his early in the eleventh and died in the middle of the twelfth century; St. Bernard, the light of the twelfth century (we shall not name the infamous Barry); Jocelyn, whose work was based upon, as himself says, four biographies from the pen of ancient authors, contemporaries of our Apostle; Vincentius of Beavais, in 1244; James de Voraigne, 1350; St. Antonini, 1459; Petrus de Natalibaus, 1470; Texier, Heinschenius, Papebrock, all have recognized Patrick as the Apostle of Eire. Nicholson, the venerable Protestant bishop of Derry, who said, he regretted that he came only time enough to pay dying respects" to the Irish language. Lloyd, bishop of St. Asaph, Stillingfleet, Bayle, Ussher, Swift, the translator and annotator of Jocelyn-all Protestants-have acknowledged and maintained the existence and apostleship of Patrick. Harris, such an enemy to Catholicity, and the impartial Ware, as Protestant testimonies in behalf of St. Patrick, should not be omitted. To give a list of foreign writers would take up an entire book. Hence, we conclude, that the Testimonium hominum was never more universal for the sustainment of any moral certainty than in the present argument; that so general is it, that nothing but mathematical demonstration can surpass it. The variations about dates and place of birth cannot weaken it. For, about the date of Christ's passion, the most remarkable and important fact to Christians, there have been variations-yet who would dare deny the fact? About Homer's birth-place there has been a difference of opinion; still who would deny his existence as the prince of poets. Finally, these differences of opinion do but contribute to establish facts more firmly; because they create new writers, who would otherwise have never appeared, and each of whom supplies his rivulet to the great river of knowledge, on whose surface the disputed point is carried down to posterity with more force, having acquired freshening impetus from the strength imparted to the current by the several tributary streams. We cannot more felicitously close the argument of our saint's existence, than by referring to the "Staff of Jesus," given him by Justus, who told him "he had received it from the Redeemer himself, to be delivered to a pilgrim, named Patrick; which command given, he ascended to heaven." The apostle, having got the "staff" or crozier, with which he was to work such miracles in Ireland, as Moses did with his rod in Egypt, proceeded on his journey. But there was a vast difference in one respect betweeen the "staff" and the "rod." The latter brought death on the Egyptians; whilst the former was the token of health and life to the Irish. History records the powerful virtue of the Staff of Jesus, which is certainly extant somewhere. Gerald of Wales calls it "Virtuosissimum baculum Jesu;" he adds, "that Noble Treasure was translated from Ardmagh to Dublin." David Roth, bishop of Ossory, answers objections made against the history of the Staff. He says, "if there be exceptions against our Saviour's appearing on earth after his ascension, he remits them to St. Ambrose, who relates that long after that period Jesus appeared to Peter at a gate in Rome." He desires them to consider the Rod of Moses and its wonder-working power-the brazen serpent in the desert-the brazen statue of our Saviour at Cæsarea Phillipi-the woman cured by touching the garment of Jesus-and "the poor Staff and Torn Cloak" of the Egyptian hermit, Senuphius, which was the means of a signal victory over Maximius, the tyrant. g H-IMIN PÁDRajja apstojɩ ÉIREANN, Do cumad re Fjeċe, Easbujgb sléibtec a g-condae na 1. Genair Patrajc,a | Neṁb Tur 2. Succata a ajim h-itrubradh 3. Baj sé bliadhna h-j fożnaṁ, Maisea dojne nis tomledhb Ceatar trebe dja fognadh. 2 Padraig or patra15.—The initial consonant of the genitive case of masculine nouns is aspirated, but not of feminines; and the same case in the plural suffers the mortification or eclipsing of the same consonant, as na g-ceart (na gart), of the rights. Nouns whose final letter is c, as Padric, drop that letter and take 5 with an a for the genitive singular. documad, was composed. In our language active verbs are sometimes used passively as in French-"Il les fera commander par les gens," he made them be commanded by men.—Telemaque, l. 5, and thus in many passages. b Easburg or Easbag is the genitive of Carboc, it is in apposition to Fjeċé, the gen. of Fjaċ. This is termed by grammarians the fourth concord. Slebte, gen. plural of sljab, a mountain, pro. sleevte, sleeuv. d banrjożna, com. of bean, woman, and ríożan, royal, or, as some would have it, queen, but the latter would be an awkward tautology; because then baПríożan, gen. banrjożna, should be a compound of bean, A HYMN CONCERNING PATRICK, APOSTLE OF IRELAND, Which was composed by ST. FIECH (or FIAGH), Bishop of Sletty, in the Queen's County, a disciple of, and a man contemporary with, Patrick himself. 1. Patrick was born in Holy Tower, As is recorded in stories, A youth of sixteen years At the time he was brought under captivity. 2. Succat was his name at the beginning; 3. He was six years in servitude, (They) were by him supported Four tribes of his servitude. woman, rjož, king, and an for bean, woman. This is evidently a ridiculous analysis. STANZA I.— 1, in. There are many forms to express in; we shall not mention them now, as we treated of them already; we shall only add, that in the prepositions ins, anns, inns, all of which we have met in the best authors, the is merely euphonic not radical. bnem, hodie neam; of these words we have written at some length elsewhere, see page 49. There is a difference between neaṁ tur and tur neaṁta; the English of the former is as we have given it in the translation, but the translation of the latter is Blessed Tower, Heaṁ Padraje, St. Patrick, Padrajc Neaṁta, Blessed Patrick. • As sed e a, or 'rés, that is what, d'fér, do fér, is told, how like "fatus," told; hence fate. d h1, in, the h is only an aspirate-scéul or sgéul, stricte loquendo is oral news, as is stain, but at present, the terms are used to imply oral or written tradition. The word " Gospel" is translated into Irish soisgéul, 4. Ar bert Ujetor fri giradh 5. Do fard tar Ealpaa uile, An daes an deisciorte Laeċa. happy story, or news. The reason of the above term is this: In the primitive days of man all knowledge was imparted orally, there being no books. St. Irnæneas says, that for many years the Christians worshipped God without pen or ink; and, consequently, oral instruction was then the only system practised. Where was then the Bible? How could people read what they had not? and yet we are informed, that the Church of God abounded in saints. STANZA II.a Succat was his understood in Irish as in Latin. name; the auxiliary to be is frequently There is a perfect sympathy, if we can so write, between all the learned languages. STANZA III.—a maise dojne, human food, is the literal English of the words, but we take it to signify, the food of the Gentiles, or Pagan Irish. However, we would not withhold belief from the notion, that our saint was fed from heaven, as were the Israelites with manna for forty years. An exception from the natural order was as necessary to enable St. Patrick to lead the Irish from the worse than Egyptian bondage of sin, as to assist Moses to bring the Hebrews from the slavery of Pharaoh to the promised land; and the whole tenor of our apostle's life is an evidence of how he was cherished by God. b Tomlead, he ate. Observe how like the Greek Toμn, cutting or eating; hence "tome," a volume. e bar.—If our translation of this line be good, then c in cotrajże must not be a capital, and the word is a participle. The interpretation, he was with four chiefs, is good sense: then cożrajże=ceżar riže, the term denotes a king or chief. The Latins often use "rex," to imply a chief as well as a king. "Bitar le cożrajże Ceżar trebe da fognadh.” "Were by him attended Four families in his servitude." We prefer this reading and translation. |