" But, Brendan declared, that he should not dare to establish a dwelling in any place, without
permission
of his master Bishop Ere.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v5
3.
"*3 This place, in the barony of Clan- maurice, is noted, on the " Ordnance Sur- vey Townland Maps for the County of Kerry," sheet 21.
144 Her feast occurs, on the 15th of January.
145 For the foregoing information, the writer is indebted to Mrs. Katherine Mary Donovan, in a letter, headed Seafield, Tralee, Jan. nth, 1877. The following curious tradition of Tubbrid well was also communicated, in the same letter. In the
penal times, a priest came to celebrate Mass there. The authorities sent soldiers, with dogs, to catch both priest and people, as was then the fashion. On nearing that place, the troops saw two sheep with horns of gold leap out of the well, their dogs saw the sheep, and ran after them, the men followed the dogs—priest and people being invisible —and the hunt went on, until the sheep ran into the sea, at Ballyheigue, about ten miles away, and disappeared. When the pursuers returned to Tubrid, Mass was over, the priest was gone, the people were dispersed, and all were safe. Ever since the place is called Tubbernamule, and the well being a holy one, people come far and near to be cured, and we hear some curious cases occasionally of recoveries.
'** The text in Irish runs CiAbo|\ pnn :
po lin in IpiAiriAnn uibi.
''*' See her . Life, at the 15th of January,
in the First Volume of this work, Art. I.
"t^ Thus does Denis Florence MacCarthy
IC
—— :—;;
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May 1 6.
speaking to me, and holding me by the hands. " Then, St. Ita repUed : " So, my child, may there be joy in Heaven, on thy account. " At the end of five years, however, the holy Bishop Ere appeared, and to her great regret claimed from St. Ita her foster-son, so that he might receive further instruction, and still suited to his years. There is little doubt, that Brandon retained for his kind governess during his life the most devoted filial affection, 't^ and that his parting was a cause of passing sorrow, in so sensitive a mind. St. Brendan then became the disciple of the holy prelate Ere, by whom he had been baptized ; and, under him, the industrious youth read his lessons, not only by day, but even by night. At one time, the boy asked for some milk to drink, but no cow was in that place. However, the Almighty, compassionating his wish, caused a deer with her young to descend from Luachra Mountain, and the child's longings were thus gratified. Afterwards, for many days, a deer in like manner came down from the same mountain to that place, and she was milked for little Brendan. His sister Brig often paid him a visit, and Brendan had a great affection for her. These visits animated her, to lead a virginal and holy life ; so that, in due course, she formed a female community, whilesheplacedherselfandhernuns,underthecareofBrendan. Tohim, as the Life remarks, her countenance shone as the light of the moon, while the face of his holy master, Bishop Ere, was bright as the sun's radiant disk. "»9
It was usual for this holy Bishop to make an annual visitation of his people, for the purpose of preaching to them. When he was ten years old, the pious child Brendan '5° went with the Prelate Ere, on one of these missionary excursions. One day, as the Bishop left his curricle, for the purpose of evangelizing the people of a locality, the boy Brendan remained sitting and reading in the chariot. A beautiful daughter of the local chieftain, on seeing him, desired to engage the boy in some youthful pranks, and for that purpose, she climbed upon the vehicle. Brendan then said : " What are you about,
402
openhisdelightfulpoem,regardingourSaint Brandon addressing his benevolent foster- mother, I la, where he says :
" O, Ita mother of my heart and mind
My nourisher, my fosterer, my friend.
Who taught me first to God's great will resigned,
Before His shinning altar steps to bend ;
Who poured his word upon my soul like balm,
And on mine eyes what pious fancy paints
And on mine ear the sweetly swelling psalm,
And all the sacred knowledge of the saints ;
*' Thou knowest only, O, my mother \ how to thee.
The blessed Ercus led me when a boy,
And how, within thine arms and at thine knee,
I learned the love, thatdeath cannot destroy ;
And how I parted hence with bitter tears,
Andfelt, whenturningfromthy friendly door.
In the reality of ripening years,
My paradise of childhood was no
tear-
Tears make the harvest of the heart to grow.
And love, though human, is almost divine.
The heart that loves not knows not how to pray
The eye can never smile that never weeps
'Tis through our sighs Hope's kind- ling sunbeams play,
And through our tears the bow of Promise peeps. "
"The Voyage of St. Brendan," Part L The Vocation, stanzas i. , iii. , iv.
*' See Most Rev. Patrick F. Moran's " Acta Sancti Brendani," Prima Vila, cap. iv. , p. 4.
'5^ It does not appear, how long our saint remained, as the foster-son of 15ishop Ere. See Rev. S. Baring-Gould's "Lives of the
—
" I wept— drops flow ;
but not with sin such
—
for earthly things with
I sighed
Heaven entwine
May 1 6. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
403
girl ? return to your family. " However, refusing to do so, the boy raised a whip and struck her repeatedly and smartly several times. She then went home pouting and weeping. Her parents complained to the Bishop, about the rudeness of his pupil. After preaching, the holy old Bishop reproved him saying : " Why did you strike the innocent and guileless girl; forsportive- ness only urged her to play with you, and having no evil purpose. " Brendan then answered : " Indeed, I did not drive her away, through any other mo- tive,thanbecauseIwishedtobeundisturbedatmyspiritualreadmg," The Bishop answered : " My son, you shall do penance. " The holy youth declared, he was ready to fulfil whatever obligations should be imposed upon him. St. Ere told him, that on the morrow, he should remain alone, in a cave pointed out, and he was to recite Psalms for an entire day. Wherefore, St. Brendan went alone into that cave, and there he remained, until the followingmorning,singingPsalmsandHymnstoGod. However,unknown to the imprisoned Brendan, and having a tender care for him, the Bishop sat that whole night, near the cave of his alumnus, while during the watches of the hours passing, he beheld choirs of Angels, flying between the cave and the Heavens. Both left that place next morning, and together they gave thanks to God. 'S'
One day, while Saints Ere and Brendan walked together, a warrior happened to accompany them ; but, suddenly, this man saw several persons, who had hostile intentions towards him, when he declared to his com- panions, that he should certainly be killed, not being able to defend himself, againstsuchanumber. But,throughtheprayersofSt. Brendan,amiracle was wrought in his favour \ for, his enemies were deceived, on approaching a large stone, as the legend relates, and it stood as a memorial,'52 at the time when the author of our saint's Acts wrote. Again, Bishop Ere and his pupil Brendan rambled over the Mountain of Luachra. That summer day was very warm, and the Bishop felt exceedingly thirsty, and faint ; but, no water could there be found. However, Brendan procured a bucket or pail ; and, full of faith, he commanded the earth to open, when a fountain of limpid water issued therefrom. The Bishop drank from it, giving thanks to God. Afterwards, that spring was called St. Brendan's Well. 'ss At length, this holy disciple of St. Ere expressed his great desire, to go and to learn about the manner of living, then practised, by some of the great Irish fathers. The pious Bishop then said : " My son, this purpose is inspired by the Almighty : go and return to me, after a time, that you may receive the sacerdotal character from me before I die. " Having obtained this leave, and a blessing from Bishop Ere, the holy Brendan went first, to visit his nurse St. Ita. When about leaving her, she said : " Go, my dear son, and learn the rules of the most perfect fathers in Ireland, but beware and seldom visit holy virgins, so that scandal or defamation be not the result. " She told him, likewise, thatheshouldsoonmeetonthewayacertainlaic,thesonofLenin;''54 and,
she directed, that her foster-son should preach to that son of life the Divme Word. Herinjunctionwasfulfilled,forsoonBrendansawhim,andthenhe said : " Dear brother, do penance for thy sins, for God calls thee to his king-
Saints," vol. v. , May 16, p. 217.
'5' See Most Rev. Patrick F. Moran's
" Acta Sancti Brendani," Prima Vita. cap. v. , p. 5.
'52 The Acts have it: " Lapisque ille truncus quasi corpus humanum stat adhuc. " It might be a curious subject for local inves- ligation, to discover some stone in Kerry so described.
'53 See Most Rev. Patrick F^. IVfooiran's " Acta S. Brendani," Prima Vita, cjap. vi. ,
vii. , pp. 6, 7.
'54 Supposed to be St. Colman Mac Leinn,
Patron of the See of Cloyne, whose/ death is given in Dr. O'Donovan's *' Annails of the Four Masters," at A. D. 600. See vol. i. , pp. 224, 225.
'55 See Most Rev. Patrick F'. Moran's
/
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May i6.
dom. Indeed, thou shall be the dove of God, and a bright dove in his temple ;
and, therefore, I give thee the name of Colman. " He became truly sanctified and wonderful ; while, in course of time, Colman built cells and monasteries in honour of God. '55 By some, it is stated, that St. Brendan received a part of his education, from St. Finian of Clonard. 's^ In the Life of this latter saint, Brandan, the son of Finlogh, is said to have studied under that master, who also had under his direction many of the most celebrated among the Irish Saints. '57 It appears, too, that Brendan, son of Finlogh, lived contem- poraneously with his namesake, St. Brendan of Birr,'58 ^. ^^ \,o'Oci were fellow- students. From this time forth, the holy man's life was dedicated to preaching thewordofGod. Accordingtooneaccount,itwasafterleavingthecele- brated scliool of Clonard, that St. Brendan went out to seek the Land of Promise. '59 Ifthisbethecase,weshouldassigntoanearlyperiodofhislife when men are generally most energetic, bold and adventurous—the wonder- ful voyage, which for all after ages has invested him with imperishable renown.
Moreover, St. Brendan is said to have visited and to have passed some time with St. Jarlath,'^° at Tuam-da-Ghualann,'^' after having completed his ele- mentary course under Bishop Ere. When the holy Bishop Jarlath was old and infirm, Brendan announced to him, that his resurrection should not be in that place, where he then lived. Afterwards, Jarlath enquired, where it might be, and Brendan said : " Sit in the waggon, as thou art old and feeble go along that road, and wherever the waggon-wheels become broken, there shall be the place for thy resurrection, and for that of many others, on the day ofjudgment. " Then,St. Jarlathreplied: "OyouthfulBrendan,whyhidest thou the secrets of the Lord, in thy person ? I know, however, that Divine Providence, hideth and is covered in thee : truly thou oughtest to be our master. " Accordingly, the Bishop took his seat in the waggon and drove onwards ; nor did he proceed far, until the wheels were broken. There, St. Jarlath remained to the day of his death, and the renomied city of Tuaym- da-gualann, in the province of Connaught, was afterwards built, on that very site. To it, many persons came. With the prayers and blessing of St. Jarlath, Brendan departed to another place. '^^ While our saint was in the plain of An, held to have been the same as Magh-Enna,'^3 now Moyhenna,'^-* in the barony of Carra, and county of Mayo, an Angel from Heaven appeared,'^5 and directed him to write that Rule of Life, by which he was afterwardstoguidehisconduct. Thenandthere,BrendanwrotethatRule, designated by the Angel. By it, Brendan ever afterwards regulated his life. '^^
404
** Acta Sancti Brendani," Prima Vita, cap. vlii. , p. 7.
'S* His feast occurs, at the 231x1 of Feb- ruary, as also, at the 12th of December.
"=' See Colgan's " Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nia;," xxiii. Februarii, Vita S. P'iniani scu r'inr. eni, Abbatis de Cluain-eraird, cap. xix. , p. 395.
succeeding volume of this work.
'*' See Miss Mary Frances Cusack's
" History of the Kingdom of Kerry," chap, iii. , p. 47.
'*- See Most Rev. Patrick F. Moran's " Acta Sancti Brendani," Prima Vita, cap. ix. , p. 8.
""^ A castle, in ruins, near Turlogh, indi- '5* His festival occurs, at the 29th of No- cates the site. See John O'Donovan's vembcr. " Genealogies, Tribes, and Customs of Hy- 'S' . \mong the Burgundian MSS. at P^iachrach," Explanatory Index to the Map,
Bruxelles, there is a tract intituled, " S. p. 494.
Brendanus ex Schola Cluainerardensi ivit qujEsitun Terram Promissionis," MSS. , vol. iv. , p. 73
"'' This townland, in the parish of Kilda- commoge, is shown, on the "Ordnance Sur- vey Townland Majis for the County of Mayo," sheets 70, 79.
""5 See Archbishop Ussher's " Britanni- p. 476.
"° The Calendars assign him a feast, at
the nth of February, as also at the 26th of
Dcccmber. ]jut, in the Diocese ofTuam, carum Ecclesiarum Antiquitatcs,"cap. xvii. , his feast hag been observed on the 6th of
June, whert\his Life shall be set forth, in the •** The writer of his Acts adds: " ct ilia
—;
May 1 6. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
405
While in that place, likewise, St. Brendan saw a young man borne to the tomb, his parents, sisters and friends bewailing his demise. To these, Brendan said : " Good friends, weep not, but trust m God, your dead youth shall live, through the power of Christ. " Approaching the coffin, and absorbed in prayer with the Almighty, he commanded the dead to rise. Immediately, the young man revived, and he was restored to his family. The news of this miracle arrived with Brendan himself, where the King of Connaught lived. '^7 The latter said to Brendan : " Servant of the living God, wilt thou dwell on our lands ; and, if so, select a place for building a monastery, and I shall offer it to thee.
" But, Brendan declared, that he should not dare to establish a dwelling in any place, without permission of his master Bishop Ere. Then, blessing the king and people there, Brendan returned to that aged Bishop, by whom, when he had spent a sufficient time in oreliminary instruction, he
Ballydavid Head, County of Kerry ; Brandon Mountain in the distance.
was ordained a priest. Afterwards, he received the monastic habit. Then, many persons, attracted by the fame of his sanctity, lett the world, and came toliveunderhisRule,asmonks. Toaidtheirpiousdesires,Brendan,there- upon, founded a few cells and monasteries, before setting out on his cele- brated Voyage, in quest of the Land of Promise. '^^
From his ealiest years, the holy youth's eyes must have been directed along that singularly varied and picturesque line of coast and ocean scenery, which stretches from Fenit out towards the west. There loomed a succession of mountain tops and gorges, closed by a height more towering
usque hodie manet apud successores Sancti of Sligeach, a. d. 537 See Dr. O'Donovan's Brendani. "—Prima Vita, cap. x. See Most "Annals of the four Masters," vol. i. , Rev. Patriclc F. Moran's "Acta Sancti pp. i78toi8i.
Brendani," p. 9.
'*' Who he was, at this period, cannot be known ; but, we read thnt Eoghan Bel, King of Connaugiit, was killed at the battle
"^^ See Most Rev. Patrick F. Moran's "Acta Sancti Brendani," Prima Vita, cap. xi. , pp. 9, 10.
'''^ The accompanying view, in the dis-
—:;
4o6 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May 1 6.
than the rest. Fancy or inspiration seems early to have urged within him a desire, to make that distant Hmit a site for religious retirement. '^9 AH the Kerry traditions point to the fact, that St, Brendan dwelt for some time, on or under that mountain, which yet bears his name. Here the grand illimit- able views of earth and ocean must have stirred within him holy and sublime aspirations. '7° Nor can it be doubted, that on the remote point of that peninsula, he was the earliest Irish saint, who resolved to make it his home. There, St Brendan's Mountain is regarded as one of the highest in Kerry County, being little inferior in altitude to the Reeks, or Mangerton, at Killarney. When the tops of other mountains are clear from clouds and mists, this is frequently covered with them. Its exposed situation, over the Atlantic Ocean, occasions the interception of vapours, that roll over its sum- mits and down its sides. '? ' Vestiges of numberless ancient religious houses are yet to be seen, in its immediate vicinity. A very probable conjecture may be, that many of these were built—if not in St. Brendan's time—at least, in an age not very remote from his own, and by monks, who drew their rule of life, from the great institute he had there established. The fact, too, that they are often found grouped together, and in the immediate neiglibourhood of old churches, seems to establish for them an early monastic origin.
tance, of Brandon Mountain, was taken on the spot, by William F. Wakeman, from Ballydavid Head. It was transferred by him to the wood, and it was engraved by Mrs, Millard.
'^^ These are best imagined, probably, in the following exquisite reflections, attributed to him, by the Poet, Denis Florence Mac Carthy :
" I grew to manhood by the western wave.
Among the mighty mountains on the shore :
My bed the rock, within some na- tural cave :
My food what'er the sea or seasons bore
My occupation, morn and noon, and night.
The only dream my hasty slumbers gave.
Was Time's unheeding, unreturn- ing flight,
And the great world that lies be- yond the grave.
" And thus, where'er I went, all things to me
Assumed the one deep colour of my
mind
Great nature's prayer rose from the
munifiuring sea.
And sinful man sighed in the
wintry wind.
The thick-veiieil clouds, by shedding
many a tear.
Like penitents, grew jiurificd and
bright.
And, bravely struggling through
earth's atmosphere,
Passed to the regions of eternal light.
" I loved to watch the clouds now dark and dun,
In long procession and funere. il line.
Pass with slow pace across the glo- rious sun,
Like hooded monks before a dazzling shrine.
And now with gentler beauty as they rolled
Along the azure vault of gladsome May,
Gleaming pure white, and edged with 'broidered gold,
Like snowy vestments on the Vir- gin's day.
" And then I saw the mighty sea ex- |-)and
Like Time's unmeasured and un- fathomedwaves,
One with its tide-marks on the ridgy sands,
The otlicr with its line of weedy graves
And, as beyond the outstretched wave of Time,
The eye of Faith a brighter land may meet,
So did I dream of some more sunny clime,
;
Beyond the waste of waters at my feet. "
—"The Voyage of St. Brendan," Part i. The Vocation, stanzas v. , vi. , vii. , viii.
'' VViien the top is visible people regard it as a certain token of tine weather. See Smith's "Natural and Civil History of Kerry," chap, xii. , pp. 193, 194.
May i6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
407
CHAPTER II.
IRISH AND OTHER TRADITIONS ABOUT A GREAT WESTERN CONTINENT—ST. BARIND AND THE STORY OF HIS VOYAGE—HE VISITS ST. BRENDAN—THIS HOLY ABBOT RESOLVES ON SETTING OUT WITH SOME OF HIS MONKS TO SEEK THE LAND OF PROMISE—PREPARATIONS FOR THEIR DEPARTURE—THEY AT FIRST SAIL WITH FAVOURING WINDS, AND THEN A CALM SUCCEEDS—THEY LAND ON AN ISLAND, WHERE ONE OF HIS MONKS IS BURIED—THEY VISIT SHEEP ISLAND—THEY CELEBRATE EASTER ON THE JASCON'S BACK—THE PARADISE OF BIRDS—THE ISLAND OF ST. AILBE—ST. BRENDAN AND HIS MONKS VISIT OTHER ISLANDS THEY ARE SAVED FROM DANGERS OF THE OCEAN—THE THREE CHOIRS OF SAINTS —THE GRIFFON THREATENS THEM—WONDERS FOUND IN THE OCEAN—AN ISLAND OF FIRE—JUDAS ISCARIOT—THE HERMIT ST. PAUL AND HIS ISLAND—THE LAND OF PROMISE OF THE SAINTS -THE ISLAND OF DELIGHTS—RETURN TO IRELAND OF ST. BRENDAN AND HIS MONKS.
The Celtic people, in the most western part of Europe, from time immemorial believed about the existence of a wonderful land, situated beyond the Atlan- tic's horizon. This had been called by them Hy Breasil, or the Blessed Realm. Duringlaterepochs,thisdistantregionwasmorewidelyknownas Great Ireland. ' It seems to have had some traditional relationship to the Atlantis of Plato ^—a story 3 which he learned from Egyptian priests on the banks of the Nile—and this was quite as large as a continent,• possessed by amixedraceofgodsandofmen. Forages,thedivinenaturedominated among the inhabitants, who lived in a sort of Elysium, until they grew bad and wicked, when Zeus, the god of gods, assembled a council of the deities, andhefinallysubmergedthefabledland. s InearlyChristiantimes,theIrish had a firm belief, that far away over the western ocean lay the Land of Pro- mise. Ithasevenbeenpictured,undervariousdenominations,onoldMapsf and, an opinion has been advanced, that its former existence is not to be altogether disbelieved ; since, although that land has now entirely subsided, Hy Brasil was above the level of the sea, at a comparatively recent period. So late as the year 1634, Tassiu, the geographer of Louis XIlI. ,^ King of
'''I'his celebrated Greek philosopher was born in the 87th or 88th Olympicd, or about 430 years before the Christian era. See "Encyclopedia Britannica," vol. xv. , Art. Plato, p. 37. Dublin edition.
Chapter ii. — ' The assumed situation the river, seven miles north of St. Augustine, of Great Ireland vi^as formerly set down on in Florida, on the west shore of North conjectural Italian charts, as opposite to River, the remains of an ancient submerged Europe and Africa, or lying between the city were disclosed. Several wells, walled South of Ireland and ihe end of Guinea.
3 It is told, in his unfinished Dialogue
Critias, or the Atlantic, in which appears
the earliest known account of the ancient
people of the western hemisphere. See
Arthur James Weise's " Discoveries of Si. Augustine Press, of that period. America to the year 1525," chap, i. , p. 3,
London, 18S4, 8vo,
• It is said, by Plato, in his TimKUS, to
have been greater than all Lybia and Asia combined. See some observations, on this subject, in "Irish Folk Lore," by Lageni- ensis, chap. xv. Hy-Breasail ; or the Blessed Island, pp. 120, 121.
5 It is remarkable, that in the Autumn of 1871, after a gale which lasted four or five days, and drove the water from the bed of
in the Museum, at Constantinople and, ;
from these, it seems probable, other me- direval Maps on the Continent ii. ad been copied.
^ A Mr. Ignatius Donnelly, published a work in London, A. D. 1883, in which this opinion has been advanced about Atlantis, which is confounded with St. Brendan's Pro- mised Land. One of the historical and geographical paradoxes advanced is, that
in with coquiiia, were visible under water, but the foundations of the houses could be only felt with a pole. Further investigations brought to light a coquina quarry on this same site, and, what was most remarkable, the quarry had been found in the midst of a dense hammock. That quarry had been ex-
tensively used, doubtless for the purpose of building that old city, or settlement. The foregoing account has been taken from the
^ Very curious old Maps are yet preserved,
—7
4o8 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [Mav i6.
France, traced a volume of Maps, and among these are two Manuscript charts, one delineating the French and English coasts, the other exhibiting those of Ireland. In this latter is marked, off the west coast, the Island of Hy Brazil. The work of Tassiu is singularly correct, as is shown by the fact, that the Irish coast is delineated with a care and an accuracy, which is wanting in English IMaps, which were published centuries later. 9 Before the time of St. Brendan, however, a beautiful Irish legend or tradition, known as " The Land of Youth," had fired the warm Celtic imagination. It was supposed to have extended out in the Atlantic Ocean, and its inhabitants were thought tobeexemptfromoldageanditsnumerousinfirmities. Thelandabounded in all manner of delights ;'° and, all along the western and northern coasts of Ireland, a variety of traditions prevailed, respecting the existence of that far distant region. "
In the early Irish schools, it is probable, their philosophic masters taught or speculated on tlie doctrine of the world being a globe,'^ and for such an opinion, they miyht quote from the great St. Augustine himself. '^ This Fathfef speaks of four parts of the world,''' in his day; but, it may be questioned, if he alludes to so many continents, and not rather to the cardinal points, east, west, north, and south. Of the earth's actual extent and shape, little then appearstohavebeenknown,withanygreatapproachtoaccuracy yet,some
;
vague and dreamy conception of remote territories existed, in Ireland, but mythic inventions were superadded to any real evidence, that had been obtained, regarding those unexplored lands. The old pagan philosophers seem to have held an opinion, about the sphericity of the earth ; and Plato first applied the term Antipodes to those men, supposed to have been living, at the extreme diameter. However, Lactantius ridicules this notion, in a re- markable passage of his writings. '^ During the early ages of Christianity, the people of the Eastern Hemisphere had no knowledge concerning the races, even then existing in the Western Hemispliere. The aboriginal inhabitants of North America probably belonged to different nations of the old world. '^ It is generally thought, that the great majority of the early colonists crossed
colonies from Iberia and from Ireland had '* He says, " quatuov tempora, et quatuor settled in Atlantis, before it had dis- partes orbis terrse. "—Sermones 197. Da
appeared.
^ lie reigned from a. d. i6ioto 1643. See
an account of his reign, in L—P. Anquetil's " Histoire de France," Blanche des Valois, pp. 450 to 507.
Temporibus.
'^ lie say s: " Quid illi qui esse contraries
vestigiis nostris Antipodes puiantriuni aliquid loquuntur? Aut est quisquam tam ineptus qui credat esse homines quorum vestigia sunt superiora quam capita, aut ibi quae apud
* These facts are stated, by \V. Frazer,
M. D. , in a paper read before the Royal nos jacent universa penderc? frugcs et Dublin Society, January 20th, 1879. Dr. arbores deorsum versus crescere ? pluvias et
. Frnzer believes, that there was actually a small island, at one period, corresponding with the marking on Tassiu's map of Hy Urazil. 'Se. Q Freemati's Journal of January 2ist, 1879.
"• Poetic allusion is made to it, by the author of " The Monks of Kilcrea and other Ballads and Poems," by * * * . See Gleeman's Tale, Canto ii. , sect, xvii. , xviii. , xix. , XX. ])p. 78 to 85.
,
"See Mr. and Mrs. Hall's "Ireland:
nives et grandincs sursum versus c. idere in- terram, ct miratur aliquis hortos pensilesiu- ter septem mira narrare cum )ihilos()pl)i et
? ''
agios, ct maria. ct monies pcnsilcs faciunt —Lactantius, " Dc Falsa Sapientia rhiloso- phorum'" cnp. 24.
"^ The fullest information regarding the various aboriginal Tribes of North America will be found in a magnificent work, pub- lished by authority of the United States Government, and intituled: "Historical
its Scenery, Character, &c. ,'' vol. iii. , p. and . Statistical Information, respecting the
439.
'"^ At Ic. Tst, this science was taught, in the
eighth century, when St. Virgilius, Bishop of Snlzburgh flourished.
History, Condition and l'ro. specls of the
Indian Tribes of the United Stales, &c. by ,
Henry K. . Schoolcraft. LI. . D. , illustrated by
S. Fast man, Cajit. , U. S. A. Six large 410 '' . See '• Dc Civitatc Dei," lib xvi. , vuls. , with coloured plates, Philadelphia,
cap. ix. 1S51 to 1857.
May 1 6.
"*3 This place, in the barony of Clan- maurice, is noted, on the " Ordnance Sur- vey Townland Maps for the County of Kerry," sheet 21.
144 Her feast occurs, on the 15th of January.
145 For the foregoing information, the writer is indebted to Mrs. Katherine Mary Donovan, in a letter, headed Seafield, Tralee, Jan. nth, 1877. The following curious tradition of Tubbrid well was also communicated, in the same letter. In the
penal times, a priest came to celebrate Mass there. The authorities sent soldiers, with dogs, to catch both priest and people, as was then the fashion. On nearing that place, the troops saw two sheep with horns of gold leap out of the well, their dogs saw the sheep, and ran after them, the men followed the dogs—priest and people being invisible —and the hunt went on, until the sheep ran into the sea, at Ballyheigue, about ten miles away, and disappeared. When the pursuers returned to Tubrid, Mass was over, the priest was gone, the people were dispersed, and all were safe. Ever since the place is called Tubbernamule, and the well being a holy one, people come far and near to be cured, and we hear some curious cases occasionally of recoveries.
'** The text in Irish runs CiAbo|\ pnn :
po lin in IpiAiriAnn uibi.
''*' See her . Life, at the 15th of January,
in the First Volume of this work, Art. I.
"t^ Thus does Denis Florence MacCarthy
IC
—— :—;;
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May 1 6.
speaking to me, and holding me by the hands. " Then, St. Ita repUed : " So, my child, may there be joy in Heaven, on thy account. " At the end of five years, however, the holy Bishop Ere appeared, and to her great regret claimed from St. Ita her foster-son, so that he might receive further instruction, and still suited to his years. There is little doubt, that Brandon retained for his kind governess during his life the most devoted filial affection, 't^ and that his parting was a cause of passing sorrow, in so sensitive a mind. St. Brendan then became the disciple of the holy prelate Ere, by whom he had been baptized ; and, under him, the industrious youth read his lessons, not only by day, but even by night. At one time, the boy asked for some milk to drink, but no cow was in that place. However, the Almighty, compassionating his wish, caused a deer with her young to descend from Luachra Mountain, and the child's longings were thus gratified. Afterwards, for many days, a deer in like manner came down from the same mountain to that place, and she was milked for little Brendan. His sister Brig often paid him a visit, and Brendan had a great affection for her. These visits animated her, to lead a virginal and holy life ; so that, in due course, she formed a female community, whilesheplacedherselfandhernuns,underthecareofBrendan. Tohim, as the Life remarks, her countenance shone as the light of the moon, while the face of his holy master, Bishop Ere, was bright as the sun's radiant disk. "»9
It was usual for this holy Bishop to make an annual visitation of his people, for the purpose of preaching to them. When he was ten years old, the pious child Brendan '5° went with the Prelate Ere, on one of these missionary excursions. One day, as the Bishop left his curricle, for the purpose of evangelizing the people of a locality, the boy Brendan remained sitting and reading in the chariot. A beautiful daughter of the local chieftain, on seeing him, desired to engage the boy in some youthful pranks, and for that purpose, she climbed upon the vehicle. Brendan then said : " What are you about,
402
openhisdelightfulpoem,regardingourSaint Brandon addressing his benevolent foster- mother, I la, where he says :
" O, Ita mother of my heart and mind
My nourisher, my fosterer, my friend.
Who taught me first to God's great will resigned,
Before His shinning altar steps to bend ;
Who poured his word upon my soul like balm,
And on mine eyes what pious fancy paints
And on mine ear the sweetly swelling psalm,
And all the sacred knowledge of the saints ;
*' Thou knowest only, O, my mother \ how to thee.
The blessed Ercus led me when a boy,
And how, within thine arms and at thine knee,
I learned the love, thatdeath cannot destroy ;
And how I parted hence with bitter tears,
Andfelt, whenturningfromthy friendly door.
In the reality of ripening years,
My paradise of childhood was no
tear-
Tears make the harvest of the heart to grow.
And love, though human, is almost divine.
The heart that loves not knows not how to pray
The eye can never smile that never weeps
'Tis through our sighs Hope's kind- ling sunbeams play,
And through our tears the bow of Promise peeps. "
"The Voyage of St. Brendan," Part L The Vocation, stanzas i. , iii. , iv.
*' See Most Rev. Patrick F. Moran's " Acta Sancti Brendani," Prima Vila, cap. iv. , p. 4.
'5^ It does not appear, how long our saint remained, as the foster-son of 15ishop Ere. See Rev. S. Baring-Gould's "Lives of the
—
" I wept— drops flow ;
but not with sin such
—
for earthly things with
I sighed
Heaven entwine
May 1 6. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
403
girl ? return to your family. " However, refusing to do so, the boy raised a whip and struck her repeatedly and smartly several times. She then went home pouting and weeping. Her parents complained to the Bishop, about the rudeness of his pupil. After preaching, the holy old Bishop reproved him saying : " Why did you strike the innocent and guileless girl; forsportive- ness only urged her to play with you, and having no evil purpose. " Brendan then answered : " Indeed, I did not drive her away, through any other mo- tive,thanbecauseIwishedtobeundisturbedatmyspiritualreadmg," The Bishop answered : " My son, you shall do penance. " The holy youth declared, he was ready to fulfil whatever obligations should be imposed upon him. St. Ere told him, that on the morrow, he should remain alone, in a cave pointed out, and he was to recite Psalms for an entire day. Wherefore, St. Brendan went alone into that cave, and there he remained, until the followingmorning,singingPsalmsandHymnstoGod. However,unknown to the imprisoned Brendan, and having a tender care for him, the Bishop sat that whole night, near the cave of his alumnus, while during the watches of the hours passing, he beheld choirs of Angels, flying between the cave and the Heavens. Both left that place next morning, and together they gave thanks to God. 'S'
One day, while Saints Ere and Brendan walked together, a warrior happened to accompany them ; but, suddenly, this man saw several persons, who had hostile intentions towards him, when he declared to his com- panions, that he should certainly be killed, not being able to defend himself, againstsuchanumber. But,throughtheprayersofSt. Brendan,amiracle was wrought in his favour \ for, his enemies were deceived, on approaching a large stone, as the legend relates, and it stood as a memorial,'52 at the time when the author of our saint's Acts wrote. Again, Bishop Ere and his pupil Brendan rambled over the Mountain of Luachra. That summer day was very warm, and the Bishop felt exceedingly thirsty, and faint ; but, no water could there be found. However, Brendan procured a bucket or pail ; and, full of faith, he commanded the earth to open, when a fountain of limpid water issued therefrom. The Bishop drank from it, giving thanks to God. Afterwards, that spring was called St. Brendan's Well. 'ss At length, this holy disciple of St. Ere expressed his great desire, to go and to learn about the manner of living, then practised, by some of the great Irish fathers. The pious Bishop then said : " My son, this purpose is inspired by the Almighty : go and return to me, after a time, that you may receive the sacerdotal character from me before I die. " Having obtained this leave, and a blessing from Bishop Ere, the holy Brendan went first, to visit his nurse St. Ita. When about leaving her, she said : " Go, my dear son, and learn the rules of the most perfect fathers in Ireland, but beware and seldom visit holy virgins, so that scandal or defamation be not the result. " She told him, likewise, thatheshouldsoonmeetonthewayacertainlaic,thesonofLenin;''54 and,
she directed, that her foster-son should preach to that son of life the Divme Word. Herinjunctionwasfulfilled,forsoonBrendansawhim,andthenhe said : " Dear brother, do penance for thy sins, for God calls thee to his king-
Saints," vol. v. , May 16, p. 217.
'5' See Most Rev. Patrick F. Moran's
" Acta Sancti Brendani," Prima Vita. cap. v. , p. 5.
'52 The Acts have it: " Lapisque ille truncus quasi corpus humanum stat adhuc. " It might be a curious subject for local inves- ligation, to discover some stone in Kerry so described.
'53 See Most Rev. Patrick F^. IVfooiran's " Acta S. Brendani," Prima Vita, cjap. vi. ,
vii. , pp. 6, 7.
'54 Supposed to be St. Colman Mac Leinn,
Patron of the See of Cloyne, whose/ death is given in Dr. O'Donovan's *' Annails of the Four Masters," at A. D. 600. See vol. i. , pp. 224, 225.
'55 See Most Rev. Patrick F'. Moran's
/
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May i6.
dom. Indeed, thou shall be the dove of God, and a bright dove in his temple ;
and, therefore, I give thee the name of Colman. " He became truly sanctified and wonderful ; while, in course of time, Colman built cells and monasteries in honour of God. '55 By some, it is stated, that St. Brendan received a part of his education, from St. Finian of Clonard. 's^ In the Life of this latter saint, Brandan, the son of Finlogh, is said to have studied under that master, who also had under his direction many of the most celebrated among the Irish Saints. '57 It appears, too, that Brendan, son of Finlogh, lived contem- poraneously with his namesake, St. Brendan of Birr,'58 ^. ^^ \,o'Oci were fellow- students. From this time forth, the holy man's life was dedicated to preaching thewordofGod. Accordingtooneaccount,itwasafterleavingthecele- brated scliool of Clonard, that St. Brendan went out to seek the Land of Promise. '59 Ifthisbethecase,weshouldassigntoanearlyperiodofhislife when men are generally most energetic, bold and adventurous—the wonder- ful voyage, which for all after ages has invested him with imperishable renown.
Moreover, St. Brendan is said to have visited and to have passed some time with St. Jarlath,'^° at Tuam-da-Ghualann,'^' after having completed his ele- mentary course under Bishop Ere. When the holy Bishop Jarlath was old and infirm, Brendan announced to him, that his resurrection should not be in that place, where he then lived. Afterwards, Jarlath enquired, where it might be, and Brendan said : " Sit in the waggon, as thou art old and feeble go along that road, and wherever the waggon-wheels become broken, there shall be the place for thy resurrection, and for that of many others, on the day ofjudgment. " Then,St. Jarlathreplied: "OyouthfulBrendan,whyhidest thou the secrets of the Lord, in thy person ? I know, however, that Divine Providence, hideth and is covered in thee : truly thou oughtest to be our master. " Accordingly, the Bishop took his seat in the waggon and drove onwards ; nor did he proceed far, until the wheels were broken. There, St. Jarlath remained to the day of his death, and the renomied city of Tuaym- da-gualann, in the province of Connaught, was afterwards built, on that very site. To it, many persons came. With the prayers and blessing of St. Jarlath, Brendan departed to another place. '^^ While our saint was in the plain of An, held to have been the same as Magh-Enna,'^3 now Moyhenna,'^-* in the barony of Carra, and county of Mayo, an Angel from Heaven appeared,'^5 and directed him to write that Rule of Life, by which he was afterwardstoguidehisconduct. Thenandthere,BrendanwrotethatRule, designated by the Angel. By it, Brendan ever afterwards regulated his life. '^^
404
** Acta Sancti Brendani," Prima Vita, cap. vlii. , p. 7.
'S* His feast occurs, at the 231x1 of Feb- ruary, as also, at the 12th of December.
"=' See Colgan's " Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nia;," xxiii. Februarii, Vita S. P'iniani scu r'inr. eni, Abbatis de Cluain-eraird, cap. xix. , p. 395.
succeeding volume of this work.
'*' See Miss Mary Frances Cusack's
" History of the Kingdom of Kerry," chap, iii. , p. 47.
'*- See Most Rev. Patrick F. Moran's " Acta Sancti Brendani," Prima Vita, cap. ix. , p. 8.
""^ A castle, in ruins, near Turlogh, indi- '5* His festival occurs, at the 29th of No- cates the site. See John O'Donovan's vembcr. " Genealogies, Tribes, and Customs of Hy- 'S' . \mong the Burgundian MSS. at P^iachrach," Explanatory Index to the Map,
Bruxelles, there is a tract intituled, " S. p. 494.
Brendanus ex Schola Cluainerardensi ivit qujEsitun Terram Promissionis," MSS. , vol. iv. , p. 73
"'' This townland, in the parish of Kilda- commoge, is shown, on the "Ordnance Sur- vey Townland Majis for the County of Mayo," sheets 70, 79.
""5 See Archbishop Ussher's " Britanni- p. 476.
"° The Calendars assign him a feast, at
the nth of February, as also at the 26th of
Dcccmber. ]jut, in the Diocese ofTuam, carum Ecclesiarum Antiquitatcs,"cap. xvii. , his feast hag been observed on the 6th of
June, whert\his Life shall be set forth, in the •** The writer of his Acts adds: " ct ilia
—;
May 1 6. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
405
While in that place, likewise, St. Brendan saw a young man borne to the tomb, his parents, sisters and friends bewailing his demise. To these, Brendan said : " Good friends, weep not, but trust m God, your dead youth shall live, through the power of Christ. " Approaching the coffin, and absorbed in prayer with the Almighty, he commanded the dead to rise. Immediately, the young man revived, and he was restored to his family. The news of this miracle arrived with Brendan himself, where the King of Connaught lived. '^7 The latter said to Brendan : " Servant of the living God, wilt thou dwell on our lands ; and, if so, select a place for building a monastery, and I shall offer it to thee.
" But, Brendan declared, that he should not dare to establish a dwelling in any place, without permission of his master Bishop Ere. Then, blessing the king and people there, Brendan returned to that aged Bishop, by whom, when he had spent a sufficient time in oreliminary instruction, he
Ballydavid Head, County of Kerry ; Brandon Mountain in the distance.
was ordained a priest. Afterwards, he received the monastic habit. Then, many persons, attracted by the fame of his sanctity, lett the world, and came toliveunderhisRule,asmonks. Toaidtheirpiousdesires,Brendan,there- upon, founded a few cells and monasteries, before setting out on his cele- brated Voyage, in quest of the Land of Promise. '^^
From his ealiest years, the holy youth's eyes must have been directed along that singularly varied and picturesque line of coast and ocean scenery, which stretches from Fenit out towards the west. There loomed a succession of mountain tops and gorges, closed by a height more towering
usque hodie manet apud successores Sancti of Sligeach, a. d. 537 See Dr. O'Donovan's Brendani. "—Prima Vita, cap. x. See Most "Annals of the four Masters," vol. i. , Rev. Patriclc F. Moran's "Acta Sancti pp. i78toi8i.
Brendani," p. 9.
'*' Who he was, at this period, cannot be known ; but, we read thnt Eoghan Bel, King of Connaugiit, was killed at the battle
"^^ See Most Rev. Patrick F. Moran's "Acta Sancti Brendani," Prima Vita, cap. xi. , pp. 9, 10.
'''^ The accompanying view, in the dis-
—:;
4o6 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May 1 6.
than the rest. Fancy or inspiration seems early to have urged within him a desire, to make that distant Hmit a site for religious retirement. '^9 AH the Kerry traditions point to the fact, that St, Brendan dwelt for some time, on or under that mountain, which yet bears his name. Here the grand illimit- able views of earth and ocean must have stirred within him holy and sublime aspirations. '7° Nor can it be doubted, that on the remote point of that peninsula, he was the earliest Irish saint, who resolved to make it his home. There, St Brendan's Mountain is regarded as one of the highest in Kerry County, being little inferior in altitude to the Reeks, or Mangerton, at Killarney. When the tops of other mountains are clear from clouds and mists, this is frequently covered with them. Its exposed situation, over the Atlantic Ocean, occasions the interception of vapours, that roll over its sum- mits and down its sides. '? ' Vestiges of numberless ancient religious houses are yet to be seen, in its immediate vicinity. A very probable conjecture may be, that many of these were built—if not in St. Brendan's time—at least, in an age not very remote from his own, and by monks, who drew their rule of life, from the great institute he had there established. The fact, too, that they are often found grouped together, and in the immediate neiglibourhood of old churches, seems to establish for them an early monastic origin.
tance, of Brandon Mountain, was taken on the spot, by William F. Wakeman, from Ballydavid Head. It was transferred by him to the wood, and it was engraved by Mrs, Millard.
'^^ These are best imagined, probably, in the following exquisite reflections, attributed to him, by the Poet, Denis Florence Mac Carthy :
" I grew to manhood by the western wave.
Among the mighty mountains on the shore :
My bed the rock, within some na- tural cave :
My food what'er the sea or seasons bore
My occupation, morn and noon, and night.
The only dream my hasty slumbers gave.
Was Time's unheeding, unreturn- ing flight,
And the great world that lies be- yond the grave.
" And thus, where'er I went, all things to me
Assumed the one deep colour of my
mind
Great nature's prayer rose from the
munifiuring sea.
And sinful man sighed in the
wintry wind.
The thick-veiieil clouds, by shedding
many a tear.
Like penitents, grew jiurificd and
bright.
And, bravely struggling through
earth's atmosphere,
Passed to the regions of eternal light.
" I loved to watch the clouds now dark and dun,
In long procession and funere. il line.
Pass with slow pace across the glo- rious sun,
Like hooded monks before a dazzling shrine.
And now with gentler beauty as they rolled
Along the azure vault of gladsome May,
Gleaming pure white, and edged with 'broidered gold,
Like snowy vestments on the Vir- gin's day.
" And then I saw the mighty sea ex- |-)and
Like Time's unmeasured and un- fathomedwaves,
One with its tide-marks on the ridgy sands,
The otlicr with its line of weedy graves
And, as beyond the outstretched wave of Time,
The eye of Faith a brighter land may meet,
So did I dream of some more sunny clime,
;
Beyond the waste of waters at my feet. "
—"The Voyage of St. Brendan," Part i. The Vocation, stanzas v. , vi. , vii. , viii.
'' VViien the top is visible people regard it as a certain token of tine weather. See Smith's "Natural and Civil History of Kerry," chap, xii. , pp. 193, 194.
May i6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
407
CHAPTER II.
IRISH AND OTHER TRADITIONS ABOUT A GREAT WESTERN CONTINENT—ST. BARIND AND THE STORY OF HIS VOYAGE—HE VISITS ST. BRENDAN—THIS HOLY ABBOT RESOLVES ON SETTING OUT WITH SOME OF HIS MONKS TO SEEK THE LAND OF PROMISE—PREPARATIONS FOR THEIR DEPARTURE—THEY AT FIRST SAIL WITH FAVOURING WINDS, AND THEN A CALM SUCCEEDS—THEY LAND ON AN ISLAND, WHERE ONE OF HIS MONKS IS BURIED—THEY VISIT SHEEP ISLAND—THEY CELEBRATE EASTER ON THE JASCON'S BACK—THE PARADISE OF BIRDS—THE ISLAND OF ST. AILBE—ST. BRENDAN AND HIS MONKS VISIT OTHER ISLANDS THEY ARE SAVED FROM DANGERS OF THE OCEAN—THE THREE CHOIRS OF SAINTS —THE GRIFFON THREATENS THEM—WONDERS FOUND IN THE OCEAN—AN ISLAND OF FIRE—JUDAS ISCARIOT—THE HERMIT ST. PAUL AND HIS ISLAND—THE LAND OF PROMISE OF THE SAINTS -THE ISLAND OF DELIGHTS—RETURN TO IRELAND OF ST. BRENDAN AND HIS MONKS.
The Celtic people, in the most western part of Europe, from time immemorial believed about the existence of a wonderful land, situated beyond the Atlan- tic's horizon. This had been called by them Hy Breasil, or the Blessed Realm. Duringlaterepochs,thisdistantregionwasmorewidelyknownas Great Ireland. ' It seems to have had some traditional relationship to the Atlantis of Plato ^—a story 3 which he learned from Egyptian priests on the banks of the Nile—and this was quite as large as a continent,• possessed by amixedraceofgodsandofmen. Forages,thedivinenaturedominated among the inhabitants, who lived in a sort of Elysium, until they grew bad and wicked, when Zeus, the god of gods, assembled a council of the deities, andhefinallysubmergedthefabledland. s InearlyChristiantimes,theIrish had a firm belief, that far away over the western ocean lay the Land of Pro- mise. Ithasevenbeenpictured,undervariousdenominations,onoldMapsf and, an opinion has been advanced, that its former existence is not to be altogether disbelieved ; since, although that land has now entirely subsided, Hy Brasil was above the level of the sea, at a comparatively recent period. So late as the year 1634, Tassiu, the geographer of Louis XIlI. ,^ King of
'''I'his celebrated Greek philosopher was born in the 87th or 88th Olympicd, or about 430 years before the Christian era. See "Encyclopedia Britannica," vol. xv. , Art. Plato, p. 37. Dublin edition.
Chapter ii. — ' The assumed situation the river, seven miles north of St. Augustine, of Great Ireland vi^as formerly set down on in Florida, on the west shore of North conjectural Italian charts, as opposite to River, the remains of an ancient submerged Europe and Africa, or lying between the city were disclosed. Several wells, walled South of Ireland and ihe end of Guinea.
3 It is told, in his unfinished Dialogue
Critias, or the Atlantic, in which appears
the earliest known account of the ancient
people of the western hemisphere. See
Arthur James Weise's " Discoveries of Si. Augustine Press, of that period. America to the year 1525," chap, i. , p. 3,
London, 18S4, 8vo,
• It is said, by Plato, in his TimKUS, to
have been greater than all Lybia and Asia combined. See some observations, on this subject, in "Irish Folk Lore," by Lageni- ensis, chap. xv. Hy-Breasail ; or the Blessed Island, pp. 120, 121.
5 It is remarkable, that in the Autumn of 1871, after a gale which lasted four or five days, and drove the water from the bed of
in the Museum, at Constantinople and, ;
from these, it seems probable, other me- direval Maps on the Continent ii. ad been copied.
^ A Mr. Ignatius Donnelly, published a work in London, A. D. 1883, in which this opinion has been advanced about Atlantis, which is confounded with St. Brendan's Pro- mised Land. One of the historical and geographical paradoxes advanced is, that
in with coquiiia, were visible under water, but the foundations of the houses could be only felt with a pole. Further investigations brought to light a coquina quarry on this same site, and, what was most remarkable, the quarry had been found in the midst of a dense hammock. That quarry had been ex-
tensively used, doubtless for the purpose of building that old city, or settlement. The foregoing account has been taken from the
^ Very curious old Maps are yet preserved,
—7
4o8 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [Mav i6.
France, traced a volume of Maps, and among these are two Manuscript charts, one delineating the French and English coasts, the other exhibiting those of Ireland. In this latter is marked, off the west coast, the Island of Hy Brazil. The work of Tassiu is singularly correct, as is shown by the fact, that the Irish coast is delineated with a care and an accuracy, which is wanting in English IMaps, which were published centuries later. 9 Before the time of St. Brendan, however, a beautiful Irish legend or tradition, known as " The Land of Youth," had fired the warm Celtic imagination. It was supposed to have extended out in the Atlantic Ocean, and its inhabitants were thought tobeexemptfromoldageanditsnumerousinfirmities. Thelandabounded in all manner of delights ;'° and, all along the western and northern coasts of Ireland, a variety of traditions prevailed, respecting the existence of that far distant region. "
In the early Irish schools, it is probable, their philosophic masters taught or speculated on tlie doctrine of the world being a globe,'^ and for such an opinion, they miyht quote from the great St. Augustine himself. '^ This Fathfef speaks of four parts of the world,''' in his day; but, it may be questioned, if he alludes to so many continents, and not rather to the cardinal points, east, west, north, and south. Of the earth's actual extent and shape, little then appearstohavebeenknown,withanygreatapproachtoaccuracy yet,some
;
vague and dreamy conception of remote territories existed, in Ireland, but mythic inventions were superadded to any real evidence, that had been obtained, regarding those unexplored lands. The old pagan philosophers seem to have held an opinion, about the sphericity of the earth ; and Plato first applied the term Antipodes to those men, supposed to have been living, at the extreme diameter. However, Lactantius ridicules this notion, in a re- markable passage of his writings. '^ During the early ages of Christianity, the people of the Eastern Hemisphere had no knowledge concerning the races, even then existing in the Western Hemispliere. The aboriginal inhabitants of North America probably belonged to different nations of the old world. '^ It is generally thought, that the great majority of the early colonists crossed
colonies from Iberia and from Ireland had '* He says, " quatuov tempora, et quatuor settled in Atlantis, before it had dis- partes orbis terrse. "—Sermones 197. Da
appeared.
^ lie reigned from a. d. i6ioto 1643. See
an account of his reign, in L—P. Anquetil's " Histoire de France," Blanche des Valois, pp. 450 to 507.
Temporibus.
'^ lie say s: " Quid illi qui esse contraries
vestigiis nostris Antipodes puiantriuni aliquid loquuntur? Aut est quisquam tam ineptus qui credat esse homines quorum vestigia sunt superiora quam capita, aut ibi quae apud
* These facts are stated, by \V. Frazer,
M. D. , in a paper read before the Royal nos jacent universa penderc? frugcs et Dublin Society, January 20th, 1879. Dr. arbores deorsum versus crescere ? pluvias et
. Frnzer believes, that there was actually a small island, at one period, corresponding with the marking on Tassiu's map of Hy Urazil. 'Se. Q Freemati's Journal of January 2ist, 1879.
"• Poetic allusion is made to it, by the author of " The Monks of Kilcrea and other Ballads and Poems," by * * * . See Gleeman's Tale, Canto ii. , sect, xvii. , xviii. , xix. , XX. ])p. 78 to 85.
,
"See Mr. and Mrs. Hall's "Ireland:
nives et grandincs sursum versus c. idere in- terram, ct miratur aliquis hortos pensilesiu- ter septem mira narrare cum )ihilos()pl)i et
? ''
agios, ct maria. ct monies pcnsilcs faciunt —Lactantius, " Dc Falsa Sapientia rhiloso- phorum'" cnp. 24.
"^ The fullest information regarding the various aboriginal Tribes of North America will be found in a magnificent work, pub- lished by authority of the United States Government, and intituled: "Historical
its Scenery, Character, &c. ,'' vol. iii. , p. and . Statistical Information, respecting the
439.
'"^ At Ic. Tst, this science was taught, in the
eighth century, when St. Virgilius, Bishop of Snlzburgh flourished.
History, Condition and l'ro. specls of the
Indian Tribes of the United Stales, &c. by ,
Henry K. . Schoolcraft. LI. . D. , illustrated by
S. Fast man, Cajit. , U. S. A. Six large 410 '' . See '• Dc Civitatc Dei," lib xvi. , vuls. , with coloured plates, Philadelphia,
cap. ix. 1S51 to 1857.
May 1 6.
