS,  ET  PROBABILITER  AB  IPSO  EPO  ORDINANTE  t  ORDIXATIO 
DENUO  FIAT  SECRETO  ET  SUB  CONDITIONE 

BEATISSIME  PATER, 

Episcopus  N.  N.  ad  pedes  S.  V.  provolutus,  humiliter  exponit 
quod  in  ordinatione  sacerdotis  B.  ex  mera  oblivione,  omissa  fuit 
impositio  manuum  ex  parte  Sacerdotum  adsistentium  ;  insuper 
non  recordatur  Episcopus  (neque  alii  adstantes  recordantur) 
utrum  tenuerit  manus  elevatas  super  caput  ordinandi,  durante 


472  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

secunda  impositione  quando  recitabatur  oratio  '  Oremus  fratres 
carissimi,'  etc.,  quapropter  a  supremo  oraculo  'petit  quid  nunc 
agere  debeat. 

Feria  IV  die  17  Martii  1897. 

In  Congregatione  Gen.  S.  E.  et  U.  Inquisitionis  habita  ab 
EE.  et  EE.  DD.  Cardinalibus  Generalibus  Inquisitoribus, 
proposito  suprascripto  Dubio,  iidem  EE.  ac  EE.  DDni  responderi 
mandarunt :  '  Sacerdos  B.  ordinetur  secreto  et  sub  conditione 
quacumque  die,  etiam  feriata,  obtenta  a  SSmo  facultate. 

Sequenti  vero  fer.  V  die  18  eiusdem  mensis  et  anni,  in  solita 
Audientia  E.  P.  D.  Adsessori  impertita,  facta  de  his  omnibus 
relatione  SS.  D.  N.  Leoni  PP.  XIII,  idem  SS.  Dominus  resolu- 
tionem  Emorum  et  Emorum  Patrum  in  omnibus  adprobavit, 
facultatem  concedendo. 

I.  CAN.  MANCINI,  S   It.  et  U.  Inq.  Notarhis. 


[     473     ] 


NOTICES    OF    BOOKS 

MlSSALE  KOMANUM,  BREYIAEIUM  KOMANUM,  HOR^E  DlURN2E 

KITUALE  EOMANUM.     Tours  :    Alfred  Mame  et  Fils. 

WE  have  received  from  the  great  publishing  firm  of 
Mame  of  Tours  several  specimens  of  their  missals,  breviaries, 
and  other  liturgical  publications,  which  they  have  asked  us  to 
bring  under  the  notice  of  the  Irish  clergy.  We  do  so  with 
pleasure.  The  works  that  have  been  sent  to  us  deserve  the 
highest  encomiums.  The  large  and  medium-sized  missals,  bound 
in  dark-embossed  shagreen,  with  gilt  edges,  black  and  red  letters, 
seem  to  us  excellent  value,  the  former  for  29  f.  50  c.,  and  the  latter 
for  21  f.  50  c.  In  most  churches  and  chapels  on  the  Continent  two 
missals  are  kept,  one  for  every-day  use,  and  one  at  least  for  great 
feast  days  and  special  celebrations.  Whether  such  a  luxury  can 
be  indulged  in  here  in  Ireland  depends  very  much  on  the  locality. 
There  is,  we  know,  a  general  desire  that  the  missal,  like  all 
the  furniture  of  the  altar,  should  be  neat  and  becoming.  The 
excellence  and  cheapness  of  the  missals  we  have  before  us  will 
enable  all  who  have  care  of  churches  or  chapels  to  have  a  book 
on  the  altar  in  keeping  with  its  spotless  surroundings.  Those  who 
require  a  really  splendid  missal  can  have  one  for  about  £4,  richly 
bound  in  Morocco.  Those  whose  means  will  not  allow  them  to 
offer  such  a  present  to  the  altar  may  well  be  content  with  the 
missals  at  21  f.  50  c. 

As  for  the  breviaries,  they  are  of  ail  shapes  and  sizes.  As  an 
excellent  serviceable  breviary ,  we  recommend  the  edition  in  18mo 
(No.  52  in  catalogue),  which  is  quite  up  to  date  in  every  respect, 
and  costs  45  or  38  francs,  according  as  the  binding  is  first  or 
second  class.  A  really  beautiful  breviary,  one  of  the  best  in 
existence,  is  that  in  12mo  (marked  88  in  catalogue),  and  costing 
from  41  to  57  francs,  according  to  the  binding.  The  bound 
copy  at  48  francs  seems  to  us  a  splendid  book.  There  is  also 
a  '  Totum,'  costing  16  francs,  and  an  edition  of  the  whole 
breviary  in  two  volumes  in  16mo,  nicely  bound,  at  28  francs. 
There  is  a  handsome  ritual  for  5  f.  50  c.  It  is  well  printed,  but  the 
size  is  a  little  large,  and  would  be  somewhat  inconvenient  for 


474  THE    IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

'  sick  calls. '  There  is  also  a  very  serviceable  '  Horse '  at 
8  f .  25  c.  In  France  the  house  of  Mame  has  a  great  and  honourable 
reputation.  In  a  country  in  which  bad  literature  abounds,  the 
press  machines  of  Maine's  great  establishment  have  never  been 
sullied  by  corrupt  or  even  doubtful  work.  Their  proprietor  has 
built  up  for  himself  and  his  family  an  immense  fortune,  and 
has  done  so  by  giving  the  best  value  that  trade  competition 
would  allow  him  to  give.  If  we  must  send  money  out  of  Ireland, 
it  is,  at  all  events,  satisfactory  to  know  that  it  is  going  into 
worthy  hands. 

J.  F.  H. 


LE  COSTUME  ET  LES  USAGES  ECCLESIASTIQUES  SELON  LA 
TRADITION  EOMAINE.  Par  Mgr.  Barbier  de  Montault. 
Toure  Premier  Regies  Generates,  Le  Costume  Usuel, 
le  Costume  de  Choeur.  Paris:  Letouzey  et  Ane, 
Editeurs. 

THIS  is  the  first  volume  of  a  book  which,  when  completed,  will 
be  a  unique  publication.  The  subject  of  the  present  volume  is 
ecclesiastical  dress,  taken  in  its  widest  sense  to  include  the  details 
of  every-day  wearing  apparel  and  of  choir  costume.  The  author's 
object  has  not  been  to  write  a  history  of  ecclesiastical  costume, 
but  to  set  forth  the  practice  of  the  Eoman  Church  as  contained 
'  in  law,  tradition,  and  custom,'  with  a  view  to  set  up  a  standard 
to  which  ecclesiastics  throughout  the  world  should,  as  far  as 
possible  conform.  Koine  has  been  his  guide — not  France — where, 
according  to  himself,  '  la  regie  a  disparu  et  on  lui  substitue  une 
volonte,  absolue  et  arbitraire.'  The  volume  before  us  is  divided 
into  three  books.  The  first  is  a  collection  of  the  texts  of  Canon 
Law,  the  Pontifical  Briefs  (arranged  in  chronological  order),  and 
the  decrees  of  the  Sacred  Congregations  which  bear  on  the  subject 
of  the  work.  These  are  very  useful  and  interesting,  as  indicating 
the  mind  of  the  Church.  The  author  does  not  discriminate 
between  what  in  them  is  of  strict  obligation  and  what  is  not,  and 
thus,  of  course,  relieves  himself  of  a  very  onerous  undertaking. 
Reading  over  those  wise  regulations  of  ecclesiastical  authority  we 
cannot  help  noticing  the  constant  anxiety  of  the  Church  to  keep 
her  ministers  from  the  pursuit  of  woi'ldly  avocations,  pastimes, 
and  fashions. 

'  Clerici  officia  vel  commercia   secularia  non  exerceant  .  .  . 


NOTICES  OF   BOOKS  475 

Ad  aleas  et  taxillos  non  ludant  .  .  .  Pannis  rubeis  aut  viridibus, 
nee  non  manicis  aut  secularibus  conseuticiis,  fraenis,  stellis  pec- 
toralibus,  calcaribus  deauratis  non  utantur.' — Decretals. 

The  distinction  between  the  long  and  short  dress  has  long 
been  canonically  recognised,  but  the  short  soutane  or  coat 
(soutanelle)  should  reach  the  knees.  '  Nous  permettons  nean- 
moins  a  1'occasion  d'un  voyage  que  les  susdits  vetements  soient 
plus  courts,  de  fa$on  toutefois  qu'ils  couvrent  les  genoux  et  qu'ils 
soient  conformes  a  la  modestie  ecclesiastique.' — Edit  du  Cardinal 
de  Carpegna  (1708). 

The  second  book  deals  with  'Le  Costume  Usuel,'  i.e.,  every- 
day dress.  The  author's  treatment  of  this  department  is  quite 
exhaustive,  beginning  with  the  feet  and  ending  with  the  crown  of 
the  head.  '  Le  mot  costume,'  he  writes,  (s'  etend  a  tout  1'ensemble 
de  la  toilette ;  chaussure,  habillement  de  dessus  et  de  dessous, 
chevelure,  coiffure  et  accessoires.  L'examen  de  ces  diverses 
parties  va  se  faire  en  detail  en  comme^ant  par  les  pieds  pour 
n'nir  par  la  tete.'  In  a  preliminary  dissertation  he  states  that  the 
use  of  velvet  is  reserved  to  the  Pope,  and  that  inferior  clergy 
should  not  affect  even  velvet  trimmings.  But  he  cites  no 
authority  for  this  view.  He  evinces  a  prejudice  against  red 
shirts.  '  Laissons,'  he  writes,  '  les  chemises  rouges  aux 
Garibaldiens,'  and  he  would  have  us  relinquish  pantaloons  and 
laced  boots  for  culotte,  long  stockings,  and  buckled  shoes.  He 
presumes,  however,  the  soutane  is  worn  over  them  on  ordinary 
occasions. 

'  Le  Costume  de  Choeur,'  is  the  heading  of  the  third  book  ; 
and  while  here  we  notice  the  same  attention  to  minutiae,  we  meet 
less  of  the  author's  predilections.  The  material,  cut,  and  use  of 
all  the  various  articles  of  choir  dress  are  fully  described.  This 
book  and  the  preceding  are  profusely  illustrated.  Bishops  in 
cappa,  mozzetta,  mantelleta ;  prelates  in  mantellone  ;  canons  in 
cappa;  priests  in  short  dress  and  long  dress,  in  surplice  and 
soutane,  are  exhibited  in  different  attitudes,  and  altogether 
constitute  a  pictorial  collection  of  ecclesiastics  of  unexceptionable 
tenue. 

We  sympathize  with  the  author's  desire  to  secure  uniformity 
according  to  the  Eoman  usage,  and  we  have  no  doubt  this 
interesting  and  learned  volume  will  do  something  to  realize  his 
ideal.  It  is  not  too  difficult  to  abolish  unrubrical  choir  costumes, 
v.g.,  the  wearing  of  a  surplice  over  a  short  coat ;  but  local  usage, 


476  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

climate,  taste,  and  convenience,  must,  we  think,  be  always 
allowed  to  exercise  a  reasonable  influence  on  the  every-day  dress 
of  the  priest.  T.  P.  G. 

VITA  JESU  CHRISTI.  Ex  textibus  quatuor  Evangelorum 
distinctis.  Auctore :  L.  Mechineau,  S.J.  Paris : 
Lethielleux. 

THE  letters  affixed  to  the  author's  name  are  usually  a  guar- 
antee of  soundness  and  scholarship,  and  accordingly  we  opened 
the  volume  before  us  with  high  expectations.  Nor  were  we 
disappointed.  We  venture  to  say  that  no  more  satisfactory  life 
of  our  Lord  has  yet  been  written.  For  here  there  is  no  padding, 
no  speculations,  no  pious  or  other  exaggerations,  no  human 
eloquence.  In  the  first  part  of  the  book  each  page  is  divided 
into  six  columns.  In  the  first  are  numbers,  in  the  second  facts 
arranged  in  historical  sequence,  and  in  the  remaining  four  refer- 
ences to  the  four  Gospels.  So  we  have  a  synopsis  of  the  life  of 
Christ  in  which  each  individual  fact  is  numbered  (for  convenience), 
located,  and  authenticated.  In  the  second  part,  under  corres- 
ponding numbers,  the  texts  referred  to  in  the  first  part  are 
printed  in  parallel  columns.  The  reader  is  thus  enabled  to  see  at 
a  glance  the  inspired  records  of  any  individual  fact  in  our  Saviour's 
life.  These  two  parts  constitute  the  main  body  of  the  work.  A 
learned  'praeambula  de  Medio  Historico  Vitae  Christi,'  and  a 
closing  exegetical  dissertation  on  selected  questions,  complete  a 
work  which  deserves  to  be  widely  circulated  among  ecclesiastics 

T.  P.  G. 

OUR  LADY  OF  AMERICA.  Liturgically  known  as  '  Holy  Mary 
of  Guadalupe.'  By  Kev.  G.  Lee,  C.S.Sp.  Baltimore  and 
New  York :  John  Murphy  and  Co. 

THIS  is  an  attractively  written  history  of  the  rise,  growth,  and 
fruits  of  the  Guadalupan  devotion  in  honour  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  which,  for  well-nigh  six  centuries,  has  been  a  feature  of 
the  Catholicity  of  the  New  World — as  beautiful  as  it  is  inspiring. 
The  conquest  of  Mexico  by  Spain  was  accompanied  by  the  intro- 
duction of  Christianity  among  the  conquered  races,  and  the  good 
work  of  evangelizing  the  natives  was  forwarded  by  a  very  special 
Divine  Providence.  Our  Lady  seemed  to  take  a  particular  joy  in 
bringing  about  the  widespread  conversion  of  the  Indians.  For, 
while  the  Mexican  Church  was  still  in  its  infancy,  she  appeared 


NOTICES   OF   BOOKS  477 

in  this  land,  which  formerly  had  been  the  scene  of  so  many 
abominations,  '  spoke  to  its  people,  and  left  them  a  wondrous 
memorial  of  her  visit.'  An  humble  Indian  peasant  was  the  privi- 
leged one  to  whom  this  heavenly  visitant  manifested  herself. 
To  Juan  Diego  the  Mother  of  God  appeared  on  the  Hill  of 
Tepeyae,  near  the  Mexican  capitol.  Him  she  commanded  to  go 
to  Zumarrago,  the  devout  Bishop  of  Mexico,  with  a  request  that 
he  would  cause  a  temple  to  be  erected  to  her  honour  on  the  spot 
where  she  stood.  In  proof  of  the  authenticity  of  his  commission 
she  painted  upon  the  coarse  canvas  of  the  Indian's  cloak  the 
picture  which  ever  since  has  been  held  in  deep  veneration  by  the 
faithful,  and  whose  miraculous  origin  is  not  only  attested  to  by 
the  highest  human  authority,  but  also  stands  revealed  in  its  mar- 
vellous beauty,  its  faultless  perfection  as  a  work  of  art,  and  in  its 
undecaying  freshness.  The  main  facts  of  this  wonderful  appari- 
tion and  picture  our  author  undertakes  to  prove  to  be  not  only 
morally  and  historically,  but  also  theologically  and  ecclesiastically, 
certain.  And,  indeed,  we  cannot  read  his  interesting  narrative 
without  being  fully  convinced  of  the  justice  of  his  contention. 
In  Father  Lee  the  Guadalupan  shrine  has  found  an  able  exponent, 
a  loving  client,  and  a  powerful  advocate.  He  shows  us  that 
Eoman  Pontiffs  have  believed  in  Guadalupe,  enriched  the  devo- 
tion with  many  privileges,  granted  a  feast  in  its  honour  to  be 
celebrated  as  a  double  of  the  first  class  with  an  octave,  and 
finally  proclaimed  Our  Lady,  under  the  title  of  Guadalupe, 
patroness  of  New  Spain.  But,  perhaps,  he  is  most  interesting 
when  he  treats  of  the  extraordinary  influence  wielded  by  Guada- 
lupe in  stimulating  religious  fervour  and  enthusiasm  among  the 
simple  people  of  this  country,  in  moulding  their  lives  in  habits  of 
virtue,  and  in  fostering  among  them  a  deep  and  tender  love  for 
the  Mother  of  God.  Guadalupe  is  to  the  New  World  what 
Lourdes  is  to  the  Old.  In  both  God's  favours  are  abundantly 
bestowed  on  deserving  suppliants,  and  both,  too,  seem  to  bear 
the  stamp  of  the  supernatural.  We  commend  the  book  to  our 
readers  as  delightfully  interesting,  as  breathing  a  spirit  of  lively 
faith  in  God's  special  revelations,  and,  above  all,  as  being  a  tribute 
of  warmest  love  to  our  Blessed  Lady.  We  hope,  too,  with  the 
author  that  these  pages  will  make  this  holy  Mexican  shrine  more 
widely  known  and  still  more  deeply  venerated,  and  that,  before 
long,  our  Blessed  Lady,  under  the  title  of  Guadulupe,  will  be 
enshrined  the  patroness,  not  of  New  Spain  only,  but  of  the  whole 
of  Central  America.  P.  M. 


478  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

GREGORIAN  Music.  An  Outline  of  Musical  Paleography. 
Illustrated  by  Fac-similes  of  Ancient  Manuscripts.  By 
the  Benedictines  of  Stanbrook.  London  and  Leaming- 
ton :  Art  and  Book  Company. 

HANDBOOK  OF  BULBS  FOR  SINGING  AND  PHRASING  PLAIN- 
SONG.  By  the  Benedictines  of  Stanbrook.  Same 
Publisher. 

IN  recent  times  there  is  a  growing  conviction  that  for  the 
proper  understanding  and  satisfactory  rendering  of  the  Gregorian 
melodies,  even  in  the  abbreviated  form  of  the  Editio  Medicaea. 
some  knowledge  of  the  results  of  the  archaeological  researches 
instituted  in  this  subject  is  necessary.  The  literature  on  this 
matter,  while  very  extensive,  is  not  very  accessible  for  the  general 
reader.  There  is  a  particular  dearth  of  books  in  the  English 
language.  The  Elements  of  Plain-Song,  published  by  the  Plain- 
Song  and  Mediaeval  Music  Society,  has  up  to  recently  been  the 
only  publication  to  be  mentioned  in  this  connection.  We  must 
be  very  grateful,  therefore,  to  the  Benedictine  nuns  of  Stanbrook 
Abbey  for  laying  before  English  readers  the  principal  results  of 
musical  paleography,  especially  of  the  Paleographie  Musicale, 
the  quarterly  publication  of  the  Benedictine  monks  of  Solesmes, 
which  holds  the  foremost  place  amongst  the  publications  on  this 
subject. 

Gregorian  Music  opens  with  a  nicely-written  chapter  on  the 
aim  of  Church  music.  Some  general  idea  on  the  subject  of 
musical  paleography  having  been  given,  the  origin  and  develop- 
ment of  the  neumatic  and  diastematic  notation  are  clearly  set 
forth.  The  fifth  chapter  deals  with  the  important  and  practical 
question  of  liquescence.  We  are  not  quite  satisfied  that  the 
explanation  of  the  reason  of  liquescence  given  in  this  chapter  is 
correct.  We  certainly  should  not  like  to  hear  the  word  confun- 
dentur  pronounced  anything  like  conL'-fun°-dene-tur.  But  the 
subject  itself  is  very  important  for  the  rhythm  of  plain-chant,  and 
without  a  knowledge  of  it  it  will  scarcely  be  possible  to  do  justice 
to  the  Gregorian  melodies.  Unfortunately,  liquescent  notes  are 
not  indicated  in  the  Eoman  chant  books.  Recourse  must,  there- 
fore, be  had  to  the  manuscripts,  or  printed  editions  reproducing 
their  notation,  in  order  to  acquire  that  refinement  of  rhythmical 
feeling  which  will  enable  one  to  determine  with  accuracy  in  what 
cases  liquescence  should  take  place.  But  the  hints  given  in  the 


NOTICES   OF   BOOKS  479 


present  book,  together,  perhaps,  with  the  suggestions  in 
Dr.  Haberl's  Magisler  Choralis,  chapter  45,  under  3,  will  give 
some  help  to  the  student. 

After  a  fairly  exhaustive  exposition  of  the  Eomanian  signs  and 
letters,  three  chapters  are  devoted  to  rhythm,  the  cursus,  and 
the  adaptation  of  texts.  These  we  are  inclined  to  consider  as 
the  best  part  of  the  work,  and  we  imagine  that  nothing  is  better 
calculated  to  produce  a  delicacy  of  rhythmical  feeling  than  a 
careful  study  of  these  chapters. 

A  few  special  remarks  on  execution  bring  the  body  of  the 
work  to  a  conclusion.  An  appendix  deals  with  the  modes  and 
psalmody.  The  former  are  dismissed  pretty  summarily,  a  pro- 
ceeding to  which  we  do  not  object,  as  the  subject  is  by  no  means 
fully  investigated,  and  not  very  practical.  The  reproduction  of 
the  numerous  mediations  and  endings  of  mediaeval  psalmody  is  of 
not  much  use  for  those  following  the  Eoman  usage,  but  the  prin- 
ciples of  treatment  are  the  same.  The  management  of  the  addi- 
tional note  required  when  a  dactylic  word  formation  has  to  be 
fitted  to  the  cadences  of  trochaic  structure,  is  very  instructive. 
The  method  of  dealing  with  such  formulas  as  the  mediation  of 
the  third  tone  is  particularly  interesting,  and  we  should  like  to 
see  it  generally  adopted.  But,  unfortunately,  the  rules  governing 
this  additional  note  are  not  expressly  stated.  The  reader  has  to 
abstract  them  for  himself  from  the  examples  given. 

The  Handbook  of  Rules  is  a  little  pamphlet  intended  to  be  put 
into  the  hands  of  singers.  It  gives  simple  and  plain  rules  on  pro- 
nunciation of  Latin,  accentuation,  voice  production,  plain-song 
scales,  notation,  &c.  In  the  chapter  on  the  value  of  notes,  the 
vexed  question  whether  accent  means  prolongation,  is  solved,  to 
•our  mind  satisfactorily,  in  the  following  manner: — ',  .  .  an 
accent  is  brought  out,  not  by  being  lengthened,  but  by  being 
strongly  marked.  In  practice,  however,  it  will  inevitably  become 
a  little  longer  ;  but  this  is  by  no  means  to  be  aimed  at. '  As  to 
the  rendering  of  the  neums,  the  rule  now  frequently  accepted  by 
writers  is  given  that  the  first  note  of  each  neum  is  the  accented 
one.  While  freely  admitting  that  at  every  first  note  of  a  neum 
the  voice  receives  a  slight  renewal  of  impulse,  we  cannot  make  up 
our  minds  that  this  note  in  all  cases  should  bear  the  greatest 
stress.  In  a  scandicus,  for  instance,  if  it  stands  by  itself,  not 
influenced  by  any  modifying  exigencies  of  the  text,  we  should 
consider  as  the  natural  expression  an  increase  of  strength  towards 


480  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

the  last  note,  and  we  believe  that  is  the  method  adopted  by  the 
best  choirs.  At  the  same  time,  we  consider  that  too  much 
importance  cannot  be  attached  to  the  rule  given  in  the  same 
chapter,  that  the  ^force  of  the  accented  syllable  must  be  put  on 
the  first  note  of  the  first  group  of  notes  set  to  it. 

In  the  chapter  on  pauses,  we  meet,  among  other  excellent 
rules,  the  one  that  a  consonant  beginning  a  new  syllable  should 
be  pronounced  on  the  last  note  of  the  previous  syllable.  This 
rule  works  out  most  admirably  in  practice,  though  it  is  based 
rather  on  an  illusion,  inasmuch  as  most  consonants  cannot  be 
pronounced  on  any  definite  pitch. 

In  conclusion,  we  congratulate  the  nuns  of  Stanbrook  Abbey 
on  their  excellent  publications,  and  hope  that  for  the  benefit 
of  Church  music  these  books  will  meet  with  an  extensive 
circulation. 

H.  B. 


VICTOR    VITENSIS    ON    THE    VANDAL 
PERSECUTION 

READEKS  of  the  I.  E.  EECOED  who  remember  so 
well  our  Irish  persecutions,  will  be  interested  in 
a  short  account  of  one  exactly  similar  which 
took  place  a  thousand  years  before — the  Vandal 
persecution  in  Africa — of  which  Victor,  to  a  great  extent 
an  eyewitness,  has  left  us  an  account  in  a  work  which 
Sirmond  calls  '  a  golden  book, '  and  again,  '  one  of  the 
most  illustrious  monuments  of  all  antiquity.'  Victor's 
identity  was  a  long  time  disputed,  but  can  be  so  no  longer, 
since  Liron,  one  of  his  commentators  and  biographers, 
clearly  proved  that  he  was  a  priest  of  Carthage,  who  lived 
there  during  the  reigns  of  Genseric  and  Huneric,  and  then 
became  Bishop  of  Vita  in  the  province  of  Byzacene,  where 
he  wrote  this  work  about  the  year  487.  No  more  is  known 
of  him  with  certainty;  but  all  admit  that  he  was  a  very  pious 
and  learned  man,  and  a  most  judicious  historian. 

By  keeping  in  mind  the  following  dates  we  can  more 
easily  follow  Victor's  narrative  of  events.  The  Vandals 
crossed  over  to  Africa  at  the  beginning  of  428,  and  had 
completed  their  conquest  at  the  death  of  St.  Augustine  in 
430,  with  the  exception  of  the  three  cities  of  Hippo,  Cirta, 
and  Carthage.  By  the  treaty  of  Hippo,  in  435,  they  restored 
Mauritania  and  Western  Numidia  to  the  Empire,  but  kept 


1  Migne,  tomus  Iviii.,  Tatrologlat  Latince, 
FOUUTtt  SERIES,  VOL.  Ill JUNE,  1898. 


2  H 


482  THE  IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

"this  treaty  only  to  the  death  of  Valentinian,  in  455.  They 
took  Carthage  in  439.  Genseric  reigned  to  477,  and  was 
succeeded  by  his  son  Huneric,  who  died  in  484.  He  was 
succeeded  by  ais  nephew  Guntabund,  who  reigned  twelve 
years,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  brother  Thrasamund,  who 
died  in  525,  and  was  succeeded  by  Hilderic,  who  was 
dethroned  in  530  by  Gelimer,  the  last  Vandal  king. 
Belisarius,  the  great  general  of  Justinian,  expelled  the 
Vandals  in  534,  and  the  country  remained  subject  to  the 
Greek  Empire  until  the  Arab  conquest  in  665. 

Having  already  noticed l  that  part  of  Victor's  narrative 
which  was  connected  with  the  conquest,  I  shall  begin  the 
present  notice  from  the  taking  of  Carthage.     The  savagery 
we  shall  often  meet  with  in  this  narrative  is  so  revolting, 
that  I  must  ask  my  readers  to  remember,  for  the  honour  of 
humanity,  that  the  Vandals  were  an  exceptional  race  among 
all  those  that  invaded  the  tottering  Empire  in  the  fifth 
century.     All  the  other  races  divided  the  lands  with  the  old 
inhabitants,  and  left  the  Catholic  Church  undisturbed;  the- 
consequence  was  that  the  conquerors  gradually  imbibed  the 
civilization  and  religion  of  the  vanquished ;    and  even  in 
Britain  this  process  would  probably  have  taken  place  only 
for  the  obstinacy  of  the  old  natives.     But  the  Vandals,  like 
our  own  Cromwellians,  respected  nothing ;  they  confiscated 
all  the  lands ;  and,  as  fanatical  Arians,  banished,  tortured, 
or  murdered  every  Catholic  bishop  or  priest  on  whom  they 
could  lay  their  hands.     They  spared  as  many  of  the  common 
people  as  they  needed  to  cultivate  their  lands,  to  exercise 
the  various  handicrafts,  carry  on  their  trade  and  commerce, 
keep  the  financial  and  administrative  accounts,  &c.,  &c. ;  for 
of  all  these  things  the  Vandals  were  completely  ignorant, 
and  remained  so  to  the  end.     The  only  progress  they  ever 
made  was  in  the  effeminacy  engendered  by  sudden  wealth 
and  a  delightful  climate,  and  to  this,  like  their  predecessors 
the  Africo-Eomans,  they  owed  their  final  downfall. 

This  Vandal  persecution  was  carried  on  by  means  of  a 
penal  code  and   spasmodic   outbursts.     The  Vandal  kings 

1  Life  of  St.  Atiffiistine,  chaps,  xvi.,  xvii. 


VICTOR  VITENSIS  ON  THE  VANDAL  PERSECUTION    483 

were  absolute,  and  their  edicts  were  laws.  Victor's  narrative, 
in  five  books,  embraces  the  reigns  of  Genseric  and  Huneric ; 
the  books  will  be  indicated  by  Koinan  numerals,  the  chapters 
by  ordinary  figures. 

The  first  thing  Genseric  did  on  entering  Carthage  was 
to  seize  the  Bishop,  Quodvuldtdeus,  with  as  many  of  his 
clergy  as  he  could  lay  his  hands  on,  and  pack  them  on  board 
rotten  ships  without  provision  of  any  kind.     He  then  divided 
the  confiscated  lands  among  his  soldiers,  and  issued  an  edict 
of  banishment   against  all  the   bishops   and  nobles  of  the 
country,  under  the  penalty  of  perpetual  slavery  in  case  of  the 
slightest  resistance  or  delay.     Victor  adds,1  that  he  knew 
many  bishops  and  distinguished  laymen  who  thus  became 
slaves  to  the  Vandals.     A  number  of  bishops  and  nobles  from 
the  provinces,  who   had  already  lost   everything,  came  to 
Carthage,  and  humbly  asked  for  the  bare  permission  to  live 
among  the  afflicted  people  to  console  them;  but  Genseric 
answered,  '  I  have  decreed  the  extermination  of  your  race 
and  name,  and  you  dare  to  make  such  a  request.'     It  was 
only  by  the  entreaties  of  his  own  courtiers  that  he  was  pre- 
vented from  having  them  all  cast  into  the  sea.     Having 
seized  upon  all   the    churches  of    Carthage,  some  for  the 
Arians,    he   ordered  all  the  churches   of   the    country    to 
be    closed   or   confiscated ;    and,  says  Victor, 2  *  they  then 
celebrated  the  divine  mysteries  as  they  could,  and  where 
they  could.'     But  even  from   this   they   were  terrified  by 
another  edict 3  forbidding    '  all   opportunity  for    prayer   or 
immolation.'     The  next  edict4  ordered  all  thesacred  books 
and  vessels   to   be   delivered  up ;    and   a   veritable    fiend 
named   Proculus   was   sent   to   the   country    to    see    this 
edict  executed.     A  holy  bishop  named  Valerianus,  having 
refused  to    submit   to  this  sacrilege,   was  cast   out  on  the 
public  highway,  where  no  one  could  even  speak  to  him; 
'  but/  says  Victor,  '  unworthy  as  I  am,  I  had  the  honour  to 
salute  him.'     He  was  over  eighty  years  of  age,  and  was  left 
almost  naked  to  perish. 


4.  -2i.  5.  »i.  7,.  M,  12. 


484  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

The  next  paragraph  vividly  depicts  the  state  to  which 
the  Catholics  were  reduced  by  all  these  edicts : — l 

In  a  place  called  Eegia,  the  faithful  forced  open  their  church 
to  celebrate  Easter  day ;  the  Arians  heard  of  it,  and  immediately 
one  of  their  priests,  named  Adduit,  at  the  head  of  an  armed 
mob,  rushed  upon  the  innocent  multitude.  Some  rushed  in  with 
drawn  swords,  others  mounted  the  roof,  while  others  discharged 
their  darts  through  the  windows.  The  people  were  listening  or 
singing,  and  the  lector  in  the  pulpit  chanting  alleluia,  when, 
pierced  in  the  throat  by  an  arrow,  he  fell  dead,  the  book  having 
fallen  from  his  hands.  Many  others  were  killed  on  the  very  steps 
of  the  altar,  being  pierced  with  arrows  and  darts ;  and  those  who 
were  not  then  slain  by  the  sword  were  nearly  all  put  to  death  by 
order  of  the  King,  especially  those  of  mature  age.  Elsewhere,  as 
at  Tinuzuda  and  Ammonia,  for  example,  when  the  Sacraments  of 
God  were  being  administered  to  the  people,  they  rushed  in 
breathing  vengeance,  scattered  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  on 
the  pavement,  and  trampled  it  under  their  polluted  feet. 

This  was  the  state  of  things  during  the  whole  reign  of 
Genseric,  with  only  a  few  short  respites  procured  by  the 
Emperors.  A  few  personal  facts  will  help  to  complete  the 
picture. 

Genseric  was  himself  a  most  able,  and,  to  some  extent, 
an  educated  man ;  but  he  had  among  his  followers  no  men 
capable  of  filling  the  high  administrative  posts  in  his  vast 
kingdom ;  he  had  therefore  to  fall  back  on  some  of  the  old 
imperial  officials.  One  of  these  was  Count  Sebastian 2  '  a 
man  greatly  needed,  but  also  much  feared  by  Genseric  ;  a 
man  valiant  in  war  and  wise  in  council.'  One  day  the  King 
sent  for  him,  and  in  presence  of  his  bishops  and  courtiers 
said : — 

Sebastian,  you  have  sworn  to  be  faithful  to  us,  and  your  acts 
prove  your  sincerity ;  but  that  your  friendship  may  be  more 
lasting,  it  is  the  wish  of  our  priests  here  present  that  you  should 
embrace  the  religion  which  we  and  our  own  people  venerate. 

Sebastian  refused,  and  gave  his  reason  in  a  beautiful 
parable  which  reduced  them  to  silence.  But  another  pretext 
was  found,  and  his  life  was  taken  by  order  of  the  King. 

1  i.  13.  2  j.  G, 


VICTOR  VITENSIS  ON  THE  VANDAL  PERSECUTION    485 

At  this  time 1  Genseric,  at  the  instigation  of  his  bishops, 
issued  orders  that  no  one  but  an  Arian  should  hold  office  in 
his  own  palace  or  in  those  of  his  sons.  Armogastes  held 
office  in  the  palace  of  Theodoric,  the  King's  third  son ;  and 
when  it  came  to  his  turn,  as  Victor  expresses  it,  his  legs 
were  bound  tight  with  cords — a  torture  which  was  long 
continued,  and  often  repeated.  They  also  beat  and  cut  his 
forehead,  on  which  was  marked  the  sign  of  the  cross — an 
African  custom,  as  St.  Augustine  often  tells  us  ; 2  the  holy 
man  looking  up  to  heaven  all  the  time.  The  cords  burst, 
but  the  executioners  brought  others  of  hemp,  and  much 
stronger.  They  too  burst,  the  victim  only  invoking  the 
name  of  Christ.  They  then  suspended  him,  head  down- 
wards, by  one  foot ;  but  he  looked  to  the  spectators  like  one 
reclining  on  a  bed  of  down.  Theodoric  then  ordered  him  to 
be  beheaded,  but  he  was  dissuaded  by  his  priest,  Jocundus. 
Lest  he  should  be  honoured  as  a  martyr,  he  counselled  some 
slower  process.  He  was  then  banished  to  the  province  of 
Byzacene,  to  dig  trenches ;  but,  for  his  greater  humiliation, 
he  was  afterwards  brought  back,  and  placed  as  a  cowherd 
near  Carthage.  In  this  occupation  he  at  last  felt  his  end 
approaching,  and  sent  for  his  friend  Felix,  procurator  of  the 
prince's  household,  and  a  good  Christian.  He  told  him  that 
his  hour  was  at  hand,  and  pointed  out  the  spot  where  he 
wished  to  be  buried.  'No,'  said  Felix;  'you  shall  be 
buried  with  honour  in  one  of  the  basilicas ' — a  thought 
savouring  more  of  zeal  than  of  prudence — for  Genseric  had 
strictly  forbidden  all  Catholic  burial  rites.  But  Armogastes 
replied :  '  By  the  faith  which  we  both  hold,  and  as  you  shall 
answer  to  God,  bury  me  here.'  A  few  days  later  the  holy 
confessor  died,  and  while  digging  the  grave  Felix  came  upon 
a  marble  sarcophagus  fit  for  a  king.  His  name  occurs  in  the 
Koman  Martyrology,  March  29. 

Saturus,  procurator  in  the  house  of  Hunneric,  the  King's 
eldest  son,  was  summoned  to  choose  between  Arianism  and 
all  he  held  dear  in  this  world.  Riches  and  honours  were  to 
reward  his  compliance ;  loss  of  position,  substance,  home, 

i  i.  4.  a  Serin,  xxvii.,  &c. 


486  THE  IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

and  family  was  to  be  the  penalty  of  his  refusal  ;  and,  to 
crown  all,  his  wife  was  to  be  made  the  spouse  of  a  camel- 
driver  before  his  face.  He  did  not  hesitate  a  moment,  but 
told  them  to  do  quickly  what  they  had  to  do.  His  wife  was 
then  brought  upon  the  scene.  She  found  him  alone  in  prayer. 
Her  garments  rent,  her  hair  dishevelled,  surrounded  by  her 
children,  and  an  infant  in  her  arms,  she  embraced  his  knees, 
and  filled  the  whole  place  with  her  lamentations.  '  0  my 
beloved  husband,'  she  cried,  '  have  pity  on  me,  have  pity  on 
these  children,  have  pity  on  yourself.  Comply  with  this 
order,  and  God  will  see  that  you  only  do  by  compulsion 
what  others  have  done,  perhaps,  willingly.'  But  he  answered 
her  in  the  words  of  Job  :  '  Thou  hast  spoken  like  one  of  the 
foolish  women.'  l  My  spouse,  you  have  made  yourself  the 
emissary  of  Satan,  as  if  there  was  no  other  life  but  this.  I  hold 
fast  to  the  promise  of  my  Lord  :  if  anyone  will  not  renounce 
wife  and  children,'  &c.  '  They  then  deprived  him  of  every- 
thing ;  but  his  baptismal  robe  they  could  not  take  away,' 
says  Victor. 

Archinimus  2  was  one  of  those  on  whose  perversion 
Genseric  had  set  his  heart.  He  even  stooped  to  exert  all 
his  personal  influence,  lavishing  on  him  caresses  and  pro- 
mises. But  it  was  all  in  vain  ;  and  then,  without  further 
ceremony,  he  sent  him  to  the  scaffold,  with  this  satanic 
order  to  the  executioner,  that,  if  he  yielded  at  the  last 
moment,  his  head  was  to  be  struck  off ;  if  he  held  firm,  he 
was  to  be  brought  back  alive.  He  did  hold  firm  ;  and,  says 
Victor,  '  although  cheated  of  the  glory  of  martyrdom,  that 
of  confessor  could  not  be  taken  from  him.'  Even  Gibbon 
cannot  plead  ignorance  in  this  case  for  Genseric,  who  was 
himself  an  apostate. 

To  understand  the  following  pathetic  story3  we  must 
remember  that  the  southern  borderers  of  Roman  Africa, 
from  Tripoly  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  were  the  pagan  Moors 
and  Gestulians.  These,  from  the  very  first,  Genseric  adopted 
as  allies,  and  left  them  undisturbed  in  their  vast  terri- 
tories. Hence,  during  the  whole  Vandal  period,  one  of  the 

Mi.  10.  2i.  15.  ai.  10. 


VICTOR  VITENSIS  ON  THE  VANDAL  PERSECUTION    487 

most  ordinary  punishments   inflicted    on    bishops,  priests, 
nobles,  &c.,  was  to  be  sent  as  slaves  to  the  Moors. 

A  Vandal  millenarian  (captain  of  a  thousand)  had  among 
his  slaves  four  brothers  and  a  consecrated  virgin  named 
Maxima,  young,  beautiful,  and  intelligent,  and  mistress  over 
the  entire  household.  The  brothers  were  ordinary  Christians; 
but  from  the  moment  they  came  under  the  influence  of 
Maxima  they  advanced  constantly  in  fervour.  The  Vandal 
discovered  this  by  a  series  of  occurrences  too  long  to  men- 
tion here,  and  ordered  them  all  to  join  his  sect.  They 
refused,  and  were  subjected  to  various  tortures.  Again  and 
again  they  refused,  and  were  again  and  again  flogged  almost 
to  death.  They  were  then  cast  into  prison,  manacled,  and 
racked  before  a  great  multitude.  A  curse  fell  upon  the 
Vandal ;  his  cattle  died,  his  children  died,  and  at  last  he 
died  himself,  leaving  only  a  desolate  widow,  who  gave  these 
slaves  to  one  Sesacni,  a  cousin  of  the  King,  who  at  once 
ordered  him  to  continue  the  persecution  ;  until  at  last 
ashamed  of  his  failure  with  Maxima,  he  ordered  her  to  be 
dismissed  as  an  incorrigible.  The  four  brothers  he  ordered 
to  be  given  to  Capsur,  a  Moorish  chief  of  an  oasis  called 
Caprapicta.  By  word  and  example  they  converted  Capsur 
and  his  people,  built  a  church,  and  sent  a  great  distance  (ad 
civitatem  Eomanam}  to  the  nearest  bishop  for  a  priest  to 
baptize  them,  and  live  among  them.  When  all  this  came 
to  the  ears  of  Genseric,  his  rage  knew  no  bounds.  He 
ordered  the  four  brothers  to  be  seized,  bound,  fastened  to 
the  tail  of  a  cart,  and  dragged  by  wild  horses  over  briers 
and  thorns,  and  rocks  ;  and  in  this  way  they  were  crowned 
with  a  glorious  martyrdom.  Miracles  were  wrought  at  their 
tomb,  and  their  names  are  found  in  the  Roman  Martyrology 
on  the  16th  October.  Maxima  was  still  alive  when  Victor 
wrote,  and  abbess  of  a  large  monastery. 

When  about  to  give  these  details,  Victor  says  :  '  If,  as 
everyone  knows,  martyrs  were  then  numerous,  confessors 
were  more  numerous  still.' l  Gibbon,  unable  to  deny  or 
conceal  the  facts,  is  not  ashamed*  to  offer  excuses  for  all  this 

i.  10,  *  Ch, 


488  THE   IRISH  f  ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

savagery ;  and  certainly  some  of  his  excuses  are  a  curiosity. 
Genseric,  he  says,  was  an  apostate,  and  could  expect  no 
favour  from  the  Catholics ;  the  Catholics  exasperated  him  by 
their  constancy  ;  the  Arian  clergy  were  few  and  ignorant,  and 
no  match  for  a  clergy  so  numerous  and  learned  as  their 
adversaries  ;  the  Catholics  refused  to  proclaim  the  principle 
that  truth  and  error  had  equal  rights.  He  also  insinuates 
that  Genseric  dreaded  a  Catholic  rising,  and  actually  asserts1 
that  there  was  such  a  rising,  but  takes  care  to  give  neither 
date  nor  reference.  There  is  no  record  of  such  a  rising,  and 
Genseric  had  no  such  fear ;  he  knew  that  his  Catholic  sub- 
jects were  an  unwarlike  race,  and  were  completely  unarmed, 
as  they  had  always  been,  even  under  the  Romans.  His  fears 
were  of  a  very  different  kind  :  he  feared  the  Emperors  whose 
territories  he  raided  in  his  annual  piratical  expeditions  ;  he 
feared  the  constant  risings  and  incursions  of  the  Moors  ;  but 
above  all,  he  feared  the  conspiracies  of  his  own  people,  many 
of  whom  despised  him  as  a  base-born  usurper,  while  others 
hated  him  as  the  murderer  of  the  legitimate  heirs.  Gibbon 
admits  in  this  very  chapter,  that  during  his  reign  more 
Vandal  blood  was  shed  on  the  scaffold  than  on  the  field  of 
battle. 

A  word  now  about  the  respites  already  alluded  to,  and 
which  were  very  short  and  few.  In  439,  the  Primate  arrived 
at  Naples  in  his  rotten  ship,  and  had  to  remain  in  exile  until 
his  death,  in  452.  In  454,  Genseric,  at  the  request  of 
Valentinian,  allowed  the  churches  of  Carthage  to  be  re- 
opened and  a  bishop  consecrated;  this  bishop  was  Deogratias, 
who  lived  only  three  years,  and  was  almost  entirely  occupied 
in  alleviating  the  miseries  occasioned  by  Geiiseric's  sack  of 
Eome,  in  455.  We  shall  allow  Victor  to  describe  this  in  his 
own  words2  :— 

Were  I  to  attempt  a  full  account  of  the  wonders  wrought  by 
God  through  this  holy  bishop,  words  would  fail  me.  For,  after 
his  ordination,  Eome,  that  most  noble  and  famous  city,  was 
taken  by  Genseric ,  and,  on  his  return  to  Carthage,  the  multitude 
of  captives  was  divided  as  usual  among  the  Moors  and  Vandals, 

1  Ch.  xxxiii.  '2  i.  8. 


VICTOR  VITENSIS  ON  THE  VANDAL  PERSECUTION    489 

husbands  being  separated  from  their  wives,  parents  from  their 
children.  At  once  the  man  of  God  sold  the  gold  and  silver  vessels 
to  redeem  the  captives  and  restore  the  husbands  to  their  wives, 
the  children  to'  their  parents.  And,  as  no  other  place  could 
shelter  such  a  multitude,  he  gave  up  to  them  two  great  churches 
which  he  filled  with  beds  and  litter,  attending  daily  to  the  distri- 
bution of  food  &c.  And  as  most  of  them  had  suffered  from  the 
sea,  to  which  they  were  unaccustomed,  and  from  the  hardships  of 
captivity,  there  was  much  sickness  among  them.  The  holy  bishop 
attended  to  them  like  a  tender  nurse,  went  the  rounds  with  the 
physicians,  and  saw  himself  that  each  was  supplied  with  the 
nourishment  he  needed.  Nor  did  he  cease  from  this  work  of 
mercy  during  the  night,  but  went  round  the  beds  asking  each  one 
how  he  felt ;  and  this  he  did  without  a  thought  of  rest  for  his  weary 
limbs  or  his  decrepit  old  age.  The  Arians  were  so  enraged  that 
some  of  them  plotted  against  his  life  ;  and  it  is  my  belief  that  the 
Lord  called  him  away  so  soon  only  to  save  his  poor  sparrow  from 
the  hawks.  The  grief  of  these  poor  captives  at  his  death  was  so 
great  that  they  felt  as  if  they  had  been  delivered  up  again  to  the 
barbarians.  He  spent  three  years  in  the  ministry,  and  such  was 
the  veneration  of  the  people  that  he  had  to  be  buried  privately, 
during-  the  usual  prayers,  lest  they  should  tear  his  body  in  pieces. 

His  name  occurs  in  the  Kornan  Martyrology  on  the  22nd 
of  March. 

On  the  death  of  this  bishop  the  churches  of  Carthage 
were  again  closed  and  the  clergy  banished ;  a  special  decree 
was  also  issued  against  any  attempt  to  ordain  a  bishop  within 
the  Province  of  Carthage,  usually  called  Proconsularis,  and 
sometimes  Zeugitan a.1  The  next  and  last  respite  in  Genseric's 
reign  was  in  475,  when  Severus,  the  ambassador  of  the 
Emperor  Zeno,  obtained  the  reopening  of  the  churches  of 
Carthage  and  the  return  of  the  clergy.*  We  do  not  find  any 
mitigations  of  the  penal  laws  obtained  for  the  rest  of  the 
country  during  Genseric's  reign.  He  died  in  January,  477. 

We  can  now  form  a  tolerably  clear  idea  of  Genseric's 
persecution.  His  plan  was  to  exterminate  the  clergy  and 
the  gentry,  and  then  make  what  he  liked  of  the  common 
people.  This  plan  succeeded  against  the  gentry,  who  had 
only  the  chance  of  becoming  tenants  under  exorbitant  rents 
on  the  worst  lands  of  their  former  estates,  or  emigrating  to 
other  countries,  or  being  sold  into  slavery;  both  the  Eastern 

i.  9.  17.  a  i.  17. 


490  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

and  Western  empires  were  crowded  with  these  illustrious 
exiles.  His  plan  succeeded  with  the  clergy,  too,  as  far  as  their 
property,  movable  and  immovable,  was  concerned  ;  but  in 
every  other  respect  it  was  one  of  the  most  signal  failures 
recorded  in  history.  Looking  at  the  means  employed, 
anyone  would  expect  to  see  the  African  Church  completely 
extinguished  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  it  never  before  was  so 
illustrious,  not  even  in  St.  Augustine's  time.1  Having  already 
endeavoured  to  describe  the  moral  and  religious  state  of 
Africa  at  the  arrival  of  the  Vandals,  I  can  only  say  now  that 
it  was  immeasurably  better  at  the  death  of  Genseric.  The 
proof  of  this  will  be  more  clearly  seen  at  the  end  of  the  whole 
Vandal  persecution  which  has  still  half  a  century  to  run. 

How  did  all  this  happen  ?  Well,  in  the  first  place,  as  Liron 
one  of  Victor's  commentators,  remarks,  not  a  single  bishop 
— there  were  neary  five  hundred — deserted  his  post  unless 
dragged  away  by  violence.  Ordinations  were  forbidden,  but 
the  sees  were  never  left  vacant,2  except  in  Carthage  and  its 
immediate  neighbourhood,  where  the  King  and  his  satellites 
were  ever  on  the  watch.  Even  at  Carthage  there  were 
always  priests  to  attend  to  the  wants  of  the  faithful.  Victor 
himself  lived  there  all  through  Genseric's  persecution,  as 
Liron  clearly  proves.  In  the  next  place,  as  Victor  tells  us,3 
'  the  people  of  God  held  firmly  to  their  faith,  and  even  grew 
stronger  and  stronger  in  it,  fulfilling  these  words4  "  the  more 
they  were  oppressed,  the  more  were  they  multiplied  and 
strengthened." '  Finally,  and  above  all  the  rest,  extraordinary 
graces  and  supernatural  favours  were  freely  lavished  on 
these  faithful  Christians. 

Nor  must  we  omit  the  human  means  which,  in  the 
providence  of  God,  contributed  to  Genseric's  discomfiture. 

1.  During  the  first  twenty  years  of  Genseric's  rule,  the 
western  half  of  the  country  was  subject  to  the  Empire,  and 
was  thus  able  in  various  ways  to  help  the  persecuted 
Christians  in  the  east. 

1Zt/c  of  St.  Augustine,  chap.  xvi. 

2  This  was  clearly  verified  in  481,  when  King  Huneric  obtained  a  complete 
list  of  the  Bishops  by  pretended  clemency  and  most  heartless  fraud. 

3  i.  7.  4  Exod.  i.  12. 


2.  North  Africa  is  entirely  mountainous,  except  a  narrow 
strip  on  the  coast.     In  the   very   worst  times  there  were 
convents   and    monasteries    in    these    mountains,    and,    of 
course,  individual  bishops  and  priests  could  escape  notice 
still  more  easily. 

3.  The   eastern   provinces,   where  the   Vandals   chiefly 
resided,   were  so  very   populous,  that   their  presence  was 
hardly  perceptible  in  the  daily  life  of  the  people.     In  the 
other  provinces,  the  only  Vandal  to  be  met  with,  outside 
the  towns,  at  any  time  was  the  new  landlord,  and,  at  stated 
times,  the  king's  tax-gatherer. 

4.  The  extent  of  the  complete  kingdom  was  immense, 
1,500  miles  from  east  to  west  ;  and  the  Vandals  were  never 
more  than  some  thousands  among  millions.1 

5.  During    his   whole    life  Genseric   had    many    other 
troubles  to  attend  to  beside  the  persecution  of  the  Catholics. 

Victor  mentions  no  apostates  in  this  reign,  but  it  is  hard 
to  think  there  were  none.  He  mentions2  spies  and  informers, 
and  these  must  have  been  apostates,  for  they  penetrated  into 
the  religious  assemblies  of  the  faithful  and  if  the  preacher 
happened  to  mention  such  names  as  Pharao,  Holofernes,  &c., 
he  was  denounced  as  having  alluded  to  the  king,  hunted 
down  by  Genseric's  satellites,  and  sent  at  once  into  exile  or 
sold  into  slavery.  Victor  gives  a  list  of  bishops  who  were 
seized  in  this  way,  among  them  one  named  Crescens  who 
was  Metropolitan  over  one  hundred  and  twenty  bishops. 
Kuinart  remarks  in  a  note  that  this  word  Metropolitan 
was  unusual  in  Africa.  Besides  the  Bishop  of  Carthage,  who 


r  The  Vandals  were  not  a  numerous  race ;  Salvian  (-De  Gubcrnationc  I>ei, 
i.  7.),  thinks  they  were  the  least  of  all  the  barbarian  races  of  the  time.  Yet, 
by  the  mere  terror  of  their  name,  they  made  the  greatest  conquests  of  all. 
Genseric  ruled  over  Africa,  Sardinia,  Corsica,  Majorca,  Minorca,  and  Sicily, 
which  Odoacer  held  from  him  as  vassal.  He  had  a  strong  piratical  fleet,  manned 
by  Moors  and  desperados  of  all  nations,  with  which  he  ravaged  annually  the 
coasts  of  the  Mediterranean,  bringing  back  to  Carthage  slaves  and  treasure. 
Like  our  own  Cromwell,  he  prostituted  religion  to  his  de«igns:  when  once 
asked  by  the  pilot,  on  leaving  Carthage,  whither  he  was  to  steer  this  time,  he 
answered,  to  those  with  whom  God  is  angry.  But,  as  Gibbon  remarks,  he  took 
good  care  to  direct  him  afterwards  to  the  place  which  he  knew  from  his  spies  to 
be  richest  in  treasure  and  weakest  in  protecting  force.  On  land  he  had  always 
a  Bible  carried  before  his  standard. 

2i.  7. 


492  THE  IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

was  Primate  of  all  Africa  and  also  local  Primate  of 
Proconsularis,  there  were  five  other  provincial  primates 
called  Primas,  or  Senex  from  the  fact  that  they  succeeded 
by  seniority ;  they  had  power  to  ordain  the  bishops  of  their 
province.  Victor  thus  concludes  the  first  book  :  '  Here  ends 
our  persecution  under  Genseric  ;  so  cruel,  yet  so  sublime.' 

PHILIP  BURTON,  C.M. 


THE   'MULS'   AND    THE   *  GILS':   SOME   IRISH 
SURNAMES 

III. 

ONE  of  the  most  striking  characteristics  of  the  Irish  race 
has  always  been  a  great  veneration  and  affection  for 
those  consecrated  to  the  service  of  religion.  As  far  as  we 
can  gather  from  the  native  literature,  the  Druids  seem  to 
have  held  a  strong  position  in  the  popular  favour,  even 
though  they  spoke  of  the  world  beyond  with  no  very  certain 
voice.  Celtic  Paganism  had  lost  all  definiteness  of  teaching 
at  the  time  St.  Patrick  came  to  Ireland,  and  the  strong  con- 
trast between  the  vague,  cheerless  generalities  of  Druidic 
tradition,  and  the  definite  and  consoling  assurances  of  the 
Christian  faith  was,  no  doubt,  one  of  the  reasons  of  the 
wondarfully  rapid  conversion  of  Ireland.  We  are  not  to  be 
surprised,  therefore,  that  the  early  Christian  teachers  who 
with  St.  Patrick,  or  after  him,  taught  the  new  faith,  should 
hold  a  warm  place  in  the  hearts  of  the  nation.  We  speak 
now  of  but  one  indication  of  this,  connected  with  our  present 
subject.  It  was  very  usual  in  early  Christian  Ireland,  in 
speaking  of  the  early  missionaries,  to  add  to  the  names  of 
many  of  them  the  endearing  diminutive  terminations  -an  or 
-6c  (modern  og).1  Thus,  St.  Colurncille  is  often  found  with 

'  There  is  a  curious  and  somewhat  analogous  usage  in  English  in  such 
expletive  phrases  as  '  by'r  lakin '  =  by  our  Lady-kin  (Shakespeare),  '  ods 
bodkins'  =  by  God's  body-kins,  and  some  others  •which  I  have  not  seen  in  print, 
though  they  exist  in  our  Anglo-Irish  dialect,  such  as  '  upon  me  soiikins ' 
(alitei~)  'sukkins '  =  my  soul-kins,  and  similarly  '  fekkins '  =  faith-kins.  These 
last  examples  are  from  Meath ;  the  -kin,  -kins,  is  the  diminutive  termination 
as  in  m Minikin. 


THE  'MULS'  AND  <  GILS':  SOME  IRISH  SURNAMES     493 

the  name  Colmoc ;  hence  Staholmock,  or  '  house  of  little 
Colm.'  The  Isle  of  Rona,  north  of  the  Hebrides,  takes  its 
name  from  St.  Kona,  who  is  also  called  Ronan  and  Ronoc 
(modern  Ronog).  The  -an  form  was  easily  Latinised,  and 
so  we  usually  find  these  names  ending  in  Latin  in  -anus,  and 
in  English  (after  the  Latin)  ending  in  -an,  as  Ronan,  Colman, 
Aidan.  There  was  also  the  still  more  curious  practice  of 
prefixing  to  the  names  the  endearing  particle  mo,  my ;  thus 
'  the  church  of  (St.)  Kona  '  is  the  translation  of  the  name  of 
a  ruin  at  the  east  end  of  Loch  Lomond ;  the  name  itself  is 
Kil-ma-ron-og,  '  Church  of  my  little  Rona.'  It  is  the  same 
Rona  (venerated  at  lona  and  elsewhere  on  February  7th) 
that  Walter  Scott  alludes  to  when  he  speaks  of 

A  vot'ress  in  Maronnan's  cell 

— mo-ron-dn,  my  little  Rona. 

Some  of  our  Irish  saints  have  had  their  names  much 
disguised,  like  that  of  Rona  in  the  line  just  quoted ;  such  as 
St.  Molua,  really  moLua,  or  my  Lua,  possibly  one  of  those 
from  whom  Cill-dd-Lua  or  Killaloe  (Church  of  the  two 
Luas)  takes  its  well-known  name,  just  as  Timoleague  stands 
for  Tigh-mo-Laga,  house  of  '  my  Laga,'  usually  called 
St.  Molaga.  The  patron  saint  of  Kinsale,  in  English  called 
Multose,  is  in  Gaelic2  mo-Elte-og,  my  little  Elte,  a  pupil  of 
St.  Barre  of  Cork.  Portmarnock,  Kilmarnock,  Inchmarnock, 
contain  another  well-disguised  name,  for  those  places  are  the 
'  landing-place,'  '  cell,'  and  'island,'  respectively,  of  m"  Ern-uc, 
my  little  Erna,  the  same  St.  Erna  who  was  with  Columba  in 
Clonmacnoise.  He  is,  perhaps,  better  known  by  the  other 
diminutive  form  of  his  name,  Ernan.  Hence  comes  the 
surnames  MacAlearney,  MacLerney,  MacLarney,  Millarney 
(=  o'  Maoil-Erna,  if  not  merely  a  rapid  pronunciation  of 
MacLarney),  MacAlernon,  MacLernon,  MacClernand,  Mac- 
Lorinan;  all  meaning  d.s.  of  St.  Ernan,  whose  feast  day  is 
August  18th. 

We  may  take  it  that  a  name  of  this  class  was  the  origin 
of  the  Latin  Columbanus,  the  Irish  Colman  being  a  very 

2  So  I  am  informed  by  Father  Lyons,  P.P.,  Kilmichael. 


494  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

common  name  at  all  times,  and  used  to  the  present  day.1 
Several  of  these  names  are  given  in  a  quatrain  quoted  in  the 
old  Martyrology  of  Donegal : — 

Mo-Lua  ba  hanamchara  do  Dabid 

Dar  muir  modh-mall, 
Is  dom  Aedhog,  is  dom  Chaemog, 

Is  do  Chomgall. 

'  My-Lua  was  soul-friend  (=  spiritual  director)  to  David  over 
the  slow-rolling  sea  (i.e.,  in  Wales),  and  to  my-little-Aedh,  and 
to  my-little-Caem  (Kevin),  and  to  Congal.' 

This  quatrain  refers  to  the  time  when  there  was  constant 
and  friendly  communication  between  the  schools  and 
churches  of  Ireland  and  the  Welsh  and  English  coasts,  when 
Welsh  students  came  to  study  in  the  Irish  colleges,  and 
brought  back  with  them  to  Wales  many  Irish  traditions 
that  can  still  be  recognised  in  Welsh  literature.  This  was 
the  time  when  Alfred,  a  student  in  Ireland,  laid  the  founda- 
tions of  that  love  for  learning  which  afterwards  caused  him 
to  solicit  the  aid  of  his  former  Irish  professors  in  founding 
the  first  University  of  Oxford.  The  quatrain  also  contains 
the  name  of  one  of  our  saints,  a  name  disguised  more  effec- 
tually than  any  other,  that  of  St.  Aedh,  if  we  may  venture 
to  call  him  so.  Aedh  is  really  his  name.  It  is  one  of  the 
commonest  Irish  names,  and  is  now  represented  in  English 
by  Hugh,  a  name  with  which  it  has  no  connection  whatever. 
The  saint,  however,  is  never  known  by  his  mere  name  Aedh, 
but  is  called  either  Aedhan,  little  Aedh,  or  m'Aedh-6g  (pro- 
nounced mayogue) ,  literally  '  my  little  Aedh.'  The  former 
form  is  in  English  Aidan,  the  latter  Mogue.  The  saint  is 
generally  known  by  the  name  Aidan,  and  is  the  patron  of  the 
diocese  of  Ferns,  in  which  Aidan  and  Mogue  are  both  used 
as  baptismal  names.  In  a  sense,  Aidan  and  Mogue  are  the 
same  name ;  they  mean  practically  the  same  thing,  although 

i  It  is  curious  to  note  how  at  present  people  called  in  Gaelic  Colum  are 
named  Colman  in  English.  The  name  Colman  in  this  place  calls  to  mind  the 
theory — which  has  the  merit  of  novelty  at  least— that  the  name  Columbanus, 
derived  from  an  Irish  Colman,  gave  rise  to  a  South-European  family  name 
Colombo  or  Columbus,  one  of  which  family  discovered  a  new  world,  known 
later  as  Columbia.  Perhaps  it  is  needless  to  add  that  the  author  of  the  theory- 
hails  from  the  country  in  question, 


THE  'MULS'  AND  'GILS':  SOME  IRISH  SURNAMES    495 

differing  so  very  much  in  appearance.  The  records  of  the 
Registrar-General  in  Dublin  bear  witness  to  the  fact  that 
many  people  called  Mogue,  in  familiar  and  ordinary  life, 
insist  on  writing  themselves  down  as  Moses.  But  do  not 
both  words  begin  with  Mo-?  and  is  not  that  sufficient 
reason  for  getting  rid  of  an  old  Irish  name,  in  times  when 
Anglicization  is  fashionable — although  this  particular  case 
is  rather  one  of  Judaization? 

St.  Aidan,  or  Mogue,  was  much  honoured  in  early 
Ireland  and  Scotland.  In  the  latter  country  he  is  found 
venerated  at  Kilmaddock,  in  Perthshire,  and  his  name  in 
the  form  Maddock  (Scott  refers  to  him  as  St.  Maddox)  is 
familiar  to  students  of  Scottish  archaeology.  As  we  might 
expect  '  servant  of  Mogue '  was  a  popular  name ;  we  read  of 
one  who  was  '  Abbot  of  Armagh '  in  1136.  This  was  the 
friend  of  St.  Bernard,  whose  Gaelic  name  Mael-mhaodhog, 
or  servant  of  Mogue,  is  Latinised  Malachy  (O'Morgair). 
The  surname  directly  descended  from  this  name  is  rarely 
met  with  now-a-days  in  its  proper  form,  Mullavogue  or 
Mullawogue,  most  bearers  of  the  name  having  taken  the 
name  Molloy,  as  less  jarring  on  English  ears.  This  also 
accounts  for  the  fact  that  in  Donegal,  at  least  around 
Killybegs  and  Glencolumcille  (so  far  as  I  can  learn  from 
Mr.  J.  C.  Ward  and  Mr.  Patrick  O'Byrne)  the  English 
name  Mulloy  is  used  by  families  called  in  Gaelic  O'Ludhog, 
the  usual  English  of  which  is  Logue.  Evidently  this  Gaelic 
name  is  but  part  of  the  full  O'Maolmhaodhog,  d.s.  of  Aidan, 
just  as  Lally  is  but  a  shortened  form  of  Mulally.  O'Ludhog 
represents  fairly  well  the  Ulster  sound  of  the  Gaelic  name, 
after  the  mao  of  the  prefix  has  been  dropped.  In  Westmeath 
the  Leinster  pronunciation  of  the  same  ending  is  well  repre- 
sented by  the  local  surname  Leeogue,  which,  like  Logue, 
also  means  d.s.  of  Aidan.1  So  that  the  primatial  see  of 
Armagh,  adorned  centuries  ago  by  a  '  servant  of  Aidan,'  is 
once  more  filled  by  an  eminent  inheritor  of  the  same 

1  What  then  accounts  for  the  other  Gaelic  form  of  Logue,  O'Loig  ?  I 
believe  it  is  a  recent  formation  taken  from  the  English  form  itself.  A  real 
Gaelic  name  would  not  end  in  -oig,  even  in  the  genitive,  as  the  -6g  termina- 
tion, in  such  names  as  Maedhog,  was  invariable  in  all  cases, 


496  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

title.  The  Gil-  form  with  the  same  meaning  is  MacGiolla 
Mhaodhog,  now  MacElvogue.  Boolevogue  also  seems  to 
have  taken  its  name  from  the  saint. 

One  of  the  great  Irish  school-founders  was  St.  Carthage, 
who  first  conducted  the  great  school  of  Eahan,  and  after- 
wards, when  obliged  to  abandon  Rahan,  founded  Lismore. 
This  saint  has  two  names ;  in  Gaelic  he  is  usually  called 
Mochuda  and  his  English  name,  borrowed  from  the  Latin 
form  Carthagus,1  is  founded  on  his  other  Gaelic  name, 
Carthach.  Mochuda  ( =  mo-Chuda  =  my  Cuda)  may  have 
been  his  personal  name,  and  Carthach,  or  Carthy,  the  name 
of  his  clan.  Hence  the  surname  MacGillicuddy,  d.s.  of 
St.  Mochuda.  Other  forms  are  MacElcuddy,  MacElhuddy 
(Huddy  ?),  and,  apparently,  MacElligott. 

Another  name  with  the  diminutive  terminations  -an  and 
-6g  is  that  of  St.  Fintan ;  at  least  it  seems  to  me  that  the 
surnames  MacAlinden,  McClinton,  McClintock,  are  Mac- 
Fialla-Fhionntain,  Fhionntog,1  d.s.  of  Fintan.  Fintan  is  one 
of  the  few  ancient  names  still  in  use  as  a  baptismal  name. 

St.  Fintan  is  one  of  the  many  saints  who,  like  Columba, 
Fillan,  Erna,  Mogue,  were  venerated  in  both  Scotland  and 
Ireland.  There  were  many  bonds  of  union  between  Ireland 
and  the  highlands ;  the  people  were  of  the  same  race,  they 
spoke  the  same  language ;  had  the  same  traditional  literature ; 
forages  they  professed  the  same  faith,  and  venerated  the 
same  patrons,  Patrick,  Brigid,  and  Columba,  being  the  chief 
in  both  countries.  And,  although,  for  many  centuries  there 
has  been  no  active  intercourse  between  the  Gaels  of 
Scotland  and  those  of  Ireland,  and  although  the  two 
countries  have  been  influenced  in  very  different  ways,  still 
we  find  many  traces  of  old  times  in  the  language  and 
customs  of  Scotland.  The  Scotch-Gaelic  forms  of  the 
surnames  are  the  same  as  ours,  except  that  they  write 
Macllle  phonetically,  instead  of  MacGiolla.  In  some 
localities  of  Ireland  a  ciolla  would  be  the  phonetic  form,  as 


iNot  Carthage,  although  I  have  heard  et  intercede/lie  beato  Cavtliagine  sung 
at  a  solemn  function. 

.    2  Professor  MacKinnon  Trrites  the  name  Mac  Ille  Fhionntaig.      In  Irish- 
Gaelic  we  do  not  change  the  6c,  off,  termination. 


THE  'NTULS'  AND  'GILS':  SOWfE  IRISH  SURNAMES     497 

a  ciolla-mhaire ,  Gilmor.  This  Gaelic  name  is  used  in  the 
Highlands  and  is  often  translated  Morrison.  The  Scotch 
have  few  Mul  names,  MacMillan,  Mellis  (for  Maelisa, 
according  to  Mr.Flannery),  and  Maolmoire,  servant  of  Mar)T, 
which  we  shorten  too  much,  to  Maoilre.  One  name  i 
curiously  misspelled  by  our  Highland  cousins  :  Macllleathar, 
properly  Mac  Ille  Eain,  our  Mac  Giolla  Eoin,  d.s.  of  St.  John 

There  is  at  least  one  Highland  saint  who  has  left  his 
memory  in  two  surnames,  St.  Cattan  of  Kilchattan — there 
are  three  places  of  the  name,  in  Argyle,  Bute,  and  Colonsay 
— as  recalled  by  the  surnames  Mulhatton  and  MacElhatton, 
d.s.  of  St.  Cattan.  The  saint  was  probably  one  of  the  Clann 
Chattan  of  Caithness,  of  whom  Scott  writes  in  the  Fair  Maid 
of  Perth.  The  adjectival  form  Cattanach  is  used  as  a 
surname  in  Scotland, 

Here  we  may  give  a  few  names  omitted  from  the  first 
part  of  this  paper.  St.  Senach  has  left  us  MacElhenney, 
McAlinnay,  Gilheany,  Mcllhaney,  McEllany.  MacElkenny, 
another  form  of  Kilkenny,  already  given.  Maelmochta,  client 
of  St.  Mochta,  of  Louth,  is  now  represented  by  Moughty, 
a  rare  name  (Westmeath) ;  Kilcnllen,  like  the  place- 
name  similarly  spelled,  indicate  a  St.  Cullen,  there  is 
one  of  the  name  in  O'Gorman — Macllhargy  seems  to  be 
d.s.  of  St.  Eorga,  of  Killargy  or  Killargue;  and  the  Antrim 
Macllhagga  is  either  the  same  name  or  a  form  of  Macllharry 
already  mentioned.  Mulvennon,  at  first  sight,  would  seem 
to  be  d.s.  of  St.Benen  or  Benignus,  one  of  St.  Patrick's 
converts,  and  afterwards  his  constant  companion ;  but  I 
am  told  that  in  Gal  way  the  form  Mulvrennan  is  heard  :  in 
that  case  the  meaning  is  d.s.  of  St.  Brendan.  As  we  have 
seen,  Mulrennin  is  another  form,  and  still  another  is 
Mulreany.  This  last  form  is  misleading,  although  it  is  now, 
perhaps,  the  form  in  most  general  use  in  English,  the  Gaelic 
form  used  by  the  same  persons  being  O'Maoilreanail  (for 
-reanain). 

We  cannot  always  translate  the  Mul  prefix  by  the  same 
English  word.  When  it  is  followed  by  a  saint's  name, 

1  Compare  Dingle  from  Gaelic  Daingoan,  and  Bandanil  for  Baldwin  iq 
Finghin  O'Mahony's  loth  century  translation  of  MjiuudeviUe, 

VOL    111.  2   I 


498  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

'  servant  of '  or  '  client  of  is  a  good  translation  ;  but  there 
are  some  names  in  which  '  one  who  loves,'  'one  zealous  for 
or  anxious  for '  will  better  represent  the  meaning.  Such  a 
name  was  Maeldomhnaigh,  'one  who  loves  the  church,'1 
giving  our  modern  surnames  Muldowney,  Mullowney, 
Moloney,  and  similarly  MacEldowney,  Gildowney,  Downey, 
all  meaning  '  descendant  of  one  who  loves  the  church.' 
Compare  Colum  Cille,  '  Colurn  who  loves  the  church,  cell,' 
and  the  obsolete  Maeldithraibh,  '  one  who  loves  the 
hermitage.'  There  were  many  beautiful  names  of  this  class 
in  ancient  Erin,  such  as  Maelaithgin,  '  one  anxious  for 
regeneration,'  Maelbeannachta,  'one  anxious  for  blessings,' 
Maelbeatha,  '  one  anxious  for  (eternal)  life.'  This  last  name 
is  given  as  the  proper  title  of  Shakespeare's  Macbeth,  whose 
more  familiar  name  is  equivalent  to  'son  of  life,'  a  usual 
phrase  for  a  converted  person,  believer.  There  was  also 
mac  bnis,  '  son  of  death,'  a  reprobate.  Macbeth  is  still  in  use 
as  a  surname,  with  the  alternative  for  us,  McBeith,  McAbee, 
MacVeigh,  McAvay.  Maeldeoraidli,  '  servant  of  the  stranger, 
pilgrim,'  is  the  original  of  Muldarry,  Mulderry  ;  we  have  also 
Macllderry.  Gillespie  is  servant  of  the  bishop.  Used  as  a 
Christian  name,  it  is  translated  Archibald,  in  Scotland. 
Maeltola, '  one  devoted  to  the  will  (of  God),'  was  a  common 
name,  and  perhaps  some  who  now  bear  the  name  Tully  may 
be  descended  from  an  ancestor  of  this  title. 

Here  end  the  surnames  connected  with  religion,  with 
the  exception  of  those  about  which  there  is  more  or  less 
doubt,  and  which  we  discuss  further  on. 

IV. 

We  turn  now  to  another  class  of  names  in  Mul  and  Gil. 
In  this  class  there  are  two  groups ;  Molloy  and  Mulconry 
will  serve  as  types,  with  forms  in  Gil  to  correspond.  In  the 
Molloy  group  the  prefix  is  followed  by  an  adjective  or  its 
equivalent ;  in  the  Mulconry  group  the  second  element  is  a 
proper  name. 

* Doinhnach ,  church,  from  Latin  domiaiea  (domus),  also  means  a  shrinr.  Al><> 
means  Sunday,  doiniirica  (dies).  Maoldonaich  is  yet  used  in  Scotland  as  a 
Christian  name,  and  for  some  reason  unknown  to  me  is  translated  Ludovic. 


THE  'MULS>  AND  'GILS':  SOME  IRISH  SURNAMES 

Molloy  (Mulloy,  Milloy,  Meloy— all  these  forms  are 
met  with,  the  last  two,  at  least,  in  the  United  States)  is  a 
type  of  the  oldest  surnames  in  Mul.  Most  of  the  names 
of  this  class  have  disappeared  within  English-speaking  times. 
Here  the  Mul  prefix  has  its  original  meaning  of  hero, 
chieftain  ;  thus  mael-muaidh,  noble  chieftain,  gave  the  sur- 
name O'Maoil-mhuaidh,  O'Molloy,  d.s.  of  the  noble  chieftain. 
Compare  the  name  of  the  river  Moy,  '  the  noble  '  river. 

Mael-ftibhaill  was  an  old  Gaelic  name,  meaning  apparently 
'  one  fond  of  travel,'  from  fabhall,  journey.  It  seems  that 
the  name  used  to  be  duplicized  Mulfavill,  and  the  form 
Mulavill  is  yet  used  about  Gort.  But  in  most  of  Galway 
and  Mayo,  where  the  name  is  quite  common,  the  last  two 
syllables  are  so  manipulated  as  to  produce  the  French-looking 
name  Lavelle.  Probably  some  persons  educated  in  France, 
and  ignorant  of  the  true  origin  of  the  name,  gave  the  lead  in 
the  use  of  this  form.  There  is  on  record  an  instance  where  a 
priest,  in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  caused  the  disappearance 
upon  a  whole  district  of  an  old  Gaelic  name  by  always  sub- 
stituting a  more  modern  name  for  the  old  ones  when  proposed 
at  the  baptism  of  children.  Let  us  see  now  if  something 
can  be  done  to  re-introduce  the  old  names,  Colum,  Ita, 
Finian,  and  the  like,  in  the  districts  specially  connected  with 
their  names. 

Mullanphey,  Melanophy  is  a  name  more  generally  known 
in  the  United  States,  owing  to  the  great  Mullanphey  Hospital 
of  Saint  Louis,  than  at  home  in  Ireland.  We  find  the  name 
occurring  in  Tyrconnell,  early  in  the  seventh  century, 
Mael-anfaidh,  chief  of  the  tempest,  or  tempestuous  person. 
Compare  the  surname  Mulgeehy,  also  from  Donegal,  chief  of 
storm,  stormy  person.  It  seems  that  some  families  have 
abandoned  the  name  for  that  of  Magee — thus  the  old  name 
gradually  disappears,1  and  there  are  cases  where  it  has  been 
translated  by  Wynne,  Mael-gaoithe  :  gaoth=vtiud=win'  in 
Anglo-Irish  =  Wynne.  In  these  names  we  see  how  the  Mul 

1  Immigrants  of  the  lost  century  to  New  England  bore  the  old  forms  of  these 
names,  and  then,  living  among  a  Puritan  population,  landed  on  the  Irish 
surname  to  some  descendant  with  an  old  Testament-given  name  ;  thus  I  find  an 
article  by  one  "  Micaja  McGehee,"  in  the  1891  Toltuneof  the  Century  Magazine. 


500  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

prefix  gradually  loses  its  original  meaning  of  '  chief,  hero,' 
for  the  less  uncommon  one  of  '  person,'  '  man  of,'  the  same 
meaning  that  we  find  attaching  to  the  Gil  prefix  in 
MacElhoney,  Mcllhune,  Macllhone,  MacElhone,  MacAloney 
all  for — Macgiolla-O'-chonnaidh,  the  man  of  the  wood,  fuel. 
Of  similar  import  are  Killemet,  Killemeade,  the  man  of  the 
wood,  timber  (adhmad),  and  MacElhoyle,  MacElhill,  the 
man  of  the  wood,  forest  (coill).  All  these  names  are  duly 
translated  by  'Woods.'  MacAlivery  (and  probably  the  Islay 
name  MacLiver,  which  Professor  MacKinnon  tells  me  of;> 
represents  descendant  of  the  man  of  winter  (geimhreadh), 
and  is  accordingly  translated  Winters.  It  may  thus  be 
compared  with  the  old  Gaelic  name  Maelniithimh,  person 
dedicated  to  June,  on  account  of  some  connection  with 
that  month. 

The  name  Mulmoghery,  '  one  fond  of  early  rising,'  has 
entirely  disappeared,  being  replaced  by  the  translation 
Early.  We  find  many  recorded  examples  of  this  name 
in  the  annals,  such  as  a  '  bursar  of  Clonmacnoise,'  in  the 
tenth  century,  and  a  '  lecturer  at  Clonard,'  in  the  eleventh. 
Mac-giolla-meidhre  has  given  us  the  equivalent  name 
Merryman.  Another  name  which  has  practically  disap- 
peared is  O'Maoltuille  (O'M.  alias  Fludd,'  in  the  Elizabethan 
records  quoted  below),  now  used  only  near  Ballinrobe  in 
the  form  MacAtilla,  but  usually  translated  Flood.  The 
Galway  Gaelic  form  has  tuinne,  genitive  of  tonn,  wave, 
instead  of  tuille,  and  perhaps  this  is  the  origin  of  the 
surname  Tunney.  It  is  probable,  indeed  it  is  positively 
stated  by  some  families,  that  some  of  the  present  Tullys 
are  in  reality  Multullys.  It  is  not  unlikely,  also,  that 
O'Maoltuille  in  many,  or  possibly  in  all  cases,  represents  the 
old  common  name  Maeltola,  or  Maeltoile,  '  one  zealous  for 
the  will  (of  God),'  people  having  substituted  the  better- 
known  word  tuille,  flood,  tide,  for  the  genitive  of  toil,  will. 
Another  instance  of  substitution  is  offered  by  the  history  of 
the  old  Gaelic  name  Maelmor,  great  hero,  often  translated 
Malmore.  Eeligious  influences  caused  this  name  to  give 

1  Silva  Gadelica,  ii.  574. 


THE  '  MULS '  AND  ' GILS > :  SOME  IRISH  SURNAMES     501 

way  to  Maelmuire,  servant  of  Mary,  translated  Mulmorie  in 
Elizabethan  records,  and  in  later  times  represented  by 
Meyler.  Later  Norman  influences  introduced  the  present 
translation  Miles. 

Our  next  names  are  those  in  which  the  Mul  or  Gil 
prefix  is  followed  by  a  proper  name,  such  as  Mul-conry, 
Mul-ryan.  If  a  man  attached  himself  to  the  service  of 
another,  he  would  naturally  be  called  'follower  of  that 
other,  and  this  is  expressed  by  the  prefix ;  Mulconry 
Mulryan,  therefore,  meant  '  follower  of  Curio '  (genitive 
Conroi)  '  follower  of  Ryan.'  So  that  from  some  mediaeval 
personal  names  we  have,  not  only  surnames  in  0  and  Mac, 
but  others  in  O'Mul  and  Machl.  Mulrine  is  another  spelling 
of  Mulryan  ;  and  some  families,  now  known  as  O'Ryan, 
Ryan,  are  really  Mulryans,  and  are  so  called  in  Irish. 

Mulready,  Murready,  Mulreed  come  from  the  same 
original  Riada  as  the  names  Macready  (=  MacRiada), 
Ready.  Mulrooney,  Marooney,  Moroney  are  descendant  of 
the  follower  of  some  Ruanaoh,  or  Rooney,  whose  own  name 
meant  '  hero.'  Mulcahy  is  des.  of  foil,  of  Cathach,  whose 
name  means  '  the  warlike.'  From  some  one  of  the  name  the 
island  of  Iniscathaigh  or  Inniscattery  is  called.  '  Follower 
of  Miadhach  (the  honourable  one) '  is  the  translation  of 
Mulvey.  Mulcreavy  seems  to  be  Maol-mhic-Biabhaigh, 
follower  of  MacCreavy,  M'Greavy,  a  name  equivalent  to 
'  descendant  or  the  gray  man.'  Mulcreavy  is  sometimes 
translated  by  Rice,  possibly  because  the  two  names,  Rice 
and  Riabhach,  begin  with  the  same  syllable  !  Kilcawley, 
Gilkawley,  is  apparently  Giolla-mhic-Amhlaibh ,  follower  of 
MacAuliffe,  Kilgannon,  follower  of  Geanan  or  Gannon,  a 
familiar  name.  Mulcrowney,  a  rare  name,  stands  for  Maol- 
congamhna,  contracted  to  Maol-criamhna.  Mac-Congamhna, 
is  the  present  Mayo  Gaelic  form  of  the  old  tribe-name  of 
the  Cinel  Cinngamhna.  The  name  is  now  '  translated '  by 
Caulfield;  this  translation  resulting  from  a  curious  and 
characteristic  popular  equation :  Caulfield  =  Calf-head 
=  Cinngamhna!  Thus  English  names  find  a  footing.  So, 
Lestrange  is  regarded  by  the  few  people  who  speak  Irish 
in  County  Meath,  as  a  translation  of  Coffey  (as  if  from 


502  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

coimhthidheach,  a  stranger).  Mulcrowney  is  also  con- 
nected with  the  name  of  the  present  writer,  and  has  for 
him,  at  least,  a  special  interest.1 

Mulroy,  Kilroy,  MacElroy  are  types  of  another  class  of 
names,  in  which  the  prefix  is  followed  by  an  adjective, 
usually  one  denoting  the  colour  of  the  hair.  In  such 
names  we  may  take  Mul  to  represent  the  Gaelic  maol,  skull, 
a  noun  from  maol,  bald.2 

It  would  matter  little  what  the  origin  of  the  Mul 
prefix  is  in  these  names,  as  Mulroy  would  be  either 
'  descendant  of  red-skull,'  or  '  descendant  of  the  red  (haired) 
individual;'  the  idea  conveyed  is  much  the  same.  There 
is  no  difficulty  about  the  Gil  prefix ;  here,  as  before,  it 
means  'person,'  or,  as  our  philological  friends  are  fond 
of  translating  it,  '  wight,  '  carle.' 

The  surnames  can  be  most  easily  classified  after  the 
adjectives  from  which  they  are  derived.  Thus  Dubh,  black, 
gives  Maliffe,  MacElduff,  Kilduff— descendant  of  black- 
haired  person.  Ban,  white-haired,  gives  Macllwaine,  Gil- 
bane,  Gillivan.  Mulvane  I  have  met  once  with  the  very 
unlrish  praenomen  Phineas — the  bearer  was  evidently  a 
descendant  of  an  early  immigrant  among  the  Puritans  of 
New  England.  Ruadh,  red-haired,  gives  Mulroy,  Milroy, 
Mulroe,  MacElroy,  Kilroy,  Gilroy,  MacElroe,  all  meaning 
descendants  of  a  red-haired  person. 


1  Relative?  of  mine,  of  the  last  generation,  used,  in  writing  only,  the  name 
Gaffney,  as  if  their  usual  name  was  but  a  form  of  O'Gomhna  or  MacGamhna. 
This   tradition   leaves  the  r  unexplained.     On    the   other  hand,  an  old  Irish- 
speaking  neighbour  of  ours  insisted  that  the  name  was  '  the  Irish  of;  Caulfield, ' 
a  statement  I  could  not  understand   until  recently.      The   original   is    Mac- 
Cungamhna,  shortened  to  MacCYi'amhna,  Magramhna.     Compare  the  colloquial 
Gaelic  O'Connach  for  MacDonough. 

2  It  is  the  theory  of  some  that  this  word   maol  is  the  original  form  of  the 
Mul  prefix,  not  only  in  ths  class  of  names,  but  wherever  the  prefix  is  followed 
by  the   name  of  a  person  or  thing  connected  with  religion,  the  word  passing 
from  its  natural  sense  of  '  bald '  to  mean  '  tonsured,'  and  then  coming  to  mean 
'a  cleric,'  'priest,'  '  one  consecrated  to, '  'one  devoted  to.'    Others  regard  the 
Mul  prefix,  except  in  the  class  of  names  we  are    about  to  consider,  as   niael, 
in  its  various  senses  from  '  hero  '  to  '  slave.'     Hence  we  findMaelthain  O' Carrol, 
the  aumcfiara,  soul-friend  or  director  of  Brian  Born,  rendering  his  name  in  Latin 
by  Cairns  perennus,  while  a  distinguished  French  Celtologue  translates  it '  esclace 
tie  VEternel.'     It  seems  to   me   that  the   first  translation  is  too   literal  to  be 
intelligible  ;  taking  the  name  as  one  given  for  religious  motives  the  meaning 
seems  to  be  '  constant  client  or  votary,'  or,  better  still,  '  a  priest  for  ever.' 


THE  <  MULS '  AND  4  GILS ' :  SOME  IRISH  SURNAMES    503 

There  is  also  the  Mulroy  Bay  in  Donegal,  taking  its  name 
from  St.  Maelrabha,  from  whom  is  called  also  Loch  Maree 
in  the  north  of  Scotland.  I  have  noticed  a  surname  Maree 
in  Mayo,  and  it  also  may  be  from  Maelrubha,  who  was 
greatly  honoured  in  early  Christian  times.  He  is  mentioned 
by  the  Four  Masters,  under  date  of  G71,  as  '  Abbot  of 
Bangor  in  Ulster,  and  of  Abercrossan  in  Alba.' 

From  buidhe,  yellow,  come  MacElwee,  Kilboy,  MacEvoy 
Odhar,  dun-coloured,  gives  us  MacAleer,  MacLear,  MacAlery. 
Cr6n,  brown,  liath,  grey,  and  laclitna,  greyish  or  drab,  give 
Mulchrone  (Mayo),  Killilea,  and  Mulloughney,  unless  this 
last  is  d.s.  of  St.  Fachtna,  patron  of  Koss,  as  it  may  well  be, 
for  all  the  guidance  the  sound  gives. 

Riabhach  means  literally  striped,  brindled,  but  is  used 
for  'iron-grey.'  It  gives  Mulreavy,  Milreavy,  Mulleavy, 
Leavy,  MacGillreavy,  and  probably  MacAleavey,  descendants 
of  the  grey-haired  man.  Maol,  bald,  gives  MacElmoyle, 
MacElmeel,  MacMeel.  Kildunn  (Mayo)  is  from  donn, 
brown-haired.  Mulgrew,  Magrew,  and  probably  Kilgarriff, 
certainly  come  from  garbh,  coarse,  as  MacElveen,  descen- 
dant of  the  smooth  or  sly  person,  is  from  min,  smooth. 
Kilgar,  Gilgar,  a  Donegal  name,  is  from  gearr,  short. 

The  great  majority  of  our  Whites,  Blacks,  Grays,  &c., 
belong  to  this  class,  the  English  names  being  translated 
from  the  Irish.  In  1465,  by  an  Act  of  Edward  IV.  of 
England,  it  was  decreed  'that  every  Irishman  ...  in 
the  County  of  Dublin,  Meath,  Uriell,  and  Kildare  .  .  . 
.  .  .  shall  take  to  him  an  English  surname  of  one  town 
...  or  colour,  white,  blacke,  browne  .  .  . ! '  And 
even  at  the  present  day,  according  to  the  records  of  the 
Registrar-General,  there  are  instances  of  families  having  two 
surnames,  one  the  English,  'and  the  other  the  Irish  word  for 
the  same  colour.  Thus,  according  to  the  records  of  the 
Registrar's  office,  there  are  families  that  go  by  the  two  names 
of  Gormley  and  Bloomer  (gonn  =  blue) ;  others  that  have 
the  two  names,  M'Glashan  and  Green  (glas  =  green);  others 
again  are  called  both  Colreavy  and  Gray  (riabhach,  gray). 
The  word  maol,  bald,  gives  the  noun  maoldn,  a  bald  head. 
From  this  come  MacMullan,  MacMillan,  also  O'Mullen, 


504  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

Moylan.  The  Mulligans,  Milligans,  are  descendants  of  a 
person  whose  name,  maolagan,  means  simply  little  bald 
man.  O'Maolagain  is  represented  in  parts  of  Donegal  at 
least  by  '  Molyneux.' 

McGillan,  Gillan,  Gilligan,  Gilgan,  MacElligon  (U.S.), 
are  all  from  the  diminutives  of  giolla,  and  mean  descendant 
of  the  little  fellow. 

The  prefix  MacGiolla,  as  used  in  the  various  classes  of 
names  which  we  have  reviewed,  is  often  used  by  itself  as 
a  surname,  just  as  Mack  is  used  as  the  surname  of  some 
families,  the  name  of  the  ancestor  having  fallen  off. 
MacGiolla  thus  used  is  represented  in  English  by  McGill, 
Magill,  Gill,  and  Mackle. 

V. 

Up  to  this  point  we  have  been  discussing  surnames,  the 
explanation  of  which  may  be  regarded  as  fairly  certain  ;  but 
we  cannot  be  surprised  to  find  that  there  are  other  names 
about  the  meaning  of  which  there  is  more  or  less  doubt. 
The  study  of  the  native  annals,  and  of  the  literature  gene- 
rally, will  probably  bring  to  light  the  original  forms  of  these 
names  ;  for  the  modern  English  spelling  is  often  not  only 
not  a  help  in  that  direction,  but  is  positively  mislead- 
ing. Then,  again,  we  are  not  always  able  to  translate  the 
original  name,  even  when  we  have  it  before  us,  as  the  study 
of  ancient  Irish  has  not  yet  ascertained  the  meaning  of  all 
old  words.  I  shall,  at  least,  endeavour  to  classify  the  names 
which  I  cannot  explain.  To  summarize  all  that  has  been 
said  up  to  this,  the  surnames  fall  into  the  following 
classes  : — 

1.  Those  in  which  the  prefix  is  folio  vved  by  the  name  of 
a  person  or  thing  connected  with  religion — typical  names 
are  Malone,  Mallowney,  Maglone,  and  MacEldowney. 

2.  Those  in  which  Mul  has  its  various  stages  of  meaning, 
from  '  hero,  chief,'  as  in  Molloy,  down  to  '  person ' — with 
Gil  also  meaning  '  person,'  as  in  MacElhill. 

3.  Those  like  Mulconry,  Mulryan,  Kilgannon,  in  which 
the  second  element  is  a  personal  name,  and  the  prefixes 
mean  '  follower  of,' 


THE  'MULS'  AND  < GILS':  SOME  IRISH  SURNAMES    505 

4.  Those    like    Mulroy,  Kilroy,  MacElroy,  where    the 
prefixes  are  followed  by  an    adjective   describing  personal 
appearance. 

5.  Diminutives  like  Mulligan,  Gilligan. 
Mulloughney  (Class  1  or  4)  is  a  Tipperary  name.     The 

Registrar's  report  gives  it  as  a  synonym  of  Moloney ;  but 
this  is  surely  wrong,  as.  the  gh  represents,  I  take  it,  a 
guttural  sound.  It  is  probably  mael-laclitna ,  grey-headed 
person,  or  mael-Fhaclitna,  servant  of  St.  Fhachtna,  of 
Boss.  Loughney  seems  to  be  a  shortened  form — compare 
Lally  for  Mullally.  Possibly  Loughrey  may  be  but  another 
form  of  the  same  name. 

Kilcar  occurs  as  a  surname  in  West  Mayo ;  it  is  pro- 
bably d.s.  of  St.  Gilla  Carthach,  from  whom  Kilcar,  in 
Donegal,  takes  its  name. 

Kilrane  may  be  descendant  of  the  follower  of  Ryan 
(compare  the  spelling  Mulrean,  Mulrane,  for  Mulryan), 
or  it  may  contain  the  name  of  a  minor  saint,  such  as  the 
patron  of  Cill-Riain  or  Cill-Rioghain,  Kilrane,  in  Donegal, 
or  Cill-Raighne,  near  Kinnegad. 

Mulhall  is  probably  0' MaoilfhabhaiU , '  descendant  of  the 
traveller,'  a  name  already  mentioned.  '  Descendant  of  the 
follower  of  Cahill '  is  a  less  likely  interpretation,  as  the 
form  Mulcahill  would,  I  think,  have  been  preserved  had 
this  been  the  meaning. 

Mulleady,  Meleady,  Meledy,  are  forms  of  frequent 
occurrence.  Can  we  see  in  this  a  name  of  the  first 
class,  O'Maoil-Ida,  d.s.  of  St.  Ita  (of  Limerick — compare 
Killeedy),  Cill-Ide,  Church  of  Ita  ?  I  am  afraid  this  inter- 
pretation is  not  well  authorized,  and  that  we  must  see  in 
these  names  the  modern  representatives  of  the  annalists. 

Mael-eitigh,  exactly  equivalent  to  Cinneitigh,  Kennedy. 
The  translation,  '  Ugly-head,'  is  not  very  flattering ;  but  it 
will  be  consoling  to  reflect  that  those  who  originally  deserved 
these  names  are  dead  many  centuries. 

Mael-caere  occurs  in  the  Four  Masters,  and  is  now 
represented  by  Mulcaire  and  Wilhere  (=  ui  mliaoil-cliaere). 
The  meaning  is,  apparently,  servant  of  Caere  (Class  3). 
Perhaps  this  Caere  is  the  original  of  the  present  name  Carr, 


506  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

Kerr.  The  name  seems  to  have  come  to  us  from  Scotland, 
where  the  famous  Carr,  Carrach,  are  used,  leading  to  the 
English  Carr.  Some  branches  of  the  family,  however,  claim 
the  Gaelic  name  Cearr,  left-handed,  and  have  a  tradition, 
that  endeavours  to  justify  the  name.  This  form  would  give 
Kerr  in  English,  and  is  the  form  used  in  Donegal,  where 
the  Carrs  are  called  Mac-giolla-cheairr,  d.s.  of  the  left- 
handed  person.  There  is  also  an  English  MacElhair 
coming  from  this  Gaelic  form.  The  Gaelic  form  used  about 
Galway  is  Mac-giolla-Chearra.  Is  the  Mayo  name  Morcarey 
connected  ? 

MacElmeel  most  probably  belongs  to  Class  4,  and  means 
'  descendant  of  the  bald  person.'  There  is  not  much  proba- 
bility that  it  contains  the  name  of  St.  Michael ;  the  name 
formerly  written  MacGillmichael  seems  to  have  died  out. 
MacMeel  has  lost  the  I  sound  of  the  giolla  prefix — just 
as  MacEvoy  has  lost  it.  I  think  we  should  also  class 
here  MacAdorey,  MacEleavey,  which  seem  to  be  Mac- 
giolla-dorcha,  d.s.  of  the  dark  (featured)  man,  and 
Mac-giolla-riabhaigh,  d.s.  of  the  grey  man.  Here 
MacAtamney  would  at  once  suggest  (as  a  mere  con- 
jecture, however)  the  analysis  Mac-giolla-tSamhna, 
descendant  ,of  a  person  connected  in  some  way  with 
the  old  pre-Christian  feast  of  Samhain,1  the  memory  of 
which  is  handed  down  in  the  curious  popular  obser- 
vances connected  with  Hallow-eve.  The  occurrence  of  a 
form  MacAtimney  is  most  favourable  to  this  conjecture. 
In  the  United  States  the  form  MacTammany  is  more 
common. 

MacElrone  seems  to  have  religious  connections.  The 
ending  appears  to  be  the  same  as  in  the  name  of  the  famous 
Abbot  Maelruain  of  Tallaght ;  but  how  he  obtained  his 
name  of  servant  of  Euan,  or  who  (if  a  person  at  all)  Buan 
was,  are  questions  I  cannot  answer.  Another  name  that 
seems  to  go  back  to  the  ages  of  the  Irish  saints  is  the 
Tipperary  name  Mollumby,  which  at  first  sight  recalls  the 


1  Compare  the  English  surnames  Christmas,  Pentecost,  Easter,  Hajhnyes, 
Spring,  Summers,  Winter,  M'ln-h,  &c. 


THE  '  MULS'  AND  'GILS';  SOME  IRISH  SURNAMES    507 

well-known  inscription  at  Clonrnacnoise :  '  A  prayer  for 
Suibhne  inac  Maele-umai.'  But  how  few  ever  heard  of 
this  venerable  Gaelic  saint  and  scholar,  the  thirty-fourth 
Abbot  of  Clonmacnoise,  who  is  set  down  by  the  Irish, 
English,  and  Welsh  annalists  of  the  time  as  doctor  Scotoruin 
peritissimus — the  most  learned  teacher  of  the  Gael.  In  891 
he,  with  other  learned  Irish  teachers,  was  called  to  England 
to  advise  with  King  Alfred,  who  was  then  busy  developing 
the  studies  of  the  University  of  Oxford,  founded,  in  886,  in 
imitation  of  the  great  Irish  schools,  where  Alfred,  like  many 
another  English  student,  had  found  hospitality  and  educa- 
tion. Probably  the  Abbot  of  Clonmacnoise  had  been  one  of 
Alfred's  own  teachers  in  his  student  days. 

The  name  Mael-uma,  if  we  may  venture  to  attempt  a 
translation,  may  mean  '  worker  in  brass,'  and  would  be  an 
appropriate  name  in  those  days  for  the  craftsmen  who 
wrought  such  marvels  of  metal- work  as  we  can  see  in 
museums.  But,  if  this  is  the  meaning  of  the  name,  the 
modern  form  would  be  O'Maoil-umha,  and  could  not  be 
the  original  of  Mollumby  ;  so  perhaps  we  should  place  this 
surname  in  Class  1,  and  explain  it  as  Maoil-Lomma,  d.s.  of 
St.  Lomma  or  Lomman.  A  saint  of  the  name  is  remem- 
bered at  Portloman,  on  the  southern  shore  of  Lough  Owel, 
in  Westmeath ;  arid  the  first  Bishop  of  Trim  bore  the  same 
name.  The  form  Malumy,  which  I  find  in  a  list  of  Antrim 
names,  is,  therefore,  nearer  to  the  original  Gaelic,  if  it  is  the 
same  name,  as  it  most  probably  is  if  the  accent  is  on  the 
middle  syllable. 

Mulvany,  Melveney,  O'Melveney  (Los  Angelos, 
California),  Mulvenna,  MacElvenna,  Macllvany,  Gilvany — 
all  these  forms  evidently  mean  descendant  of  the  follower 
or  servant  of  some  person  named  Bena,  Mena,  or  Menach, 
Benach  ;  but  who  this  person  is,  whether  a  saint  or  a  Gaelic 
ancestor,  is  a  problem.  If  we  look  upon  the  names  as 
coming  from  an  ancestral  name  we  shall  probably  be  right 
in  regarding  that  ancestor  as  Maenach,  from  whom  the 
O'Dooleys  take  their  tribal  name  of  Claim  Mliacnaicli.  The 
names  given  above  would  then  belong  to  Class  3,  and 
would  mean  descendant  of  the  follower  of  Maenach.  From 


508  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

a  person  of  the  same  name  comes  the  name  O'Maonaigh, 
which  is  O'Mooney  in  the  North  of  Ireland,  and  is,  perhaps, 
the  original  of  Meany  in  the  South.  On  the  other  hand, 
can  we  find  in  these  names  the  name  of  one  of  the  Irish 
saints?  I  have  seen,  but  where  I  cannot  recollect,  and  no 
one  that  I  have  consulted  can  ascertain,  the  name  of  a 
Menoc,  one  of  the  'host  of  the  saints  of  Erin.'  This  name 
presupposes  a  simpler  form,  Men  or  Mena,  and  I  have 
noticed  a  mention  of  a  place  called  Kilvany,  which  might 
contain  the  name.  I  prefer  the  first  interpretation;  the 
latter,  if  correct,  would  have  the  advantage  of  explaining 
the  names  Manogue,  Minogul,  Minnoch,  and  Mannix,  all 
meaning  d.s.  of  St.  Mena  or  Menoc.  I  hope  that  someone 
who  has  an  opportunity  of  consulting  suitable  authorities 
will  be  able  to  locate  the  reference  to  St.  Menoc.1 

Mulqueen,  Mulkeen,  Kilcoyne,  are  names  which  are  like 
those  in  the  previous  paragraph.  If  they  contain  the  name 
of  a  saint,  it  is  probably  St.  Kevin,  as  both  Mael-Caeimhghin 
and  Gilla-Caeimhghin  occur  in  the  Index  to  the  Four 
Masters,  but  they  rather  seem  to  mean  descendant  of  the 
follower  of  Conn — a  name  from  which  came  also  Quinn, 
M'Queen,  Kilgun,  MacElgunn,  seems  to  be  'follower  of 
Gunn.'  They  could  hardly  mean  'the  man  with  the 
gun.'  The  name  MacElrath  (Macllwrath,  Mucklewraith), 
not  uncommon  in  Ulster,  is  probably  Mac-giolle-raith,  d.s. 
of  Eath,  an  ancestor  from  whose  name  are  derived  Magrath 
(=  MacKaith),  Magraw,  MacEae,  and  perhaps  also  O'Eaine. 
One  might  be  tempted  to  class  it  with  Moloney  and  such 
names,  as  '  d.  s.  of  grace,'  but  this  is  not  a  likely  meaning. 
Perhaps  one  of  the  Maloney  class  is  found  in  Magillivray, 
which  may  be  '  one  zealous  for  judgment  day ' — Mac-giolla- 
brcitha  represents  well  the  pronunciation.  Carmichael  is 
another  Scotch  name  that,  at  first  sight,  would  seem  to 
belong  here  ;  but  I  think  that  with  Kirkpatrick  it  is  to  be 
regarded  as  originally  a  place-name,  which  afterwards  was 

1  About  Scarriff,  according  to  the  Registrar's  report  on  surnames  and 
their  synonyms,  Minnogue  and  Mannix  are  regarded  as  the  same  name,  the 
latter  name  being  formed  from  the  root  minog,  manog,  by  the  addition  of  s, 
as  Cairns,  Burns,  are  formed  from  Kieran,  Byrne. 


THE  <MULS'  AND  'GILS':  SOME  IRISH  SURNAMES      509 

adopted,  like  York,  Birmingham,  and  others,  as  a  family 
name.  Caer-  now  seems  to  be  the  Welsh  word  for  '  seat,' 
just  as  Kirk- is  the  familiar  Lowland- Scotch  for 'church.' 
Anyhow,  they  are  both  Lowland  and  non-Gaelic  names,  the 
Highland  forms  being  MacMichael  (in  Gaelic  Mac-giolla- 
mhichil)  and  Kilpatrick.  Another  Scotch  name  is  Maclurg 
— one  would  like  to  class  it  with  Macll-Largy,  but  it  is  not 
very  probable  that  a  local  Irish  patron,  as  far  as  I  know,  like 
Forga,  would  be  remembered  in  Scotland.  Maclehose  is 
another  Scotch  name  that  would  seem  to  belong  to  the  Gil- 
class,  but  I  am  unable  to  throw  any  light  on  it.  It  is, 
perhaps,  like  Meiklejohn,  a  Lowland  name  with  no  connec- 
tion with  Gaelic.  Maclure  (M'Clure,  MacLure)  is  probably 
Mac-giolld-uidhir,  d.  s.  of  the  brown-haired  person,  the 
same  as  our  MacAleer. 

I  had  finished  these  notes  when  there  came  into  my 
hands  a  large  volume  of  600  pages  containing  an  immense 
list  of  Irish  surnames  as  they  were  written  in  Elizabethian 
times.  It  is  the  Twenty-Second  Report  of  the  Deputy-Keeper 
of  the  Public  Records  in  Ireland  (Dublin,  1890,  price  two 
shillings)  and  is  full  of  interesting  points,  although  it  is 
merely  an  index  to  other  publications.  Very  few  of  our 
surnames  then  existed  in  their  present  forms,  as  given  in  this 
'  index  of  Fiants ; '  they  are  much  nearer  to  the  original 
Gaelic  forms  as  McEna  for  McKenna,  and  often  preserve 
the  Gaelic  system  of  spelling.  Many  of  the  names  then  in 
full  force  have  now  disappeared,  or  have  been  much  changed. 
Mulmorie,  servant  of  Mary,  occurs  commonly. 

'  O'Maeltulye '  was  still  in  use — perhaps,  indeed,  it  is 
our  present  name  Tully.  This  index  throws  some  light  on 
the  difficult  names,  Mulooly,  Gilooly  (Gilhooly,  Gilhool, 
&c.).  The  old  Gaelic  Maelguala — which  I  cannot  translate 
— seems  to  be  the  original  of  Mulaoly,  and  the  form  Gilla- 
guala  would  explain  the  various  forms  McGilgowlye,  Gille- 
gooly,  Gilleguly,  occurring  in  the  Fiants.  But  these  would 
not  explain  the  form  Gilhool,  which  is  still  in  use,  and  which 
is  evidently  the  descendant  of  the  names  McGillehole, 
McGillechomhaill  (here  the  Fiants  preserve  partially  the 


510  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

Gaelic  spelling),  occurring  in  the  Elizabethan  index,  and 
traceable  to  the  Gaelic  original  meaning  '  servant  of 
St.  Congal '  recorded  in  the  Annals.  The  Four  Masters 
give  a  spelling  Mac-giolla-shiiiligh,  descendant  of  the  sharp- 
eyed  person ;  but  I  fancy  the  worthy  annalist  invented  this 
on  the  spur  of  the  moment.  There  were,  probably,  two  sets 
of  names,  one  from  the  obscure  guala  (probably  a  personal 
name)  quoted  above,  and  the  other  from  the  name  of 
St.  Congal  of  Bangor.  And  it  would  be  strange,  indeed,  if 
his  name  should  not  be  put  in  remembrance  with  those  of 
the  other  Irish  saints.  Few  were  more  honoured  in  early 
times,  says  the  Book  of  Leinster :  '  Congal,  of  Bangor,  in 
Ulster,  Abbot,  of  the  race  of  Trial.  A  man  full  of  God's 
grace  and  love  was  he  ;  one  that  trained  and  edified  many 
other  saints,  in  whose  hearts  and  minds  he  enkindled  and 
inflamed  the  unquenchable  fire  of  God's  love,  as  in  Erin's 
ancient  books  is  evident.  In  life  and  manners  he  resembled 
James  the  Apostle.'  Such  a  one  could  not  fail  to  have 
clients  in  early  Ireland,  and  accordingly  we  find  both  Mael- 
comhghail  and  Gilla-comhghaill  on  record,  servants  of 
Congal. 

From  these  come  at  least  some  of  our  present  Muloolys 
(many  of  whom  have  adopted  the  more  usual  name  Molloy) 
and  Gilhoolys.  Owing  to  the  strange  habit  of  throwing 
away  family  names  that  are  any  way  rare,  and  adopting 
names  somewhat  similar  and  more  common,  it  is  now  im- 
possible to  say  what  is  the  original  Irish  form  of  many 
names.  Thus,  we -have  seen  in  this  paper,  that  the  name 
Molloy  has  been  adopted  by  two  other  families  who  had  no 
right  whatever  to  it.  In  the  same  way,  which  the  name 
Malone  may  be  usually  taken  to  stand  for  d.s.  of  St.  John 
(O'Maoil-Eoin),  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  it  sometimes 
stands  for  the  obsolete  O'Maoilbhuadhain  and  other  names. 

A  few  more  names  and  we  shall  have  done.  Muldoon,  a 
name  of  which  we  have  very  early  record,  is,  of  course,  d.s.  of 
Dun;  but  whether  Dun  was  a  person,  or  as  it  seems  perhaps 
more  probable,  a  place,  we  have  no  reason  to  decide.  Here 
we  may  recall  that  one  of  the  earliest  of  the  Imrama,  or 
voyage  narratives,  is  that  of  Maeldun,  which  Tennyson  has 


THE  <MULS>  AND  'GILS':  SOME  IRISH  SURNAMES    511 

rendered  in  verse.  If  Muldoon  means  '  one  fond  of  the  dun 
or  fort,'  it  is  of  the  same  class  as  Mael-achaidh,  '  one  fond 
of  the  field,'  a  name  on  record  in  the  annals,  but  now  obsolete. 
We  have,  however,  Kilahy  and  Killackey,  which  may  be  the 
Gil  forms  with  the  same  meaning.  Are  Leahy,  Lahy,  in 
any  way  connected  with  this  ?  Kilgallon,  is  a  name  on  which 
I  cannot  throw  any  light ;  also  Mullany,  although  I 
think  O'Donovan  has  a  reference  to  it  somewhere  in  his 
voluminous  notes.  Kilcline  might  be  analyzed  as  d.s.  of  the 
stooped  (claon)  person,  but  the  old  Elizabethan  forms 
McGillacleyne,  McGillacloyne,  McGillacleyny,  rather  point 
to  d.s.  of  knavish  (cluaineach)  person.  But  compare  the 
Elizabethan  Malacline,  for  Melaghlin,  seemingly  Mulhane 
is  but  a  form  of  Mullen ;  compare  Culhane  and  Collins  both 
from  O'Coileairi.  Names  ending  in — ane  (pronounced  aaii) 
abound  in  Cork  and  Kerry ;  the  sound  given  to  the  Gaelic 
endin  din,  in  these  names,  is  quite  exceptional  in  modern 
Gaelic.  The  Gaelic  equivalent  of  Lysaght  seems  to  be 
Macgiolla-iasachta,  d.s.  of  the  '  borrowed  '  person  !  AVhy  so 
called,  I  surely  cannot  tell.  Cuskelly  (Elizabethan  McGilla 
cosglie)  and  McCluskey  also  appear  to  belong  to  this  class  ; 
and,  apparently,  also  McGlew,  McLagan,  McClatchy.  The 
names  Kilgore,  Kilburn,  Maclldowie,  are  obscure  to  me. 

In  addition  to  Gaelic  names  in  Mul  and  Gil,  there  are 
names  of  foreign  origin  beginning  in  the  same  way ;  such  as 
Mulgrave  (which  was  the  original  of  some  of  our  McGrews 
or  Mulgrews),  Gilbert,  Gilbreath,  a  form  of  Galbraith, 
Gillick  seems  to  be  an  abbreviation  of  MacUlick,  a  name 
that  occurs  frequently  in  the  Elizabethan  records.  The 
name  Gilleran  (Killeran)  occurs  in  the  annals,  and  is 
yet  in  use ;  the  annal  form  is  O'Gillarain  ('  O'G.  abbot  of 
Trinity  Church  at  Tuam,' died  1256),  and  if  the  final  syllable 
is  short,  as  it  seems  to  be,  the  name  is  not  of  the  class  we 
have  been  considering.  It  is  probable  that  we  have  the 
Mul  prefix  also  in  O'Maille  (O'Malley). 

I  find,  on  review  of  this  paper,  that  we  can  count  more 
than  two  hundred  fairly  different  modern  forms  of  our  Mul 
and  Gil  surnames. 

I  bring  to  an  end  this  very  imperfect  treatment  of  an 


512  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

interesting  subject.  Most  of  the  surnames  are  familiar  to 
us  all ;  some  that  are  rather  rare  I  have  collected  from 
current  newspapers  and  similar  records.  The  index  to  the 
Annals  of  the  Four  Masters  contain  the  original  Gaelic  forms 
of  many  of  the  names.  I  owe  to  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Patrick 
O'JBurne,  of  the  New  York  Gaelic  Society,  a  copy  of  the 
part  of  this  index  containing  all  names  of  the  classes  here 
discussed.  I  have  also  to  thank  Dr.  Meyer  of  Liverpool, 
and  Professor  Mackinnon,  of  Edinburgh,  for  their  courtesy 
in  answering  many  queries  of  mine  in  reference  to  old 
Gaelic  and  Highland  names.  It  is  pleasant  to  find  men  of 
learning  so  ready  to  place  their  knowledge  at  the  disposal 
of  inquirers.  Mr.  Matheson,  of  the  Kegistrar- General's 
Office,  in  Dublin,  has  published  two  very  interesting  lists 
of  synonyms  and  alternative  forms  of  surnames  in  Ireland. 
Such  work,  however,  can  be  done  but  imperfectly  by  anyone, 
however  zealous,  who  has  not  a  knowledge  of  Irish,  as  many 
things  will  be  quite  clear  to  a  Gaelic  scholar  that  would  be 
a  mystery  to  another. 

I  venture  to  express  the  hope  that  those  who  have  access 
to  Irish  books  and  manuscripts,  and  particularly  to  the 
works,  printed  and  manuscript,  of  O'Donovan,  and  the 
Genealogies  of  MacFirbis,  will  supply  whatever  is  needed 
in  the  way  of  correction  and  improvement  to  this  paper, 
written  at  a  distance  of  many  thousand  miles  from  Ireland, 
and  with  no  access  to  authorities  of  any  kind. 

E.  O'GROWNEY. 


[    513    ] 


TWO   GREAT   SPIRITUAL   ASSOCIATIONS 

I. 

AMONG  the  spiritual  organizations  which  the  Church 
of  our  day  employs  for  the  advancement  of  God's 
interest  on  earth,  there  is  hardly  one  that  exercises  a  more 
powerful  aiid  widespread  influence,  than  the  rapidly  extending 
devotion,  popularly  known  as  the  '  Apostleship  of  Prayer.' 
Quite  recently  it  has  attracted  a  considerable  share  of 
attention,  as  the  Holy  See  by  its  legislation  in  1896  has 
greatly  enlarged  the  sphere  of  its  operations  and  of  its 
efficiency  over  the  Catholic  world.  As  a  knowledge  of  the 
events  which  led  to  its  formation  and  growth  will  interest 
our  readers,  we  shall  give  in  outline  its  history,  and  to  it 
we  shall  add  a  brief  notice  of  the  '  Archconfraternity  of  the 
Sacred  Heart.' 

About  seventy  miles  from  Lyons,  in  the  South  of  France, 
lies  Puy,  one  of  the  most  picturesque  cities  of  Southern 
Europe.  It  is  celebrated  for  its  ancient  shrine  and  magnifi- 
cent statue  of  Our  Lady.  Not  far  from  the  shrine  stands  a 
large  college,  which,  until  the  expulsion  of  the  Religious 
Orders  from  France,  was  a  Scholasticate,  or  House  of 
Studies  for  the  younger  members  of  the  Society  of  Jesus. 
This  college  gave  many  apostolic  men  to  the  Church,  and 
its  pious  students  were  always  remarkable  for  an  ardent 
desire  to  labour  in  the  foreign  missions. 

In  the  year  1844  the  Spiritual  Director  of  the  College 
was  Father  Gautrelet,  S.  J.  On  the  3rd  of  December,  the 
Feast  of  St.  Francis  Xavier,  he  pointed  out  to  the  scholastics 
that  by  consecrating  all  their  thoughts,  words,  actions,  and 
sufferings,  to  the  Sacred  Heart,  and  offering  them  to  the 
Eternal  Father  for  the  interests  of  Jesus  Christ,  they  could 
find,  even  during  the  course  of  their  ecclesiastical  studies 
ample  scope  for  satisfying  their  missionary  zeal.  The 
proposal  was  received  with  enthusiasm  by  the  young 
religious,  and  thus  were  laid  the  first  foundations  of  the 
'  Apostleship  of  Prayer,'  which  was  destined  to  spread  with 

VOL.  III.  2  K 


514  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

wondrous  rapidity  throughout  the  world,  and  to  inscribe  on 
its  registers  many  millions  of  associates.  By  degrees  other 
communities  joined  this  Holy  League  of  Prayer;  and  in 
1849,  five  years  after  its  foundation,  it  was  enriched  by 
Pius  IX.,  then  an  exile  at  Gaeta,  with  many  indulgences. 

In  1861  appeared  the  first  number  of  The  Messenger  of 
the  Sacred  Heart.  The  monthly  issue  of  this  periodical 
led  to  a  prodigious  development  of  the  '  Apostleship  of 
Prayer.'  Numerous  additional  indulgences  were  granted 
by  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  ;  and,  in  1866,  the  League  received 
a  definite  organization  through  the  approval  of  its  statutes 
by  the  Congregation  of  Bishops  and  Eegulars. 

The  present  glorious  Pontiff,  Leo  XIII.,  was  then  Arch- 
bishop of  Perugia,  and  in  a  letter  addressed  to  the  Central 
Director  of  Italy,  he  said  :  '  The  Apostleship  of  Prayer  is 
so  beautiful  a  work,  and  unites  so  much  fruitfulness  with  so 
much  simplicity,  that  it  assuredly  deserves  all  the  favour  of 
ecclesiastical  authority.  I  rejoice  to  see  it  established  in  my 
diocese,  and  I  shall  never  tire  of  promoting  it.'  And  in  a 
pastoral  letter  of  1868,  he  adds  :  '  The  plentiful  fruit  which 
the  Holy  League  has  already  produced,  no  less  than  its  rapid 
extension,  shows  plainly  how  pleasing  this  Association  must 
be  to  our  Lord.' 

Diffused  not  only  through  France,  but  through  Germany, 
Spain,  Switzerland,  in  North  and  South  America,  India, 
China,  and  even  in  Oceanica,  the  '  Apostleship  of  Prayer ' 
may,  in  the  truest  sense  of  the  word,  be  called  a  Catholic  work. 

The  statutes  of  the  Holy  League  were  perfected  and  con- 
firmed in  1896  by  Leo  XIII.,  who,  since  his  election  to  the 
Chair  of  Peter,  has  continued  as  warm  a  friend  and  patron  of 
the  Association  as  he  was  while  Archbishop  of  Perugia.  No 
less  than  eight  successive  briefs  or  rescripts,  each  conferring 
some  new  grace  or  privilege,  have  marked  the  Holy  Father's 
appreciation  of  the  labours  and  fruits  of  the  League,  and 
have  raised  its  organization  to  its  present  perfect  state. 

The  development  of  the  '  Apostleship  '  within  the  last 
twenty  years  is  sirrply  marvellous.  The  League  now 
numbers  20,000,000  Associates.  It  is  still  spreading  far 
and  wide  throughout  the  Catholic  world,  and  its  organ,  The 


TWO   GREAT   SPIRITUAL  ASSOCIATIONS          515 

Messenger  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  is  issued  every  month  in 
seventeen  different  languages.1 

Considering  the  extraordinary  development  of  the  Holy 
League,  the  simplicity  of  its  organization,  the  multiplicity 
of  means  it  is  capable  of  employing  to  advance  God's 
interests,  and  the  abundant  blessing  that  the  Sacred  Heart 
pours  on  the  united  efforts  of  its  millions  of  Associates,  it  is 
evident  that  this  peaceful  crusade  is  one  of  the  principal 
institutions  raised  up  by  Divine  Providence  for  the  succour 
of  the  Church  in  these  days  of  coldness  and  infidelity. 

It  will  hardly  be  necessary  to  trespass  on  the  patience  of 
our  readers  to  define  the  nature  and  work  of  the  'Apostle- 
ship  of  Prayer,'  for  it  has  become,  within  the  past  few  years, 
almost  a  household  word  in  every  Catholic  homestead  in  the 
land.  Even  tiny  school-children  can  now  grasp  its  meaning 
and  lisp  its  definition,  as  they  tell  us  in  their  own  simple 
words  that,  the  'Apostleship  of  Prayer '  means  '  praying 
with  Jesus  in  the  Tabernacle.'  In  more  formal  phrase,  the 
more  grown  associates  accurately  describe  it  as  '  praying  in 
union  with  Jesus  for  the  advancement  of  His  interests  on 
earth — praying  for  the  accomplishment  of  His  holy  will — 
praying  for  the  establishment  of  His  kingdom  in  every 
human  heart,  in  every  Christian  family,  in  society,  and  in 
nations.'  And,  indeed,  the  '  Apostleship  of  Prayer'  is 
nothing  else  than  praying  with  the  Heart  of  Jesus  in  the 
Tabernacle,  that  the  power  of  the  Evil  One  may  be  crushed, 
and  that  the  kingdom  of  our  Heavenly  Father  may  be 
universally  established  on  earth.  Two  petitions  of  the 
Lord's  Prayer  embody  and  reveal  its  object :  '  Thy  kingdom 
come ;  Thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven.' 

If  we  ask  why  this  'Union  of  prayer  with  Jesus  praying' 
has  assumed  the  title  of  'Apostleship,'  the  answer  becomes 
apparent  when  we  remember  that  an  '  Apostle '  is  one  sent 
to  accomplish  some  work  or  execute  some  errand,  while  an 
'  Apostleship '  signifies  the  work  to  be  performed  by  the 


516  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

apostle  or  person  to  whom  it  is  entrusted.  Hence  we 
correctly  conclude  that  in  this  vast  enterprise  of  '  united 
prayer'  Jesus  Himself  is  the  Great  Apostle,  and  His  work 
on  earth  and  in  heaven,  an  Apostolate  of  Prayer. 

During  the  course  of  His  divine  mission  in  Judea,  over 
and  over  again,  He  reminded  His  hearers,  that  He  was  an 
Apostle,  or  One  Kent  in  His  human  nature  by  His  Heavenly 
Father  to  do  a  great  work.  '  As  the  Father  hath  sent  Me,' 
He  said,  '  I  also  send  you.'  '  I  am  not  sent  but  to  the  lost 
sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel,'  &c.  We  may  also  recall  how, 
as  the  Apostle  of  his  Heavenly  Father,  after  a  night  spent 
in  lonely  prayer  on  the  mountain  side,  coming  down  at  day- 
break to  the  shore  of  Lake  Tiberias,  Jesus  chose  twelve 
fishermen  to  share  His  Apostolate,  and  to  help  Him  in  His 
work.  They,  in  turn — personally,  and  through  their 
successors — were  commissioned  to  choose  and  invite 
others  to  co-operate  and  assist  in  this  glorious  under- 
taking of  the  Redeemer.  The  '  Apostleship  of  Prayer '  in 
our  own  day  and  in  our  midst,  is  the  outcome  and 
response  to  this  invitation. 

This  vast  enterprise  which  the  Son  of  God  thus  came 
down  from  Heaven  to  accomplish,  and  which  is  being 
worked  out  by  His  servants,  night  and  day,  all  the  world 
over,  is  mainly  effected  by  prayer — that  is,  prayer  in  union 
with  Jesus,  both  praying  in  the  Tabernacle,  and  praying  in 
Heaven,  too,  at  the  right  hand  of  His  Father,  where  '  He  is 
ever  living  to  make  intercession  for  us.' 

That  this  Divine  Apostolate  might  be  more  efficaciously 
realized,  the  Church,  the  Spouse  of  Christ,  has  stamped  it 
with  the  seal  of  her  fullest  approbation,  and  enriched  with 
unstinted  indulgences  the  organization  of  the  '  Apostleship.' 
A  passing  word  explanatory  of  this  organization  to  some 
will  not  be  unwelcome. 

The  members  of  the  'Apostleship,'  who  m&y  be  regarded  as 
a  vast  army  of  soldiers  of  their  Heavenly  King,  are  divided 
into  three  spiritual  battalions  or  divisions,  called  technically 
the  'Three  Degrees.'  The  Associates  of  each  'Degree'  have 
certain  simple  but  easy  conditions  of  membership  to  fulfil. 

Once  admission  by  enrolment  into  tbe  ranks  has  been 


TWO  GREAT  SPIRITUAL  ASSOCIATIONS          517 

effected,  members  registered  in  the  '  First  Degree'  are  only 
required  to  make  a  '  Morning  Offering'  of  all  their  thoughts, 
words,  and  sufferings  of  the  day  in  union  with  those  of  Jesus 
in  the  Tabernacle.  Thus,  their  every  thought,  word,  work, 
and  suffering  becoming  supernaturalized,  is  united  with  His 
and  entitled  to  eternal  recompense — and  their  lives,  blended 
like  streams  with  His,  run  in  one  channel  with  His  divine 
life.  So  in  truth,  they  can  say,  '  I  live  now,  not  I,  but 
Christ  Jesus  lives  in  me  !'  This 'First  Degree'  entitles  to 
membership,  to  a  vast  number  of  indulgences,  and  to  a  share 
not  only  in  the  satisfaction  of  all  the  good  works  of  the 
members,  but,  as  well,  of  all  the  good  works  of  religious 
orders  who  have  generously  granted  this  inestimable 
privilege  to  the  'Apostleship.'  Should  members  desire  to 
mount  a  step  higher  and  reach  the  '  Second  Degree '  (and 
vast  multitudes  of  the  members  enjoy  this  additional 
blessing),  they  undertake  to  say,  in  addition  to  the 
'Morning  Offering,'  the  Papal  Decade,  which  consists  of 
one  Our  Father  and  ten  Hail  Marys,  offered  for  the  in- 
tentions of  our  Holy  Father  and  for  the  further  advance- 
ment of  the  interests  of  the  Heart  of  Jesus.  Such  priceless 
value  does  His  Holiness  attach  to  the  recital  of  this  Decade, 
that  he  assigns  a  special  intention  for  each  month  of  the 
year,  and  for  it  he  entreats  the  prayers  of  all  the  members. 
To  the  recital  of  this  Papal  Decade  immense  indulgences 
are  also  annexed,  while  the  monthly  Papal  Decade  Leaflets 
are  reminders  that  this  prayer  is  not  lightly  to  be  overlooked 
or  omitted. 

One  step  higher  still  and  the  summit  of  the  '  Apostleship ' 
is  gained.  This  step  is  the  '  Third  Degree,'  which  following 
the  '  Morning  Offering'  and  '  Papal  Decade,'  gives  the  work 
its  final  perfection  and  magnificence  in  the  '  Communion  of 
Reparation.'  Gathered  round  the  Altar,  the  members  of  the 
'  Third  Degree,'  in  addition  to  their  '  Morning  Offering ' 
(and,  if  they  so  will,  in  addition  to  the  'Papal  Decade') 
come  to  atone  by  their  love,  sorrow,  and  reparation,  for  the 
innumerable  insults  and  outrages  offered  to  the  Adorable 
Heart  of  Jesus  in  the  Sacrament  of  His  infinite  charity. 
This  is  the  crown  and  completion  of  the  idea  and  of  the 


518  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

work  of  the  '  Apostleship.'  One  day,  in  each  month,  is 
specially  set  apart  and  richly  indulgenced  by  the  Holy  See 
for  this  special  devotion,  and  is  called  the  day  of  '  General 
Communion  of  Separation.'  On  it  all  the  members  are 
invited  to  approach  the  altar  in  order  to  receive  and  console 
their  Divine  Redeemer  and  His  Suffering  Heart. 

That  nothing  may  be  wanting  to  the  perfection  of  the 
organization,  all  the  members — where  at  all  possible — are 
divided  into  guilds  or  circles  of  fifteen.  Each  'guild'  or 
'  circle '  includes  one  of  the  members  styled  Promoter,  who, 
so  to  speak,  is  entrusted  with  some  spiritual  and  unobtrusive 
charge  over  the  others,  gets  their  names  registered  for 
admission,  supplies  them  with  their  monthly  '  Papal  Decade 
Leaflet,'  &c.,  and  presides  over  the  'guild'  or  '  circle.'  In 
parishes  where  the  '  Apostleship  '  is  regularly  organized  as 
a  Confraternity  in  the  Church,  one  of  the  '  circle '  acts  as 
Prefect  or  Promoter. 

It  is  important  to  note  here,  that  the  '  Apostleship ' 
supplies  a  great  devotional  want,  often  experienced  by  both 
priests  and  the  faithful,  regarding  those,  who  on  account  of 
distance,  age,  delicacy,  or  other  hindrance,  cannot  possibly 
attend  Church  Sodality  Meetings.  Since  they  cannot  attend 
the  '  Apostleship'  Meetings  in  the  church,  the  'Apostleship' 
goes  to  them  in  their  homes,  in  the  person  of  zealous 
Promoters  who  enrol  them,  bring  to  them  their  '  Papal 
Decade  Leaflets,'  apprise  them  of  the  '  Monthly  Intention,' 
&c.,  and  so  keep  them  in  touch  with  the  life  and  spirit  of 
the  organization. 

Over  these  promoters  a  Kev.  Local  Director  is  constituted 
by  diploma.  He  meets  his  Promoters  once  each  month, 
discusses  with  them  the  work  of  the  '  Apostleship,'  its 
interests,  advancement,  and  everything  in  connection  with 
it.  These  monthly  meetings  of  Promoters  may  be  regarded 
as  the  very  soul  of  the  organization,  infusing  into  it  con- 
*  stantly  renewed  life  and  activity. 

The  Rev.  Local  Directors  (parish  priests,  or  curates  dele- 
gated by  them,  or,  in  case  of  institutions,  Rev.  Chaplains) 
receive  their  powers  by  diploma  from  the  Rev.  Diocesan 
Director,  who  is  designated  by  the  Ordinary  of  the  diocese, 


TWO  GREAT   SPIRITUAL  ASSOCIATIONS          519 

where  the  '  Apostleship '  is  established.  The  Director- 
General  of  the  '  Apostleship  of  Prayer  '  is  the  Father-General 
for  the  time  being,  of  the  Society  of  Jesus.  Higher  still  in 
its  hierarchy,  if  we  be  permitted  so  to  speak,  is  our  Holy 
Father,  who  with  unremitting  vigilance  and  interest  never 
ceases  to  watch  over  its  gigantic  work.  But,  highest  of  all, 
controlling  its  destinies  and  ensuring  its  spiritual  success,  is 
Jesus  Christ,  the  Eternal  Son  of  God,  Whose  kingdom  it 
helps  to  establish,  and  "Whose  Divine  Will  it  assists  to 
accomplish. 

Such  is  the  nature  and  object  of  the  'Apostleship  of 
Prayer,'  and  such  the  methods  it  employs  to  compass  its 
Divine  mission.  And  although,  as  we  have  said,  scarcely 
fifty  years  have  passed  since  its  inception,  in  that  brief  period, 
we  find  it  striking  root  in  every  quarter  of  the  globe  and, 
broadly  speaking,  in  every  nook  and  cranny  of  the  Church. 
Here,  we  see  it  in  the  broad  daylight,  creating,  vivifying,  or 
consolidating  vast  confraternities  for  honouring  the  Sacred 
Heart  in  public  churches.  Elsewhere,  we  find  it  like  some 
frail  exquisite  flower  breathing  the  fragrance  of  holiness  in 
the  peaceful  solitude  of  countless  cloisters.  Now,  we  come 
across  it  in  the  crowded  school-room,  lighting  up  the  minds 
and  warming  the  hearts  of  the  young  ;  or,  again  we  meet  it 
in  the  busy  workroom  or  crowded  factory,  where  Christian 
toilers  are  working  side  by  side  from  early  morning  to  sun- 
down, or  on  through  the  night.  Often,  we  discover  its 
emblematic  Badge  lying  beneath  the  regimentals  of  the 
soldier  in  the  barrack-room,  or,  on  the  battlefield ;  and  m  any 
a  time,  thank  God  I  it  rests  on  the  breast  of  the  Catholic 
sailor  or  fisherman,  '  rocked  on  the  bosom  of  the  deep.' 

Thus  here,  there,  and  everywhere,  and  under  widely 
varying  and  often  unexpected  circumstances,  the  '  Apostle- 
ship of  Prayer'  testifies  to  the  extraordinary  grasp  which 
devotion  to  the  Sacred  Heart  has  taken  on  the  Church ; 
bringing  home,  as  it  does,  with  marvellous  distinctness  to 
every  sincere  Catholic,  the  mystery  of  the  Incarnation  of 
the  Son  of  God. 

All  over  the  world  this  same  '  Apostleship  '  has  called 
into  almost  miraculous  prominence  the  devotion  to  the 


520  THE  IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

'  Nine  First  Fridays,'  and  fills  our  churches  with  such  crowds 
of  frequent  and  fervent  communicants,  as  have  not  been 
witnessed  since  the  time  of  the  early  Christians.  And, 
stranger  still,  under  its  influence  this  wonderful  spiritual 
activity  has  broken  almost  instantaneously,  and  as  if  by 
magic,  on  the  normal  life  of  the  Church  ;  and  in  some  conti- 
nental countries,  far  less  blessed  than  holy  Ireland,  it  has 
startled  the  faithful  into  religious  energy,  which  has  filled 
even  themselves  with  amazement.  Thus,  to  the  most  casual 
observers,  it  has  revealed  what  latent  fire  of  faith  and  charity 
still  exists  everywhere  in  the  Church,  needing  but  a  spark 
from  the  furnace  of  the  Heart  of  Jesus  to  set  it  all  aglow. 
It  almost  reminds  one  of  the  miraculous,  sacrificial  fire, 
hidden  by  the  Jewish  priests  before  they  were  hurried  into 
Captivity,  whose  damp  ashes  burst  anew  into  consuming 
flames,  beneath  the  noonday  sun,  when  they  were  needed 
for  sacrifice. 

II. 

THE     '  ARCHCONFRATERNITY    OF   THE     SACRED     HEART*    AND 
ITS   RELATION   WITH   THE   '  APOSTLE  SHIP ' 

Before  terminating  our  notice  of  the  'Apostleship  of 
Prayer,'  we  will  briefly  call  attention  to  the  intimate 
connection  which  has  always  subsisted  between  it  and  the 
1  Archconfraternity  of  the  Sacred  Heart,'  established  by  the 
Canons  della  Pace,  in  Eome.  Inaccurate  information,  and 
loose,  vague  statements  regarding  their  kindred  object 
and  relations  have  left  room  for  some  words  of  needful 
explanation.  We  may  premise  that,  with  regard  to  the 
requisite  conditions  for  the  valid  erection  and  consequent 
conveyance  of  the  indulgences  and  privileges  of  the  Arch- 
confraterrity,  there  exists  occasionally  some  misapprehen- 
sion. A  brief  historical  notice  of  the  '  Archconf raternity '  and 
of  some  of  its  privileges  will,  perhaps,  serve  best  to  dissipate 
this  misconception,  and  remove  grounds  for  anxiety. 

Our  readers  will,  we  are  sure,  permit  us  to  avail 
ourselves  of  this  paper  to  record  our  grateful  recognition  of 
the  cordial  and  unstinted  bestowal  of  alliance  and  spiritual 
treasures  accorded  to  the  '  Apostleship '  by  the  Supreme 


TWO   GREAT   SPIRITUAL   ASSOCIATIONS  521 

Directorate  of  the  '  Arcliconfraternity  '  at  Borne.  We  find  a 
striking  instance  of  this  uninterrupted  friendship  in  the 
renewal  of  the  faculty  granted  in  favour  of  the  Kev.  Local 
Directors  of  the  '  Apostleship,'  by  which  they  are  still 
personally  empowered  to  aggregate  members  to  the  '  Arch- 
confraternity.'  (April  llth,  1897.) 

Although  the  history  of  the  devotion  to  the  Sacred  Heart 
of  our  Lord  is  perfectly  known  to  all  instructed  Catholics, 
yet  it  may  serve  to  increase  their  interest,  and  throw  some 
light  upon  the  work  of  the  '  Archconfraternity,'  if  we  direct 
attention  to  some  of  the  distressing  circumstances  which 
surrounded  its  early  beginnings.  Students  of  Church 
history  will  easily  remember  that,  scarcely  had  our  Lord 
revealed  His  Sacred  Heart  to  Blessed  Margaret  Mary,  than 
Jansenism,  frantically  branded  the  new  devotion  as  heresy 
of  the  darkest  dye — as  opposed  to  the  dogma  of  the 
Incarnation — and  as  upsetting  its  own  system  of  permitting 
persons  to  communicate  only  at  rare  intervals,  and  hence 
as  dangerous  to  faith  and  morals.  Subsequently  a  pseudo- 
council  was  convened  at  Pistoia  to  obstruct  and  condemn 
the  devotion,  and  Galilean  theologians  denounced  it  as  a 
nefarious  Jesuitical  intrigue,  designed  to  secure  influence 
in  Christendom  by  appealing  to  the  emotional  fervour  of 
hair-brained  devotees.  And,  when  on  the  eve  of  its 
suppression,  the  Society  of  Jesus  stood  on  trial  before  the 
tribunal  of  its  implacable  foes,  one  of  the  leading  counts 
of  accusation  against  it  was  the  unpardonable  crime  of 
teaching  and  propagating  devotion  to  the  Sacred  Heart.  To 
these  deadly  enemies  of  the  Church  it  mattered  little  that 
Christ  Himself  had  pre-eminently  entrusted  to  the  Society  of 
Jesus  the  mission  of  expounding  and  spreading  this  devotion, 
as  Blessed  Margaret  expressly  states  in  her  ninety-fifth 
letter.1  Nay,  in  seeking  to  compass  their  unworthy  object 
they  aimed,  naturally  enough,  a  first  blow  against  a  devotion, 
which  was  earnestly  preached  by  a  body  of  men,  whose 

1 '  Jesus  Christ  has  shown  me  in  a  manner  that  admits  of  no  doubt,  that  it 
was  especially  by  means  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  that  He  wished 
to  establish  everywhere  this  solid  devotion,  and  by  means  of  it  to  make  to 
Himself  an  infinite  number  of  faithful  servants,  perfect  friends,  and  tnily 
grateful  children.'  (Letfn*  of  Blessed  Margaret  Mar;/.) 


522  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

destruction  they  were  plotting.  And  since  these  gloomy 
days  of  Pombal,1  the  devil  has  never  ceased  by  open 
obstruction  and  hidden  artifice  to  discredit  and  defeat, 
wherever  he  could  or  can,  this  latest  revelation  of  God's 
love  to  man. 

After  this  explanation,  we  may  now  proceed  to  unfold 
the  nature  and  object  of  the  '  Archconfraternity  of  the  Sacred 
Heart.'  We  fancy  that  now-a-days  there  are  few  devout 
Catholics  who  are  not  aware  that  the  object  of  this  wonderful 
'  Archconfraternity '  is  to  offer  to  the  Sacred  Heart  in  the 
Tabernacle  an  unfailing  tribute  of  praise,  reverence,  honour, 
and  glory — to  return  It  love  for  love — to  thank  our  Blessed 
Redeemer  for  the  institution  of  the  Most  Holy  Sacrament— 
and  to  make  some  reparation  for  the  coldness,  ingratitude, 
and  insults,  that  are  offered  to  His  infinite  Charity. 

Authentic  records  prove  that  this  'Archconfraternity'  has 
sprung  from  and  rests  on  the  revelations  vouchsafed  to 
Blessed  Margaret  Mary.  This  holy  nun  testifies  in  one  of 
her  Letters  (lllth)  to  the  exceeding  joy  which  she 
experienced  on  learning  of  the  establishment  of  a  Confra- 
ternity of  the  Sacred  Heart,  at  Coutances  in  France,  and 
expressed  her  ardent  desire  that  a  similar  one  might  be 
established  later  on  in  Paris.  Scarcely  had  three  years 
elapsed  after  her  death,  when  a  Confraternity  of  the  Sacred 
Heart  was  inaugurated  at  Paray-le-Monial,  1690,  which 
Benedict  XIII.  solemnly  confirmed  in  1728,  and  enriched 
with  precious  indulgences.  In  the  following  year,  1729, 
St.  Leonard  of  Port  Maurice,  assisted  by  Father  Gallifet,  S.  J. , 
founded  in  the  Church  of  St.  Theodore  another  Confraternity 
of  the  Sacred  Heart,  which,  in  1732,  was  raised  to  the  rank 
of  an  Archconfraternity.  During  the  subsequent  eleven 
years,  seven  hundred  Confraternities  were  affiliated  to  it,  and 
thirty  years  later  the  number  of  its  affiliated  Confraternities 
reached  one  thousand  and  ninety. 

Soon  afterwards,  the  anarchy  and  carnage  of  the  French 
revolution  briefly  interrupted  the  progress  of  this  great  work, 

1  Pombal  was  the  Portuguese  Prime  Minister,  who  chiefly  contributed  by 
threats  and  intrigues  to  the  suppression  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  under  Pope 
Clement  XIV. 


TWO   GREAT   SPIRITUAL  ASSOCIATIONS          523 

but  when  more  peaceful  times  followed,  the  '  Archconfrater- 
nity'  with  apparently  redoubled  life  and  vigour,  recommenced 
and  extended  its  operations.  This  notable  expansion  of  the 
devotion  was  brought  about  in  the  following  way.  On  the 
14th  February,  1801,  a  number  of  devoted  priests  who  had 
founded  among  themselves  the  'Pia  Associatio  Sancti  Pauli 
obtained  from  the  Holy  See  the  requisite  permission  to 
establish  anew  the  Confraternity  of  the  Sacred  Heart  in  their 
Church  of  Sancta  Maria  ad  Pineam,  known  as  in  Capella. 
In  a  Brief,  dated  25th  January,  1803,  it  was  elevated  to  the 
dignity  of  an  Archconfraternity,  with  power  to  affiliate  to 
itself  all  Confraternities  bearing  the  same  title  and  pursuing 
the  same  object ;  and  moreover,  to  communicate  to  them  the 
numerous  indulgences  which  it  had  already  acquired.  The 
seat  of  this  Archconfraternity  was  transferred  in  1827  to 
the  Church  of  Sancta  Maria  della  Pace,  and  from  that  time 
up  to  the  hour  in  which  we  write,  it  has  never  ceased  tD 
spread  itself  like  a  golden  network,  and  with  almost  light- 
ning-like rapidity,  over  the  whole  Church.  In  1881  it 
had  aggregated  to  itself  no  less  than  nine  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  sixty-eight  branches. 

For  a  moment,  we  may  pause  to  observe  here,  that 
among  the  privileges  and  indulgences  granted  by  Pius  VII., 
to  the  '  Roman  Archconfraternity,'  and  to  its  duly  erected 
canonical  Affiliations,  are  included  some  that  are  very  special 
and  remarkable  in  their  character.  One  of  these  privileges 
is,  permission  to  establish  in  the  same  locality  several 
Confraternities  of  the  Sacred  Heart.  Moreover,  such  Con- 
fraternities may  be  erected  in  churches  and  chapels  of 
religious  without  its  being  necessary  to  take  into  account 
(as  usually  happens)  the  existence  of  similar  Confraternities 
of  the  Sacred  Heart  established  in  the  immediate  vicinity. 
The  Spiritual  Director  of  each  newly-affiliated  Confraternity 
(after  the  reception  of  his  diploma  of  affiliation  from  Eome), 
has  the  right  to  celebrate  a  special  feast  of  the  Sacred  Heart ; 
and,  on  the  day  which  he  selects  for  this  celebration,  not 
only  the  priest  who  celebrates  the  High  Mass,  but  all  priests 
who  celebrate  in  the  church  of  this  Confraternity  are  privi- 
leged to  say  the  Mass  of  the  Sacred  Heart.  Any  day  can  be 


524  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

selected  for  this  local  feast,  provided  it  be  not  Sunday  of 
the  first  or  second  class,  or  fall  within  a  privileged  octave, 
or  on  a  holiday  or  privileged  vigil.  Lastly,  priests  holding 
powers  from  the  Archconfraternity,  and  who  are  not 
entrusted  with  the  charge  of  such  a  local  Confraternity  of 
the  Sacred  Heart,  can  admit  persons  to  membership,  if 
there  be  no  similar  existing  Confraternity  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, or  if  there  be  some  difficulty  which  prevents  its 
erection.  A  priest  enjoying  this  special  power  should 
forward  the  names  of  the  members  whom  he  enrols  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Archconfraternity  at  Borne. 

This  is  but  a  bird's-eye  glance  over  the  history  of  the  Arch- 
confraternity.  (For  further  information  we  direct  attention 
to  the  able  work  of  Father  Nilles,  S.J.,  entitled  De  rationibus 
Festorum  Sanctissiml  Cordis  Jesu  :  Oeniponte,  1885.) 

After  these  explanatory  remarks,  we  will  conclude  by 
considering  the  nature  of  the  relations  which  exist  between 
this  glorious  '  Archconfraternity  of  the  Sacred  Heart '  and 
the  '  Apostleship  of  Prayer.'  From  what  we  have  already 
stated,  we  may  easily  gather  that  the  'Archconfraternity'  or 
its  branch  affiliations,  do  not  necessarily  suppose  or  require 
public  services  or  meetings  such  as  we  see  and  know  to  exist 
in  our  Church  sodalities.  It  points  only  to  the  divine  Object 
of  the  devotion,  and  enriches  with  multiplied  privileges 
and  indulgences  those  who  fervently  recite  the  prayers 
prescribed  in  its  honour,  or  approach  the  sacraments  for  a 
similar  intention.  But,  beyond  recommending  the  devout 
celebration  of  the  annual  Feast  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  the 
reception  of  the  Holy  Communion  on  the  first  Friday  or 
Sunday  of  each  month,  counselling  assistance  at  some  public 
devotions  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  and  the  daily  recital  of  some 
indulgenced  prayers,  the  Archconfraternity  neither  imposes 
nor  suggests  devotional  details. 

It  is  precisely  to  meet  this  want  that  the  'Apostleship' 
proves  an  invaluable  auxiliary  to  the  '  Archconfraternity  '  by 
supplying  it  with  an  organization  at  once  simple,  strong, 
elastic,  and  furnished,  as  we  have  seen,  with  many  rich  privi- 
leges and  indulgences  by  the  Holy  See  ;  and,  thus  united, 
they  can  embrace  not  only  those  who  assemble  together  in 
public  Church  sodality  services,  but  also  those  who,  for  any 


TWO   GREAT   SPIRITUAL  ASSOCIATIONS          525 

legitimate  reason,  cannot  assist  at  such  sodality  or  meeting 
away  from  their  homes. 

Nor  must  we  suppose  that  the  scope  of  their  joint 
operations  is  confined  exclusively  to  adult  sodalities  or 
individuals — for  one  of  the  most  important  functions  of  the 
'  Apostleship '  relates  entirely  to  children  of  both  sexes,  who 
are  still  engaged  in  their  studies.  This  branch  is  styled  the 
'  Apostleship  of  Study,'  and  is  enriched  with  special  favours 
and  indulgences  by  the  Holy  See.  Moreover,  controlled  by  its 
direction,  any  works  affecting  the  spiritual  interests  of  the 
faithful — as,  for  example,  temperance,  &c. — may  be  efficiently 
organized  and  worked.  To  realize  that  these  are  not  mere 
words  but  concrete  facts,  we  have  but  to  cast  a  glance  over 
the  Church  to-day.  Europe,  Asia,  America,  South  Africa> 
and  still  more  distant  Australia,  witness  to  the  unexaggerated 
truth  of  the  statement. 

Having  thus  sketched  in  very  faint  outline— but,  we  trust, 
with  accuracy — the  origin,  growth,  and  spread  of  these  two 
branches  of  a  parent  stem ,  we  should  leave  incomplete  their 
description,  did  we  not  add  that  we  feel  that  the  Heart  of 
our  Blessed  Master  has  designed  them  to  be  the  complement 
of  each  other — both  separate,  yet  united  in  the  one  object  of 
procuring  the  greater  glory  of  the  Sacred  Heart — both,  so 
to  speak,  leaning  on  each  other  for  mutual  support  and 
mutual  advancement — both  drawing  divine  fire  and  light 
from  the  glowing  furnace  of  that  Human,  yet  Divine  Heart, 
from  which  both  have  issued  !  And  this  view  fully  explains 
why  the  Superior- General  of  the  '  Archconfraternity  of  the 
Sacred  Heart '  in  Kome,  and  for  the  whole  world,  with  the 
sanction  of  our  Holy  Father  Leo  XIII.,  expressed  in 
Pontifical  Letters,  dated  June  7th,  1879,  and  again  in 
April  llth,  1897,  bestowed  on  all  actual  Directors  of  the 
'  Apostleship  of  Prayer,'  and  on  their  successors,  the  personal 
faculty  of  aggregating  members  of  the  '  Archconfraternity.' 

J.  A.  CULLEN,  S.J. 

1  For  the  valid  canonical  erection  of  the  '  Archconfraternity  of  the  Sacred 
Heart,'  as  well  as  of  the  '  Apostleship  of  Prayer,'  the  permission  of  the  Ordinary 
of  the  diocese  is  required  to  procure  the  diplomas  of  affiliation  essential  to  the 
gaining-  of  the  indulgences. 

We  shall  be  happy  to  forward  the  necessary  printed  forms  of  petition  to 
be  forwarded  to  the  Right  Reverend  Ordinaries,  and  to  Rome. 


[     526 


IRISH   MONASTERIES   IN   GERMANY 

COLOGNE 

C~  OLOGNE  was  nothing  more  than  a  small  collection  of 
huts  and  sheds  when  Germanicus  pitched  his  tent 
on  the  site  which  the  city  now  occupies  in  the  early  years 
of  the  Christian  era.  It  was  there  that  his  daughter, 
Agrippina,  was  born,  amidst  the  noise  of  arms  and  the 
chatter  of  legions.  This  princess,  who  afterwards  became 
so  famous  and  so  unfortunate  as  the  mother  of  Nero,  took 
a  life-long  interest  in  the  place  of  her  birth.  She  sent  a 
colony  of  Roman  nobles  to  found  a  settlement  there ;  and 
the  place  was  called  Colonia  Agrippina,  to  commemorate 
the  circumstances  of  its  foundation.  Only  the  noblest  patri- 
cians were  allowed  to  take  part  in  the  enterprise ;  and  to 
this  fact  the  hereditary  pride  of  the  modern  magnats  of 
Cologne  is  duly  traced.  Those  noble  Romans  undoubtedly 
marked  with  the  impress  of  their  genius  and  their  taste  the 
institutions  and  the  buildings  of  their  city.  Colonia  soon 
became  the  stronghold  of  the  empire  in  the  North  of  Europe. 
She  was  to  the  barbarians  of  Germany  and  Gaul  the  image 
and  the  eye  of  the  mother  city.  The  patricians  of  Rome  and 
princes  of  the  empire  came  in  crowds  to  visit  the  new 
capital,  to  enjoy  its  baths,  its  palaces,  its  theatres,  and  its 
brilliant  society.  Vitellius  was  there  when  he  was  called  to 
the  throne,  and  Trajan  assumed  the  royal  purple  within  its 
walls. 

Soon,  however,  on  the  break  up  of  the  mighty  power 
which  had  ruled  the  world  for  close  on  a  thousand  years, 
a  new  order  succeeded  to  the  old.  In  Germany,  as  else- 
where, the  change  was  preceded,  accompanied,  and  followed 
by  revolts,  conspiracies,  and  foul  deeds  of  every  kind.  When 
Clovis  was  crowned  at  Cologne,  in  508,  as  King  of  the 
Franks  of  Austrasia,  turmoil  and  confusion  seemed  to  reign 
supreme.  Nor  did  Clovis  succeed  in  suppressing  the  out- 
bursts of  vice  and  crime  that  surrounded  him  on  all  sides. 


IRISH   MONASTERIES   IN   GERMANY  527 

For  upwards  of  a  hundred  years  the  superstitions  of  pagan- 
ism, which  had  taken  so  strong  a  hold  of  the  Teutonic 
nature,  dominated  the  native  tribes,  and  drove  them  to  the 
most  monstrous  excesses  of  barbarism  and  cruelty.  It  was 
only  towards  the  end  of  the  seventh  century  that  Christianity 
began  to  take  root  and  flourish  at  Cologne. 

No  doubt  Christian  blood  had  been  shed  in  the  city  as 
early  as  the  end  of  the  third  century,  when  the  martyrs  of 
the  Theban  legion  were,  according  to  tradition,  massacred 
there.  It  was  there,  too,  that  St.  Ursula  and  her  compa- 
nions gained  their  crown  of  martyrdom,  in  the  fifth  century. 
No  doubt  the  line  of  bishops  of  Cologne  extends  back  as  far 
as  St.  Maternus,  a  converted  soldier,  who  preached  the 
Gospel  to  the  Ubii  about  A.D.  350 ;  but  under  him  and 
several  of  his  successors  the  great  mass  of  the  population 
clung  on  to  paganism. 

No  genuinely  organized  effort  was  made  to  introduce 
Christianity  amongst  them  till  the  year  690,  when  the  Irish 
monk,  Tilmo,  built  a  chapel  in  an  Island  on  the  Rhine,  close 
by  the  city,  and  began  to  preach  the  good  tidings  of  the 
Gospel  to  the  pagans  around  him.  St.  Egbert  of  England 
had  made  some  attempt  to  convert  them  on  the  occasion  of 
his  mission  to  the  Frisians,  but  his  efforts  bore  no  fruit,  and 
he  was  compelled  to  return  to  Hy.  A  similar  fate  was 
reserved  for  his  countryman,  Wigbert,1  who  had  spent  several 
years  in  close  retirement  in  Ireland  in  preparation  for  his 
mission.  He  too  returned,  disappointed  and  disheartened,  to 
make  up,  by  the  austerities  of  his  life  and  the  examples 
of  his  virtues,  for  the  failure  of  his  missionary  career. 
St.  Egbert,  however,  urged  others  to  attempt  the  task  in 
which  he  confessed  that  he  himself  had  failed ;  and  a 
full  band  of  twelve  monks,  with  Willibrord  and  Suidbert 
at  their  head,  were  directed  towards  the  territory  of 

1 '  TJnus  tamen  ex  ejus  (Egbert!)  sociis  Wigbertus  nomine  et  ipse  contemptu 
caeculi  et  doctrinae  scienti a  insignia,  qui  mnltos  annos  anachoretieam  inHybernia 
vitam  sectatus  fu<-rat  in  Frisiam  trajecit  ac  duobus  continuis  annis  genti  illi 
regique  ejus  Radbodo  verbum  salutis  praedicavit,  Sed  cum  nullum  tanti 
laboris  fructum  ex  barbaris  illis  retulisset  reversus  est,  et  qui  extenris  prodesse 
ad  fidem  iion  poterat.  nuarum  virtutum  exemplia  prodesse  suis  studuit.'  — 
(Mabillon,  Annales  Lcncd.,  i.,  an,  090.) 


528  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

the  Frisians  and  of  the  pagan  tribes  that  dwelt  on  their 
confines.  Of  these  adventurous  messengers,  Tilmo,  an 
Irishman,  was  one ;  and  in  the  division  of  territory 
mapped  out  to  the  labourers,  Cologne  and  its  people 
fell  to  his  lot. 

That  Tilmo  was  a  native  of  Ireland1  seems  quite  certain. 
The  constant  tradition  of  Cologne  is  to  that  effect.  The 
oldest  chronicles  of  the  monastery  of  St.  Martin  speak  of  him 
as  a  native  of  Scotia,  and  tell  us  that  he  was  at  first  a  soldier, 
then  a  monk,  and  finally  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel  on  the 
banks  of  the  Rhine.  Almost  all  the  missionaries  of  this 
region  were  educated  either  in  Ireland  or  in  Hy  ;  but  when 
they  went  abroad  to  preach  the  Gospel  they  usually  marked 
the  institutions  which  they  founded  with  the  seal  of  their 
nationality.  Hence  it  was  that  the  establishment  of  Tilmo 
soon  attracted  other  Irishmen,  who  immediately  grouped 
themselves  around  him,  and  took  up  the  work  which  he  had 
initiated.2  The  following  lines  of  an  old  poet  simply  hand 
down  the  tradition  of  centuries  :— 

Agrippae  dulces  salvete  Napaeae, 
Dique  Deaeque  omnes  quorum  sub  nomine  terras 
Liquimus  Hybernas,  atque  has  intravimus  oras  ; 
Has  sedes  servate  Scotis,  hie  sistere  terris, 
Exiliique  vagos  liceat  finire  labores . 

In  the  course  of  a  few  years  Tilmo3  was  joined  by  several 

1  '  Tilmon,  natione  Scotus,    vir  illustris,   de  milite  factus   monachus,  ab 
Egberto  Abbate  Anglo  missus  in  insula  Rheni  prope  Coloniam,  coenobiticam 
vitam  egit,  anno  Christi  nati  D.C'X.C.  constructo  sacello  quod  infra  sacristiae 
absides  visendum    perstat.'  —  (^.ntiquitates    JUonasterii    Sancti   Martini  Majoris 
Coloniensis,  p.  i.,  II.,  by  J.  H 

2  St.  Egbert,  St.  Wigbert,  the  two  saints  Ewald   (the  dark  and  the  fair), 
St.  Willibrord  and  St.  Suidbert,  had  all  come  to  Ireland  to  prepare  for  their 
mission.    .What  is  related  of  St.  Willibrord  maybe  said  in  substance  of  all  the 
others  : — 

4  Deinde  audita  sanctorum  virorum  in  Hibernia  turn  eruditione,  turn  sancti- 
monia,  eorum  religions  incitatus,  praecipue  Egberti  mox  laudati,  quern  sanctum 
vocabant  etWigbertivenerabilis  sacerdotis  qui  ambo  ob  coelestis  patriae  amorem, 
domo,  patria,  cognatione  relictis,  in  Hiberniam  secesseraut ;  cum  permissu 
abbatis  et  fratrum  suorum  ad  eos  contendit  ut  eorum  contubernio  et  sancta 
conversatione  frueretur ;  ibique  duodecim  annos  inter  eximios  'piae  religionis 
simul  ac  sacrae  lectionismagistros,  f  uturus  ipse  multorum  populorum  praedicator, 
eruditus,  informatusque  est ' — (Mabillon,  Annales  Bated.,  torn  i.,  p.  592.) 

3  Sub  auspiciis  postea  Pipini  de  Heristallo  et  Plectrudis  ejus  conjugis 
coenobium  erectum  est.  sub  patrocinio  divi  Martini  Turonensis  Episcopi  circa 
annum  708,  quo  tempore  Sancti  Wiro,  Plechelmus  et  Otgems  Pippini  et 
Plectendis  subsidio  suff ulti,  Scotorum  contubernium  in  insula  conatruxerunt. 


IRISH   MONASTERIES   IN   GERMANY  520 

other  Irishmen,  whose  nationality  is  universally  admitted, 
amongst  them  saints  AViro,  Plechelmus  and  Ofcger. 
With  their  assistance  a  monastery,  was  established  and 
dedicated  to  St.  Martin  of  Tours,  a  saint  whose  renown  was 
in  all  the  churches  in  those  days,  and  whose  memory  was 
specially  venerated  in  Ireland  as  well  as  in  France. 

The  Irish  monastery  of  St.  Martin  was,  therefore,  the 
first  Christian  establishment  regularly  founded  in  the  city  of 
Cologne.  From  this  rich  granary  the  seed  of  Christian  faith 
was  distributed  and  scattered  broadcast  over  the  land, 
taking  such  deep  root  that  it  lasts  to-day,  and  flourishes  in 
one  of  the  fairest  gardens  of  which  the  Church  can  boast. 

In  the  course  of  some  years  these  Irish  monks  were 
joined  by  natives,  and  one  of  these,  named  Wicterp,  made 
such  progress  under  the  Scoti,  that  he  one  day  became 
Abbot  of  the  monastery,  and  afterwards  Bishop  of  Ratisbon. 
To  this  position  his  noble  origin  and  powerful  connection 
naturally  helped  him  in  a  feudal  age.  The  missionaries 
took  advantage  of  his  kinship  with  Plectrude,  the  wife  of 
Pepin  ofHeristal,  to  secure  the  favour  of  princes  and  people. 
Wicterp  was  succeeded  in  turn  as  abbot  by  Alpho,  Herbod, 
Aldegar,  Patrick,  Blasius,  Heynian,  Bartholf,  Gottfried, 
Martin,  Adolf,  Benedict,' Dithard,  and  Berthold.  That  some 
of  these  were  native  Teutons  and  some  Scoti  is  quite  certain. 
That  some  of  these  bear  German  names  is  no  proof  that 
they  were  not  Irish,  as  many  of  the  Irish  missionaries 
modified  their  names  to  suit  the  tongue  of  the  people  to 
whom  they  ministered.  Beatus,  Virgilius,  Fridolinus  do 
not  sound  very  Irish,  yet  all  admit  their  nationality. 
German  Protestant  historians  have  no  doubt  about  the 
Irish  nationality  of  '  Clement  the  Heretic ;'  yet  Clement 
does  not  sound  particularly  Hibernian. 

During  the  eventful  period  that  intervened  between  (590 
and  975,  in  which  the  above-named  abbots  lived  and  ruled, 
their  monastery  passed  through  many  vicissitudes.  Twice 
it  was  levelled  to  the  ground  by  merciless  invaders — first,  by 
the  Saxons,  and  then  by  the  Normans.  In  the  year  972, 
Bruno,  Archbishop  of  Cologne,  brought  Berthold,  one  of  the 
monks  of  Lorsch  or  Laureeham,  to  govern  St.  Martin's. 

VOL.  in.  2  t 


530  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

Gero,  his  successor,  conferred  many  privileges  on  the 
monastery  ;  but  Warinus,  whose  curious  history  is  one  of 
the  romances  of  the  annals  of  Cologne,  and  who  succeeded 
Gero,  restored  the  monastery  to  Irish  monks,  and  confided 
its  government  to  the  Irish  abbot  Mimborinus.1  Warinus 
also  signalized  his  term  of  office  by  building,  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  monastery,  a  chapel,  in  honour  of  St.  B  rigid 
of  Kildare,2  which  afterwards  became,  and  long  remained  a 
parish  church  in  the  city  of  Cologne. 

On  the  death  of  Mimborinus,  in  987,  one  of  the  monks, 
named  Kilian,  was  appointed  to  succeed  him.  He  is 
described  as  a  very  religious  man  ;  and,  we  are  told, 
that  the  Archbishop,  Evergerus,  with  the  consent  of  the 
Emperor  Otho  III.,  presented  to  him,  for  the  use  of  his 
monastery  and  pilgrim  monks,  several  farms,  with  the 
fishing  of  the  Ehine  attached;  three  churches,  several 
manses,  vineyards,  and  exemption  from  some  of  the  taxes 
in  the  city  and  in  the  empire.  He  also  got  charge  of  the 
monastery  of  St.  Pantaleon,  in  the  city,  as  well  as  of 
St.  Martin's.  It  is  evident  there  must  have  been  Irish  monks 
in  the  former  as  well  as  in  the  latter  of  these  monasteries. 

The  most  remarkable  of  the  line  of  abbots  of  St.  Martin's 
was,  however,  Helias,  whom  the  ancient  annals  of  Cologne 
unanimously  designate  as  St.  Helias.  He  had  come  ori- 
ginally from  the  monastery  of  Monaghan  in  Ireland.  He 
led  a  most  austere  life,  Trithemius  tells,  and  was  on  that 
account  an  object  of  hatred  to  wicked  men,  who  feared  his 
reproof.  On  the  other  hand,  he  was  the  bosom  friend  and 
counsellor  of  St.  Heribert,  Archbishop  of  Cologne,  whose 
biographer,  Landberth,  tells  us  that  when  this  illustrious 
prelate  felt  his  end  approach,  he  sent  for  his  beloved  Helias, 
who  prepared  him  for  death,  and  administered  to  him  the 


Gross  St.  Martin  in  Koln.  By  Anton  Ditges  -Kaplan,  pp.  13,  14. 
2  '  Warinusqui  Geronemvivus  sepelivissedicitur.posteafaotus  Archiepiwcopus 
de  crimine  penitens  Romani  ivit  etinde  reversus  monasterium  nostrum  melioravit 
et  Scotis  iterum  immolavit  anno  975  quibus  praefecit  venerabilem  virum  Mim- 
borinum,  nntione  Scotum,  qui  praefuit  annis  12.  Indc  Marinus  faotus  est 
hie  monaehus  et  tumbam  Sancti  Eliphii  gloriose  ornavit.  Construxit  etiam 
Sacellum  S.  Brigidae  Virginis  Scotae  quod  postea  factum  est  ecclesia  parochialie. 
Extract  from  ancient  chronicle  of  St.  Martin,  published  in  Keasel's.  '—Antiquitates 
Suited  Marttiti  Majuris  CuluniKHsis,  xi. 


IRISH   MONASTERIES   IN   GERMANY  531 

Sacrament  of  Extreme  Unction,  and  all  the  final  consolations 
of  the  Church.1 

On  the  death  of  Heribert,  however,  the  new  Archbishop, 
Pilgrinus,  conceived  an  inveterate  dislike  for  the  Irish 
monks,  and  for  Helias  in  particular,  to  such  an  extent, 
indeed,  that  he  threatened  to  expel  them  from  Cologne  on 
his  return  from  his  pastoral  visits  through  his  diocese.  He 
reckoned,  however,  without  St.  Helias,  who  prayed  that  if 
God  was  for  the  Irish  monks  Pilgrinus  might  never  return 
to  Cologne.' 2  Whether  this  be  a  legend  or  a  fact,  certain  it 
is  that  Pilgrinus  never  did  return.  He  died,  as  Marianus 
Scotus  informs  us,  at  the  town  of  Neomagus,  in  1035. 
Helias  was  honoured  with  the  confidence  of  his  successor, 
Herrmann,  and  ruled  his  two  monasteries,  St.  Martin  and 
St.  Pantaleon's,  with  the  greatest  success.  He  was  remark- 
able, however,  for  uncommon  strictness  in  the  enforcement 
of  discipline.  A  French  monk  of  St.  Pantaleon  having 
written,  without  permission,  a  neat  copy  of  the  Missal  for 
the  use  of  the  community,  Helias  burned  it,  lest  others 
should  presume  to  act  without  previous  licence.3  He  died 
in  the  odour  of  sanctity,  and  was  buried  in  the  chapel  of 
St.  Benedict,  with  the  epitaph  : — 

Haec  tumuli  fossa  conduntur  Praesulis  ossa 
Heliae  miri  mirificique  viri. 

It  is  stated  by  many  writers  that  Helias  was  a  skilled 
musician,  and  that  he  was  the  first  to  bring  the  Bonian 
chant  to  Cologne,  Mabillon  goes  so  far  even  as  to  suggest 


1  '  Mimborino  successit  Kilianus,  vir  multum  religiosus,  cujus  intuitu 
Evergerus  Archiepiscopus,  consentieiite  Ottone  Imperatore  III.,  in  usus  momi- 
chorum  peregrin orum  pro  remedio  animae  siiae  donavit  curies  dominicatas 
"Rodenkirchhoff  et  Flitherte,  cum  piscatione  Rheni  in  tractibus  et  justitia  quae 
dicitur  Ban.  Insuper  quidquid  in  villis  Wicerheim  et  Asoha  habebat  funditus 
nobis  inancipavit.  Ecclesias  quoque  tres  in  Sutlere,  aliam  in  Wische,  tertiam 
in  Flitherte.  Insuper  in  urbe  Colonia  macellum  omne  et  areas  a  porta  frunieuti 
usque  ad  occidentalem  murem  civitatis  et  iterum  a  porta  fori  usque  ad  nusum 
Rheni  dedit.  Curtem  quoque  dominicatem  in  Winningo  cum  xv.  macsibus  t-t 
quidquid  vinearum  ibi  habuit  nobis  condonavit  et  alia  plura  beneficia  praestitit 
in  quorum  vicem  perpetua  ejus  memoria  apud  noa  peragitur.' — (Kessel, 
op.  cit,,  p.  xi. 

2 '  Si  Deus  in  nobis  eat  peregrinis,  nunquam  vivus  ad  Coloniam  veniat 
Pilgrinus.' 

;!  SeeLanigan,  Ecc.  Hist.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  442. 


532  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

that  he  is  the  '  Stranger  and  Pilgrim '  to  whom  Berno  of 
Reichanau  dedicated  his  work  on  The  Laws  of  Symphony 
and  Tone,1  a  work  well  known  in  the  history  of  music. 
If  Cologne  was  thus  indebted  in  the  eleventh  century 
for  the  Koman  chant  and  for  musical  education  to  an 
Irishman  from  Monaghan,2  who  had  studied  in  Rome,  it 
must  be  admitted  that  she  is  now  paying  back  the  debt, 
with  interest,  to  Ireland,  after  a  lapse  of  over  eight  hundred 
years. 

The  learned  historian  of  the  diocese  of  Cologne, 
J.  H.  Kessel,8  published,  in  the  year  1863,  a  most  inte- 
resting volume  containing  all  the  ancient  documents 
bearing  on  the  history  of  St.  Martin's  monastery.  In 
the  introduction  to  this  work  he  bears  eloquent  testimony 
to  the  heroic  labours  of  the  Irish  missionaries  not  only  in 
Cologne,  but  all  over  Europe.  He  takes  good  care,  in  speak- 
ing of  these  Scottish  monks,  to  make  it  clear  that  in  ancient 
times  '  Scotia '  was  not  the  name  of  modern  Scotland. 
Amongst  the  earliest  apostles  of  Germany,  he  says,  the 
Irish  hold  the  first  place.  He  gives  a  short  account  of  the 
introduction  of  Christianity  into  Ireland,  of  its  rapid  con- 
quest of  the  whole  people,  of  its  fruitful  development,  and 
of  the  great  number  of  monastic  schools  that  arose  all  over 
the  country,  and  became  what  he  truly  calls  the  fountain- 
heads4  of  many  streams  that  flowed  over  this  favoured 
land,  and  fertilized  the  soil  of  regions  which  the 

1  Berno'«  letter  is  addressed  :  '  Domino,  Deoque  Dilecto  Filio,  Grinovero, 
mundi  hujus  advenae  et  peregrine.'  On  which  Mabillon  comments : — '  Quis  sit 
iste  Grinoverus  cui  Berno  librum  suum  nuncupat  non  liquet.  Quod  cum  iHumll 
htij'us  advenam  et  peregrinum  dicit,  conjicicere  licet  eum  fuisse  Scottum,  et  forte 
Sancti  Pantaleonis  aut  Scti  Martini  Majoris  Colon iensis  praesulem  seu  Abbatem. 
Nam  abbates  nonnunquam  praesules  appellabantur.  Verum  Elias  eo  tempore 
utriusque  monasterii  abbas  erat.  An  binominis  erat  Elias,  qui  cantum  Romanum 
ex  urbe  Roma  Coloniam  primus  attulisse  dicitur  ?  .  .  .  Aliis  divinaudum  relin- 
quo.' — Mabillon,  Annales  Benedicttnortun,  torn,  iv.,  p.  207. 

3  See  Colgan,  AA.  SS.  Hib.,  p.  107. 

z  Attiiquitates  Monasterii  Syncti  Martini  Majoris  Colontcnsin,  J.  H.  Kessal, 
Presbyter  Coloniensis. 

4  '  Quibus  factis  quum  fontes  religionis  christianae  in  Hybernia  largisnime 
scattirirent,  plurimi  hide   rivuli  decursu   temporis  in  eas  Scotiae  partes  quac 
adhuc    siccitate    et   vanitato    superstitionum   paganarum  laborabaut,  feliuiter 
deduct!  sunt.' — (Op.  cit.,  p.  21.) 


IRISH   MONASTERIES   IN   GERMANY  533 

vanity   of  superstition   had    hitherto  rendered   barren  and 
worthless. 

Whilst  this  noble  race  of  the  '  Scoti '  [he  continues '  |  was 
enjoying  the  heavenly  light  of  Gospel  trutn,  and  was  bearing 
such  fruits  of  virtue  and  good  works  as  ever  reward  the  labours 
of  those  who  live  according  to  its  standard,  Germany  lay  buried 
in  the  darkest  and  densest  of  superstitions.  She  had  not  even 
any  hope  of  better  fortune,  either  as  to  the  preparation  for  a 
future  life  or  the  conception  of  any  duty  towards  a  Supreme 
Being.  Nor  can  we  be  surprised  at  the  fact,  for  traces  of  the 
superstition  which  we  find  to  have  existed  at  Cologne,  in  the 
sixth  century,  prove  to  us  how  crass  and  vile  were  the  pagan 
ideas  and  customs  that  then  existed  in  our  city.  To  rescue  the 
Germans  from  such  darkness  the  Almighty  seems  to  have  chosen 
the  '  Scoti,'  who,  yielding  with  joy  to  His  divine  will,  proceeded 
to  make  new  conquests  for  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  As  Mabillon, 
in  his  Annals  of  the  Benedictines,  remarks,  the  Scoti  conferred 
four  benefits  on  the  German  people — 1.  The  faith  which  gives 
salvation.  2.  The  erection  of  bishoprics.  3.  The  introduction 
of  arts  and  letters.  4.  The  knowledge  of  agriculture.  Those 
who  wish  to  realize  the  full  extent  to  which  we  are  indebted  to 
the  Scoti  for  these  blessings  have  only  to  read  the  work  of  the 
learned  Spittler,  which  is  worthy  of  the  closest  attention.2 

These  missionaries  feared  neither  the  dangers  of  sea  nor  of 
land.  Armed  with  the  cross  alone  they  preached  Christ  crucified 
to  kings  and  peoples.  They  gave  their  lives  for  the  salvation  of 
our  forefathers  who  had  not  yet  been  born  anew  through  the 
waters  of  Baptism.  What  bitter  trials  they  sustained,3  what 
giant  labours  they  performed,  what  adversaries  they  faced  and 
obstacles  they  overcame,  the  learned  Abbot  Martinus  Gerbert* 
and  Lumper,*  the  historian,  have  fully  told  us,  giving  to  each  of 
these  Scottish  missionaries  his  share  in  the  gifts  of  preaching  or 
in  the  advancement  of  Christian  virtue,  of  civilization,  and  of 
letters.  It  is,  therefore,  not  wonderful  that  these  Scots  gained 
such  authority,  and  won  the  favour  of  all  good  men  to  such  an 
extent,  that  the  vicissitudes  of  centuries  could  neither  subvert 


1  '  Interea  dum  nobilissitna  Scotorum  gens  suavi  evangelicae  veritatis  luce 
ganderet  talesque  virtutum  bonorumque  operum  fructus  ferret  .  .  •  Germania 
tristissimis  densissimisque  superstitionum  paganarum  tenebris  obruta  jacebat.' 

2  Grnndriss  d'Gescfiichte  d' ChristticJte  Kirche,  2  ter.(  p.  98. 

a  '  Quo  in  munere  perfungeudo  quot  aerumnas  et  labores,  quot  adversaries 
pertulerint  et  impedimenta  superariut  luculenter  et  prolixe  exponunt  Martinus 
Gerbert  doctissimus  Abbas  et  Lumper  singulis  antiquissimae  memoriae  Mis- 
sionariis  Scoticis,  qui  aut  praedicationis  munere  aut  singulari  virtutum 
litterarumque  laude  praecelluerunt,  laudatis.' 

4  Mart.  Ger'bert,  Vet.  Liturg.  Alem.,  torn,  i.,  p.  28. 

5  Lumper,  Inst.  Hist.,  p.  226. 


534  1HE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

nor  undermine  the  veneration  in  which  they  were  held.  All  this 
is  mainly  to  be  ascribed  to  the  fact  that  they  not  only  brought  to 
the  Germans  the  treasure  of  divine  truth,  but  all  the  civilizing 
institutions  of  the  Christian  religion — schools,  hospitals,  asylums, 
shelters  for  the  poor,  and  all  similar  retreats.  In  the  year  844, 
several  of  these  institutions  having  been  allowed  to  fall  into 
decay,  either  by  the  negligence  of  the  bishops  or  the  vicissitudes 
of  the  times,  a  decree  was  passed,  at  the  Council  of  Meaux,  held 
in  that  year,  ordering  hospitals  and  such  foundations  to  be 
restored,  '  such  as  they  had  been  instituted  by  the  Scots  of  old. ' 
Every  province  of  Germany  proclaims  this  race  as  its  benefactor. 
Austria  celebrates  St.  Column,  St.  Virgilius,  St.  Modestus,  and 
others.  To  whom  but  to  the  ancient  Scots  was  due  the  famous 
'  Schottenkloster '  of  Vienna  ?  Salsburg,  Eatisbon ,  and  all 
Bavaria  honour  St.  Virgilius  as  their  apostle.  Similar  honour 
is  paid,  in  different  regions,  to  SS.  Alto,  Marianus,  and  Macarius. 
To  whom  but  to  these  same  monks  was  due  the  famous  monastery 
of  St.  James  at  Katisbon  ?  Burgundy,  Alsace,  Helvetia,  Suevia, 
with  one  voice  proclaim  the  glory  of  Columbanus,  Gall,  Fridolin, 
Arbogast,  Florentius,  Trudpert,  who  first  preached  the  true 
religion  amongst  them.  Who  were  the  founders  of  the  monas- 
teries of  St.  Thomas  at  Strasburg,  and  of  St.  Nicholas  at 
Memmingen,  but  these  same  Scots  ?  Franconia  and  the 
Buchonian  forest  honour  as  their  apostles  St.  Kilian  and 
St.  Pirmin.  .  .  and  those  Scottish  monasteries  of  St.  Aegidius 
and  St.  James,  which  in  olden  times  flourished  at  Nuremburg 
and  at  Wurzburg,  to  whom  are  they  to  be  ascribed  but  to  the 
holy  monks  of  ancient  Scotia?  The  land  between  the  Rhine 
and  the  Moselle  rejoiced  in  the  labours  of  Wendelin  and  Disibod. 
.  .  .  The  old  and  famous  monastery  of  St.  James,  at  Mayence, 
was  founded,  according  to  the  best  writers,  by  these  same  Scots. 
The  Saxons  and  the  tribes  of  Northern  Germany  are  indebted 
to  them  to  an  extent  which  may  be  judged  by  the  fact  that  the 
first  ten  bishops  who  occupied  the  see  of  Verden  belonged  to  that 
race. 

The  immediate  successor  of  St.  Helias,  as  abbot  of 
St.  Martin's,  was  Mariolus  or  Molanus,  who,  according  to 
Florence  of  Worcester,  died  in  1061.  He  is  described  by 
the  poet -chronicler,  Oliver  Legipont,  as — 

Vir  niveo  candore  micans  et  Pallade  clarus. 

Five  other  names  complete  the  roll  of  Irish  abbots  of 
St.  Martin's — they  are :  Felan,  Wolfhard,  Hezelin,  Isaac, 
and  Arnold.  Of  the  last-named,  who  died  in  1103,  the 
chronicler  tells  us — 

Ultimus  ille  fuit  praesul  de  gente  Scotorurn. 


IRISH   MONASTERIES   IN   GERMANY  535 

This  was  the  period  of  decay  iu  Irish  monastic  life  at 
home  owing  to  the  Danish  wars  and  other  domestic  causes. 
The  monasteries  abroad  shared  in  the  downfall  of  the 
establishments  that  had  given  them  birth,  and  soon  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  stranger. 

The  abbey  of  St.  Martin,  at  Cologne,  did  not  disappear, 
however,  with  its  Irish  monks.  On  the  contrary,  it  con- 
tinued to  be  one  of  the  most  important  centres  of  civiliza- 
tion and  learning  in  Germany.  Nobles,  and  even  princes 
became  its  mitred  abbots.  Many  of  its  monks  were  heard 
in  the  halls  of  the  University  of  Cologne  by  the  side  of 
Albertus  Magnus,  Thomas  Aquinas,  and  Duns  Scotus.  Its 
library  was  frequented  by  scholars  from  all  parts  of  Europe. 
But  though  it  survived  t'ae  storms  of  a  thousand  years,  it 
succumbed  to  the  French  Revolution.  By  a  decree  of  the 
9th  of  June,  1802,  it  was  declared  national  property.  The 
goods  of  the  monastery  were  seized,  and  the  church  was 
handed  over  to  the  pastor  of  St.  Brigid's,  to  serve  henceforth 
as  a  parish  church.  On  the  3rd  of  July,  1803,1  the  last 
abbot  of  St.  Martin's  celebrated  his  first  Mass  as  parish 
priest  of  St.  Martin's.  The  church,  however,  still  remains  a 
splendid  memorial  of  the  old  foundations  of  the  '  Scoti.' 
Around  it  cling  the  most  sacred  traditions.  To  the  modern 
people  of  Cologne  it  recalls  the  most  cherished  memories  of 

the  Christian  faith. 

J.  F.  HOGAN. 


1  'Am  3  Juli,  1803,  feierte  der  letze  Abt,  als  erster  Pf  arrer  von  St.  Martin 
in  der  geretteten  Kirche  der  ersten  Parrgottesdienst.'— (Gross  St.  Martin  in 
Kiiln.  Anton  Dityes,  p.  29.) 


[    536    1 


KILKENNY   AND    BISHOP    ROTHE 

following  very  instructive  and  eloquent  lecture  was 
J_  delivered  by  the  Very  Rev.  M.  Kelly,  Professor  of 
Ecclesiastical  history  in  St.  Patrick's  College,  Maynooth, 
at  the  Athenaeum,  Kilkenny,  March  8th,  1857.  It  is,  in  my 
opinion,  well  worthy  of  preservation,  and  nowhere  could  it 
be  more  suitably  and  more  profitably  preserved  than  in 
the  pages  of  the  I.  E.  RECORD  : — 

In  the  subject  which  I  have  selected  for  this  evening, 
if  I  cannot  range  with  you  over  the  boundless  empire  of 
science  in  earth,  and  sea,  and  sky,  I  can  at  least  dwell  with 
you  on  the  most  remarkable  objects  in  that  spot  which  is 
dearest  to  you  on  earth;  objects  whose  very  name  recalls 
to  the  Kilkennyman,  wherever  his  lot  may  be  cast,  the  fair 
city  on  the  banks  of  the  crystal  Nore,  and  the  cloudless  skies 
under  which  he  first  drew  breath.  It  is  this  interest  which 
I  know  you  feel  in  the  monuments  of  your  city ;  it  is  the 
solemn  lessons,  and  immortal  Catholic  memories  connected 
with  St.  Canice's,  and  the  very  genius  of  the  place  in  which, 
if  anywhere,  the  muse  of  Irish  Catholic  history  has  estab- 
lished shrine,  that  emboldened  me  to  connect  with  Kilkenny 
buildings  some  remarkable  events  in  your  civic  history,  and 
indeed  I  may  say  in  the  history  of  Ireland. 

Kilkenny,  if  we  believe  accounts,  hardly  existed  until  the 
Cambro-Norman  invaders  built  the  castle.  They  certainly  en- 
larged and  beautified  the  town ;  and  when  we  consider  its 
name,  so  called  from  the  patron  saint  of  the  surrounding  terri- 
tory (St.  Canice),  who  lived  five  hundred  years  before,  and 
that  round  tower  of  other  days  which  overtops  St.  Canice's, 
we  may  believe  that  centuries  before  the  arrival  of  the 
Cambro-Normans,  or  before  the  conversion  of  the  northern 
half  of  Europe,  there  was  a  church  at  Kilkenny,  and  that  the 
Prince  of  Ossory,  after  paying  his  devotions  to  the  patron 
saint,  often  surveyed  from  this  central  point  the  whole  extent 
of  his  dominions,  from  Brandon  Hill  to  Kilcooley,  and  from 
Slievenamon  to  Slievebloom— a  dominion  famous  in  the 
annals  of  Ireland,  and  specially  blessed  by  St.  Columba. 


KILKENNY   AND  BISHOP    ROTHE  537 

The  round  tower — a  building,  I  may  observe,  never  found 
except  near  a  church — often  protected  the  clergy  and  their 
books  and  sacred  treasures  from  the  sudden  incursions  of 
the  Dane,  until  assistance  could  be  summoned  by  a  signal 
fire  from  the  top ;  but  the  tower  was  no  protection  against 
the  Normans — a  wonderful  race — who,  after  dwelling  two 
centuries  in  France,  conquered  England  at  Hastings, 
founded  other  kingdoms  in  Europe,  and  carried  off  the 
palm  of  chivalry  in  the  early  crusades.  The  people  were 
building  here  a  new  church,  on  the  magnificent  scale  then 
the  fashion  in  Europe,  when  the  invaders  came  upon  them, 
and  after  some  hard  battles,  gained  the  victory.  But  they, 
too,  continued  and  completed  the  church ;  and  thus  cemented 
with  the  blood  of  two  Catholic  nations — one  building  on  the 
foundations  laid  by  the  other,  St.  Canice's  arose,  not  less 
spacious  or  beautiful,  and  far  more  famous  in  the  history  of 
the  two  nations  than  any  other  Irish  cathedral.  About  the 
same  time,  and  nearly  in  the  same  circumstances,  were 
erected  two  other  great  religious  houses,  Jerpoint  and  Kells. 

From  that  day  to  the  present,  during  seven  hundred 
years,  with  more  than  their  full  share  of  revolutions  in 
customs,  in  property,  in  laws  civil  and  political,  and  religious, 
Kilkenny  has,  in  one  important  respect,  admitted  little 
change.  Now  and  then  her  faith  is  the  same.  During 
nearly  four  centuries  her  citizens,  all  members  of  the  one 
fold,  thronged  on  the  great  festivals  in  the  aisles  of 
St.  Canice's ;  during  the  three  following  centuries  the  old 
faith,  driven  out  from  that  and  the  other  great  churches, 
still  lived  among  us  so  fresh,  so  pure,  so  vigorous,  that  the 
moment  the  chain  was  struck  off,  she  began  to  erect  monu- 
ments of  her  power  which  shall  make  the  times  in  which 
we  live  an  epoch  in  our  history.  With  these  memories  in 
his  heart,  and  high  aspirations  for  the  future  swelling  within 
him,  can  the  young  man  who  has  sincerely  adopted  your 
rules  (the  Young  Men's  Society)  look  upon  your  new 
cathedral,  the  admiration  of  every  stranger,  or  on  St.Kieran's 
College,  not  less  admired,  and  of  which  the  city  may  be 
equally  proud — can  he  look  upon  them,  and  not  ask  himself, 
'  How  can  I,  as  a  citizen  of  Kilkenny,  contribute  to  the 


THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

stability  of  religion  in  her  new  abodes,  and  make  her 
throne  as  secure  in  Kilkenny  of  the  future  as  Kilkenny  of 
the  past  ?  How  was  religion  preserved  ?  What  lessons 
do  our  domestic  annals  teach  ?  In  modern  times  we  hear 
much  of  progress,  and  the  advance  of  civilization,  with  a 
broad  assertion,  or  sometimes  only  a  hint,  that  there  was 
nothing  of  the  kind  formerly.  We  cannot  now  descend  to 
particulars,  but  even  in  a  general  view,  it  is  quite  certain, 
that  with  all  the  appliances  of  modern  civilization,  Kilkenny 
of  the  present  has  so  clear  a  superiority  over  the  Kilkenny 
of  the  past.  I  do  not  speak  of  the  secure  and  Christian 
provision  for  the  poor,  administered  by  the  Church,  and  all 
the  other  beneficent  appendages  to  a  cathedral  in  those 
days;  but  just  picture  to  yourselves  three  great  convents 
in  this  small  city,  with  their  public  libraries,  and  their 
paintings,  and  their  gardens  for  the  good  of  the  public. 
Survey  the  massive  pile  of  the  Dominicans,  the  light  and 
graceful  tower  of  the  Franciscans,  the  famous  window  of 
St.  John's,  the  wonder  of  Ireland.  Take  a  Sunday  trip  to 
the  ever- open  doors  of  Jerpoint  or  Kells — Jerpoint  of  the 
Cistercians,  the  men  who,  to  the  chaunt  of  the  Church, 
felled  the  forests — and  reclaimed  the  deserts  of  Europe — and 
tell  me,  if  you  can,  that  you  have  not  an  education  which 
refines  as  well  as  instructs,  an  education  not  only  in  the 
useful  and  religious,  but  also  in  the  beautiful  and  the  grand. 
Some  young  friend,  who  has  read  history,  is  saying, 
perhaps,  that  during  these  four  hundred  Catholic  years, 
Kilkenny  was  an  English  colony,  an  English  stronghold. 
She  hated  the  Irish,  and  when  they  were  growing  strong, 
shut  them  out  of  St.  Canice's,  and  never  once  rose  against 
an  English  king,  until,  in  truth,  there  were  no  English  at 
home,  and  until  Cromwell  cast  all  the  citizens  out,  and  for 
a  time  planted  Puritans  in  their  place.  Well,  young  friend, 
it  is  against  the  first  rule  in  history  to  judge  the  past  by  the 
present,  without  taking  into  account  the  difference  of  cir- 
cumstances. Kilkenny  was  the  great  meeting-place  of  the 
Parliaments,  and  National  Conventions  of  the  Anglo-Irish 
nobles  and  gentry — a  colony,  if  you  will,  but  who  loved  the 
land  of  their  adoption,  and  spent  their  princely  revenues 


KILKENNY   AND   BISHOP  ROTHE  539 

at  home.  See  their  tombs  in  St.  Canice's  ;  even  in  death, 
by  these  beautiful  monuments,  they  employed  the  artist, 
adorned  the  church,  and  by  the  expression  of  Christian  hope 
on  their  placid  and  noble  countenances  raise  our  thoughts 
beyond  the  grave. 

Miserable  wars  and  dissensions  there  were  in  these 
times  throughout  Ireland ;  but  if  Kilkenny,  or  Ireland  of  that 
day,  is  summoned  to  condemnation,  can  Ireland  of  the 
present  be  the  first  to  cast  the  stone  ?  To  illustrate  the 
state  of  society  in  these  days,  and  the  feelings  which  the 
citizens  must  have  had  to  their  Irish  neighbours,  if  our 
worthy  mayor,  and  some  aldermen,  taking  a  drive  a  few 
miles  out  of  town  were  carried  of  by  a  Murphy  or  a 
Kavanagh  of  St.  Mullin's,  or  Scullogh  Gap,  or  by  an 
O'Carroll,  or  an  0' Moore  to  the  bog  of  Allen,  or  Dunamaise, 
would  we  not  rise  against  the  indignity,  and  vindicate  our 
rights,  and  be  very  cautious  about  letting  such  dangerous 
neighbours  have  livings  in  our  churches,  or  property  within 
our  walls  ?  But  if  Kilkenny  was  at  war,  she  loved  the  old 
glories  of  Ireland.  Yes,  the  nurse  of  Irish  history  always 
loved  Kilkenny.  Of  the  two  principal  volumes  in  which  the 
lives  of  Irish  saints  are  preserved,  one  is  known  to  every 
scholar  as  the  Codex  Kilkenniensis.  The  only  two  respect- 
able histories  of  the  Anglo-Irish,  Clyn's  and  Grace's,  were 
compiled  in  the  convents  of  Kilkenny ;  and  the  spirit  has 
remained  amongst  us.  For,  omitting  for  the  present  our 
Catholic  historians,  Harris  was  educated  here,  and  here 
Archdall  prepared  the  only  history  of  the  monasteries  ;  and 
here  Ledwich,  too,  prepared  his  Antiquities ;  and  from  the 
same  quarter  we  have  a  history  of  St.  Canice's,  which,  I 
believe,  the  character  both  of  the  publishers,  and  of  the 
authors  (Messrs.  Prim  &  Graves),  will  guard  against  the 
prejudices  in  some  of  those  I  have  mentioned.  Thus  if 
Kilkenny  was  in  these  days  always  loyal  to  those  whom  she 
regarded  as  her  own  kindred  and  natural  allies,  she  included 
in  her  sympathies  also  the  noblest  interests  of  the  whole 
kingdom ;  and  shortly  before  the  Eeformation,  when  the 
antipathies  of  race  were  dying  away,  the  old  Irish  enjoyed 
within  her  walls,  not  only  liberty  and  property,  but  the 


540  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

highest  offices  in  her  Church,  a  gradual  preparation  for  the 
great  contest  then  approaching,  when  both  races  combined 
for  the  Catholic  faith.  For  when,  at  the  time  of  the 
Keformation,  Ireland,  emerging  from  the  comparative 
obscurity  of  the  four  last  centuries,  appeared  before  Europe 
as  the  Catholic  nation,  when  she  alone  of  all  the  northern 
nations  stood  fast  by  the  chair  of  St.  Peter  ;  when  in  France, 
and  Austria,  and  Belgium,  and  Italy,  and  Spain,  her  name 
became  a  household  word  for  patience  and  martyrdom,  as 
it  had  once  been  for  learning,  you  have  devoted  examples 
here  of  constancy  in  the  faith.  At  the  Keformation  it  was 
remarked  as  extraordinary,  and  by  the  English  condemned  as 
unnatural  (to  use  the  phrase  of  the  day),  that  the  Anglo-Irish 
sternly  refused  to  conform  to  the  change  of  religion,  and  that 
in  many  places  they  were  more  scrupulous  in  their  adhesion 
to  Catholic  observances  than  the  old  Irish  themselves. 

Now,  of  these  Anglo-Irish,  many  must  have  imbibed 
this  spirit  in  Kells  and  Jerpoint,  v/hich  were  then  the  great 
schools  for  all  those  who  wished  to  receive  an  English 
education.  On  this  very  ground,  when  Henry  VIII.  was 
suppressing  all  monasteries,  the  Lord  Deputy  of  Ireland, 
and  his  counsel  petitioned  that  Kells  and  Jerpoint  should  be 
exempted  from  the  general  fate,  this  mercy  being  asked  only 
for  four  others,  of  which  two  were  in  Dublin,  and  one  at 
Grace  Dieu,  near  Dublin,  where  all  the  ladies  were  educated. 
But  the  petition  was  rejected.  What  mercy  could  be 
expected  from  him  ?  Kells  and  Jerpoint  were  unroofed ; 
they  went  down  to  the  cry  of  the  Reformation,  and  of  progress 
and  light ;  they  went  down  to  the  cry  that  brought  all  evil 
into  this  world — the  serpent  hiss  that  blasted  the  first  glory 
of  paradise,  when  the  woman  was  told  she  would  be  a  God. 
Light !  light !  the  favourite  shape  into  which  the  angel  of 
darkness  has  ever  since  transformed  himself  when  deluding 
the  poor  sons  of  Eve.  Yes,  Kells  and  Jerpoint  went  down, 
but  lived  in  the  young  hearts  that  loved  them,  who  sought 
no  light  but  what  they  gave — the  light  of  faith. 

It  is  impossible  to  overrate  the  influence  for  good  or  evil 
of  a  school,  and  we  had  another  example  of  it  here  which 
we  owe  to  a  little  courage  shown  by  the  clergy  and  people 


KILKENNY   AND   BISHOP  ROTHE  541 

of  the  city.     Such  an  opinion  had  they  of  the  faith  of  Kil- 
kenny that  they  sent  their  most  learned  man  as  Protestant 
bishop  here  in  the  reign  of  Edward  VI.    So  signal,  however, 
was  his  failure  that  there  never  was  such  a  procession  in 
the  city  as  when  he  retired  in  the  beginning  of  Queen  Mary's 
reign.    All  the  clergy  and  canons  went  in  solemn  procession 
around  the  town  with  light  and  incense  and  song,  making 
the   whole   place  resound  with  the  joyful  Litanies  of  the 
Blessed   Virgin   and   acclamations   of  the   people ;   and   so 
exuberant  was  their    enthusiasm  that   even   the  venerable 
canons,  forgetting  the  decorum  of  their  age   and   station, 
flung  their  caps  in  joy  to  the  battlements  of  St.  Canice's. 
The  spirit  shown  by  them  on  this  occasion  warned  Queen 
Elizabeth  to  proceed  with  caution  in  Kilkenny,  for  although 
they  passed  statutes  easily  enough,  they  bided  their  time  in 
enforcing  them.     If  they  found  the  watchman  timid,  they 
terrified  him ;  if  they  found  him  simple,  they  deceived  him  ; 
if  they  found  him  corrupt,  they  threw  him  a  sop  and  silenced 
him  ;  if  they  found  him  prudent  and  strong,  they  respected 
him  apparently,  but  they  watched  their  opportunity,  and 
when  he  too  was  off  his  guard,  the  chain  was  flung  around, 
the  bolt  was  shot,  and  religion  left  to  mourn  great  oppor- 
tunities lost — the  slavery  of  centuries  entailed  by  insensibility 
to  danger,  which  steady  organization  might  at  once  have 
crushed.     It  was  fortunate  for  Catholic  Kilkenny  that  it  had 
this  courage.     There  is  a  book  written  by  the  son  of  the 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons  that  passed  the  laws  of 
Elizabeth  against  the  Catholic  Church  (Stanihurst).    It  was 
printed  at  Antwerp,  in  1584.     It  gives  a  full  account  of  a 
school  in  which,  fortunately  for  himself,  he  was  educated, 
just  near  St.  Canice's,  founded  by  Earl  Pierse  and  Margaret 
Fitzgerald,  Countess  of  Ormonde,  so  well  known  by  tradi- 
tion still.     Peter  White  was  the  master  of  the  school.     He 
was  driven  from  the  deanery  of  Waterford  because  he  would 
not  deny  his  faith ;   but  he  found  protection  in  Kilkenny, 
immediately  after  Elizabeth  had  passed  her  laws  against 
the  Church ;  and  well  for  Kilkenny  he  did.     So  fondly  does 
his  pupil  dwell  on  his  memory,  so  minutely  does  he  describe 
this  city,  that  you  might  imagine  he  was  writing  a  guide 


542  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

book  for  the  Spanish  Armada,  then  about  to  sail,  and  that 
the  lazy  Scheldt,  though  laden  with  the  commerce  of  the 
vast  Spanish  Empire  and  the  glorious  cathedral  itself,  and  all 
the  arsenals  of  Antwerp  then  resounding  with  the  din  of  the 
mighty  preparation,  did  not  impress  him  so  strongly  as  his 
reminiscences  of  Kilkenny.  Oh,  the  influence  of  the  school 
on  the  feelings  and  opinions  of  the  man.  He  remembers 
even  the  waters  of  the  Nore — so  cold,  he  says,  in  summer — 
he  was  thinking  of  the  Bishop's  Meadows  on  a  bright  warm 
day,  and  of  the  bound  and  the  splash  and  the  ringing  cheer 
in  that  water,  so  cold  in  summer ;  and  of  the  gardens  along 
its  banks,  just  as  they  are  now ;  and  the  great  forests 
extending  the  whole  way  from  Troyswood  to  the  Queen's 
County,  so  thick  that  when  the  Lord  Deputy  wanted  to  pay 
a  visit  (not  a  friendly  one)  to  Mountgarret,  he  was  several 
days  cutting  a  pass  through  them ;  and  the  rich  plain  at 
the  other  side  of  the  city,  and  the  clear  air,  and  the  beautiful 
monuments — alas !  where  are  they  now  ?  and,  in  fine,  as  he 
says  himself,  better  than  all,  citizens  most  refined,  and  of 
most  sterling  worth.  Then  come  the  names  of  his  school- 
fellows— names,  except  a  few,  so  familiar  to  us  still — all  men 
of  great  talent  and  learning ;  and,  I  will  add,  some  of  them 
priests.  These  were  the  men,  the  scholars  of  Peter  White, 
who  preserved  religion  in  Kilkenny  during  the  dreary  forty 
years  and  upwards  of  Elizabeth's  reign. 

From  that  page,  when  it  appeared,  a  Kilkenny  boy,  about 
ten  years  of  age  may  have  learned  his  first  lesson  in  Latin, 
taught,  perhaps,  by  one  of  the  priests  whose  fame  it  pre- 
serves. On  Sunday  after  hearing  their  Mass  in  the  crowded 
private  houses  or  in  the  store  of  the  wealthy  Catholic  mer- 
chant (for  no  other  places  were  allowed),  when  he  came  out 
in  the  fresh  autumn  air  he  saw  the  rank  grass  growing  at 
the  doors  of  all  the  churches,  and  every  day's  wind  and 
rain  making  havoc  on  the  windows  of  St.  John's,  and  the 
thoughtless  boy,  perhaps,  or  the  avaricious  dealer,  stealing 
or  defacing  some  image  of  a  saint  or  cross.  Again,  at  his 
return  in  the  evening,  if  he  stood  on  the  height  at  Temple 
Maul  little  church,  he  remembered  how  he  had  been  told  by 
his  father  that  twenty  years  ago,  at  that  sweet  hour  of  sun- 


KILKENNY   AND  BISHOP   ROTHE  543 

set,  all  the  towers  rising  over  the  city,  beyond  the  river, 
from  the  Castle  to  St.  Canice's  (now  so  mournful  and 
silent),  used  to  send  forth  the  soft  and  pensive  note  of  the 
Angelus  bell,  answered  from  the  other  bank  of  St.  Maul's, 
St.  Stephen's,  and  St.  John's.  When  coming  into  the  city 
at  dusk,  he  summoned  courage  to  look  in  at  the  Black 
Abbey,  and  saw  there,  by  the  moonlight  streaming  in  through 
the  rent  roof,  the  owl  sailing  noiselessly  up  the  aisle,  and 
hooting  on  the  desecrated  altar,  what  must  this  boy  have 
felt  ?  Why  are  these  churches  closed  ?  Why  does  not  our 
natural  sovereign,  Queen  Elizabeth,  redress  this  injustice? 
Do  not  our  city  musters  march  out  every  day  under  her 
banners  ?  Are  not  her  sentinels  on  our  walls  ? 

It  was  in  these  influences  that  a  young  mind  was  formed, 
which  I  now  introduce  to  your  notice.  And  here,  young  men 
of  Kilkenny,  I  say  most  unaffectedly  I  wish  it  had  fallen  to 
more  able  hands  to  do — what  I  feel  I  am  utterly  unable  to 
do — justice  to  his  memory.  Connected  with  the  most 
respectable  families  in  the  city — families  who  represented 
her  in  more  than  one  Parliament — he  made  for  himself  a 
place  in  her  history  which  no  wealth  nor  family  descent 
could  confer ;  and  not  only  here  in  this  city  and  in  this 
diocese,  but  in  the  surrounding  dioceses  and  in  all  Ireland, 
and  wherever  the  name  of  Ireland  was  known  to  the  ecclesi- 
astical scholar,  the  name  of  David  Kothe,  Bishop  of  Ossory, 
was  known  and  revered.  Forty  years  before  his  death  he 
was  praised  in  a  book,  published  in  1611,  as  a  great  prelate 
whom  everyone  knew  that  knew  Ireland,  and  one  of  the 
most  distinguished  scholars  that  had  left  the  University  of 
Douay.  His  perilous  commission,  abstracting  altogether 
from  its  ordinary  responsibilities,  had  terrors  at  that  time 
which  none  but  souls  of  chivalrous  devotion  could  face 
without  blenching.  There  were  very  few  bishops  then 
residing  in  Ireland,  and  of  those  few  one,  a  bishop  of  Down 
and  Connor,  was  imprisoned  in  Dublin  on  a  groundless 
charge  of  high  treason,  for  which  he  was  tried  and  put  to 
death,  in  1612.  To  console  this  bishop,  and  to  nerve  him 
against  the  terrors  of  the  scaffold,  in  a  beautiful  letter,  still 
preserved,  was  one  of  the  first  duties  of  Dr.  Eothe,  himself 


544  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

remember,  being  at  the  time  exposed  every  moment  to  the 
same  danger. 

I  cannot  recount  all  his  services  to  Ireland  and  to 
religion ;  but  to  be  brief,  what  should  he  do  that  he  has  not 
done  ?  A  scholar  with  a  ready  and  clear  pen,  he  used  it  to 
publish  the  ancient  religious  glories  of  Ireland,  and  attract 
sympathy  for  her  sufferings,  and,  though  his  contributions 
to  this  branch  of  literature  may  displease  modern  inquiries, 
they  were  gratefully  received  not  only  by  Catholic  writers, 
but  by  his  contemporaries,  the  most  eminent  Protestant 
scholars  that  the  Established  Church  of  Ireland  has  ever 
produced.  A  diplomatist,  with  the  same  pen  he  exposed  to 
the  scorn  of  Europe  the  hollow  pretence  of  the  time — that 
there  was  no  persecution  in  Ireland — and  unmasked  the  policy 
of  James  I.  so  effectually  that  towards  the  end  of  this 
monarch's  reign  there  was  some  slight  and  gradual  relaxa- 
tion of  the  persecution ;  and,  moreover,  he  kept  the  woes  of 
Ireland  constantly  before  the  eyes  of  the  Pope,  the  common 
father  of  the  faithful.  What  would  we  know  of  the  Catholic 
martyrs  during  Elizabeth's  reign  but  for  his  Analecta  ?  A 
patron  of  learning,  and  to  rear  up  in  this  city  a  school  of 
Catholic  learning,  he  cherished  for  many  years  of  what  he 
might  call  comparatively  the  bad  times,  the  hope  of  one 
day  seeing  the  Jesuits  established  there.  Nor  was  he  dis- 
appointed, for  in  his  own,  or  in  his  brother's  house,  opposite 
the  court-house,  the  Jesuits  had  their  first,  and,  I  believe, 
their  only  noviciate  in  Ireland.  But,  above  all,  he  was  the 
tender  and  loving  pastor,  preaching  the  Gospel  to  the  poor, 
and  consoling  them  in  their  afflictions.  Disguised  as  a  soldier 
or  a  physician,  as  a  pedlar,  and  sometimes  as  a  beggar,  he 
discharged  his  episcopal  functions  not  only  here  and  in  the 
neighbouring  dioceses,  but  through  all  Ireland,  for  during 
several  years  he  was  invested  with  the  primatial  authority. 

An  eminent  author,  Dr.  Lynch,  states  that  David 
Kothe  was  for  some  few  years  the  only  bishop  resid- 
ing in  Ireland,  and  that  whether  he  lay  concealed  in  the 
forest  or  went  along  the  by-roads,  or  enjoyed  the  secure 
shelter  of  the  faithful  Catholic  house,  the  children  were 
brought  in  crowds  to  him  to  be  confirmed.  Pre-eminently 
distinguished  for  his  love  of  peace  and  harmony  among  the 


KILKENNY   AND   BISHOP   ROTHE  545 

clergy,  and  having  by  his  great  reputation  and  personal 
intercourse  with  them  in  different  parts  of  Ireland,  obtained 
an  influence  such  as  none  other  could  command,  he  succeeded 
in  1620,  in  founding  an  'Association  of  Peace'  (the  first  of 
the  kind  in  Catholic  annals),  which  by  degrees  spread 
throughout  all  parts  of  Ireland,  and  embraced  in  one  bond 
of  love  and  devotion  the  clergy  of  all  classes,  secular  and 
regular,  Irish  and  Anglo-Irish.  Oh,  that  it  had  been  his  lot 
to  know  only  the  '  Association  of  Peace  ! '  The  influence  of 
that  association  with  other  causes  during  twenty  years  had 
restored  to  the  Catholics  nearly  all  their  rights.  They  had 
the  numbers  and  the  wealth,  landed  and  commercial,  and 
soon  must  have  had  a  political  power,  when  they  were  driven 
to  arm  in  self-defence,  in  1641.  I  say,  driven  to  arm,  for  dire 
compulsion  alone  could,  even  at  the  time,  combine  the  Irish 
and  Anglo-Irish  in  the  same  ranks.  Dr.  Kothe  had  no  con- 
nection with  the  first  general  rising;  but  when  the  Catholics 
from  all  quarters  came  pouring  in  disorder  into  Kilkenny, 
he  was  generally  believed  to  have  organized  them  into  that 
Catholic  Confederation,  which,  in  the  first  vigour  of  its  prime, 
brought  nearly  all  Ireland  under  its  sway  to  swear  fidelity  to 
the  Catholic  religion,  and  allegiance  to  Charles  I. 

Much  has  been  written  in  ignorance  and  malice  against 
the  Catholic  Conferation ;  but  have  its  critics  refuted 
the  assertion  of  that  great  statesman,  Edmund  Burke, 
that  the  Confederation  would  have  given  to  the  whole 
Irish  nation  what  the  Irish  Parliament  of  1782  gave 
to  a  party?  That,  in  reality,  it  wanted  nothing  but  success 
to  have  it  proclaimed  as  the  glorious  and  immortal  revolu- 
tion !  But  I  am  not  discussing  the  politics  of  that  famous 
assembly,  which  are  the  burden  of  many  a  dismal  tome ;  nor 
are  we  to  criticize  the  course  adopted  by  our  illustrious 
David  in  all  the  distracted  discords  that  soon  shattered  the 
vigour  of  the  nation.  The  wonder  is  how  he  outlived  them, 
for  the  snows  of  seventy  winters  were  on  his  head,  when, 
surrounded  by  all  the  Catholic  nobles  and  Catholic  prelates, 
and  Catholic  gentry  of  Ireland,  his  venerable  form  was  seen 
moving  in  solemn  procession  up  the  great  aisle  of  St.  Canice  ; 
and,  there,  after  the  lapse  of  eighty  years,  the  Mass  was 
VOL.  iij.  2  M 


54(3  THE  IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

again  offered  up  to  the  clashing  of  arms,  to  the  pealing  of 
cannon,  and  all  the  imposing  ceremony  of  a  Catholic  king- 
dom.     When  the  pomp  was  over,  when  the  enthusiastic 
march  of  that  armed  generation  which  had  grown  up  since 
he  came  a  prelate  to  Ireland,  had  died  away  in  the  narrow 
streets,  rolling  on  to  the  Castle  or  the  Parliament  House, 
and  left  the  patriarch  alone  in  the  church,  no  sound  but  the 
echo  of  his  own  footfall   in  the  spacious  aisle,  no  object 
present  to  his  sight  but  the   altar    and   the   lamp,   what 
wonder  if  he  doubted  the  reality  of  the  scene  ?    When  he 
saw  from  his  cathedral  the  swelling  woods  of  Freshford  and 
Lisdowney,  from  which,  more  than  thirty  years  ago,  he  had 
governed   the   Irish   Church,   could    he    suppress    anxious 
emotion  at  the  perilous  splendour  of  her  present  position? 
Single-handed  he  had  then  encountered  her  enemies  with 
success.  Many  councillors  now  brought  destruction.    Feeling 
he  had  done  all  that  man  could  do,  he  soon  selected  his  grave 
and  prepared  a  sacred  bequest  for  his  people.     He  had  lived 
to  see  his  city  placed  under  the  patronage  of  the  Virgin,  and 
her  statue  enthroned  on  the  Market  Cross ;  he  selected  his 
grave  in  her  Chapel  of  St.  Canice's.     He  lived  to  celebrate 
in  that  church  the  divine  mysteries  with  which  he  had  so 
long  sanctified  every  forest  and  lonely  glen  in  Ossory.     He 
bequeathed  to  his  people  as  a  monument  of  his  gratitude 
and  love,  with  other  treasures,  the  sacred  vessel  used  at 
Benediction   of  the   Most   Holy  Sacrament,   the   beautiful 
monstrance,  so  long  preserved  in  the  honoured  family  of 
Bryan,  and  now  in  the  possession  of  Dr.  Kothe's  revered 
successors  in  this  historic  diocese.1 

N.  MUEPHY. 

1  Lynch,  in  his  MS.  Lives  of  the  Irish  Hishops,  relates,  that  after  the 
surrender  of  Kilkenny  to  Cromwell,  March  28.  16/>0,  Bishop  Rothe  in  his 
carriage  '  accompanied  the  garrison,  who  were  allowed  to  march  away  with  all 
the  honours  of  war.  but  at  the  distance  of  two  miles  from  the  town,  a  troop  of 
the  enemy  attacked  and  plundered  the  rear-guard,  and  seizing  the  bishop's 
carriage  carried  off  one  hundred  pounds,  which  was  all  that  he  now  possessed  ; 
wherefore,  by  Cromwell's  permission  he  was  brought  back  to  his  friends  in  the 
city,  among  whom  he  expired  on  the  20th  of  the  following  month  of  April, 
being  82  years  of  age.  He  was  interred  in  the  family  tomb  which  his  ancestors 
had  erected  in  St.  Mary's  Church,  his  obsequies  being  duly  performed  by  his 
friends  according  to  the  Catholic  rites,  and  torches  burning  around  his  bier 
throughout  the  whole  night  that  preceded  his  interment.'  His  monument  in 
St.  Canice's  Cathedral  was  left  uninjured,  although  it  bore  engraven  on  it 
figures  of  the  crucifix  and  the  B.  Virgin,  and  other  saints. 


[     547    ] 

IRotee   anb  (Queries 

LITURGY 

EXPOSITION    OF   THE    BLESSED    SACRAMENT 

EEV.  DEAR  SIB, — In  a  recent  number  of  the  I.  E.  RECORD 
you  answer  a  question  asked  by  '  Laicus,'  and  say  : — '  When  the 
Blessed  Sacrament  is  solemnly  exposed  in  the  monstrance,  the 
monstrance  should,  generally  speaking,  be  placed  on  a  throne  of 
some  kind,  more  or  less  elevated,  above  the  table  of  the  altar. 
This  is  prescribed  for  the  solemn  Exposition  of  the  Forty  Hours 
in  the  Instructio  Clementina,  and  by  nearly  all  writers  for  the 
solemn  exposition.' 

But  the  Instructio  Clementina  prescribes  that  there  should  not 
only  be  a  throne,  but  also  a  white  canopy.  '  Sopra  detto  altare 
in  sito  eminente  vi  sia  un  Tabernaculo  o  Trono  con  baldachino 
proporzionato  di  color  bianco.'  I  believe  the  Instructio  is  not 
binding  extra  urbem.  But  may  I  ask  is  there  any  other  rubric 
prescribing  a  canopy  on  the  occasion  of  the  exposition  ?  If  not, 
may  I  further  ask,  is  it  not  the  custom,  in  Catholic  countries,  to 
use  a  canopy  in  the  exposition  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  ?  and,  if 
so,  are  we  not  bound,  in  some  way,  to  conform  to  their  custom  ? 

May  I  further  ask,  whether  it  would  not  be  more  becoming  to 
open  the  tabernacle  door,  and  give  Benediction  with  pix,  say  after 
twelve  o'clock  Mass,  on  Sunday,  when  there  are  no  special 
devotions  recited  before  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  and  whether  a 
P.P.  can  do  this  without  consulting  the  Ordinary? — Yours 

faithfully, 

A  DUBLIN  P.P. 

1.  The  Clementine  Instruction  does  prescribe  the  use  of 
a  white  canopy  for  the  exposition  of  the  Forty  Hours,  as 
the  extract  given  by  our  correspondent  abundantly  proves. 
But,  as  he  himself  remarks,  this  Instruction  binds  only 
in  Eome,  and,  even  there,  only  on  the  occasion  of  the 
Exposition  of  the  Forty  Hours.  Hence,  so  far  as  the 
Clementine  Instruction  is  concerned,  the  use  of  the  white 


548  THE   IRISH    ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

canopy  is  not  obligatory  in  any  exposition  of  the  Blessed 
Sacrament,  outside  of  Home.  And,  in  reply  to  our  cor- 
respondent's inquiry  regarding  the  existence  of  some  other 
source  of  obligation,  we  must  reply  that  there  is  none,  as 
far  as  we  know.  Exposition  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament, 
being  an  extra-liturgical  service,  is  not  regulated  by  any 
precise  or  unchangeable  code  of  rules.  What  the  Church 
expects,  and  what  reverence  for  this  great  mystery  demands 
is,  that  everything  about  the  altar,  and  especially  everything 
directly  connected  with  the  exposition,  should  be  becoming, 
and  as  worthy  of  the  place  it  occupies  as  the  circumstances 
of  the  church  wherein  exposition  takes  place  will  permit . 

It  is,  we  believe,  customary  in  Catholic  countries,  to  have 
the  throne  in  which  the  monstrance  is  placed  crowned  with 
a  canopy,  from  which  oftentimes  depend  folds  of  the  same 
material  behind  the  monstrance,  and  to  the  right  and  left, 
thus  concealing  it  from  every  side  unless  that  one  which  is 
turned  towards  the  people.  This  continental  custom  is 
copied  from  the  Clementine  Instruction,  and  is,  no  doubt, 
very  praiseworthy ;  but,  surely,  we  in  this  country  are  not 
bound  to  follow  a  custom  which  cannot  be  binding — 
unless  by  reason  of  national  or  diocesan  legislation — in  the 
countries  in  which  it  prevails. 

2.  It  is  forbidden  to  take  the  pyx  or  ciborium  out  of  the 
tabernacle  for  the  purpose  of  blessing  the  people  with  it. 
Private  exposition  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  is  allowed. 
This  consists  in  merely  opening  the  door  of  the  tabernacle, 
and  in  placing  the  ciborium,  covered  as  usual  with  the  veil, 
in  such  a  position  within  the  tabernacle  that  it  may  be  seen 
by  the  people  kneeling  in  front  of  the  altar.  But  the 
ciborium  must  not,  by  any  means,  be  taken  out  of  the 
tabernacle  for  the  purpose  of  giving  Benediction  with  it. 
A  parish  priest  may  privately  expose  the  Blessed  Sacrament 
in  this  manner  for  a  reasonable  cause  without  the  permission 
of  bis  bishop. 

D.    O'LOAN. 


t     549     ] 


CORRESPONDENCE 

THE    PRIEST    IN     NATIONALITY 

REV.  DEAR  SIR, — In  view  of  the  approaching  third  annual 
meeting  of  the  Maynooth  Union,  I  trust  you  will  allow  me  a 
little  corner  of  your  valuable  space  for  the  purpose  of  bringing 
under  the  notice  of  the  members  a  subject  that  deserves  their 
united  attention,  and  might  very  profitably  be  admitted  for  dis- 
cussion at  the  meeting  in  June.  Though  I  am  myself  a  member 
of  the  Union,  it  will  be  impossible  for  me  to  take  part  iu  the 
proceedings  of  the  June  meeting,  and  I  write  this  letter  in  the 
hope  that  priests  intending  to  be  present  at  that  meeting,  who 
may  happen  to  read  it,  would  bestow  in  the  interval  a  serious 
thought  on  its  contents,  and  try  to  form  for  themselves  a 
responsible  judgment  and  elicit  the  judgment  of  the  Union  on 
the  mooted  question. 

The  matter  about  which  I  write  may  turn  out  to  have  only  a 
remote  connection  with  the  topics  arranged  as  formal  items  for 
the  programme,  but  I  have  reason  to  believe  that  it  would  be  in 
order  for  discussion  under  some  of  the  papers  announced  to  be 
read  ;  and  at  any  rate,  on  its  own  merits,  it  is  not  beneath  the 
notice  of  the  collective  clerical  wisdom  which  the  Union  aims  at 
drawing  forth  and  directing  to  practical  ends. 

The  question  itself  which  I  wish  to  have  raised  is  akin  to  that 
discussed  at  last  year's  meeting  by  the  Bishop  of  Clonfert,  and  in 
the  scale  of  importance  it  scarcely  yields  to  Dr.  Healy's  subject. 
This  is  asserting  a  strong  claim  on  my  own  behalf  to  a  serious 
hearing,  but  I  am  convinced  it  is  a  reasonable  claim.  4  The 
Priest  in  Politics '  is  only  the  title  of  a  special  chapter  in  the 
general  subject,  '  The  Priest  in  Nationality,'  and  there  is  pretty 
much  the  same  necessity  for  examining  and  adjusting  the  priest's 
relations  under  the  general  head  as  under  the  special.  Politics  is 
only  one  field  in  the  great  domain  of  nationality,  and  it  will  be 
found  that  the  same  reasons,  ultimately,  which  recommend  or 
necessitate  political  action  on  the  part  of  the  priest  hold  good  to 
the  same  extent  for  interference  in  other  fields  of  national  life  and 
activity.  The  interests  indeed  that  chiefly  concern  m  as  a  priest 
are,  as  a  rule,  more  imminently  involved  in  political  questions 


550  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

and  their  issues;  but  the  same  interests  are  also  involved,  some- 
times just  as  directly,  in  other  matters  of  a  national  character, 
distinct  from  politics ;  while  on  the  grounds  of  mere  patriotism, 
which  is  also  to  be  considered,  those  matters  have  as  true  a 
claim  on  the  priests  of  Ireland  as  any  political  movement  can 
have.  It  would,  therefore,  be  a  very  inadequate  view  of  our 
indirect  sphere  of  work  that  would  include  only  the  arena  of 
politics.  As  priests  and  as  Irishmen  we  cannot  be  indifferent 
about  the  progress  and  development  or  the  decay,  as  the  case  may 
be,  of  nationality  in  the  higher  and  wider  sense  ;  and  no  matter 
how  signally  praiseworthy  our  services  to  political  nationality,  we 
should  fail  to  satisfy  a  notable  part  of  the  national  claims  upon 
us  were  we  to  stand  idly  by  while  some  of  the  best  qualities  and 
most  precious  possessions  of  our  traditional  nationality  are  dis- 
appearing with  alarming  rapidity,  and  a  new  nationality,  unlike 
the  old,  is  growing  up  in  our  midst. 

In  order  to  give  a  more  definite  purport  to  these  general 
remarks  it  will  be  sufficient  to  refer  to  a  few  leading  points. 

And  to  begin  with  the  national  language,  it  has  decayed  more 
during  the  present  century  than  it  had  done  during  the  six 
centuries  before,  during  which  it  was  proscribed  by  a  more 
rigorous  ban  ;  nor  has  any  truly  national  effort  been  made  to 
check  the  decay  and  bring  about  a  revival.  Priests  and  people 
alike — the  great  bulk  of  them — have  seemed  to  be  unconscious 
of  suffering  any  loss  ;  their  apathy,  in  fact,  has  looked  like  a 
voluntary  yielding  up  of  their  most  ancient  national  heritage.  I 
do  not  forget  the  grand  exceptions  to  this  attitude  of  in- 
difference, but  what  I  say  is  undeniably  true  of  the  general  state 
of  the  case.  Nor  am  I  speaking  by  way  of  blame — a  sufficient 
explanation  may  be  given  of  all  that  has  occurred.  But  it  is  a 
matter  for  reasonable  surprise  that  the  apathy  still  continues. 
Perhaps  it  is  that  the  loss  of  the  old  tongue  is  not  regarded  as  an 
absolute  loss  at  all,  but  only  as  a  profitable  and  beneficial  exchange. 
The  new  language,  it  may  be  said,  is  more  useful  to  our  race  in 
the  battle  of  life,  and  forms  in  itself  a  richer  possession  by  reason 
of  its  priceless  literature,  while  the  direct  loss  to  nationality  may 
be  repaired  by  preserving  the  ancient  spirit  which  is  independent 
of  any  tongue. 

But  waiving  the  question  of  utility,  this  view  has  little 
to  recommend  it.  It  is  all  very  good  to  talk  of  preserving  the 
spirit  of  nationality,  but  it  cannot  be  denied  that  a  distinctive 


CORRESPONDENCE  55  i 


language  is  the  greatest  safeguard  of  distinctive  nationality,  and 
no  other  influences  can  fully  supply  its  place.  And  the  Irish 
language  was  something  more  than  a  mere  external  safeguard  of 
Irish  nationality.  It  was  the  living  embodiment  and  perpetuating 
instrument  of  many  of  the  most  beautiful  national  characteristics. 
Just  to  mention  one  instance,  which  ought  to  appeal  especially  to 
the  priest,  nothing  could  be  more  worthy  of  all  admiration  than 
the  spirit  of  lively  faith  and  earnest  piety  which  was  embedded, 
so  to  speak,  in  the  very  texture  of  the  language,  and  spoke  in  its 
every  sentence.  You  could  not  speak  Irish  as  our  fathers  spoke 
it  without  being  in  frequent  contact  with  God  and  His  Holy 
Mother  and  your  Angel  Guardian  and  the  saints,  and  you  have 
only  to  go  among  those  who  still  speak  the  old  tongue  to  be  con- 
vinced that  this  familiarity  with  the  supernatural  was  not  an 
unconscious,  much  less  an  irreverent,  habit,  but  the  earnest 
expression  of  the  prayerful  heart.  It  may  be  said,  of  course,  that 
these  and  similar  characteristics  ought  to  survive  the  loss  of  the 
language,  that  any  language  may  be  applied  to  such  pious  uses  ; 
and  I  admit  that  our  people  who  have  lost  the  old  tongue  have 
retained,  in  a  large  degree,  the  habits  of  religious  thought 
reflected  in  it.  But  this  is  only  a  proof  that  things  change  slowly, 
for  that  a  change  in  this  respect  is  really  in  progress  nobody  has 
a  better  opportunity  of  observing  than  the  missionary  priest ; 
and  I  think  it  will  be  borne  out  by  the  general  experience  that 
where  the  language  of  faith  has  died,  the  outspoken  spirit  of 
faith  has  declined.  The  grand  old  forms  of  pious  salutation 
exclamation,  purpose,  and  so  on,  that  were  common-places  in  the 
old  tongue,  are  now  no  longer  heard,  or  so  seldom  as  to  create 
surprise,  except  among  the  older  and  more  rustic  people  who 
still  retain  the  fashion  and  spirit  of  a  bygone  age.  Such 
usages,  in  fact,  are  a  sign  of  rusticity  ;  modern  enlightenment 
laughs  them  out  of  court,  and  they  must  not  appear  where  its 
influences  prevail.  I  admit,  of  course,  that  such  a  change  is  not 
in  the  nature  of  things  a  necessary  consequence  of  the  change  of 
language  ;  but  it  is  inevitable  that  such  a  change  should  follow, 
when  with  the  new  language,  new  notions  and  ideals  and 
principles  and  standards,  which  contradict  the  old,  have  come  in 
and  taken  possession  of  the  public  mind. 

This  change,  however,  it  must  be  remembered,  is  only  one 
phase  of  a  widely  growing  tendency  in  the  same  direction,  and  is 
not  to  be  taken  as  a  full  presentation  of  the  case.  I  am 


552  THE  IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

suggesting  merely  one  particular  point  of  view.  And  continuing 
from  that  same  point  of  view,  it  is  evident  that  the  most  potent 
influence  in  working  the  change  is  the  influence  of  what  counts  as 
English  literature .  I  do  not  speak  of  what  is  really  good  in  that 
literature,  but  of  what  is  bad  and  pernicious,  openly  or  insidiously 
infidel  and  immoral,  to  which  may  be  added  what  is  merely 
natural  and  purely  worldly  to  the  exclusion  of  everything  of  a 
higher  order  and  interest.  The  increasing  quantity  of  such 
literature  and  its  circulation  among  our  people  is  a  matter  for 
grave  alarm ;  every  priest  comes  face  to  face  with  the  evil  in 
some  form  and  degree,  and  all  are  of  one  mind  that  it  is  an  evil 
to  be  fought  with  every  available  weapon.  It  is  not  an  evil  of 
native  origin,  but  has  come  in  from  without  in  consequence  of  the 
loss  of  our  language  ;  and  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  whatever  is 
done  for  the  preservation  and  restoration  of  the  national  language 
is  so  far  a  counteracting  remedy.  Personally,  1  believe  in  the 
feasibility  of  restoration  on  an  extended  scale ;  the  example  of 
the  Welsh  and  Flemish  revivals  seems  to  place  it  beyond  a  doubt, 
and  priests  as  a  body  ought  to  have  made  an  earnest  trial  of  the 
movement  before  they  despair  of  its  success.  Belgian  priests 
regard  the  Flemish  revival  as  one  of  the  greatest  blessings  that 
has  come  to  their  nation,  chiefly  because  of  the  effective  barrier 
it  has  set  up  against  the  inroad  of  corrupting  French  literature. 
So  strong,  indeed,  is  their  feeling  on  the  question  of  their 
national  language  that  it  has  actually  decided  the  appointment 
to  at  least  one  episcopal  see.  When  may  we  expect  such  a 
state  of  feeling  here  at  home  ? 

But  even  though  Irish  is  never  again  to  become  a  living 
national  language,  it  is  entitled  to  national  reverence.  Some 
knowledge  of  it  and  some  appreciation  of  its  literature  ought  to  be 
a  first  qualification  for  an  educated  Irishman ;  and  were  such  a 
national  fashion  in  possession  a  great  deal  would  have  been  done 
to  destroy  the  power  of  the  false-culture  fashion  that  dominates 
in  our  day.  On  this  wider  ground  I  would  press  my  appeal  on 
the  attention  of  my  fellow-priests. 

And  this  leads  up  to  a  still  wider  portion  of  the  general 
subject  with  which  I  set  out.  In  saying  so  much  about  the 
language  I  do  not  mean  to  imply  that  it  is  the  sole  or  even  the 
chief  point  of  importance :  but  as  I  have  taken  up  so  much  space 
with  it,  I  cannot  deal  so  fully  as  I  would  wish  with  some  other 
leading  points.  A  few  brief  remarks  must  suffice. 


CORRESPONDENCE  553 

What  I  have  said  of  the  neglect  of  the  national  language  is 
true,  I  fear,  almost  in  the  same  degree  of  other  elements  in  the 
life    of    genuine    nationality.     Irish   history,  for    instance,   and 
kindred  subjects  get  practically   no  recognition   in   the   existing 
public  systems  of  education.     The  primary  system,  though  calling 
itself  national,  is  notorious  for  ignoring  and  excluding  everything 
having  the  slightest  flavour  of  nationality  about  it.     The  Inter- 
mediate is  very  little  better  in  this  respect  ;  and  we   have  no 
university    system    to    supply    the     deficiencies    of    the   lower 
systems.     The   consequence    is  that   our  people  are   thrown  on 
their  own  resources  for  whatever  national  education  they  receive. 
Popular  national  literature  is  the  only  school  to  which  they  can 
have  recourse.    But  the  national  knowledge  diffused  and  national 
good  accomplished  in  this  way  is  only  a  token  of  what  could  be 
further  done  in  the  same  way  were  there   a  more  widespread 
appreciation    and    encouragement    of    national    literary     work. 
Priests  have  been  often  accused  of  remissness  in  this  respect,  and 
the  charge  is  not  without  foundation.     Certain  it  is  that  if  they 
would  give  their  own  patronage  in  this  matter  as  extensively  and 
as  liberally  as  in  politics,  for  instance,  and  exert  their  influence 
in  securing  popular  patronage,   a  vastly  greater  amount  of  good 
could  be  accomplished,  while  the   evil  above  referred  to  of  bad 
and  worthless  reading  would  be  diminished  in  a  corresponding 
measure.     But  there  are  special  lines  in  which  priests  would  be 
naturally  expected  to  take   the  lead,    but    in  which  very  little, 
comparatively,  is  being  done  by  them.     There  are  no  popular 
lives  of  many  of  our  greatest  saints,  and  what  is  more,  no  demand 
for  them  ;  their  work,  and  their  names  even,   are   generally  un- 
known, devotion  to  them  unheard  of.    Similarly,  our  martyrs  are 
neglected.     And  as  to   sacred   topography   and  archaeology  and 
such  like,  their  cultivation  and  promotion  are  left,  strange  to  say, 
chiefly  to  those  who  have  no   proper  claim  to  the  glory  that 
lingers   around  the  places   and  monuments  associated  with  the 
ancient    faith.     Surely    it    is   not    fitting    that    things    should 
be  so. 

But  I  must  not  prolong  the  subject.  My  object  in  writing 
will  be  gained  if  someone  be  found  to  take  up  what  I  have  aimed 
at  suggesting,  and  set  on  foot  some  movement  that  may  bear 
fruit.  There  could  be  no  occasion  more  suitable  than  a  meeting 
of  the  Maynooth  Union  for  considering  such  subjects  as  this.  I 
have  no  doubt  that  many  members  of  the  Union  will  agree  with 


554  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

all  I  have  said,  and  more  that  I  should  like  to  have  said  ;  and  if 
any  encouraging  response  to  this  letter  appear  at  the  re-union  or 
elsewhere,  it  may  be  practicable  to  proceed  beyond  mere  words, 
and  establish,  for  example,  a  league  or  association  of  priests  to 
propagate  and  carry  into  effect,  by  working  on  definite  lines 
which  could  easily  be  specified  and  arranged,  the  policy  which  I 
have  partially  outlined.  It  would  be  premature  now  to  put 
forward  any  definite  proposals. 

SACEKDOS. 


555 


DOCUMENTS 

DECISION    REGARDING   THE    USE  OF    GLASS    IN   THE 
CRESCENT    LUNETTE 

K    SACRA    CONGREGATIONE    RITUUM 

SS.  HOSTIA  REPONI    POTEST  INTRA  DUO  CRYSTALLA  MODO    SINT   BENE 
CLAUSA,    NEQUE    ILLA    TANGAT 

DUBIUM 

In  plurimis  Galliae  Ecclesiis  atque  Oratoriis  usus  invaluit 
postremis  hisce  temporibus  sacram  Hostiam,  quae  in  Ostensorio 
exponenda  est,  recondendi  intra  duo  crystalla  apte  cohaerentia, 
eamque  in  Tabernaculo  reponendi  absque  ulla  capsa,  seu  costodia. 
Hinc  a  Sacrorum  Eituum  Congregatione  expostulatum  fuit : 
'  An  eiusmodi  praxis  licita  sit  ?' 

Atque  eadem  Sacra  Congregatio,  ad  relationem  subscript! 
Secretarii,  exquisito  etiam  voto  Commissionis  liturgicae,  ac  re 
mature  perpensa,  proposito  Dubio  respondendum  censuit :  Affirma- 
tive ;  dummodo  sacra  Hostia  in  dictis  crystallis  bene  sit  clausa, 
atque  crystalla  non  tangat,  iuxta  alias  Decreta. 

Atque  ita  rescripsit  die  14  lanuarii  1898. 

C.  CARD.  MAZZELLA,  Praef. 

D.  PANICI,  Seer, 
L.  $?  S 

THE   PRIVILEGE    OF    SINGING    REQUIEM  MASSES  TWICE 

A   WEEK 

PRIVILEGIUM    CANTANDI     MISSAM     DE     REQUIE    BIS    IN    HEBDOMADA, 
PRAETER   DIES   LIBEROS,   NON    EXTENDITUR   AD    MISSAS   LECTAS 

In  Actis  Synodalibus  dioeceseos  Bugellensis,  pag.  3  legitur : 
'  Missa  etiam  in  pauperum  funeribus,  praesente  cadavere,  si 
fieri  potest,   cani  debet  :  legatur  autem,   si  cani  nequit,  diebus 
per  decreta  S.  Eituum  Congregationis  permissis.' 

Hinc  ab  ipsa  Sacra  Congregatione  expetitum  fuit :  Utrum 
concessio  facta  die  4  Aprilis  1878  Ecclesiis  vel  Oratoriis  publicis 
praedictae  dioeceseos  celebrandi  biduo  in  qualibet  Hebdomado, 
exclusis  duplicibus  primae  et  secundae  classis,  festis  de  praecepto 
servandis,  feriis,  vigiliis,  octavisque  privilegiatis,  missam  cantatam 


556  THE    IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

de  Eequie,  extendatur  etiam  ad  missam  de  Eequie  sine  cantu, 
seii  lectam  ? 

Et  Sacra  eadem  Congregatio,  ad  relationem  subscript!  Secre- 
tarii,  exquisito  etiam  voto  Commissionis  Liturgicae,  omnibusque 
accurate  perpensis,  rescribendum  censuit :  '  Negative,  nisi  agatur 
de  Missa,  die  obitus  seu  depositionis  pro  paupere  defuncto.' 

Atque  ita  rescripsit,  die  28  lanuarii  1898. 

C.  CARD.  MAZZELLA,  Praef. 

D.  PANICI,  Seer. 


THE  BLESSING  OF  WATER  AND  CEMENT  FOB  THE    ALTAR 

DE   BENEDICTIONE   AQUAE   ET   COEMENTI   PRO   F1RMANDA   TABULA 
SUPER   SEPULCHRUM   ALTARIUM 

Bmus.  Dnus.  Salvator  loannes  Baptista  Bolognesi,  Episcopus 
Bellunensis  et  Feltrensis,  qui  per  Kescriptum  Sacrorum  Eituum 
Congregation  is  d.  d.  23  Novembris  anni  elapsi  1897,  obtinuit 
facultatem  consecrandi  sive  per  se,  sive  per  Sacerdotem,  Apostoli- 
cae  Sedis  nomine  a  se  delegatum,  quaedam  altaria,  adhibendo 
breviorem  ritum  ac  formulam  iuxta  instructionem  ad  ipsum 
transmissam,  ab  eadem  Sacra  Congregatione  sequentium  Dubio- 
rum  solutionem  humillime  efflagitavit  ;  nimirum  : 

I.  An  aqua,  cum  qua  fit  malta  seu  coementum  ad  firmandam 
tabulam   seu  lapidem   super   sepulchrum  reliquiarum,   benedici 
valeat  cum  formula  inserta  in  Missali  Romano  ? 

II.  An  ipsum  coementum  benedicendum  sit  ? 

III.  An  supradicta  benedictio  turn  atque  turn  coementi,  necnon 
facultas  consecrandi  Altaria,  in  quibus  lapis  sepulchri  ob  omissum 
coementum  movetur,  Apostolicae   Sedis  nomine  delegari  possit 
simplici  Sacerdoti,  vi  obtenti  Eescripti  ? 

Et  sacra  eadem  Congregatio,  ad  relationem  subscripti  Secre- 
tarii,  exquisito  etiam  voto  Commissionis  Liturgicae,  reque 
accurate  perpensa,  rescribendum  censuit : 

Ad  1.  Negative,  sed  in  benedictione  eiusinodi  aquae  adhibenda 
est  formula,  quae  habetur  in  ipso  Pontifical!  Eomano. 

Ad  II.  Affirmative  iuxta  Pontificate  Eomanum. 

Ad  III.  Affirmative  quoad  utramque  partem. 

Atque  ita  rescripsit.     Die  21  lanuarii  1898. 

C.  CARD.  MAZZELLA,  Praef. 

D.  PANICI,  Seer. 


DOCUMENTS  557 


FORM  OF  ORDINATION  CORRUPTED  BY  INADVERTENCE 

E  S.  B.  UNIV.  INQUISITIONE 

CIRCA  COKRUPTAM  EX  INADVERTENTIA  FORMAM  IN  S.  ORDINATIONE 

PRESBYTERALI. 

BBATISSIME  PATER, 

N.N.  ad  pedes  S.  V.  provolutus  humiliter  petit  quid  agendum 
sit  cuidam  clerico,  in  cuius  ordinatione  presbyterali  Episcopus 
inadvertenter  ita  corrupit  formulam  ut  dixerit :  '  Accipe  Spiritum 
Sanctum ;  quorum  retinueris  peccata,  remissa  sunt :  et  quorum 
retinueris,  retenta  sunt.' 

Feria  V,  loco  IV.,  9  Decembris,  1897. 

In  Cong.  Gen.  S.  et  U.  I.  habita  ab  Emis  et  Emis  DD.  Card, 
in  rebus  fidei  et  morum  Gen.  Inquisitoribus,  proposito  supra- 
scripto  dubio,  praehabitisque  KB.  DD.  CC.  S.  Officii  votis,  iidem 
Emi  ac  Emi  Patres  respondendum  censuerunt : 

'  Secreto  et  sub  conditione  quovis  anni  tempore  suppleatur  ad 
cautelam  a  quovis  Episcopo  cum  Sancta  Sede  communionem 
habente,  induto  de  moro,  tertia  manuum  impositio  et  forma 
respectiva :  Accipe,  Spiritum  S.  etc.  :  et  quoad  praeteritum, 
acquiescat.' 

Insequenti  vero  feria  VI,  die  10  dicti  mensis  et  anni  in  solita 
audientia  E.  P,  D.  Adsessori  S.  0.  impertita,  facta  de  his  omni- 
bus SSmo  D.  N.  D.  Leoni  Div.  Prov.  Pp.  XIII.  relatione,  S.  S. 
resolutionem  Emorum  Patrum,  contrariis  non  obstantibus  quibus- 
cumque,  in  omnibus  adprobavit. 

I.  CAN.  MANCINI,  S.  E.  et  U.  I.  Not. 


FACULTIES  GRANTED  TO  AMERICAN  BISHOPS 

E    SACRA   CONGREGATIONE   PROPAGANDAE   FIDEI 

DE    UNICO    VICARIO     GENERALI    DELEGABILI    QUOAD    CASUS   MATRI- 
MONIALES   FORMULAE   D.   ET  B. 

Pittsburg,  3  Nov.,  1896. 
EMINENTISSIME  PRINCEPS, 

Accepi  novas  Formulas  modificatas  Facultatum  Extraordin. 
quas  mihi,  die  9  lulii  huius  anni,  misisti ;  at  dubium  exortum  est 
eo  quod  in  hisce  Formulis  legitur  Episcopo  concedi  potestatem 
subdelegandi  quasdam  Facultates  Extraordinarias  suo  Vicario 


558  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

Generali^  dum  in  Formulis  olim  datis,  Episcopus  pollebat  pote- 
state  subdelegandi  easdem  Facultates  suis  Vicariis  Generalibus. 

Quaeritur,  ergo,  utrum  in  novis  Formulis  modificatis,  potestas 
Episcopi  limitetur.  adeo  ut,  nunc  temporis,  valeat  tantum  sub- 
delegare  has  Facultates  unico  Vicario  Generali,  an  pluribus,  uti 
antiquitus  ? 

Omnia  qua  par  est  reverentia  et  benevolentia  permaneo, 
Addictissimus  in  Xto, 

E.  PHELAN,  Episcopus  Pittsburgensis. 

Pittsburg,  die  12  Nov.,  1896. 
BEATISSIME  PATEB, 

Infrascriptus  Episcopus  Pittsburgensis,  ad  pedes  B.  V.  pro- 
vrolutus,  humillime  exponit  ac  petit : 

Die  9  lulii  currentis  anni  B.  V.  dignata  est  concedere  Epis- 
copo  Pittsburgensi — inter  alias  facultates— potestatem  subdele- 
gandi Vicario  Generali  facultates  contentas  in  Formulis  D.  et  E. 
'  quoties  absit  a  residentia  vel  lagitime  sit  impeditus.' 

lamvero,  attentis  peculiaribus  circumstantiis  huius  Dioecesia, 
haec  potestas  parvi  valet,  quum  ex  duobus  Vicariis  Generalibus, 
unus  ad  Ecclesiam  S.  Petri — trans  flumen,  in  civitate  Alleghany, 
alius,  ad  Ecclesiam  S.  Mariae,  in  hac  ipsa  civitate  Pittsburgensi, 
at  tria  circiter  rnillia  passuum  distans  a  residentia  Episcopali 
domiciliatur — et  aditus  ad  illos,  plerumque  difficilis,  semper 
inconveniens  foret. 

Unde  humillime  supplicatur  B.  V.  ut  infrascripto  concedere 
dignetur  potestatem  subdelegandi  Cancellario  Episcopali,  qui 
secum  in  domo  residet,  easdem  facultates,  aeque  ac  Vicario 
Generali. 

Pro  qua  gratia,  &c  , 

E.  PHELAN,  Episcopus  Pittsburgensis. 

Eomae,  22  Dec.,  1896. 
S.  Congregazione  di  Propaganda  Fide 

Protocollo  N.  20993-20992. 

Oggetto.     Circa  Subdelegationem  facultatum 

uni  Vicario  gen. 

ILLME  AC  RME  DOMINE, 

Per  duas  epistolas  in  mense  Novembri  nuper  elapso  mihi 
datas  Amplitudo  Tua  postulabat  ab  hac  S.  Congregatione  utrum 


DOCUMENTS  559 


illae  facultates  quae  per  novas  formulas  ab  Ordinario  subdelegari 
possunt  suo  Vicario  General!  possint  etiam  omnibus  Vicariis 
Generalibus  dari,  si  hi  plures  sint,  et  insuper  petebat  facultatem 
subdelegandi  easdem  facultates  etiam  Cancellario  residenti  in 
Curia,  si  Vicarius  Generalis  non  ibi  resideat.  lamvero  cum  novae 
formulae  iuxta  praescriptiones  et  decreta  Suprema  Congregationis 
Sancti  Officii  editae  sint,  hinc  illis  omnino  standum  est.  Cae- 
terum  sufficienter  urgentioribus  casibus  provisum  est  cum  dicitur 
in  una  ex  his  formulis,  nempe  extr.  E,  Ordinarium  subdelegare 
posse  facultates  in  ea  formula  contentas  non  solum  suo  Vicario 
Generali  sed  etiam  duobus  vel  tribus  Presbyteris  sibi  benevisis 
in  locis  remotioribus  propriae  Diocesis  pro  aliquo  tamen  numero 
casuum  urgentiorum,  in  quibus  recursus  ad  ipsi  haberi  non  possit. 
Si  igitur  Amplitude  Tua  difficilem  putat  esse  accessum  ad 
Vicarium  Generalem,  si  alibi  resideat,  et  opportunius  esse  ut 
facultates  habeat  aliquis,  qui  degat  in  Curia,  potest  uni  alterive 
sacerdoti  in  remortioribus  Dioecesis  partibus  degenti  facultates 
delegare  ad  normam  formulae  et  alium  sacerdotem  in  urbe  resi- 
dential! habitantem  Vicarium  suum  Generalem  nominare  cui  soli 
inter  Vicarios  eiusmodi  poterunt  dictae  facultates  subdelegari. 
Interim  Deum  precor  ut  Te  diutissime  sospitet 
A.  T.  Addictissimus  servus. 

M.  CABD.  LEDOCHOWSKI,  Praef. 

A.  ABCHIEP.  LABISSEN.,  Secret. 
E.  P,  D.  EICHABDO  PHELAN, 

Episcopo  Pittsburgensi. 

ITALIAN  PRIESTS  IN  AMERICA 

EPISTOLA  CIBCULABIS  AD  EPISCOPIS  ITALOS  ET  AMEBICANOS, 
BELATE  AD  SACEBDOTES  ITALOS,  QUI  AD  AMEBICANUS  BEQIONES 
EMIGBANT 

Non  sine  magno  animi  moerore  Sanctissimus  Dominus  Noster 
Leo  Papa  XIII.  accepit,  nonnullos  sacerdotes  ex  Italia,  prae- 
sertim  meridionali,  ad  Americanas  regiones  emigrates  earn 
ducere  vitam,  quae  a  morum  integritate  et  sanctate  quam  eccle- 
siasticus  vir  praeseferre  debet,  prorsus  abhorret. 

Volens  icatque  Beatissimus  Pater  tanti  mali  ulteriori  dilata- 
tion! pro  viribus  obsistere,  eas  renovando  et  ampliando  cautelas 
ac  remedia,  quae  praeteritis  annis  iam  fuerant  adhibita ;  audito 
voto  Cardinalium  sacrae  Congregationis  Concilii,  mandavit  eidem 


560  THE  IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

Congregationi  mittere  ad  Episcopos  et  Ordinaries  turn  Italiae  turn 
Americae  sequentes  praescriptiones. 

I.  Quoad  Italos  sacerdotes  emigrates  in  America  commor- 
antes,  locales  Antistites  contra  delinquentes  summarie  procedant 
ad   formam    Sacrorum    Canonum,   etiam   tamquam  Apostolicae 
Sedis  delegati,  si  opus  sit. 

II.  Quoad  futurum  vero,  prohibetur  absolute  Italiae  Episcopis 
et  Ordinariis  concedere  suis  presbyteris  de  clero  saeculari  litteras 
discessoriales  ad  emigrandum  in  regiones  Americae. 

III.  Exceptio  tantummodo  admitti  poterit,  onerata  Episcopi 
conscientia,  pro  aliquo  eius  diocesano  sacerdote  maturae  aetatis, 
sufficient!  sacra  scientia  praedito,  et  omnino  iustam   afferente 
emigrationis  causam.      Qui  tamen  bonum  testimonium  habens 
intemeratae  vitae  in  operibus  sacri   ministerii   cum   laude  veri 
spiritus  ecclesiastici  et  zeli  salutis  animarum  hactenus  peractae  ; 
idcirco  fundatum  spem  exhibeat  aedeficandi  verbo  et  exemplo 
fideles  'ac  populos  ad  quos  transire  postulat  nee  non  moralem 
certitudinem  praestet  nunquam  a  se  maculatam  iri  sacerdotalem 
dignitatem    exercitatione  quarumcumque    vulgarium   artium  et 
negotiationum. 

IV.  Sed  in  huiusmodi  casu  idem  Italus  Episcopus  et  Ordi- 
narius,  omnibus  rite  perpensis  et  probatis,  rem,  absque  sacerdotis 
postulantis  intermedio,  directe  agat  cum  Ordinario  Americano  ad 
cuius  dioecesim  ille  transire  cupit,  et  habita  ab  ipso  Americano 
Ordinario  eiusdem  sacerdotis  formali  acceptatione  una  cum  pro- 
missione  eum  ad  aliquod  ministerii  ecclesiastici  munus  deputandi, 
de  omnibus  et  singulis,  praefatae   Sacrae  Congregationi  Concilii 
referat.     Qae  si  tandem  consensum  dederit,  tune  poterit  Epis- 
copus discessorias  litteras  concedere,  communicando  Americano 
Antistiti  per  secretam  epistolam,  nisi  et  iam  cognitae  sint,  notas 
personales  emigrantis  sacerdotis,  ad  effectum  impediendi  fraudes 
circa  subiecti  identitatem.     Ex  ea  dioecesi  ad  aliam  in  America 
idem  sacerdos  emigrare  nequeat  absque  nova  sacrae  Congrega- 
tionis  licentia. 

V.  Excluduntur  in  quacumque   hypothesi    presbyteri    ritus 
orientalis. 

VI.  Quod  si  non  agatur  de  emigratione,  sed  de  aliquo  Italiae 
sacerdote,   qui  ob  personales  et  honestas   tempo raneas   causa 
pergere  velit  ad  Americae  partes,  satis  erit  ut  proprius  Ordinarius, 
his  perspectis,  ac  dummodo  de  catero  nihil  obstet,  eum  muniat  in 
scriptis  sua  licentia  ad  tempus  (unius  anni  limitem  non  excedens), 


DOCUMENTS  561 


in  qua  praefatae  abeundi  causae  declarentu,  cum  conditione,  ui 
suspensus  illico  maneat  a  divinis  expirato  praefixo  termino,  nisi 
eius  legitimam  prorogationem  obtinuerit. 

VII.  Non  comprehenduntur  his  legibus  de  emigrations  in 
Americanus  ii  sacerdotes,  qui  ad  hoc  speciali  aliquo  gaudent 
apostolico  privilegio. 

Datum  Bomae  ex  S.  Congregatione  Concilii  die  27  lulii,  1890. 


RELICS    OF    THE    SACRED    PASSION 

E    SACRA    CONGKEGATIONE    KITUUM 

NON    INNOVETUR   CIRCA   DECRETA   RESPICIENTIA   CULTUM    EXHIBEN- 
DUM   RELIQUIIS    PASSIONIS   D.  N.  I.  C. 

Emus  P.  Commissarius  Generalis  Fratrum  Minorum  Obser- 
vantium  de  Provincia  Calabriae  Sacra  Eituum  Congr.  ea  quao 
sequuntur  humillime  exposuit,  nimirum  : — In  Conventu  Fratrum 
Minorum  Franciscalium  de  Observantia  prope  Petiliam  Policas- 
trum  ac  de  Provincia  Calabriae,  abhinc  tribus  saeculis  una  colitur 
Spina  Coronae  D.  N.  I.  C.  sanguine  conspersa  et  quondam  a 
Emo  Archiepiscopo  S.  Severinae,  in  cuius  dioecesi  siturn  est  oppi- 
dum,  iuridice  recognita  et  approbata.  Haec  autem  S.  Eeliquia 
cum  exponitur  fidelium  venerationi,  super  tabernaculum  collocari 
solet  in  quo  SSmum  Sacramentum  asservatur,  et  ante  ipse  trans- 
euntes  utrurnqu^  flectunt  genu  ;  et  ipse  Sacerdotes  ante  earn 
expositam  celebrantes  omnia  peragunt,  quae  ante  SSmum  Sacra- 
mentum expositum  fieri  solent.  Idem  vero  Rmus  P.  Commis- 
sarius Generalis  sua  canonica  visitatione  haec  omnia  nonnisi 
SSmae  Eucharistiae  ratus  conrenire  ex  ecclesiastica  institutione, 
iussit  ab  his  abstineri  et  omnia  peragii  ad  tramitem  Decretorum 
Sacrae  Eituum  Congregationis.  Quod  aegre  ferentibus  quibug- 
dam,  ut  efficacius,  in  casu,  omnis  abusus  eliminetur,  et  debitus 
honor  sacrae  Spinae  D.  N.  I.  C.  tribuatur,  praedictus  Orator  ab 
eadem  Sacra  Congregatione  enixe  postulavit : 

I.  Utrum  praefati  usus  approbari,  vel  saltern  tolerari  possint  ? 

II.  Et   quatenus   negative,  quis   sit  legitimus   cultus   eidem 
S.  Spinae  tribuendus  ? 

Et  Sacra  ipsa  Congregatio,  referente  subscripto  Secretario, 

attentis  expositis,  utrique  postulato  rescribendum  censuit :  '  Stetur 

Decretis,  praesertim  decreto  in  Tridcntina  d.  d.  12  Martii,  1836, 

aliisque  respicientibus  cultum  exhibendum  ac  praescriptum  pro 

yot. in.  %  N 


562  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

Keliquiis  vivificae  Crucis  aliorurnque  instrumentorum  Passionis 
Dominicae.' 

Atque  ita  rescripsit.     Die  17  Septembris,  1897. 

L.  M.  CAKD.  PAROCCHI. 

D.  PANICI,  Secret. 

DECREE  REGARDING  PIOUS  UNIONS  AND  SOCIETIES 

DB   ERECTION   ET   AGGREGATIONE    PIARUM    UNIONUM    SEU     SOCIETA- 

TUM,    ETC. 

Cum  hisce  temporibus  poene  innumerae  exortae  sint  in 
Ecclesia  piae  Uniones  seu  Societatis.  quae  etsi  quandoque  Con- 
fraternitatum  nomine  decorentur,  nihilominus  inter  veras  et  pro- 
prie  dictas  Confraternitates  minime  sint  recensenda  ;  merito  dubi- 
tatum  est,  an  leges,  quae  a  Constitutione  dementis  VIII.,  quae 
incipit :  Quaecumque,  pro  Confraternitatibus  et  Congregationibus 
iussae  sunt,  novis  istis  piis  Unionibus  seu  Societatibus  forent 
applicandae.  Quaestio  insuper  mota  est  pro  nonnullis  Confra- 
ternitatibus ad  Eegulares  Ordines  pertinentibus,  quoad  consensum 
Ordinariorum,  cum  illae  in  Ecclesiis  eorumdem  Kegularium 
Ordinum  eriguntur.  Quare  huic  Sacrae  Congregationi  Indul- 
gentiis  Sacrisque  Keliquiis  praepositae  sequentia  dubia  dirimenda 
sunt  exhibita  : 

I.  '  An  Piae  Uniones  seu  Societates,  quae  sub  Confraterni- 
tatum  et  Congregationum  nomine  minime  veriunt  comprehendan- 
tur  sub  sanctionibus  Constitutionis  Clementis  VIII.,  quae  incipit 
Quaecumque  ? ' 

II.  '  An  ad  erectionem  Confraternitatum,  puta  Sanctissimae 
Trinitatis,  Sanctissimi  Eosarii,  B.  M.  V.  de  Monte  Carmelo,  vel  a 
Virgine    Perdolente,    aliarumve    huiusmodi,    quae   a   Keligiosis 
Ordinibus  in  suis  respectivis  Ecclesiis  origuntur,  necessarius  sit 
Ordinarii  consensus  ? ' 

Et  Eini  Patris  Vaticanis  Aedibus  in  generali  Congregatione 
coadunati  sub  die  5  Augusti,  1897,  ad  proposita  dubia  responde- 
runt : 

Ad  Inni:  Affirmative,  '  quoad  erectionem  seu  institutionem, 
quoad  approbationem  statutorum,  quoad  aggregationem  et  quoad 
publicationem  Indulgentiarum.' 

Ad  II""1:  '  Si  agatur  de  Confraternitalibus  proprie  dictus,  id 
est  ad  modum  organic!  corporis  et  cum  sacco  constitutis,  Affirma- 
tive: si  de  Confraternitatibus  late  acceptis,  satis  provisum  per 


DOCUMENTS  563 


consensum  praes  itum  ab  Ordinario  pro  erections  Conventus 
Ordinis  in  Diocesi.' 

De  quibus  omnibus  facta  SSmo  Dno  Nostro  Leoni  XIII. 
relatione  in  Audentia  habita  ab  infrascripto  Cardinal!  Praefecto 
die  25  Augusti,  1897,  Sanctitas  Sua  resolutiones  Emorum  Patrura 
approbavit. 

Datum  Eomae  ex  Secretaria  eiusdem  S.  C.  die  25  Augusti, 
1897. 

FB.  HIEKONYMUS  MAKIA,  CAED.  GOTTI,  Praefectus. 
L.  *  S. 

ifc  A.  AKCHIPISC.  ANTINOEN.,  Secretarius. 

INDULGENCE  OF  A  PRIVILEGED    ALTAR 

DECBETUM    SQUILLACENSIS 
DE  INDULGENTIA   ALTABI  PBIVILEGIATO  ADNEXA 

Episcopus  Squillacensis  huic  S.  Congregarioni  Indulgentiarum 
sequentia  dubia  enodanda  proposuit : 

I.  'An  Indulgentia  Altaris  Privilegiati  separari  possit  ab  appli- 
catione  seu  fructu  Sacrificii,  quando  Sacrificium  est  celebrandum 
pro  defun-ctis  ? ' 

•  II.  '  An  eadem  Indulgentia  Altaris  Privilegiati  separari  possit, 
quando  celebratur  Sacrificium  pro  vivis,  ita  ut  Indulgentia  prae- 
dicta  applicari  possit  pro  defunctis  ad  libitum  Celebrantis  ? ' 

III.  '  Quomodo  intelligenda  sit  inscriptio,  quae  reperitur  in 
aliquibus  Altaribus,  huius  tenoris  :  "  Altare  Privilegiatum  pro 
vivis  atque  defunctis  ?  " 

Et  in  generali  Congregatione  habita  in  Palatio  Apostolico 
Vaticano,  die  5  Augusti,  1897,  Emi  Patres  rescripserunt  : 

Ad  lum  et  Hum  :    (Negative.) 

Ad  Ilium.  '  Interpretanda  est  ita,  ut  tarn  pro  vivis,  si  in 
Altari,  de  quo  agitur,  Missae  Sacrificium  pro  vivis  applicetur, 
quam  pro  defunctis,  si  pro  his  S.  Sacrificium  applicetur,  intelli- 
gatur  concessa  Plenaria  Indulgentia  ;  pro  vivis  ad  modura 
iurisdictionis,  pro  defunctis  ad  modum  suffragii. ' 

Et  facta  per  me  infrascriptum  Card.  Praefectum  SSmo.  D.  N. 
Leoni Pp,  XIII.  de  his  relatione,  in  Audientia  habita  die  25  Augusti, 
1897,  Patrum  Cardinalium  responsiones  Sanctitas  £ua  ratas 
habuit  et  confirmavit. 

Datum  Romae  ex  Secretaria  eiusdem   S.  Congregationis  die 

25  Augusti,  1897. 

Fr.  H.  M.  CABD.  GOTTI,  Praef. 
L.  »frS. 

Archiepisc.  ANTINOEN,  Secret. 


564  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

THE  DECREE  OF  THE  INDEX  ON  THE  PROHIBITION  AND 
CENSURE  OF  BOOKS 

E  SACRA  CONGREGATIONE  IND1CIS.  CIRCA  INTERPRETATIONS!! 
VERBORUM  'ABSQUE  COMPETfiNTIS  AUCTORITATIS  LICENTIA,' 
ART.  17  CONST.  '  OFFICIORUM  ' 

A  Sacra  Congregations  Indulgentiarum,  sub  die  13  lulii 
1897  huic  S.  Indicis  Congregationi  propositum  fuit  sequens 
Dubium  : — 

Utrum  in  Decreto  N.  17  Decretorum  Generalium  '  De  prohi- 
bitione  et  censura  librorum,'  nupsr  a  SSmoD.  N.  Leone  PP.  XIII 
editorum,  verba  haec  'nonpublicentur  absque  competentisauctori- 
tatis  licentia,'  ita  sint  intelligenda,  utin  posterum  Indulgentiarum 
libri,  libelli,  folia,  etc.  omnes  ad  solos  locorum  Ordinaries  pro 
impetranda  licentia  sint  referendi?  Ad  vero  subiiciendi  sint 
censurac  aut  Sacrae  Congregationis  Indulgentiarum,  aut  Ordinarii 
loci  secundum  normas  ante  novam  Uonstitutionem  '  Officiorum  ac 
munerum '  stabilitas  ? 

Sacra  Indicis  Congregatio,  omnibus  mature  perpensis 
respondit : — 

Ad  lam  Partem  Negative. 

Ad  lam  Partem  Affirmative. 

Datum  Romae  ex  Secretaria,  S,  Indicis  Cong,  die  7H  Augusti 
1897. 

A.  CARD.  STEINHUBER,  Praef. 

Fr.  M.  CICOGNANI,  0.  P.  Secret. 

ERROR  IN  'SUPPLEX  LIBELLUS' 

E  SACRA  POENITENTIARIA  SUSTINETUR  DISPENSATIO,  LICET  IN  SUP- 
PLICII  LIBELLO  ERROR  ADFUERIT  IN  EXPRIMENDO  STIPITE,  EX 
QUO  PROVENIEBAT  UNUM  EX  IMPEDIM  CONSANGUINITATIS 

BEATISSIME  PATER, 

Sub  die  30  Martii,  1897,  Joannes  B.  .  .  .  et  Rosalia  J.  .  .  N.  .  .  . 
dioecesis,  a  Dataria  Apostolica  rescriptum  dispensationis  repor- 
taverunt k  supra  secundo  in  linea  aequali  ex  uno,  ac  duplici  quarto 
ex  tertio '  stipitibus  provenien.  consanguinitatis  gradibus. 

Ita  ferebat  rescriptum,  dum  revera  dispensatio  postulata  fuerat 
super  '  secundo  ex  uno,  quarto  ex  altero  ac  demum  item  quarto 
ex  tertio'  stipitibus  provenien.  consanguinitatis  gradibus. 

lamvero  cum    tcmpus  urgerut  et   error  rescript!   circa    quid 


DOCUMENTS  565 


accidentals  versaretur,  Ordinarius  N.  .  .  .  rescriptum  executus 
est,  sponsique  in  facie  Ecclesiae  rite  copulati  sunt.  Hinc 
quaerit  : — 

1.  Utrum  rescriptum  valide  et  licite  executus  fuerit  ? 

Die  1  Februarii,  1895,  cum  quidam  Ordinarius  in  libello 
supplici  se  originis  Ordinarium  affirmaverit,  dum  revera 
Ordinarius  domicilii  esset,  S.  Poenitentiaria  sciscitanti  respondit 
dispensationem  valide  et  licite  fuisse  datum,  verum  errorem 
corigendum  esse.  Hinc  : 

2.  Utrum   ipse   Ordinarius  N.  .  .  .  debeat  et  in  casu  actuali 
errorem  rescript!  corrigere  ? 

Et  Deus 

Sacra  Poenitentiaria  Ordinario  N.  .  .  .  super  praemissis 
respondet :  Pacta  correctione  acquiescat. 

Datum  Eomae  et  Sacra  Poenitentiaria  die  2  lunii,  1897. 
B.  POMPILI,  S.P.,  Corrector. 
V.  CANCUS  LUCCHETTI,  S.P.,  Secrius. 


MARRIAGES  OF  FREETHINKERS,  SECTARIES,  AND  CATHOLICS 
WHO  REFUSE  TO  FULFIL  THEIR  CHRISTIAN  DUTIES 

E.  S.  R.  UNIV.  INQUISITIONE.  CIRCA  MATBIMONIA  LIBEKORUM 
PENSATORUM,  SECTARIORUM  ET  CATHOLICOKUM  QUl  CHRISTIANA 
OFFICIA  ADIMPLERE  RECUSANT 

Feria  III.,  loco  IV.,  die  25  Mali  1897. 

In  Eelatione  Status  Ecclesiae  Tabescensis,  exhibita  S.  Con- 
gregation! Concilii  die  27  Novembris  189G,  sequens  legitur  sub 
num.  I  Postulatum  : 

'His  in  Eegionibus  frequenter  occurrit  ut  viri  impii,  vulgo 
liberi  pensatores,  matrimonium  inire  cupientes  cum  mulieribus 
catholicis,  praeviam  confessionem  facere  renuant,  eo  quod,  ut 
explicite  fatentur,  fidem  Sacramenti  Poenitentiae  corde  incredulo 
reiecerunt  et  totam  fidem  negaverunt.  Peto  an  hi,  infidelibus 
deteriores,  debeant  aut  possint  admitti  ad  contrahendum  matri- 
monium, cum  magno  mulieris  catholicae  et  familiae  detrimento 
et  periculo.' 

Cum  hoc  Postulatum  transmissum  fuerit  ad  hanc  Supremam 
S.  K.  et  U.  Inquisitionem,  in  Congregatione  Generali  habita  ab 
EEmis  et  EEmis  DD.  Cardinalibus  Generalibus  Inquisitoribus, 
proposito  suprascripto  dubio,  praehabitoque  EE.  DD.  Consultorum 
voto,  iidem  EEmi  ac.  EEmi  DDni  responderi  mandarunt : 


566  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

'  Supplicandum  SSmo,  ut  in  Decreto  Feriae  IV.,  die  30 
lanuarii  1867.' 

Feria  Vero  IV  die  26  eiusdem  rneiisis  SSmus,  per  facultates 
Emo  Cardinal!  S.  E.  et  U.  Inquisitionis  Secretario  concessas, 
benigne  annuit  pro  gratia. 

Porro  citatum  Decretum  fer.  IV.  diei  30  lanuarii  1867  sic  se 
habet  : 

I.  '  Quid  agendum  quando  vir  baptizatus,  sed  apostasium  a 
fide  verbis  et  corde  profitens,  asserensque  nominatim  se  non  cre- 
dere Sacramentis    Ecclesiae,  petit  matrimonium  coram  eiusdem 
Ecclesiae  facie,  unice  ut  desiderio  sponsae  satisfaciat  ? 

II.  '  Quid  si  idem  vir  petit  sectae  condemnatae  muratorum  vel 
simili  addictus,  qui  licet  fidem  non  omnino  amiserit,  sectae  tamen 
debite  renunciare  recusat  ? 

III.  '  Quid  si  idem  postulat  vir,  qui  fidem  non  abiecit,  sed  earn 
profiteri,  officiaque  cbristiana  adimplere  abnuit.' 

Kesponsum  fuit  :  Adi.  '  Quoties  agatur  de  matrimonio  inter 
unam  partem  catbolicam  et  alteram  quae  a  fide  ita  defecit,  ut 
alicui  falsae  religioni  vel  sectae  sese  adscripserit,  requirendam 
esse  consuetam  et  necessariam  dispensationem  cum  solitis  ac 
notis  praescriptionibus  et  clausulis.  Quod  si  agatur  de  matri- 
monio inter  unam  partem  catholicam  et  alteram  quae  fidem 
abiecit, at  nulli  falsae  religioni  vel  haereticae  sectae  sese  adscripsit, 
quando  parochus  nullo  modo  potest  huiusmodi  matrimonium 
impedire  (ad  quod  totis  viribus  incumbere  tenetur)  et  prudenter 
timet  ne  ex  denegata  matrimonio  adsistentia  grave  scandalum  vel 
damnum  oriatur,  rem  deferendam  esse  ad  E.  P.  D.  Episcopum, 
qui,  sicut  ei  opportuna  nunc  facultas  tribuitur,  inspectis  omnibus 
casus  adiunctis,  permittere  poterit  ut  parochus  matrimonio  passive 
inter  sit  tamquam  testis  '  authorizalibis,'  dummodo  cautum  omnino 
sit  catholicae  education!  universae,  prolis  aliisque  similibus 
conditionibus.' 

Ad  II.  '  Dandum  esse  Decretum  diei  28  lunii,  1865,  quod  est 
huiusmodi :  "  Quoad  matrimonia;  in  quibus  una  contrahentium 
pars  clandestinis  aggregationibus  per  Pontificias  Constitutiones 
damnatas  adhaeret,  dummodo  absit  scandalum,  Ordinarius, 
habita  circumstantiarum  ratione  pro  casibus  particularibus,  ea 
decernat  quae  magis  expedire  iudicaverit. " 

Ad  III.  '  Consultet  probatos  Auctores,  et  praesertim  Bene- 
dictum  XIV  De  Si/nodo  Dioeces.  L.  VIII,  Cap.  XIV,  n.  5.' 

I.  C.  MANCINI,  S.  R.  et  U.  Inquis.  Not. 


DOCUMENTS  567 


THE   BURIAL  OF   AMPUTATED  MEMBERS 
DE  MEMBEIS  HUMANIS  AMPUTATIS  SEPELIENDIS 
BEATISSIMI  PATER, 

Superiorissa  Generalis  '  Sororum  a  Matre  Dolorosa,'  quarum 
Domus  matrix  Eomae  extat,  devotissime  exponit,  in  Hospitalihus 
Congregations,  quae  in  America  Septentrionali  extant,  singulis 
hebdomadibus  evenire  ut  unius  vel  alterius  aegroti  brachium  seu 
eras  amputetur.  Sorores  adhuc  bona  fide  eiusmodi  membra  recisa 
sive  in  terra  profana  sepelierunt,  sive,  suadente  medico,  igne 
combusserunt.  Quum  vero  humilis  Oratrix  anxia  haereat,  num 
Sorores  in  hac  parte  recte  egerint,  devotissime  quaerit,  utrum 
eiusmodi  agendi  ratio  eti  am  in  future  prosequi  possit  vel'  non  : 
sive  agatur  de  aegrotis  catholicis,  sive  de  acatholicis  seu  infide- 
libus.  luvat  forsan  adnotare  eiusmodi  membrorum  sepulturam 
in  aliquo  coemeterio  saepissime  moraliter  et  baud  semel  physice 
impossibilem  evadere. 

Et  Deus,  etc. 

Ferialll,  loco  IV,  die  3  Augusti  1897. 

In  Congregatione  Generali  S.  E.  et  U.  Inquisitionis  habita  ab 
EEmis  et  ER.  DD.  Cardinalibus  in  rebus  fidei  et  morum 
Generalibus  Inquisitoribus,  propositis  suprascriptis  precibus, 
praehabitoque  EE.  DD.  Consultorum  voto,  idem  EE.  ac  EE. 
Pati-es  rescribendum  mandarunt : 

'Quoad  membra  amputata  acatholicorum,  Sorores  praxim 
suam  tuto  servare  possunt.  Quoad  membra  amputata  fidelium 
baptizatorum,  pro  viribus  curent  ut  in  loco  sacro  sepeliantur.  Sin 
vero  graves  obstant  diflficultates  quominus  in  loco  sacro  condi 
possint,  circa  praxim  hucusque  servatam  non  sunt  inquietandae. 
Quoad  membrorum  combustionem  praecipientibus  medicis,  pru- 
denter  dissimulent  et  obediant.  Et  ad  menem.'  '  Mens  est 
quod,  si  fieri  potest,  in  proprio  horto  domui  adnexio,  deputetur 
aliquod  parvum  terrae  spatium,ad  sepelienda  membra  catholicorum 
amputata,  postquam  fuerit  benedictum.' 

Feria  vero  VI.  die  6  eiusdem  mensis  et  anni,  in  solita  audientia 
E.  P.  D.  Adsessori  S.  0.  impertita,  facta  de  his  omnibus  SSmo 
D.  N.  Leoni  Div.  Prov.  Pp.  XIII.  relatione,  SSmus  resolutionem 
EEmorum  Patrum  adprobavit. 

I.  C.  MANCINI,  S.  B.  et  U,  Inquis.  Not, 


568  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

WHAT  IS   MEANT   BY    'PER    MODUM    POTUS '    IN    DISPENSA- 
TIONS   IN    THE    LAW    OF    FASTINQ 

QUID  VENIAT  RUB    DICTIONE    '  PER  MODUM  POTUS,'  ADHIBITA 
INDISPENSATIONIUUS  CIRCA  IEIUNIUM  NATURALE 

BEATISSIMO  PADRE,* 

N.  N.,  prostrate  ai  piedi  della  8.  V.  umilmente  espone  che  egli 
ottenne  a  causa  di'cronica  malattia  la  facolta  di  prendere  qualche 
riatoro  '  per  modum  potus  '  priuna  della  Communione.  Aggravate 
vieupiu  il  suo  male,  e  non  bastandogli  solo  delle  bevande,  sup- 
plica  la  V.  S.  che  degni  permettergli  anche  qualche  cosa  di  solido 
per  sostentarsi.  Che  ecc. 

Feria  III,  loco  IV,  die  7  Sept.   1897. 

In  Congregatione  (lenerali  S.  E.  et  U.  Inquisitionis  habita  ab 
EEmis  et  ERmis  DD.  Cardinalibus  in  rebus  fidei  et  morum 
Generalibus  Inquisitoribus,  propositis  suprascriptis  precibus, 
praehabitoque  EE.  DD.  Consultorum  voto,  iidem  EEmi  ac  ERmi 
Patres  rescribendum  mandarunt : 

'  Eespondeatur  ad  mentem,  ut  in  Abellinen.  4  lunii  1893. '2  'La 
mente  eche  quando  si  dice  per  modum  potus,  s'intende  bensiche  si 
possa  prendere  brodo,  caffe,  od  altro  cibo  liquido,in  cui  sia  inesco- 
lata  qualche  sostanza,  come  p.  e.  semmolino,  pangrattato  ecc., 
purche  1'insieme  non  venga  a  perdere  la  natura  di  cibo  liquido.' 

Feria  vero  VI,  die  10  eiusdem  rnensis  et  anni,  in  solita 
audientia  E.  P.  D.  Adsessori  S.  0.  impertita,  facta  de  his  omnibus 
SSmo  D.  N.  Leoni  Div.  Prov.  Pp.  XIII  relatione,  SSmus  resolu- 
tionem  Emorum  Patrum  adprobavit. 

I.  C.  MANCINI,  S.  It.  et  U.  Inquis,  Not. 


1  Latina  Versio. 

N.  N.  ad  pedes  S.  V.  provolutus  hutniliter  exponit  quod  ob  chronicum 
morbum  iam  obtinuit  facultatem  sumendi  aliquid  per  mod  HIM  potus  ante  Com- 
muuionem.  Quum  antem  notabiliter  fuerit  aggravatus  morbus,  nee  satis  ei  sint 
potiones  consuetae,  S.  V.  deprecatur  ut  concedatur  facultas  sumendi  etiam  ad 
sustentationem  aliquid  solid!  cibi. 

2  Mens  est  ut   quando  dicitur  per   modum  potus,  significatur  etiam  quod 
permittitur  usus  iusculi,  caffei,  aliorumque  ciborum   liquidorum,  cum  quibus 
juisceri    poteat   aliqua    substantia,   uti   v.    jr.  o(  ndita   farina,   friatus  panis, 
du:mnodo  dicta  mixtio  non  amittat  naturaio  cibi  liquidi. 


NOTICES    OF    BOOKS 

CANONICAL  PROCEDURE  IN  DISCIPLINARY  AND  CRIMINAL 
CASES  OF  CLERICS.  A  Systematic  Commentary  on  the 
'Instructio  S.  C.  Epp.  et  Beg.,  1880.'  By  the  Eev. 
Francis  Droste.  Edited  by  the  Eev.  Sebastian  G. 
Messmer,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Theology.  Benziger 
Brothers. 

WE  shall  leave  to  the  Editor  the  task  of  introducing  himself, 
the  author,  and  the  work  : — 

'When  in  the  year  1880  the  S.  Congregation  of  Bishops  and 
Eegulars  sent  to  the  bishops  of  Italy  the  now  famous  Instruction 
on  the  Summary  Procedure  in  Disciplinary  and  Criminal  Causes 
of  Clerics,  it  soon  became  evident  that  the  reform  thus  initiated 
would  not  remain  confined  to  Italy,  but  would  gradually  find  its 
way  to  other  countries.  Anticipating  this,  the  Eev.  Francis 
, Droste,  a  priest  of  the  diocese  of  Paderborn,  wrote  a  short  and 
simple  commentary  on  the  new  procedure,  which  he  designed 
more  for  practical  use  than  legal  speculation.  .  .  .  The  Third 
Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore  in  1884,  complying  with  the  request 
of  the  S.  C.  de  Prop.  Fide,  adopted  the  same  Instruction,  with  a 
few  slight  modifications.  It  is  a  mere  question  of  time  when 
these  same  provisions  shall  be  extended  to  all  English-speaking 
missionary  countries ;  and  as  an  English  commentary  on  the 
Instruction  was  desired,  a  German  priest  of  the  diocese  of 
Covington,  Ky.,  translated  Fr.  Droste's  little  book.  To  be  of 
greater  service,  however,  the  work  needed  adaption  to  conditions 
for  which  it  was  not  originally  intended.  This  labour  was 
intrusted  to  the  present  writer,  who  confesses  to  having  taken 
very  great  liberty  with  the  translation,  as  well  as  with  the 
original  work.  ...  In  a  word,  the  original  has  been  so 
radically  changed  that  the  author  will  hardly  recognise  his 
German  offspring  in  this  "naturalized  American  edition." 

We  shall,  therefore,  consider  ourselves  justified  in  regarding 
Dr.  Messmer  not  merely  as  editor,  but  as  author,  for  purposes  of 
criticism. 

The  work  may  be  divided  generally  into  two  parts,  the  pre- 
liminary portion  and  the  Commentary  proper.  Under  the  former 
section,  among  other  matters,  are  treated  the  relation  between 
Canon  and  Civil  Law,  Ecclesiastical  Jurisdiction  in  general  and 


570  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

its  application  to  contentious  cases ;  and  lastly,  the  general 
organization  of  Ecclesiastical  courts.  Then  follows  the  Com- 
mentary which  forms  the  body  of  the  work.  After  this  come  a 
number  of  appendices  containing  the  text  of  the  Instruction  and 
other  important  documents  bearing  on  the  subject.  Finally 
comes  that  valuable  appendage  known  as  an  Index,  which  is 
fairly  complete  in  the  present  instance. 

We  are  not  sure  that  the  preliminary  portion  of  the  work 
enhances  the  value  of  the  whole  ;  indeed,  any  devil's  advocate  of 
ordinary  ability  would,  we  fancy,  find  plenty  of  matter  here  to 
work  upon.  In  the  first  place,  the  different  questions  are  treated 
far  too  meagrely.  This  fault,  perhaps,  would  not  be  such  a  bar  to 
effective  treatment,  were  it  compensated  for  by  clearness  or 
accuracy ;  but  both  these  qualities  are,  at  least  to  a  notable 
extent,  wanting.  Thus,  the  arrangement  of  paragraphs  seems  to 
be  a  purely  arbitrary  proceeding  ;  as  we  find  subjects  dove-tailed 
into  one  another  which  of  their  nature  stand  apart,  while  matters 
are  sundered  which  call  for  closer  union.  This  is  a  fault  which* 
to  a  greater  or  less  degree,  permeates  the  book  from  beginning  to 
end.  Moreover,  there  is  a  want  of  clearness  within  narrower 
limits,  namely,  inaccuracy  of  expression  and  seemingly  of 
thought.  Let  us  give  an  example  or  two  of  this  latter  dual 
defect : — 

'  The  truth  is,  that  whenever  the  Church  sat  in  judgment  over 
purely  temporal  matters  (the  italics  are  ours),  this  right  had  been 
conceded  to  her  by  the  State  .  .  .  ;  or  the  people,  unable 
to  get  any  justice  from  the  .  .  .  secular  authority  .  .  . 
turned  to  the  Catholic  Church  who  had  a  nicely  wrought  system 
of  criminal  procedure,  even  in  the  time  when  in  the  secular  courts 
the  proof  of  a  crime  committed,  &c. ' 

Surely,  this  is  to  take  a  very  innocent  view  of  the  nature  of 
crime.  Again,  in  dealing  with  the  question  of  quasi-ordinary 
jurisdiction  as  distinguished  from  delegated,  the  author  seems  to 
be  more  or  less  at  sea ;  for,  in  page  29,  we  find  a  definition,  or 
description,  of  quasi-ordinary  jurisdiction — not  very  accurate 
indeed,  but  passable  as  far  as  it  goes  — which  is  pretty  effectually 
contradicted  by  an  example  of  purely  delegated  jurisdiction 
mentioned  in  the  very  next  page.  Either  that,  or  else  his  con- 
ception of  quasi-ordinary  jurisdiction,  is  rather  peculiar. 

The  editor,  or  author,  states  in  the  preface  that,  with  regard  to 
legal  phraseology,  he  'has  tried  to  use  English  rather  than  Latin, 


NOTICES   OF   BOOKS  571 

notwithstanding  his  very  imperfect  knowledge  of  the  former 
language.'  As  soon  as  we  had  read  this  statement  we  naturally 
concluded  that  it  was  merely  a  sample  of  that  commodity  yclept 
'  humilitas  cum  hamo,'  and  were  inclined  to  cry  out  '  don't 
please !  '  but  now  that  we  have  had  a  wider  experience  of  the 
editor's  capabilities  as  an  English  scholar,  we  beg  to  state  that  the 
aforesaid  confession  is — especially  in  relation  to  the  preliminary 
part  of  the  work — a  sample  of  the  most  refreshing  candour 
imaginable.  In  fact,  not  merely  in  the  matter  of  legal  phrase- 
ology, but  also  in  the  case  of  ordinary  work-a-day  English,  it  is 
very  often  a  question  of  'trying,'  and  trying  without  any  signal 
success.  A  few  illustrations  may  prove  interesting.  On  page  16 
we  come  across  the  following  sentence  : — 

'  Whether  a  person  have  actually  committed  a  delict,  and,  if 
so,  what  be  its  disciplinary  or  criminal  nature ;  in  other  words, 
what  be  the  real  matter  of  fact,  can  only  be  determined  by  inquiry 
and  information.' 

Quaint;    is    it    not?      Again,    on    page   22,    we    find    this 

statement  : — 

'  But  more  especially  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  crimianl 
procedure  is  but  a  means  to  an  end.' 

Were  it  not  that  '  more  especially  '  has  never  been  known  to 
have  laid  claim  to  the  distinction  of  being  a  substantive,  whether 
proper  or  common,  we  should  be  inclined  to  think  that  the  said 
'  more  especially  '  occupied  the  position  of  nominative  in  the  first 
part  of  the  sentence.  The  following  is  plainer  English — that  is 
supposing  it  to  be  English  at  all : — 

'We  shall  occupy  our  self  with  explaining  only  the  ecclesias- 
tical disciplinary  and  criminal  procedure  as  now  in  use.  .  .  Still 
we  do  not  confine  ourself  to  strictly  judicial  proceedings,  &c.' 

But  here  is  a  nut  for  anyone  who  is  able  to  crack  it :  — 

'  In  the  course  of  centuries  several  kinds  of  canonical  criminal 
procedure  were  contemporaneously  and  successively  in  use,  but 
are  no  longer  at  present.' 

By  way  of  climax,  we  would  offer  the  following  piece  of 
English  : — 

'Judge  in  the  third  and  last  instance  in  disciplinary  and 
criminal  causes  of  clerics  is  the  Pope,  &c.' 


572  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL    RECORD 

Of  course  on  reading  this  bit  of  information  we  naturally  put 
ourselves  the  question  :  Who  is  Judge?  And  when  did  he 
become  accredited  with  this  supreme  authority  claimed  for  him 
here  ?  We  were  searching  hopelessly  for  light  when  some  good 
fairy  whispered  in  our  ear  that  the  said  Mr.  Judge  rejoiced  in  the 
somewhat  unpoetic  Christian  name  of  •  The  ' ;  thus  the  veil  was 
lifted. 

The  Commentary  proper  is  a  decided  improvement  on  the 
introductory  portion,  an  improvement  we  would  say  in  every 
respect.  We  confess,  indeed,  that  we  experienced  a  mild  species 
of  electric  shock  when  on  page  165  we  came  across  a  chapter 
whose  sub-heading  was  in  this  wise  :  '  The  Auditor's  Inquest.' 
So  far  we  had  not  stumbled  on  any  murder  or  death  of  any  sort, 
and  we  anxiously  awaited  developments.  Behold  the  develop- 
ment, or  ddnouement,  or  whatever  you  wish  to  call  it : — 

'  When    the  fiscal   procurator   has   a   well-founded   suspicion 
.     .     that     a    crime    has    been    committed,    he    must    first 
inquire,    extra-judicially     .  .   .      This    extra-judicial     and     pre- 
liminary inquest,  &c.' 

A  poor  look-out  for  the  suspected  culprit,  we  should  say. 
Shocks  of  this  kind,  however,  are  few  and  far  between  in  this 
portion  of  the  book.  Accordingly,  since  this  is  the  body  of  the 
work,  and  since,  in  a  canonical  work,  the  canonical  principle 
'  accessorium  sequitur  principale '  is  specially  applicable,  we  are 
justified  in  saying  that  the  book,  as  a  whole,  is  a  fairly  presentable 
one,  and  we  beg  to  recommend  it.  It  may  not  be  so  practical  for 
us  here  in  Ireland  at  present,  but  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that 
its  use  may  become  apparent  in  the  near  future  ;  for  the  signs  of 
the  times  seem  to  whisper  a  'transitus  ab  informitate  ad  speciem' 
with  regard  to  the  question  of  canonical  procedure  here  in 
Ireland. 

The  editor  says  in  the  preface  that  he  hopes  (with  the 
publishers'  permission)  that  the  book  may  remain  on  the  shelf. 
Seeing  that  the  ^publishers  have  consented  to  give  permanent 
expression  to  this  wish  of  the  editor,  we  are  led  to  infer  that  the 
shelf  in  question  belongs,  not  to  the  publisher,  but  to  the 
purchaser.  With  this  reservation  we  beg  to  echo  this  hope  of  the 
editor. 

At  any  rate,  it  is  not  the  publishers'  fault  if  the  book  is  not 
found  on  many  purchasers'  shelves.  In  fact,  the  manner  in  which 


NOTICES   OF   BOOKS  573 

they  have  catered  for  the  reader's  interest  would  satisfy 
Mr.  Euskin  even  in  his  most  fastidious  moods.  Commenda- 
tion in  this  respect  can  go  no  further. 

D.  D. 


LIFE  OF  SISTEE  ANNE  KATHARINE  EMMERICH.  Translated 
from  the  French  by  Eev.  Francis  X.  McGowan, 
O.S.A.  New  York,  Cincinnati,  Chicago :  Benziger 
Brothers. 

FKOM  the  dawn  of  Christianity  suffering  and  persecutions  have 
ever  been  the  lot  of  the  chosen  servants  of  Christ.  That  the  ways 
of  Divine  Providence  are  the  same  in  this  regard  in  the  nine- 
teenth century  is  clear  from  the  life  we  have  before  us.  Katharine 
Emmerich  appeared  in  the  midst  of  a  corrupt  age  to  make  atone- 
ment by  her  trials  and  sufferings  for  the  sins  of  a  wicked  world. 
Gifted  from  her  infancy  with  a  clear  insight  into  the  super- 
natural, she  followed  through  the  course  of  her  life  faithfully  in 
the  footsteps  of  her  Divine  Master.  Bearing  after  Him  a  cross, 
which  seemed,  and  indeed  to  unaided  human  nature  would  be, 
insupportable,  she  was  supernaturally  strengthened  and  con- 
soled, being  favoured,  not  merely  with  frequent  interior  consola- 
tions, but  also  for  many  years  of  her  life  with  the  rare  privilege 
of  bearing  visibly  on  her  body  the  sacred  signs  of  our  redemption. 
The  present  Life  of  this  saintly  Augustinian  nun,  for  whose 
beatification  steps  have  been  undertaken  within  recent  years,  is 
a  translation  from  the  French  of  a  work  originally  written  in 
German.  In  many  parts  of  the  book  there  appears  a  want  of 
unity  and  dignity  of  expression  which  would  be  unpardonable  if 
literary  perfection  were  the  aim  of  the  author.  But  as  we  are 
told  in  the  Preface  that  the  '  only  ambition  of  the  author  in 
giving  this  work  to  the  Catholic  public  has  been  to  increase  the 
veneration  for  this  saintly  servant  of  God,'  we  are  of  opinion  that 
notwithstanding  the  few  imperfections  of  style,  the  book  is 
eminently  calculated  to  effect  this  purpose.  Though  the  Life  is 
dedicated  '  to  fervent  young  souls  who  aspire  to  the  privileges 
and  joys  of  the  religious  state,'  we  think  that  all  classes  might 
find  in  it  much  interesting  and  useful  matter  for  spiritual  reading 
and  pious  meditation. 

J.C. 


574  THE    IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 

LIFE  OF  BLESSED  JOHN  OF  AVILA.  By  Father  Longaro 
Deglia  Oddi,  S.J.  Edited  by  J.  G.  Macleod,  S.J. 
London :  Burns  and  Gates,  Limited.  New  York, 
Cincinnati  Chicago :  Benziger  Brothers. 

THIS  work  is  a  translation  from  the  Italian  of  the  Life  of 
John  of  Avila,  published  on  the  occasion  of  his  beatification, 
November,  1893.  The  book  is  divided  into  two  parts.  The  first 
is  devoted  to  the  early  life  of  this  great  servant  of  God,  his 
apostolic  spirit  and  labours,  and  the  wonderful  effects  produced 
throughout  almost  the  entire  Church  of  Spain  by  his  zealous 
preaching,  advice,  and  example.  The  second  part  treats  of  his 
heroic  virtues,  his  precious  death  and  the  miraculous  graces 
obtained  through  his  intercession.  The  work  of  translation  has 
been  done,  as  we  might  expect,  by  a  member  of  that  Society, 
which  at  its  beginning  received  such  signal  services  from 
Blessed  John.  Between  him  and  St.  Ignatius  there  existed  the 
closest  ties  of  mutual  veneration  and  friendship,  and  in  his  letters 
and  other  writings  he  pays  many  tributes  to  the  excellence  and 
utility  of  the  then  infant  Society  of  Jesus.  The  book  is  one 
which  we  can  safely  say  will  be  found  by  all  to  be  instructive 
and  edifying,  but  we  can  recommend  it  specially  to  secular 
priests  and  ecclesiastics  in  general,  for  it  presents  to  them  a  truly 
noble  model  of  the  perfection  of  their  state,  and  an  inspiring 
example  of  the  rich  harvest  of  souls  that  may  be  reaped  by  the 
zealous  priest. 

J.C. 

MISSA  MATER  SALVATOBIS.  Ad  IV  voces  inaequales  cuni 
Organo  composuit  H.  P.  Allen.  Opus  10.  Laudy  &  Co., 
139,  Oxford-street,  London,  W. 

THE  composer  of  this  Mass  evinces  considerable  talent.  From 
a  mere  musical  point  of  view  the  playing  over  of  the  score  has 
given  us  much  pleasure.  The  modulations  are  here  and  there 
not  quite  convincing,  and  the  fugal  writing  is  a  little  primitive  ; 
but  there  is,  on  the  whole,  a  delightful  flow  and  cohesiveness  in 
the  composition  which  proves  real  inventive  power.  We  cannot, 
however,  unreservedly  approve  of  the  style  of  the  Mass.  There 
are  a  great  many  things  in  it  that  we  should  take  exception  to, 
but  it  is  a  great  improvement  on  what  is  usually  produced  in 
England,  and  from  this  point  of  view  we  give  it  a  hearty  recom- 


NOTICES  OF  BOOKS  575 


mendation.  The  Kyrie  appears  to  us  disproportionately  long.  It 
will  probably  have  to  undergo  considerable  '  cuts '  in  actual  per- 
formances. The  winding  up  of  this  movement,  which  recurs  in 
the  Agnus  Dei,  is  disappointing  after  the  very  reverent  beginning. 
The  Credo  seems  to  have  given  the  composer  most  trouble- 
Changes  of  time,  complicated  modulations,  virtuoso  tricks  in  the 
accompaniment,  all  are  had  recourse  to  in  order  to  keep  up  the 
interest.  This  is  a  proof  of  the  difficulty,  not  to  say  impossibility, 
of  producing  a  long  movement  without  thematic  counterpoint. 
The  Agnus  Dei  is  rather  poor.  The  figuration  in  the  bass  under 
the  plain  harmonies  of  the  upper  voices  is  particularly  dry,  and 
the  sentimental  ending  already  referred  to  does  not  leave  the 
pleasantest  impressions  behind.  All  the  same  we  welcome  the 
Mass  as  a  musicianly  work  and  a  marked  sign  of  improvement. 

H.  B. 

LIFE  OF  THE  VEKY  KEY.  FATHER  DOMINIC  OF  THE 
MOTHER  OF  GOD  (BARBERI),  PASSIONIST,  FOUNDER 
OF  THE  CONGREGATION  OF  THE  PASSION,  OR  PASSION- 
ISTS,  IN  BELGIUM  AND  ENGLAND.  By  the  Eev.  Pius, 
Passionist.  London  :  B.  Washbourne,  18  Paternoster- 
row.  New  York  :  Benziger  Brothers. 

-  THE  present  volume  is  both  appropriate  and  opportune.  It 
was  fitting,  indeed,  that  the  memory  should  be  perpetuated  of 
the  humble  Passionist  father  who  introduced  into  England,  about 
half  a  century  ago,  the  illustrious  Order  of  St.  Paul  of  the  Cross, 
and  who,  during  the  Oxford  Movement,  laboured  in  that  country 
with  conspicuous  success  for  the  conversion  of  souls  to  the  true 
faith.  Then  the  publication  at  this  moment  of  the  facts  of  his 
life  will  have  a  noteworthy  interest,  in  view  of  the  processes 
which  are  being  initiated  to  have  his  name  placed  in  the 
Calendar  of  the  Saints.  When  the  friends  and  admirers  of 
Father  Dominic  selected  Father  Pius  to  write  his  life-history,  the 
choice  was  exceedingly  happy.  No  one  could  be  found  with 
better  qualifications  for  the  task.  He  wields  a  facile  pen,  he  is 
possessed  of  many  scholarly  attainments,  and  he  has  already 
won  an  enviable  reputation  in  many  literary  fields.  The  result  is 
that  those  who,  some  time  ago,  were  charmed  with  -the  Life  of 
Father  Ignatius  Spencer,  by  the  same  author,  are  now' presented 
with  an  equally  agreeable  and  interesting  biography  in  the  Life 
of  Father  Dominic. 


576  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL   RECORD 

Born  in  Viterbo,  in  Italy,  the  subject  of  this  biography  was, 
after  various  vicissitudes,  received  into  the  Congregation  of  the 
Passion  at  Paliano.  Here  he  made  such  progress  in  tte  sacred 
sciences — though  on  his  entrance  to  the  order  he  .had  no  literary 
training  of  any  kind — that  he  wrote  books  of  some  repute  on 
theological  and  philosophical  subjects ;  while,  at  the  same  time, 
he  gave  such  proofs  of  solid  piety  and  sound  judgment,  that  he 
was,  at  a  comparatively  early  age,  made  ruler  of  several  houses 
of  the  congregation.  Throughout  his  conventual  life  his  heart 
burned  with  a  feverish  desire  to  convert  England  ;  and  great  was 
his  joy  when,  in  1841,  in  company  with  two  others,  he  landed  on 
her  shores,  and  planted  on  her  soil  an  offshoot  of  the  great  order 
to  which  he  belonged.  How,  too,  must  he  have  rejoiced  when 
Newman  and  other  distinguished  Oxonians  came  to  be  received 
at  his  hands  into  the  Catholic  Church  !  The  record  of  the  few 
years  of  Father  Dominic's  life  in  England  will  be  found  very 
interesting  reading ;  and  here  we  may  remark  that  the  two  last 
chapters  of  the  book  on  the  Perversion  and  Conversion  of  England 
respectively,  are  very  readable,  and  contain  within  the  compass 
of  a  few  pages  some  of  the  most  thoughtful  reflections  we  have 
yet  seen  on  the  difficulties  that  must  be  overcome  before  the 
consummation  is  brought  about  of  her  return  to  the  fold.  With 
the  exception  of  some  few  printer's  errors,  the  \  lume  is 
excellently  brought  out,  and  we  are  sure  it  will  attrr  ,t  large 
circle  of  readers. 

P.  M. 


BX   801    .168   1898  SMC 
The   Irish  ecclesiastical 
record     47085658 

Does  Not  Circulate