Essay.

Essay.In a Nation, where almost every Gentleman is better acquainted, and more conversant, with the Nature and Circumstances of other Countries than those of his own, the Publication of such Hints as may somewhat contribute to remove so odd an Inattention, and induce those far better qualified to render a Subject so interesting some Justice, will not, I hope, be deemed an Impertinence; in one especially who, by this Essay, however feeble, hath nothing beside the Honour and Advantage of[pg 006]Irelandin View, a Kingdom whereof he is, without Vanity, proud of being a Native.As the Story of Savages and Barbarians can contain nothing instructive, or entertaining, theAntemilesianInhabitants of this Land having been mostly such, and all surviving Accounts of them almost totally overcast with Fable, we are therefore, in treating of the antientScotia, or modernIreland, to refer principally to three distinguished æras, whereof thefirstis, its being peopled by anIberianorSpanishColony: Thesecond, truly glorious, the Arrival of St.Patrick, in his most salutary Mission: Thethirdand last, its Cession toHenrythe Second, King ofEngland, (the first of the Royal Race ofPlantagenet) partly from a pretended Title ofAdrianthe Fourth, Pope ofRome; partly from the restless and insatiable Desires ofHenry;morefrom the manifold Infirmities of the then reigningIrishChiefs—but above all, from the peculiarly adverse Fate ofRoderick, the last of our Kings.The assiduous, exact, and candid Author of theDissertations,1lately published, on the Origin, Government, Letters, Sciences, Religion, Manners and Customs of the antient Inhabitants of this Country, hath put all those Matters in so clear and happy, and, at the same Time, in so strong a Light, by the Powers of various foreign Testimonies, of undeniable Authenticity, coincident with our own, that scarce any Thing new can be offered on the same Subject.It may, however, in general be observed, thatMilesius, aSpanishPrince, so far back as the Reign ofSolomon(instigated by Necessity, or induced by Ambition) with a considerable[pg 007]Number of Associates and Followers, landed from the Western Parts ofSpain, on the Southern Coasts of this Island, where it is probable they met little, or but faint Opposition, from wild and undisciplined Inhabitants.Those People, from their early Knowledge of thePhœnicianArts and Letters, imported such Rudiments of Government and Learning, as those primitive Times admitted; a Truth visible from the Similarity or rather Identity of thePhœnicianandScoticAlphabet.This antient Colony quietly settled here, remote from the Storms and Revolutions of the greater World, and secured by Situation from its hostile Incursions, there is no Doubt but the Cultivation of Religion, Philosophy, Politicks, Poetry, and Musick, became the chief Objects of popular Study and Application: The Spirit of Ambition in succeeding Ages, with its unhappy concomitant Train of Sedition, Faction, and Violence, the foreign Invasions, and often the intestine Oppressions and Calamities, to which our neighbouring Nations were subject, calling forth the protective or conciliating Aids of those ancient Heroes, made them great Masters also in the Art military.The Pentarchy originally formed by thoseIberianorCeltic Spaniards, with a popular Right of Election, was certainly a Kind of Government extremely consistent with the Essence and Genius of true Liberty, and a System derived from the Patriarchs themselves. For when the various Necessities of Society required a Subordination, together with some stated Maxims to go by, to avoid the confused and promiscuous Intercourse in a State of Nature; then did the People elect the most Virtuous and Wise, to lead[pg 008]and conduct them in Times of War and Trouble; to govern, inform, and protect them, in milder and more auspicious Seasons. Then was the Motto of the Crown, or of the chief Ensign of Pre-eminence,Digniori detur, and so continued till the Degeneracy of Time, and the baneful Growth of Avarice and Pride, with the feverish Lust of Power, perverted it to—Rapiat Fortior!Such, thro' a long Succession of Ages, was the Condition, and such at length the Fate of this Kingdom, destroyed after a longer Continuance than any other can boast, by the Abuse of its own Powers; a sure Argument that all created Beings, all sublunary Institutions, however wisely composed, in the very Essence of their Creation, and in the very Rudiments of their Formation, comprehend, at the same Time, the Seeds of Dissolution: Yet it is not more remarkable than true, that in the most boisterous Periods of this Kingdom's antient Establishment, the Arts and Sciences, with the fundamental Principles of Constitution, were preserved and cherished with inviolable Assiduity. The Priests, Philosophers, Advocates, Annalists, Poets and Musicians, were obliged to preserve Religion, political Wisdom, Law, History,&c.hereditarily in their respective Tribes, and to educate in these different Branches the Chiefs and Nobles of the Land, for which they were graciously maintained in secure and splendid Tranquillity: Those Sages attended the National Conventions, where all publick Acts were religiously recorded, and all Abuses of Power and Government retrenched or reformed; nor were they permitted, except in Case of extraordinary Necessity, or uncommon Merit, to deviate from[pg 009]their proper and primitive Spheres of Action: Since, where an harmonious Subordination of Rank and Order hath not been duly preserved, even in free Estates, Liberty itself (wisely attempered, the greatest of all social Blessings) hath often, from Abuse and Neglect, sickened into Licentiousness, the immediate lewd Mother of Anarchy! In the visible Creation, the direct Result of infinite Wisdom, the lesser Planets do not interfere with, much less shock or oppose the Motions and Revolutions of the greater; they constantly keep the Distances first prescribed them, and all move regularly to their respective Ends. The most verdant and fragrant Meadows may, from the too frequent Irruption of muddy Waters, degenerate into noxious Marshes, if some Care was not taken to divert those impure Gushings into their proper Channels. Hence it may be inferred, that laying open the most honorary, as well as important and useful Professions of Society, to the Intrusion, or rather pyratical Invasions, of the Scum and Dregs of the People, cannot, however varnished over with the fictitious Colourings of pretended Liberty, consist with true Political Wisdom.Those ancientSophiandLiteratienjoyed their Places with the greater Security, that they were uninvadable by the inferior Classes of Mankind; with the greater Content and Chearfulness, that much Esteem and Emolument were connected with them: The Priest and Advocate informed and directed the Conscience and Conduct; the Historian and Annalist recorded the Institutions; the Poet and Musician celebrated and sung the Exploits of their Kings and Leaders: No Wonder then this Kingdom should[pg 010]have been revered at Home, and admired Abroad; when Religion formed, Erudition nurtured, Philosophy strengthened, History preserved, Rhetorick adorned, Musick softened, and Poesy refined, the National Wisdom and Accomplishments; to all which was added, a thorough Knowledge of Tactics, and great Skill and Agility in all the athletick Arts, and bodily Exercises.In the Versions of some original Codes exported by our Countryman, the learned and pious St.Fiechry, still extant in theNavarreLibrary atParis, the Constitutional Wisdom ofIrelandappears in a clear and happy Light: Persons, Things, Actions, and Expressions, were cautiously attended to, by the Laws;Persons, in their Minority, Youth, and Manhood, according to their different Ranks in the State, so as by Care, Education, and Discipline, to render them, some subservient, others useful, some beneficial, and others ornamental thereunto.Things, so carefully, as to prevent, by prohibatory Laws, Wastes of whatsoever Kind, and to ascertain to each Individual, as well as Society, their proper and distinct Rights.Actions, by directing those in general, and particular, to the Honour of the Deity and Welfare of the Community:Expression, by the penal Interdiction of prophane Cursing and Swearing, Obscenity, Scurrility, Calumny, and Detraction, yet with a full Indulgence of proper Satire against such as merited popular Reprehension, or Contempt; the Satirist's Pen in those Days being as much dreaded, or rather more so, than the Magistrate's Rod, and consequently as diligently avoided by a Demeanour absolutely irreproachable.[pg 011]It appeareth that, under the antient Government ofIreland, the Education of the landed Gentry, when Luxury, with its wasteful Catalogue of Vices, had not rendered Property so mutable and wavering as in modern Ages, was provided for; whether by the immediate Care of Parents, or essential Attention of Guardians, by the Laws of the Land; in order that Gentlemen should, to the Antiquity of Birth and Possession, add the important Dignity of Learning, and social Refinement of Arts: Since a Man at the Head of an original Estate, who should want the necessary Cultivation of Letters, was considered only as a Peasant in Disguise, and not more respected than a Hewer of Wood, or Drawer of Water.In these Writings of St.Fiechry, the legislative Wisdom ofOlam-Fodla; the philosophically-religious Capacity ofCormac-O Quin, who, from the pure Light of Nature, in a great Measure defeated the absurdPolytheismof theDruids; the consummate Integrity and Impartiality ofFederachthe Just, andMoranhis Chief Justice; the Magnanimity ofCon-Ked-Cathagh; the Conquests ofKineth Mac Alpin; the long, glorious, and peaceful Reign ofConarythe Great,coævalwith the Birth of our Blessed Lord and SaviourJesus Christ, (undoubtedly the happiest, brightest, and most blissful Period the World ever saw;) are all displayed in a copious masterly Style, yet with strict chronological Exactness.This learned St.Fiechrywas Founder of the University inParis, in the Beginning of the 8th Century. The better to enable him to carry on that noble Work, he obtained ofCharlesthe Great a Tax on all Wheel-Carriages, within[pg 012]the Barriers of that City: Whence, a Hackney-Coach is at this Day technically term'dFiacre.Charlesthe Great, in order to repair the cruel and truly lamentable literary Dilapidations of the ferocious North-men, invited Numbers of the learned and piousIrishto the Continent, where he established and entertained them with Dignity, Tenderness, and Respect. In a curious Manuscript ofNicholaus Gurtlerus, (now in theFrenchKing'sParisianLibrary) Author of theOrigines Mundi, where he alludes to these Times, you find the following favourable, but true Account ofIreland.—Temporibus illis, barbaris Normannorum Cohortibus undequaque irrumpentibus, Religio, Fides, Philosophia, Virtus, Hospitalitas, Fortitudo, Castitas, necnon et Amœniores omnium generum Artes, Hibernia solummodò natali, veluti Solo, viguerunt; little Wonder thatIrelandshould have been esteemed theIerne, or sacred Isle of theGreeks, theInsula Sanctorum, or Island of Saints of theRomans.—Would to Heaven our Countrymen had, upon all considerable Occasions, recollected those deserved Encomiums, thereby to approve them worthy their applauded Origin, and native Soil!We now proceed to considerIrelandin her happiest and brightest View, after the Admission and Propagation of Christianity. It is certain there were many Christians inIreland, before the Arrival ofPalladiusin 431, or of St.Patrickthe Year following: St.Kieran, St.Ailbe, St.Declan, and St.Ibar, whomUsshercalls the Precursors, or Forerunners of St.Patrick, are pregnant Proofs of this; they were of the Birth ofIreland, from whence they travelled toRome, in Search of Education and Learning, where[pg 013]they lived some Years, were ordained, and returned Home about the Year 402.It seems that those early Preachers confined their Labours to particular Places, in which they had considerable Success, but fell very short of converting the Body of the Nation: However, they sowed the Seed which St.Patrickcame after to water: And it is certain that St.Patrickwas so well satisfied with the Progress they made, in their particular Districts inMunster, that this was the last Province inIrelandhe thought proper to visit. That there were many Christians inIreland, at this Period, seems to be confirmed byProsper, who, in giving an Account of the Mission ofPalladius, says, that he was ordained by PopeCelestin, and sent the first Bishop to theScotsbelieving in Christ. This Passage can mean nothing else, but thatPalladius, born in Britain, was sent to the Scots [i.e. theIrish] who had already formed Churches underKieran,Ailbe,DeclanandIbar; and so the Bishop of St.Asaphexpounds it. This then was the next Attempt that was made for the Conversion of theIrish:Palladiusengaged in a more ample and extensive Design than his Predecessors, yet he failed in the Execution of it, stay'd but a short Time inIreland, and did little worth remembring; he converted, however, a few, and is said to have founded three Churches; but he had neither Courage to withstand the Fierceness of the heathenIrish, nor Abilities, for Want of the Language, proper for the Work.Nathi, the Son ofGarcon, anIrishPrince, opposed his preaching; upon whichPalladiusleft the Kingdom, and died in the Land of thePicts, on the 15th ofDecember, 431. This[pg 014]glorious Work was reserved for St.Patrick, to whose holy Life, divine Mission, and extraordinary Success, I refer the Reader. This great Apostle of theIrishfounded and built the Cathedral Church ofArdmagh, about the Year 444, or 45, which, from that early Period to this, hath continued the Metropolitan Church of allIreland. So that 1194 Years passed away from the Founding of the City ofRome, to that ofArdmagh.The various and most signal Blessings derived to this Nation, from the salutary Mission of this illustrious Saint, require, in Gratitude, our giving the Reader yet a further Account of the Author of such Happiness and Glory toIreland.He was born in the extreme Bounds ofBritain, (in that Part thereof which is now comprehended within the Limits of the modernScotland) at a Village calledBanaven, in the Territory ofTabernia, (as he himself saith in his Confession) inVico Banaven Taberniæ, &c. He tells us that he was born of a good Family.Ingennuus fui secundum Carnem.His Father wasCalphurnius, a Deacon, who was the Son ofPotitus, a Priest; from whence may be clearly inferred that the Clergy were not restrained from Matrimony in that Age. He was just advanced into his sixteenth Year, when he was taken Captive, the Manner of which is thus related by St.Evinand others: His Father, Mother, Brother, and five Sisters, undertook a Voyage toAremorick Gaul, (now calledBass Bretagne) to visit the Relations of his MotherCouchessa. It happened about this Time, that the seven Sons ofFactmude, aBritishPrince, were banished, and took to the Sea; that, making an Inroad intoAremorick Gaul, they tookPatrick[pg 015]and his Sister,Lupita, (some sayTigridaalso) Prisoners. They brought their Captives to the North ofIreland, and soldPatricktoMilcho Mac Huanan, a Prince ofDalaradia: Others tell the Story in a different Manner, and with a stronger Degree of Probability. That theRomanshaving desertedBritain, to preserve their own Country from the barbarous Incursions of theNorthern Hive, theIrishmade frequent Conquests, inNorth Britainespecially, whence returning victorious, in one of those Expeditions among others broughtPatrickCaptive. But in this they all agree, and he himself confirms it, that he continued Prisoner inIrelandsix Years; he was sold toMilchoand his three Brothers, which gave Occasion of his changing his Name intoCathraigh, or ratherCeathir-Tigh, because he served four Masters;Ceathirsignifying four, andTigha House or Family.Milchoobserving the Care and Diligence of his new Servant, bought out the Shares of his Brothers, and made him his own Property. He sent him to feed his Hogs onSliev-Mis. And St.Patrickhimself tells us his Behaviour in this Office.“My constant Business was to feed the Hogs. I was frequent in Prayer; the Love and Fear of God more and more inflamed my Heart; my Faith was enlarged, and my Spirit augmented, so that I said an hundred Prayers by Day, and almost as many by Night. I arose before Day to my Prayers, in the Snow, in the Frost, and in the Rain, and yet I received no Damage; nor was I affected with Slothfulness; for then the Spirit of God was warm within me.”It was here he perfected himself in theIrishLanguage, the wonderful Providence of God visibly appearing in this Instance of his[pg 016]Captivity, that he should have the Opportunity in his tender Years of becoming well acquainted with the Language, Manners, and Dispositions of that People, to whom he was intended as a future Apostle. He continued six whole Years in Servitude, and in the seventh was released. There seems to have been a Law inIrelandfor this Purpose, agreeable to the Institution ofMoses, that a Servant should be released the seventh Year.Having parted from his Master, after a great Variety of Distresses, he at length arrived to his Parents, who received him with extraordinary Joy; with these he remained two Years, and probably would much longer, had he not by a Vision been quickened to a more active and glorious Life. In this he thought he saw a Man coming to him fromIreland, whose Name wasVictoricus, with a great Number of Letters; that he gave him one of them to read, in the Beginning of which were contained these Words,Vox-Hiberionacum, the Voice of theIrish: While he was reading this Letter, he thought the same Moment, that he heard the Voice of the Inhabitants who lived near the Wood ofFoclut, in the Barony ofTyr-Awley, and County ofMayo, hard by the Western Sea, crying to him with an audible and distinct Voice,“We intreat thee, holy Youth, to come and walk among us.”He was greatly amazed at this Vision, and awoke; it animated him, however, to his future Studies and heavenly Progress; so far even, that he tells us himself, he thanked God, that after many Years he had dealt with theIrish, according to their crying out.These early Scenes of this great Saint's Life, should, among many others, serve as lessons of[pg 017]Charity, Consideration, and Humility, to the Rich, the Great, the Proud, and the Wanton; who may recollect that, altho' he was well born, he was nevertheless, in the most vigorous Season of Life, a Slave and a Swine-Herd: Happy, though wretched Servitude! In which, his leisure Hours, mostly employed in Christian Confidence and Prayer, made him so signally the Favourite of Heaven, that from those cloudy Dawnings, he in Process of Time became a learned Doctor, a sanctified Missioner, a venerable Prelate, an eminent Primate, a national Apostle, and the bright Instructor of Kings! Such were the fruitful Rewards of uninterrupted unshaken Devotion, Piety, and Zeal! From this Time he formed the steady Resolution of converting theIrish; and, the better to accomplish the heavenly Task, he undertook a laborious Journey to foreign Countries, to enrich his Mind with Learning and Experience.He continued abroad thirty-five Years, pursuing his Studies under the Direction principally of his Mother's Uncle, St.Martin, Bishop ofTours, who had ordained him Deacon; and after his Death, partly with St.German, Bishop ofAuxerre, (who ordained him a Priest, and called his NameMagonius, which was the third Name he was known by,) partly among a Colony ofHermitsandMonks, in some Islands of theTuscanSea; and he employed a good Part of the Time in the City ofRome, among the Canons Regular of theLateranChurch: At length, having his Soul thoroughly tempered with religious Virtue, enlightened with the true Evangelical Faith, and his Understanding enlarged by the most profitable and edifying Studies, he arrived inIrelandabout the 60th[pg 018]Year of his Age; and in the Year of our Lord 432, landed in the County ofWicklow, where he began his Ministry, by the Conversion ofSinel, a great Man in that Country, the Grandson ofFinchad, who ought to be remembered, as he was the first Fruits of St.Patrick's Mission inIreland; he was the 8th in lineal Descent fromCormac, King ofLeinster, and came afterwards to be enumerated among the Saints ofIreland.From this Country he sailed to an Island on the Coast of the County ofDublin, called after himInis Phadring, and by theEnglish,Holm Patrickat this Day, where he and his faithful Companions rested after their Fatigues. FromInis Phadring, he sailed Northward to that Part ofUlstercalledUlidia, and put in atInbherslayingBay. When he and his Fellow Labourers landed,Dichu, the Son ofTrichem, Lord of the County, being informed that they were Pirates, came out with armed Men in order to kill them: But being struck with the venerable Appearance of St.Patrick, he gave him Audience, and listened attentively to the Word of Life preached by him; he changed his wicked Purpose, believed, and was baptized, and brought over all his Family to the Faith: It is further observed of him, that he was the first Person inUlster, who embraced Christianity. He dedicated the Land whereon his Conversion was wrought to the Service of God, where a Church was erected, changed after to an eminent Monastery. He travelled hence by Land toCluneboisinDalaradia, to endeavour the Conversion of his old MasterMilcho, whose Service he had left thirty-eight Years before; but this obstinate Prince, hearing of the great Success of St.Patrick's preaching, and ashamed to be persuaded[pg 019]in his old Age, to forsake the Religion of his Ancestors, (by one especially who had been his Servant, in a most inferior Station,) made a funeral Pile of his House and Goods, and by the Instigation of the Enemy of Mankind, burned himself therein: Thus endedMilcho McHuanan.Hence St.Patrickreturned toInis, the Habitation ofDichu, and in his Journey converted great Numbers to the true Faith ofChrist. In some time, he took his Leave ofDichu, and bent his course Southward by Sea, keeping the Coast on his Right-hand, and arrived at PortColbdi, where he landed, and committed the Care of his Vessel to his NephewLuman, desiring him to wait for him there forty Days, while he and his Disciples were travelling in the inner Parts of the Country to preach the Gospel. His Intention in this Journey was, to celebrate the Festival ofEasterin the Plains ofBregia, and to be in the Neighbourhood of the Great Triennial Convention atTarah, which at this Season was held by KingLeogair, and all his Tributary Princes, Nobles,Druids,Annalists,and Fileas. St.Patrickwisely foreseeing that whatever Impressions he should make on this august Assembly must have an Influence on the whole Kingdom, and therefore, being supported with invincible Christian Fortitude, resolved not to be absent from a Place where his Presence was so conducive to the Ends of his Holy Ministry.Never did the Spirit of popular Freedom exert itself more powerfully or harmoniously, than in those truly parliamentary Triennial Conventions ofIreland, where the supreme Monarch, the Provincial Kings, the feudatory Lords, the Nobles, landed Men,Druids, &c. by the[pg 020]unbiased Suffrages of the People, convened for the Peace, good Government and Security of each particular Province, as well as those of the whole Kingdom. Many Centuries had this wise Constitution subsisted here, before our Neighbours, even ofSouth Britain, knew any thing relative to Houses, or Raiment; it being notorious that so late as the Arrival ofJulius Cæsaramong them, they painted their Bodies, to render them terrible, and lived in the open Fields. It is really somewhat surprzing that People so near in Situation, should differ so essentially in Disposition, as the Inhabitants of those Islands have in all Ages; Hospitality having been the distinguishing Attribute of theIrish, and it's opposite Defect, that of theBritons; the Account given of them byHorace1700 and odd Years ago,Visam Britannes Hospitibus feros, being as literally applicable to them at this Day, where the Force of Education doth not operate to mitigate their natural Ferocity.But to return: St.Patrickin his Way toTarah, took up his Lodgings at the House of the hospitableSesgneninMeath, who kindly received and welcomed him. St.Patrickpreach'd Christ and his Gospel to him; he believed, and was baptized with his whole Family.From the House ofSesgnen, he moved Westward, and arrived onEaster EveatFierta-fir-feic, on the Northern Banks of the RiverBoyne, where he rested, resolving there to prepare for the next Day's Solemnity. It was penal for any Person at the Time of the Celebration of this solemn Convention atTarah, to kindle a Fire in the Province, before the King's Bonfire first appeared. I am of Opinion this was a religious Ceremony, as the chief Deity of the ancient Inhabitants,[pg 021]in exterior Worship especially, wasBel, orBelus; whenceApolloorAp-haul, the Son of the Sun, whom they emblematically worshipped, by those fiery Offerings; whence the first Day ofMay, peculiarly dedicated to thisBel, is even now inIrish, calledLha-Bel-Thinih, and probably from the same Source may be derived the Custom of lighting up Bonfires, and Sops, on the Eve of the 24th Day ofJune. St.Patrickhowever, either not knowing or not minding this Ceremony, lighted up a Fire before his Booth, which altho' eight Miles distant fromTarah, was very visible. It was seen with Astonishment from Court, and theDruidsinformed the King, that if he did not immediately extinguish the Fire, he who kindled it, and his Successors, should for ever hold the Principality ofIreland; which hath hitherto turned out a true Prediction of those Heathen Priests, in a Primatial and Spiritual Principality.The King dispatched Messengers to bringPatrickbefore him, and gave his positive Orders, that nobody should presume to rise out of his Seat, or pay him the least Honour: ButEre, the Son ofDego, ventured to disobey this Command; he arose, and offered the Holy Father his Seat. St.Patrickpreached to him and converted him. He became a Person of eminent Sanctity, and after some Time was consecrated by St.Patrick, Bishop ofSlain.The Day following, when St.Patrickand two of his Disciples appeared unexpectedly at Court, and preached to the King and his Nobles,Dubtach, the King's Poet Laureat, payed Honour and Respect to the Saint, and was converted by his Preaching.Fiech, a young Poet, who was under the Tuition ofDubtach, was also converted,[pg 022]and afterwards made Bishop ofSletty, and is said to have been the Author of a celebrated Poem, composed in Praise of St.Patrick.Anselm, Arch-Bishop ofCanterbury, relates the Conversion ofTingar, the Son ofClito, (one of the Nobles in this Assembly,) in the same Manner. The Queen also, and many others of the Court, became Christians; and altho' the King held out for a long Time with great Obstinacy, yet at last he submitted to be baptized. St.Patrickis said here to have wrought many Miracles: There could not truly, even according to the Purposes of human Wisdom, have happened a more solemn or weighty Occasion, for God Almighty's supporting this Holy Preacher by Miracles, than when the collective Body of the whole Nation was assembled together; from whose Report and Conviction, the Influences of his blessed Works and Doctrine must of Course spread through the whole Kingdom.His Conduct and Proceedings here, with a particular Detail of the Miracles wrought by him, may be had at large in the History of his Life, published byJohn Colgan.FromTarah, the Saint proceeded next toTalten, not far from thence, at the Season of the Royal Diversions: Here he preached toCairbre, andConall, the two Brothers of KingLeogin; the former received him with great Indignity, and perversely shut his Ears against his Doctrine; butConallbelieved, and was baptized, and gave St.Patricka Place to build a Church on.ThisConallwas Great-Grand-Father toColumb-Kill. He spent the Remainder of this Year inMeathandLouth, and the Districts adjoining, preaching, and converting great Numbers of People. TheTaltenianSports above-mentioned,[pg 023]have been much celebrated by theIrishHistorians, and Antiquaries. They were a kind of warlike Exercises, somewhat resembling theOlympickGames, consisting of Racing, Tilts, Tournaments, Wrestling, Leaping, Vaulting, and all other manly and martial Exercises, which gave Rise to the many hyperbolical Tales, formerly related of thoseTaltenianSports. They were exhibited every Year atTalten, a Mountain inMeath, for fifteen Days before, and fifteen Days after the First ofAugust. Their first Institution is ascribed toLughaid-lam-fadha, the twelfth King ofIreland, who began his ReignA. M.2764 (a sufficient Proof ofIreland's Antiquity as a Kingdom). They were ordained byLughaid, in Gratitude to the Memory ofTailte, the Daughter ofMagh-More, (a Prince of some Part ofSpain) who having been married toEochaid, King ofIreland, took the sameLughaidunder her Protection, and had the Care of his Education in his Minority. From this Princess both the Sports, and the Place where they were celebrated, took their Names: FromLughaid, the First ofAugustwas calledLugnasa, or the Memory ofLughaid,Nasasignifying Memory, in theIrishLanguage.In the Year of the World 2700,Gideonthen reigning fourth Judge of theHebrews, appear'd many Heroes, asHercules,Orpheus,Castor,Pollux, theArgonauts,Jason,Laomedon,Thesæus,Dedalus, &c. TheAmazones, Heroines ofScythicExtraction, having lost their Husbands in Battle, took up Arms themselves, with a manly Spirit of Resentment, and (inspired with Love of their deceased Husbands, and Grief for so great and irretrievable a Loss!) subduedAsia, and builtEphesus.HerculesandThesæuswaged[pg 024]War against those Heroines, and defeated them, more to the Glory of the Vanquished than their own, those Matrons having defended themselves with surprizing Resolution. They cut off the Guards set over them, and escaped the Severity and Pride of their Conquerors.Hercules, in Honour of such extraordinary heroick Females, instituted theOlympickGames; as likewise didThesæus, theIsthmian, in the Year of the World, about 2700, theTaltenianSports, the very same with theOlympick, brought sixty-four Years after fromSpainintoIreland, byTailte, and her Followers. Now thisTailte, Queen ofIreland, was the Grand-daughter of anAmazonePrincess, those immortal Females having, with their Progeny, Friends and Followers, to avoid the ruinous Hostilities ofHerculesandThesæus, sought Shelter inSpain, whither they imported the Learning ofTrismegistus, the Grandson ofMercury, and Glory ofÆgypt, together with all the literary Arts derived intoGreece, fromPhœnicia, byCadmus, the Brother ofEuropa, about the Year of the World 2530,Othonielthen reigning the first Judge of theHebrews. The Posterity of this ancient and illustrious Colony, about the Year of the World 3000, (Solomonthen reigning with great Splendour, third King of theHebrews) settled in this Kingdom, as before observed: So that, by an impartial Estimate of Dates, Periods, and Facts, our Origin is well ascertained, our early Possession of Letters, wise Policy, and the politer Arts, proved, and the Remark of anItalianMonk in the 7th Century, from the University ofMongret, in an Epistle to his Correspondent atRome, justified,Nil mirum Populum hunc Celtico Scythicum è præclarâ Amazonidum stirpê oriundum, verâ Religionê et[pg 025]incorruptâ Fide illuminatum, sapientia Doctrina optimisque Morbidus ornatum, viros fortes et Fæminas castas plerumque procreare. A Rescript of this Original Epistle still extant, in theVaticanLibrary, some Years ago in the Hands of Father DonLevy, may therefore, I believe, be found in the College ofLombardatParis.In this shining Period were Cathedrals and Churches erected, Universities founded and established, Colleges, Seminaries and Schools propagated in many Parts of this Kingdom, which, at the same Time, became a peaceful and hospitable Retreat to religious and learned Men, disturbed on the Continent ofEurope, by the frequent Invasions, and cruel Hostilities of the North-men, whose Piracies and Barbarity, evenIrelandcould not always escape! For, from the Time ofArtigrius, Archbishop ofArdmaghin 822, for near 200 Years the cruelDanesmiserably ravaged this Kingdom, destroying, by Fire and Sword, every Establishment, as well of Piety as Learning, (to both which, and to all religious Maxims of civilized Society, they had been avowed implacable Enemies) till they were themselves, in 1014, totally defeated atClontarf, by the invincible Arms of the Great Monarch,Bryan Borou, from whom descended a Race conspicuous for exemplary Prelates, heroick Leaders, and steady Patriots.The learned Author of theDissertationsbefore-mentioned, charges this Hero with a Violation of the Constitution of his Country: Yet the Violation seems of far earlier Date, when the supreme Monarchy was, by theHugonianLaw, inalienably united to one Family, whose Sovereignty, however founded originally, whether by Birth, or Election, was essential to the public[pg 026]Welfare: For we must allow that the Preservation of the People is the principal Law to which all others are subordinate.Salus Populi suprema Lex; and equally, that not only the Necessities, but the Safety also of the People, at that Time of Danger and Distraction, eagerly called forth the Conduct and Valour, the protective and restorative Abilities of that great and virtuous Man, of whom a faithful Historian, in his Detail of the Battle ofClontarf, says;Integrâ prius adept a Victoriâ rebus humanis eodem Diê excessit vir Bellô ac Pacê summus, Justitiæ, Religionis, Literarum, Cultor eximius, et cum Carolo Magno utique comparandus.In the 239th Page of theDissertations, the excellent Author expresseth himself as follows:“I now proceed to give some Account of the second Royal House ofScots, the oldest of theMilesianRace, and the Posterity ofEber.”This Race then being avowed the oldest, in Respect of Primogeniture, must, of Course, have been prior in Point of Dignity and Sway, or at least, equally entitled to the Election of the People to such Ranks; were not those by violent Measures annexed to theHeremonianLine: Yet, however this might have been, certain it is, that no Houses that we read of, ancient or modern, have produced a greater Number of truly heroick Princes, or of longer Continuance, than those of the North and SouthHy-Nial; from whom also issued many noble Families of real Worth, and equal Renown. WithBryan, the happy Genius ofIreland, in a great Measure, expired: For the cruelDaneshad, for near 200 Years before, so wofully overturned the Universities ofArdmagh,Dondaleith-Glass,Mongret, andLismore, with all other Seminaries of Piety[pg 027]and Learning, (the only genuine Sources of national Greatness, Concord, good Discipline, and Happiness) had obliged, in the 8th Century, so many learned Men to seek that Shelter and Security on the Continent, which the barbarous Hostilities, and impious Manners of those Northerns, denied them at Home; had made such frequent lamentable Breaches in the antient, wise Constitution of the Kingdom; had, by the fatal Example of their profligate dissolute Lives, so vitiated the national Morality; and finally, had left behind them so many noxious Seeds of Faction and Anarchy, as, in less than two Centuries, gave up a Kingdom, of above 2000 Years Establishment, the unaccountable Prey of a few adventurousNormans!Patrickgoverned the See ofDublinabout ten Years, and, in a Voyage toEngland, perished by Shipwreck, in theBritishSea, on the 16th ofOctober, 1084; having been sent toLanfranc, Archbishop ofCanterbury, by KingTirdelvac.Donat, orDongus O'Haingly, having spent some Time in the Study of useful Learning inIreland, went over intoEngland, and became a Benedictine Monk atCanterbury. He was afterwards, (by the Consent of KingTirdelvac, and the Clergy ofDublin) consecrated,A. D.1085, in the Cathedral ofCanterbury, by the before-mentionedLanfranc, to whom he made the following Profession of Obedience:“I,Donat, Bishop of the See ofDublininIreland, do promise Canonical Obedience to you,O' Lanfranc, Archbishop of the holy Church ofCanterbury, and to your Successors.”It is evident that the Title of the Kings ofEnglandto this Kingdom, by Papal Donation,[pg 028]or Appointment, was very insufficient, if not absolutely trifling: Nor could a Right of Conquest be urged in any Period of the Reign ofHenrythe Second, or his Descendants. But the Great and Royal Families ofIreland, long the Prey of Faction, deliberately preferred a limitted and stipulated Submission to foreign Authority, to the various Evils arising from intestine Feuds and Animosities; and this, had the wise Conditions thereof been constantly attended to, with mutual Observance, had been a sound Title, well and judiciously founded.True it is, that after the Surrender of the Crown by KingJohnto the See ofRome, the Pope exerted some temporal Authority in this Kingdom, instanced in his having createdMc. Con More Mc. Namaras2Duke ofKlan Cullane, a Man of great Valour and Piety, supported by ample Possessions in the Baronies ofTullaandBunratty, in the County ofClare; which extensive Districts entirely belonged to that ancient, hospitable, martial, and religious Race, of whichMc. Con Morewas Chief: TheMc. Namaras, more or less, have in all Ages made, and still continue to make, a distinguished Figure, as well in the Field, as in the learned Professions; and were formerly so warlike a People, that of themselves they formed an heroic Cavalry, justly stiled thePhalanxof that Part ofIrelandwherein they resided.How our Neighbours came to call uswaild Ayrish, I am a Loss to conjecture; it being evident[pg 029]we have been a thousand Years, at least, in Possession of Letters, Laws, and Civility, before the Arrival ofJulius CæsarinBritain.I am equally at a Loss to know why a Man should become a standing Jest for his Ignorance in an alien Tongue, almost the constant Fate of our Countrymen inBritain, where, whoever is not smartly expert in theEnglishLanguage, is immediately denominated aTeague, aPaddy, or I know not what, in the Stile of Derision: At the same Time that the most awkward-tonguedIrishmaninLondonspeaksEnglishwith far more Propriety, and a better Accent, than the smartestBritish Petit MaitreinParisdothFrench.Some dramatick Scriblers, (probably of our own degenerate Growth) the better to qualify them for eleemosinary Dinners, gave Rise to this impertinent Treatment of a Nation, which, from the concurrent Testimonies of all the Dispassionate and Learned, can, in Reality, be as little the Object of Scurrility, as any other.Why should even poorTeagueprove so constant a Butt, to Farce-wrights, and Hackney Laughers; when, upon Examination, he is, by a thousand Degrees, preferable to theBritishHobbinol, orFrenchGregoire? ForTeagueis a very Pattern of Hospitality; so much so, that if a Gentleman should happen to miss his Road, and be nessitated to seek the Shelter ofTeague's Cabbin, or Hut, was poorTeaguetrusting to two Sheep for his worldly Subsistance, he would kill one, and sell the other, at the next Village or Inn, for the better Entertainment of his Guest, and think himself happy in such an Occasion of approving his Generosity and Respect: He would the next Morning abandon his Spade, and chearfully trot ten Miles to shew[pg 030]such bewilder'd Gentleman the right Road. He is naturally civil, generous, and hospitable, (for scarce a Night passeth that poor Travellers are not entertained in his Cottage,) extremely respectful to his Superiors, and to his Lord and Master faithful to Death. The military Annals ofEuropeproclaim his Capacity and Taste for Fighting; then if you should take this identicalTeague's infant Son, and give him a regular liberal Education, it is one hundred to one, but he turns out a Gentleman of Merit, Learning, Worth, and Politeness; whereas it would certainly require more thanHerculeanLabour to chissel aFrench Paisan, a primitiveWestmoreland, orDevonshireBoor, not only into the Form of an elegant, but even into that of a sociable Creature.The Insignificancy of those Jesters and Spatterers, will more clearly appear, if we look back to the wise, free, and truly parliamentary Constitution of this Kingdom; if we recollect the vast Length of its Duration, as a free and independant State; the military Prowess of its Inhabitants in all Ages; their victorious Conflicts with theRomans, and with theFrenchunderHenrythe Vth, and the BlackPrince; their having founded a Monarchy inNorth Britain, whence, by a Right of Descent, in Addition to every other, his present Majesty, (whom God long preserve,) by the special Providence and infinite Mercy of Heaven, ruleth over us: If we consider the Number of our Universities, Colleges, and Academies, religious Monasteries and pious Seminaries, resorted to from all civilized Parts ofEurope, our Metropolitical and Diocesan Cathedrals; on such impartial Review, surely, the foregoing Tribe of Sneerers[pg 031]and Flouters must dwindle into deserved Contempt.I shall close this feeble Attempt on the antient State ofIreland, with the Description thereof byDonat, Bishop ofFesulæ, nearFlorence, in the 7th or 8th Century; referring, at the same Time, to the most authentickBritishAntiquaries,Campden,Giraldus Cambrensis,Buchanan,Ware, &c. for Confirmation of what hath been previously observed on the same Subject.

Essay.In a Nation, where almost every Gentleman is better acquainted, and more conversant, with the Nature and Circumstances of other Countries than those of his own, the Publication of such Hints as may somewhat contribute to remove so odd an Inattention, and induce those far better qualified to render a Subject so interesting some Justice, will not, I hope, be deemed an Impertinence; in one especially who, by this Essay, however feeble, hath nothing beside the Honour and Advantage of[pg 006]Irelandin View, a Kingdom whereof he is, without Vanity, proud of being a Native.As the Story of Savages and Barbarians can contain nothing instructive, or entertaining, theAntemilesianInhabitants of this Land having been mostly such, and all surviving Accounts of them almost totally overcast with Fable, we are therefore, in treating of the antientScotia, or modernIreland, to refer principally to three distinguished æras, whereof thefirstis, its being peopled by anIberianorSpanishColony: Thesecond, truly glorious, the Arrival of St.Patrick, in his most salutary Mission: Thethirdand last, its Cession toHenrythe Second, King ofEngland, (the first of the Royal Race ofPlantagenet) partly from a pretended Title ofAdrianthe Fourth, Pope ofRome; partly from the restless and insatiable Desires ofHenry;morefrom the manifold Infirmities of the then reigningIrishChiefs—but above all, from the peculiarly adverse Fate ofRoderick, the last of our Kings.The assiduous, exact, and candid Author of theDissertations,1lately published, on the Origin, Government, Letters, Sciences, Religion, Manners and Customs of the antient Inhabitants of this Country, hath put all those Matters in so clear and happy, and, at the same Time, in so strong a Light, by the Powers of various foreign Testimonies, of undeniable Authenticity, coincident with our own, that scarce any Thing new can be offered on the same Subject.It may, however, in general be observed, thatMilesius, aSpanishPrince, so far back as the Reign ofSolomon(instigated by Necessity, or induced by Ambition) with a considerable[pg 007]Number of Associates and Followers, landed from the Western Parts ofSpain, on the Southern Coasts of this Island, where it is probable they met little, or but faint Opposition, from wild and undisciplined Inhabitants.Those People, from their early Knowledge of thePhœnicianArts and Letters, imported such Rudiments of Government and Learning, as those primitive Times admitted; a Truth visible from the Similarity or rather Identity of thePhœnicianandScoticAlphabet.This antient Colony quietly settled here, remote from the Storms and Revolutions of the greater World, and secured by Situation from its hostile Incursions, there is no Doubt but the Cultivation of Religion, Philosophy, Politicks, Poetry, and Musick, became the chief Objects of popular Study and Application: The Spirit of Ambition in succeeding Ages, with its unhappy concomitant Train of Sedition, Faction, and Violence, the foreign Invasions, and often the intestine Oppressions and Calamities, to which our neighbouring Nations were subject, calling forth the protective or conciliating Aids of those ancient Heroes, made them great Masters also in the Art military.The Pentarchy originally formed by thoseIberianorCeltic Spaniards, with a popular Right of Election, was certainly a Kind of Government extremely consistent with the Essence and Genius of true Liberty, and a System derived from the Patriarchs themselves. For when the various Necessities of Society required a Subordination, together with some stated Maxims to go by, to avoid the confused and promiscuous Intercourse in a State of Nature; then did the People elect the most Virtuous and Wise, to lead[pg 008]and conduct them in Times of War and Trouble; to govern, inform, and protect them, in milder and more auspicious Seasons. Then was the Motto of the Crown, or of the chief Ensign of Pre-eminence,Digniori detur, and so continued till the Degeneracy of Time, and the baneful Growth of Avarice and Pride, with the feverish Lust of Power, perverted it to—Rapiat Fortior!Such, thro' a long Succession of Ages, was the Condition, and such at length the Fate of this Kingdom, destroyed after a longer Continuance than any other can boast, by the Abuse of its own Powers; a sure Argument that all created Beings, all sublunary Institutions, however wisely composed, in the very Essence of their Creation, and in the very Rudiments of their Formation, comprehend, at the same Time, the Seeds of Dissolution: Yet it is not more remarkable than true, that in the most boisterous Periods of this Kingdom's antient Establishment, the Arts and Sciences, with the fundamental Principles of Constitution, were preserved and cherished with inviolable Assiduity. The Priests, Philosophers, Advocates, Annalists, Poets and Musicians, were obliged to preserve Religion, political Wisdom, Law, History,&c.hereditarily in their respective Tribes, and to educate in these different Branches the Chiefs and Nobles of the Land, for which they were graciously maintained in secure and splendid Tranquillity: Those Sages attended the National Conventions, where all publick Acts were religiously recorded, and all Abuses of Power and Government retrenched or reformed; nor were they permitted, except in Case of extraordinary Necessity, or uncommon Merit, to deviate from[pg 009]their proper and primitive Spheres of Action: Since, where an harmonious Subordination of Rank and Order hath not been duly preserved, even in free Estates, Liberty itself (wisely attempered, the greatest of all social Blessings) hath often, from Abuse and Neglect, sickened into Licentiousness, the immediate lewd Mother of Anarchy! In the visible Creation, the direct Result of infinite Wisdom, the lesser Planets do not interfere with, much less shock or oppose the Motions and Revolutions of the greater; they constantly keep the Distances first prescribed them, and all move regularly to their respective Ends. The most verdant and fragrant Meadows may, from the too frequent Irruption of muddy Waters, degenerate into noxious Marshes, if some Care was not taken to divert those impure Gushings into their proper Channels. Hence it may be inferred, that laying open the most honorary, as well as important and useful Professions of Society, to the Intrusion, or rather pyratical Invasions, of the Scum and Dregs of the People, cannot, however varnished over with the fictitious Colourings of pretended Liberty, consist with true Political Wisdom.Those ancientSophiandLiteratienjoyed their Places with the greater Security, that they were uninvadable by the inferior Classes of Mankind; with the greater Content and Chearfulness, that much Esteem and Emolument were connected with them: The Priest and Advocate informed and directed the Conscience and Conduct; the Historian and Annalist recorded the Institutions; the Poet and Musician celebrated and sung the Exploits of their Kings and Leaders: No Wonder then this Kingdom should[pg 010]have been revered at Home, and admired Abroad; when Religion formed, Erudition nurtured, Philosophy strengthened, History preserved, Rhetorick adorned, Musick softened, and Poesy refined, the National Wisdom and Accomplishments; to all which was added, a thorough Knowledge of Tactics, and great Skill and Agility in all the athletick Arts, and bodily Exercises.In the Versions of some original Codes exported by our Countryman, the learned and pious St.Fiechry, still extant in theNavarreLibrary atParis, the Constitutional Wisdom ofIrelandappears in a clear and happy Light: Persons, Things, Actions, and Expressions, were cautiously attended to, by the Laws;Persons, in their Minority, Youth, and Manhood, according to their different Ranks in the State, so as by Care, Education, and Discipline, to render them, some subservient, others useful, some beneficial, and others ornamental thereunto.Things, so carefully, as to prevent, by prohibatory Laws, Wastes of whatsoever Kind, and to ascertain to each Individual, as well as Society, their proper and distinct Rights.Actions, by directing those in general, and particular, to the Honour of the Deity and Welfare of the Community:Expression, by the penal Interdiction of prophane Cursing and Swearing, Obscenity, Scurrility, Calumny, and Detraction, yet with a full Indulgence of proper Satire against such as merited popular Reprehension, or Contempt; the Satirist's Pen in those Days being as much dreaded, or rather more so, than the Magistrate's Rod, and consequently as diligently avoided by a Demeanour absolutely irreproachable.[pg 011]It appeareth that, under the antient Government ofIreland, the Education of the landed Gentry, when Luxury, with its wasteful Catalogue of Vices, had not rendered Property so mutable and wavering as in modern Ages, was provided for; whether by the immediate Care of Parents, or essential Attention of Guardians, by the Laws of the Land; in order that Gentlemen should, to the Antiquity of Birth and Possession, add the important Dignity of Learning, and social Refinement of Arts: Since a Man at the Head of an original Estate, who should want the necessary Cultivation of Letters, was considered only as a Peasant in Disguise, and not more respected than a Hewer of Wood, or Drawer of Water.In these Writings of St.Fiechry, the legislative Wisdom ofOlam-Fodla; the philosophically-religious Capacity ofCormac-O Quin, who, from the pure Light of Nature, in a great Measure defeated the absurdPolytheismof theDruids; the consummate Integrity and Impartiality ofFederachthe Just, andMoranhis Chief Justice; the Magnanimity ofCon-Ked-Cathagh; the Conquests ofKineth Mac Alpin; the long, glorious, and peaceful Reign ofConarythe Great,coævalwith the Birth of our Blessed Lord and SaviourJesus Christ, (undoubtedly the happiest, brightest, and most blissful Period the World ever saw;) are all displayed in a copious masterly Style, yet with strict chronological Exactness.This learned St.Fiechrywas Founder of the University inParis, in the Beginning of the 8th Century. The better to enable him to carry on that noble Work, he obtained ofCharlesthe Great a Tax on all Wheel-Carriages, within[pg 012]the Barriers of that City: Whence, a Hackney-Coach is at this Day technically term'dFiacre.Charlesthe Great, in order to repair the cruel and truly lamentable literary Dilapidations of the ferocious North-men, invited Numbers of the learned and piousIrishto the Continent, where he established and entertained them with Dignity, Tenderness, and Respect. In a curious Manuscript ofNicholaus Gurtlerus, (now in theFrenchKing'sParisianLibrary) Author of theOrigines Mundi, where he alludes to these Times, you find the following favourable, but true Account ofIreland.—Temporibus illis, barbaris Normannorum Cohortibus undequaque irrumpentibus, Religio, Fides, Philosophia, Virtus, Hospitalitas, Fortitudo, Castitas, necnon et Amœniores omnium generum Artes, Hibernia solummodò natali, veluti Solo, viguerunt; little Wonder thatIrelandshould have been esteemed theIerne, or sacred Isle of theGreeks, theInsula Sanctorum, or Island of Saints of theRomans.—Would to Heaven our Countrymen had, upon all considerable Occasions, recollected those deserved Encomiums, thereby to approve them worthy their applauded Origin, and native Soil!We now proceed to considerIrelandin her happiest and brightest View, after the Admission and Propagation of Christianity. It is certain there were many Christians inIreland, before the Arrival ofPalladiusin 431, or of St.Patrickthe Year following: St.Kieran, St.Ailbe, St.Declan, and St.Ibar, whomUsshercalls the Precursors, or Forerunners of St.Patrick, are pregnant Proofs of this; they were of the Birth ofIreland, from whence they travelled toRome, in Search of Education and Learning, where[pg 013]they lived some Years, were ordained, and returned Home about the Year 402.It seems that those early Preachers confined their Labours to particular Places, in which they had considerable Success, but fell very short of converting the Body of the Nation: However, they sowed the Seed which St.Patrickcame after to water: And it is certain that St.Patrickwas so well satisfied with the Progress they made, in their particular Districts inMunster, that this was the last Province inIrelandhe thought proper to visit. That there were many Christians inIreland, at this Period, seems to be confirmed byProsper, who, in giving an Account of the Mission ofPalladius, says, that he was ordained by PopeCelestin, and sent the first Bishop to theScotsbelieving in Christ. This Passage can mean nothing else, but thatPalladius, born in Britain, was sent to the Scots [i.e. theIrish] who had already formed Churches underKieran,Ailbe,DeclanandIbar; and so the Bishop of St.Asaphexpounds it. This then was the next Attempt that was made for the Conversion of theIrish:Palladiusengaged in a more ample and extensive Design than his Predecessors, yet he failed in the Execution of it, stay'd but a short Time inIreland, and did little worth remembring; he converted, however, a few, and is said to have founded three Churches; but he had neither Courage to withstand the Fierceness of the heathenIrish, nor Abilities, for Want of the Language, proper for the Work.Nathi, the Son ofGarcon, anIrishPrince, opposed his preaching; upon whichPalladiusleft the Kingdom, and died in the Land of thePicts, on the 15th ofDecember, 431. This[pg 014]glorious Work was reserved for St.Patrick, to whose holy Life, divine Mission, and extraordinary Success, I refer the Reader. This great Apostle of theIrishfounded and built the Cathedral Church ofArdmagh, about the Year 444, or 45, which, from that early Period to this, hath continued the Metropolitan Church of allIreland. So that 1194 Years passed away from the Founding of the City ofRome, to that ofArdmagh.The various and most signal Blessings derived to this Nation, from the salutary Mission of this illustrious Saint, require, in Gratitude, our giving the Reader yet a further Account of the Author of such Happiness and Glory toIreland.He was born in the extreme Bounds ofBritain, (in that Part thereof which is now comprehended within the Limits of the modernScotland) at a Village calledBanaven, in the Territory ofTabernia, (as he himself saith in his Confession) inVico Banaven Taberniæ, &c. He tells us that he was born of a good Family.Ingennuus fui secundum Carnem.His Father wasCalphurnius, a Deacon, who was the Son ofPotitus, a Priest; from whence may be clearly inferred that the Clergy were not restrained from Matrimony in that Age. He was just advanced into his sixteenth Year, when he was taken Captive, the Manner of which is thus related by St.Evinand others: His Father, Mother, Brother, and five Sisters, undertook a Voyage toAremorick Gaul, (now calledBass Bretagne) to visit the Relations of his MotherCouchessa. It happened about this Time, that the seven Sons ofFactmude, aBritishPrince, were banished, and took to the Sea; that, making an Inroad intoAremorick Gaul, they tookPatrick[pg 015]and his Sister,Lupita, (some sayTigridaalso) Prisoners. They brought their Captives to the North ofIreland, and soldPatricktoMilcho Mac Huanan, a Prince ofDalaradia: Others tell the Story in a different Manner, and with a stronger Degree of Probability. That theRomanshaving desertedBritain, to preserve their own Country from the barbarous Incursions of theNorthern Hive, theIrishmade frequent Conquests, inNorth Britainespecially, whence returning victorious, in one of those Expeditions among others broughtPatrickCaptive. But in this they all agree, and he himself confirms it, that he continued Prisoner inIrelandsix Years; he was sold toMilchoand his three Brothers, which gave Occasion of his changing his Name intoCathraigh, or ratherCeathir-Tigh, because he served four Masters;Ceathirsignifying four, andTigha House or Family.Milchoobserving the Care and Diligence of his new Servant, bought out the Shares of his Brothers, and made him his own Property. He sent him to feed his Hogs onSliev-Mis. And St.Patrickhimself tells us his Behaviour in this Office.“My constant Business was to feed the Hogs. I was frequent in Prayer; the Love and Fear of God more and more inflamed my Heart; my Faith was enlarged, and my Spirit augmented, so that I said an hundred Prayers by Day, and almost as many by Night. I arose before Day to my Prayers, in the Snow, in the Frost, and in the Rain, and yet I received no Damage; nor was I affected with Slothfulness; for then the Spirit of God was warm within me.”It was here he perfected himself in theIrishLanguage, the wonderful Providence of God visibly appearing in this Instance of his[pg 016]Captivity, that he should have the Opportunity in his tender Years of becoming well acquainted with the Language, Manners, and Dispositions of that People, to whom he was intended as a future Apostle. He continued six whole Years in Servitude, and in the seventh was released. There seems to have been a Law inIrelandfor this Purpose, agreeable to the Institution ofMoses, that a Servant should be released the seventh Year.Having parted from his Master, after a great Variety of Distresses, he at length arrived to his Parents, who received him with extraordinary Joy; with these he remained two Years, and probably would much longer, had he not by a Vision been quickened to a more active and glorious Life. In this he thought he saw a Man coming to him fromIreland, whose Name wasVictoricus, with a great Number of Letters; that he gave him one of them to read, in the Beginning of which were contained these Words,Vox-Hiberionacum, the Voice of theIrish: While he was reading this Letter, he thought the same Moment, that he heard the Voice of the Inhabitants who lived near the Wood ofFoclut, in the Barony ofTyr-Awley, and County ofMayo, hard by the Western Sea, crying to him with an audible and distinct Voice,“We intreat thee, holy Youth, to come and walk among us.”He was greatly amazed at this Vision, and awoke; it animated him, however, to his future Studies and heavenly Progress; so far even, that he tells us himself, he thanked God, that after many Years he had dealt with theIrish, according to their crying out.These early Scenes of this great Saint's Life, should, among many others, serve as lessons of[pg 017]Charity, Consideration, and Humility, to the Rich, the Great, the Proud, and the Wanton; who may recollect that, altho' he was well born, he was nevertheless, in the most vigorous Season of Life, a Slave and a Swine-Herd: Happy, though wretched Servitude! In which, his leisure Hours, mostly employed in Christian Confidence and Prayer, made him so signally the Favourite of Heaven, that from those cloudy Dawnings, he in Process of Time became a learned Doctor, a sanctified Missioner, a venerable Prelate, an eminent Primate, a national Apostle, and the bright Instructor of Kings! Such were the fruitful Rewards of uninterrupted unshaken Devotion, Piety, and Zeal! From this Time he formed the steady Resolution of converting theIrish; and, the better to accomplish the heavenly Task, he undertook a laborious Journey to foreign Countries, to enrich his Mind with Learning and Experience.He continued abroad thirty-five Years, pursuing his Studies under the Direction principally of his Mother's Uncle, St.Martin, Bishop ofTours, who had ordained him Deacon; and after his Death, partly with St.German, Bishop ofAuxerre, (who ordained him a Priest, and called his NameMagonius, which was the third Name he was known by,) partly among a Colony ofHermitsandMonks, in some Islands of theTuscanSea; and he employed a good Part of the Time in the City ofRome, among the Canons Regular of theLateranChurch: At length, having his Soul thoroughly tempered with religious Virtue, enlightened with the true Evangelical Faith, and his Understanding enlarged by the most profitable and edifying Studies, he arrived inIrelandabout the 60th[pg 018]Year of his Age; and in the Year of our Lord 432, landed in the County ofWicklow, where he began his Ministry, by the Conversion ofSinel, a great Man in that Country, the Grandson ofFinchad, who ought to be remembered, as he was the first Fruits of St.Patrick's Mission inIreland; he was the 8th in lineal Descent fromCormac, King ofLeinster, and came afterwards to be enumerated among the Saints ofIreland.From this Country he sailed to an Island on the Coast of the County ofDublin, called after himInis Phadring, and by theEnglish,Holm Patrickat this Day, where he and his faithful Companions rested after their Fatigues. FromInis Phadring, he sailed Northward to that Part ofUlstercalledUlidia, and put in atInbherslayingBay. When he and his Fellow Labourers landed,Dichu, the Son ofTrichem, Lord of the County, being informed that they were Pirates, came out with armed Men in order to kill them: But being struck with the venerable Appearance of St.Patrick, he gave him Audience, and listened attentively to the Word of Life preached by him; he changed his wicked Purpose, believed, and was baptized, and brought over all his Family to the Faith: It is further observed of him, that he was the first Person inUlster, who embraced Christianity. He dedicated the Land whereon his Conversion was wrought to the Service of God, where a Church was erected, changed after to an eminent Monastery. He travelled hence by Land toCluneboisinDalaradia, to endeavour the Conversion of his old MasterMilcho, whose Service he had left thirty-eight Years before; but this obstinate Prince, hearing of the great Success of St.Patrick's preaching, and ashamed to be persuaded[pg 019]in his old Age, to forsake the Religion of his Ancestors, (by one especially who had been his Servant, in a most inferior Station,) made a funeral Pile of his House and Goods, and by the Instigation of the Enemy of Mankind, burned himself therein: Thus endedMilcho McHuanan.Hence St.Patrickreturned toInis, the Habitation ofDichu, and in his Journey converted great Numbers to the true Faith ofChrist. In some time, he took his Leave ofDichu, and bent his course Southward by Sea, keeping the Coast on his Right-hand, and arrived at PortColbdi, where he landed, and committed the Care of his Vessel to his NephewLuman, desiring him to wait for him there forty Days, while he and his Disciples were travelling in the inner Parts of the Country to preach the Gospel. His Intention in this Journey was, to celebrate the Festival ofEasterin the Plains ofBregia, and to be in the Neighbourhood of the Great Triennial Convention atTarah, which at this Season was held by KingLeogair, and all his Tributary Princes, Nobles,Druids,Annalists,and Fileas. St.Patrickwisely foreseeing that whatever Impressions he should make on this august Assembly must have an Influence on the whole Kingdom, and therefore, being supported with invincible Christian Fortitude, resolved not to be absent from a Place where his Presence was so conducive to the Ends of his Holy Ministry.Never did the Spirit of popular Freedom exert itself more powerfully or harmoniously, than in those truly parliamentary Triennial Conventions ofIreland, where the supreme Monarch, the Provincial Kings, the feudatory Lords, the Nobles, landed Men,Druids, &c. by the[pg 020]unbiased Suffrages of the People, convened for the Peace, good Government and Security of each particular Province, as well as those of the whole Kingdom. Many Centuries had this wise Constitution subsisted here, before our Neighbours, even ofSouth Britain, knew any thing relative to Houses, or Raiment; it being notorious that so late as the Arrival ofJulius Cæsaramong them, they painted their Bodies, to render them terrible, and lived in the open Fields. It is really somewhat surprzing that People so near in Situation, should differ so essentially in Disposition, as the Inhabitants of those Islands have in all Ages; Hospitality having been the distinguishing Attribute of theIrish, and it's opposite Defect, that of theBritons; the Account given of them byHorace1700 and odd Years ago,Visam Britannes Hospitibus feros, being as literally applicable to them at this Day, where the Force of Education doth not operate to mitigate their natural Ferocity.But to return: St.Patrickin his Way toTarah, took up his Lodgings at the House of the hospitableSesgneninMeath, who kindly received and welcomed him. St.Patrickpreach'd Christ and his Gospel to him; he believed, and was baptized with his whole Family.From the House ofSesgnen, he moved Westward, and arrived onEaster EveatFierta-fir-feic, on the Northern Banks of the RiverBoyne, where he rested, resolving there to prepare for the next Day's Solemnity. It was penal for any Person at the Time of the Celebration of this solemn Convention atTarah, to kindle a Fire in the Province, before the King's Bonfire first appeared. I am of Opinion this was a religious Ceremony, as the chief Deity of the ancient Inhabitants,[pg 021]in exterior Worship especially, wasBel, orBelus; whenceApolloorAp-haul, the Son of the Sun, whom they emblematically worshipped, by those fiery Offerings; whence the first Day ofMay, peculiarly dedicated to thisBel, is even now inIrish, calledLha-Bel-Thinih, and probably from the same Source may be derived the Custom of lighting up Bonfires, and Sops, on the Eve of the 24th Day ofJune. St.Patrickhowever, either not knowing or not minding this Ceremony, lighted up a Fire before his Booth, which altho' eight Miles distant fromTarah, was very visible. It was seen with Astonishment from Court, and theDruidsinformed the King, that if he did not immediately extinguish the Fire, he who kindled it, and his Successors, should for ever hold the Principality ofIreland; which hath hitherto turned out a true Prediction of those Heathen Priests, in a Primatial and Spiritual Principality.The King dispatched Messengers to bringPatrickbefore him, and gave his positive Orders, that nobody should presume to rise out of his Seat, or pay him the least Honour: ButEre, the Son ofDego, ventured to disobey this Command; he arose, and offered the Holy Father his Seat. St.Patrickpreached to him and converted him. He became a Person of eminent Sanctity, and after some Time was consecrated by St.Patrick, Bishop ofSlain.The Day following, when St.Patrickand two of his Disciples appeared unexpectedly at Court, and preached to the King and his Nobles,Dubtach, the King's Poet Laureat, payed Honour and Respect to the Saint, and was converted by his Preaching.Fiech, a young Poet, who was under the Tuition ofDubtach, was also converted,[pg 022]and afterwards made Bishop ofSletty, and is said to have been the Author of a celebrated Poem, composed in Praise of St.Patrick.Anselm, Arch-Bishop ofCanterbury, relates the Conversion ofTingar, the Son ofClito, (one of the Nobles in this Assembly,) in the same Manner. The Queen also, and many others of the Court, became Christians; and altho' the King held out for a long Time with great Obstinacy, yet at last he submitted to be baptized. St.Patrickis said here to have wrought many Miracles: There could not truly, even according to the Purposes of human Wisdom, have happened a more solemn or weighty Occasion, for God Almighty's supporting this Holy Preacher by Miracles, than when the collective Body of the whole Nation was assembled together; from whose Report and Conviction, the Influences of his blessed Works and Doctrine must of Course spread through the whole Kingdom.His Conduct and Proceedings here, with a particular Detail of the Miracles wrought by him, may be had at large in the History of his Life, published byJohn Colgan.FromTarah, the Saint proceeded next toTalten, not far from thence, at the Season of the Royal Diversions: Here he preached toCairbre, andConall, the two Brothers of KingLeogin; the former received him with great Indignity, and perversely shut his Ears against his Doctrine; butConallbelieved, and was baptized, and gave St.Patricka Place to build a Church on.ThisConallwas Great-Grand-Father toColumb-Kill. He spent the Remainder of this Year inMeathandLouth, and the Districts adjoining, preaching, and converting great Numbers of People. TheTaltenianSports above-mentioned,[pg 023]have been much celebrated by theIrishHistorians, and Antiquaries. They were a kind of warlike Exercises, somewhat resembling theOlympickGames, consisting of Racing, Tilts, Tournaments, Wrestling, Leaping, Vaulting, and all other manly and martial Exercises, which gave Rise to the many hyperbolical Tales, formerly related of thoseTaltenianSports. They were exhibited every Year atTalten, a Mountain inMeath, for fifteen Days before, and fifteen Days after the First ofAugust. Their first Institution is ascribed toLughaid-lam-fadha, the twelfth King ofIreland, who began his ReignA. M.2764 (a sufficient Proof ofIreland's Antiquity as a Kingdom). They were ordained byLughaid, in Gratitude to the Memory ofTailte, the Daughter ofMagh-More, (a Prince of some Part ofSpain) who having been married toEochaid, King ofIreland, took the sameLughaidunder her Protection, and had the Care of his Education in his Minority. From this Princess both the Sports, and the Place where they were celebrated, took their Names: FromLughaid, the First ofAugustwas calledLugnasa, or the Memory ofLughaid,Nasasignifying Memory, in theIrishLanguage.In the Year of the World 2700,Gideonthen reigning fourth Judge of theHebrews, appear'd many Heroes, asHercules,Orpheus,Castor,Pollux, theArgonauts,Jason,Laomedon,Thesæus,Dedalus, &c. TheAmazones, Heroines ofScythicExtraction, having lost their Husbands in Battle, took up Arms themselves, with a manly Spirit of Resentment, and (inspired with Love of their deceased Husbands, and Grief for so great and irretrievable a Loss!) subduedAsia, and builtEphesus.HerculesandThesæuswaged[pg 024]War against those Heroines, and defeated them, more to the Glory of the Vanquished than their own, those Matrons having defended themselves with surprizing Resolution. They cut off the Guards set over them, and escaped the Severity and Pride of their Conquerors.Hercules, in Honour of such extraordinary heroick Females, instituted theOlympickGames; as likewise didThesæus, theIsthmian, in the Year of the World, about 2700, theTaltenianSports, the very same with theOlympick, brought sixty-four Years after fromSpainintoIreland, byTailte, and her Followers. Now thisTailte, Queen ofIreland, was the Grand-daughter of anAmazonePrincess, those immortal Females having, with their Progeny, Friends and Followers, to avoid the ruinous Hostilities ofHerculesandThesæus, sought Shelter inSpain, whither they imported the Learning ofTrismegistus, the Grandson ofMercury, and Glory ofÆgypt, together with all the literary Arts derived intoGreece, fromPhœnicia, byCadmus, the Brother ofEuropa, about the Year of the World 2530,Othonielthen reigning the first Judge of theHebrews. The Posterity of this ancient and illustrious Colony, about the Year of the World 3000, (Solomonthen reigning with great Splendour, third King of theHebrews) settled in this Kingdom, as before observed: So that, by an impartial Estimate of Dates, Periods, and Facts, our Origin is well ascertained, our early Possession of Letters, wise Policy, and the politer Arts, proved, and the Remark of anItalianMonk in the 7th Century, from the University ofMongret, in an Epistle to his Correspondent atRome, justified,Nil mirum Populum hunc Celtico Scythicum è præclarâ Amazonidum stirpê oriundum, verâ Religionê et[pg 025]incorruptâ Fide illuminatum, sapientia Doctrina optimisque Morbidus ornatum, viros fortes et Fæminas castas plerumque procreare. A Rescript of this Original Epistle still extant, in theVaticanLibrary, some Years ago in the Hands of Father DonLevy, may therefore, I believe, be found in the College ofLombardatParis.In this shining Period were Cathedrals and Churches erected, Universities founded and established, Colleges, Seminaries and Schools propagated in many Parts of this Kingdom, which, at the same Time, became a peaceful and hospitable Retreat to religious and learned Men, disturbed on the Continent ofEurope, by the frequent Invasions, and cruel Hostilities of the North-men, whose Piracies and Barbarity, evenIrelandcould not always escape! For, from the Time ofArtigrius, Archbishop ofArdmaghin 822, for near 200 Years the cruelDanesmiserably ravaged this Kingdom, destroying, by Fire and Sword, every Establishment, as well of Piety as Learning, (to both which, and to all religious Maxims of civilized Society, they had been avowed implacable Enemies) till they were themselves, in 1014, totally defeated atClontarf, by the invincible Arms of the Great Monarch,Bryan Borou, from whom descended a Race conspicuous for exemplary Prelates, heroick Leaders, and steady Patriots.The learned Author of theDissertationsbefore-mentioned, charges this Hero with a Violation of the Constitution of his Country: Yet the Violation seems of far earlier Date, when the supreme Monarchy was, by theHugonianLaw, inalienably united to one Family, whose Sovereignty, however founded originally, whether by Birth, or Election, was essential to the public[pg 026]Welfare: For we must allow that the Preservation of the People is the principal Law to which all others are subordinate.Salus Populi suprema Lex; and equally, that not only the Necessities, but the Safety also of the People, at that Time of Danger and Distraction, eagerly called forth the Conduct and Valour, the protective and restorative Abilities of that great and virtuous Man, of whom a faithful Historian, in his Detail of the Battle ofClontarf, says;Integrâ prius adept a Victoriâ rebus humanis eodem Diê excessit vir Bellô ac Pacê summus, Justitiæ, Religionis, Literarum, Cultor eximius, et cum Carolo Magno utique comparandus.In the 239th Page of theDissertations, the excellent Author expresseth himself as follows:“I now proceed to give some Account of the second Royal House ofScots, the oldest of theMilesianRace, and the Posterity ofEber.”This Race then being avowed the oldest, in Respect of Primogeniture, must, of Course, have been prior in Point of Dignity and Sway, or at least, equally entitled to the Election of the People to such Ranks; were not those by violent Measures annexed to theHeremonianLine: Yet, however this might have been, certain it is, that no Houses that we read of, ancient or modern, have produced a greater Number of truly heroick Princes, or of longer Continuance, than those of the North and SouthHy-Nial; from whom also issued many noble Families of real Worth, and equal Renown. WithBryan, the happy Genius ofIreland, in a great Measure, expired: For the cruelDaneshad, for near 200 Years before, so wofully overturned the Universities ofArdmagh,Dondaleith-Glass,Mongret, andLismore, with all other Seminaries of Piety[pg 027]and Learning, (the only genuine Sources of national Greatness, Concord, good Discipline, and Happiness) had obliged, in the 8th Century, so many learned Men to seek that Shelter and Security on the Continent, which the barbarous Hostilities, and impious Manners of those Northerns, denied them at Home; had made such frequent lamentable Breaches in the antient, wise Constitution of the Kingdom; had, by the fatal Example of their profligate dissolute Lives, so vitiated the national Morality; and finally, had left behind them so many noxious Seeds of Faction and Anarchy, as, in less than two Centuries, gave up a Kingdom, of above 2000 Years Establishment, the unaccountable Prey of a few adventurousNormans!Patrickgoverned the See ofDublinabout ten Years, and, in a Voyage toEngland, perished by Shipwreck, in theBritishSea, on the 16th ofOctober, 1084; having been sent toLanfranc, Archbishop ofCanterbury, by KingTirdelvac.Donat, orDongus O'Haingly, having spent some Time in the Study of useful Learning inIreland, went over intoEngland, and became a Benedictine Monk atCanterbury. He was afterwards, (by the Consent of KingTirdelvac, and the Clergy ofDublin) consecrated,A. D.1085, in the Cathedral ofCanterbury, by the before-mentionedLanfranc, to whom he made the following Profession of Obedience:“I,Donat, Bishop of the See ofDublininIreland, do promise Canonical Obedience to you,O' Lanfranc, Archbishop of the holy Church ofCanterbury, and to your Successors.”It is evident that the Title of the Kings ofEnglandto this Kingdom, by Papal Donation,[pg 028]or Appointment, was very insufficient, if not absolutely trifling: Nor could a Right of Conquest be urged in any Period of the Reign ofHenrythe Second, or his Descendants. But the Great and Royal Families ofIreland, long the Prey of Faction, deliberately preferred a limitted and stipulated Submission to foreign Authority, to the various Evils arising from intestine Feuds and Animosities; and this, had the wise Conditions thereof been constantly attended to, with mutual Observance, had been a sound Title, well and judiciously founded.True it is, that after the Surrender of the Crown by KingJohnto the See ofRome, the Pope exerted some temporal Authority in this Kingdom, instanced in his having createdMc. Con More Mc. Namaras2Duke ofKlan Cullane, a Man of great Valour and Piety, supported by ample Possessions in the Baronies ofTullaandBunratty, in the County ofClare; which extensive Districts entirely belonged to that ancient, hospitable, martial, and religious Race, of whichMc. Con Morewas Chief: TheMc. Namaras, more or less, have in all Ages made, and still continue to make, a distinguished Figure, as well in the Field, as in the learned Professions; and were formerly so warlike a People, that of themselves they formed an heroic Cavalry, justly stiled thePhalanxof that Part ofIrelandwherein they resided.How our Neighbours came to call uswaild Ayrish, I am a Loss to conjecture; it being evident[pg 029]we have been a thousand Years, at least, in Possession of Letters, Laws, and Civility, before the Arrival ofJulius CæsarinBritain.I am equally at a Loss to know why a Man should become a standing Jest for his Ignorance in an alien Tongue, almost the constant Fate of our Countrymen inBritain, where, whoever is not smartly expert in theEnglishLanguage, is immediately denominated aTeague, aPaddy, or I know not what, in the Stile of Derision: At the same Time that the most awkward-tonguedIrishmaninLondonspeaksEnglishwith far more Propriety, and a better Accent, than the smartestBritish Petit MaitreinParisdothFrench.Some dramatick Scriblers, (probably of our own degenerate Growth) the better to qualify them for eleemosinary Dinners, gave Rise to this impertinent Treatment of a Nation, which, from the concurrent Testimonies of all the Dispassionate and Learned, can, in Reality, be as little the Object of Scurrility, as any other.Why should even poorTeagueprove so constant a Butt, to Farce-wrights, and Hackney Laughers; when, upon Examination, he is, by a thousand Degrees, preferable to theBritishHobbinol, orFrenchGregoire? ForTeagueis a very Pattern of Hospitality; so much so, that if a Gentleman should happen to miss his Road, and be nessitated to seek the Shelter ofTeague's Cabbin, or Hut, was poorTeaguetrusting to two Sheep for his worldly Subsistance, he would kill one, and sell the other, at the next Village or Inn, for the better Entertainment of his Guest, and think himself happy in such an Occasion of approving his Generosity and Respect: He would the next Morning abandon his Spade, and chearfully trot ten Miles to shew[pg 030]such bewilder'd Gentleman the right Road. He is naturally civil, generous, and hospitable, (for scarce a Night passeth that poor Travellers are not entertained in his Cottage,) extremely respectful to his Superiors, and to his Lord and Master faithful to Death. The military Annals ofEuropeproclaim his Capacity and Taste for Fighting; then if you should take this identicalTeague's infant Son, and give him a regular liberal Education, it is one hundred to one, but he turns out a Gentleman of Merit, Learning, Worth, and Politeness; whereas it would certainly require more thanHerculeanLabour to chissel aFrench Paisan, a primitiveWestmoreland, orDevonshireBoor, not only into the Form of an elegant, but even into that of a sociable Creature.The Insignificancy of those Jesters and Spatterers, will more clearly appear, if we look back to the wise, free, and truly parliamentary Constitution of this Kingdom; if we recollect the vast Length of its Duration, as a free and independant State; the military Prowess of its Inhabitants in all Ages; their victorious Conflicts with theRomans, and with theFrenchunderHenrythe Vth, and the BlackPrince; their having founded a Monarchy inNorth Britain, whence, by a Right of Descent, in Addition to every other, his present Majesty, (whom God long preserve,) by the special Providence and infinite Mercy of Heaven, ruleth over us: If we consider the Number of our Universities, Colleges, and Academies, religious Monasteries and pious Seminaries, resorted to from all civilized Parts ofEurope, our Metropolitical and Diocesan Cathedrals; on such impartial Review, surely, the foregoing Tribe of Sneerers[pg 031]and Flouters must dwindle into deserved Contempt.I shall close this feeble Attempt on the antient State ofIreland, with the Description thereof byDonat, Bishop ofFesulæ, nearFlorence, in the 7th or 8th Century; referring, at the same Time, to the most authentickBritishAntiquaries,Campden,Giraldus Cambrensis,Buchanan,Ware, &c. for Confirmation of what hath been previously observed on the same Subject.

Essay.In a Nation, where almost every Gentleman is better acquainted, and more conversant, with the Nature and Circumstances of other Countries than those of his own, the Publication of such Hints as may somewhat contribute to remove so odd an Inattention, and induce those far better qualified to render a Subject so interesting some Justice, will not, I hope, be deemed an Impertinence; in one especially who, by this Essay, however feeble, hath nothing beside the Honour and Advantage of[pg 006]Irelandin View, a Kingdom whereof he is, without Vanity, proud of being a Native.As the Story of Savages and Barbarians can contain nothing instructive, or entertaining, theAntemilesianInhabitants of this Land having been mostly such, and all surviving Accounts of them almost totally overcast with Fable, we are therefore, in treating of the antientScotia, or modernIreland, to refer principally to three distinguished æras, whereof thefirstis, its being peopled by anIberianorSpanishColony: Thesecond, truly glorious, the Arrival of St.Patrick, in his most salutary Mission: Thethirdand last, its Cession toHenrythe Second, King ofEngland, (the first of the Royal Race ofPlantagenet) partly from a pretended Title ofAdrianthe Fourth, Pope ofRome; partly from the restless and insatiable Desires ofHenry;morefrom the manifold Infirmities of the then reigningIrishChiefs—but above all, from the peculiarly adverse Fate ofRoderick, the last of our Kings.The assiduous, exact, and candid Author of theDissertations,1lately published, on the Origin, Government, Letters, Sciences, Religion, Manners and Customs of the antient Inhabitants of this Country, hath put all those Matters in so clear and happy, and, at the same Time, in so strong a Light, by the Powers of various foreign Testimonies, of undeniable Authenticity, coincident with our own, that scarce any Thing new can be offered on the same Subject.It may, however, in general be observed, thatMilesius, aSpanishPrince, so far back as the Reign ofSolomon(instigated by Necessity, or induced by Ambition) with a considerable[pg 007]Number of Associates and Followers, landed from the Western Parts ofSpain, on the Southern Coasts of this Island, where it is probable they met little, or but faint Opposition, from wild and undisciplined Inhabitants.Those People, from their early Knowledge of thePhœnicianArts and Letters, imported such Rudiments of Government and Learning, as those primitive Times admitted; a Truth visible from the Similarity or rather Identity of thePhœnicianandScoticAlphabet.This antient Colony quietly settled here, remote from the Storms and Revolutions of the greater World, and secured by Situation from its hostile Incursions, there is no Doubt but the Cultivation of Religion, Philosophy, Politicks, Poetry, and Musick, became the chief Objects of popular Study and Application: The Spirit of Ambition in succeeding Ages, with its unhappy concomitant Train of Sedition, Faction, and Violence, the foreign Invasions, and often the intestine Oppressions and Calamities, to which our neighbouring Nations were subject, calling forth the protective or conciliating Aids of those ancient Heroes, made them great Masters also in the Art military.The Pentarchy originally formed by thoseIberianorCeltic Spaniards, with a popular Right of Election, was certainly a Kind of Government extremely consistent with the Essence and Genius of true Liberty, and a System derived from the Patriarchs themselves. For when the various Necessities of Society required a Subordination, together with some stated Maxims to go by, to avoid the confused and promiscuous Intercourse in a State of Nature; then did the People elect the most Virtuous and Wise, to lead[pg 008]and conduct them in Times of War and Trouble; to govern, inform, and protect them, in milder and more auspicious Seasons. Then was the Motto of the Crown, or of the chief Ensign of Pre-eminence,Digniori detur, and so continued till the Degeneracy of Time, and the baneful Growth of Avarice and Pride, with the feverish Lust of Power, perverted it to—Rapiat Fortior!Such, thro' a long Succession of Ages, was the Condition, and such at length the Fate of this Kingdom, destroyed after a longer Continuance than any other can boast, by the Abuse of its own Powers; a sure Argument that all created Beings, all sublunary Institutions, however wisely composed, in the very Essence of their Creation, and in the very Rudiments of their Formation, comprehend, at the same Time, the Seeds of Dissolution: Yet it is not more remarkable than true, that in the most boisterous Periods of this Kingdom's antient Establishment, the Arts and Sciences, with the fundamental Principles of Constitution, were preserved and cherished with inviolable Assiduity. The Priests, Philosophers, Advocates, Annalists, Poets and Musicians, were obliged to preserve Religion, political Wisdom, Law, History,&c.hereditarily in their respective Tribes, and to educate in these different Branches the Chiefs and Nobles of the Land, for which they were graciously maintained in secure and splendid Tranquillity: Those Sages attended the National Conventions, where all publick Acts were religiously recorded, and all Abuses of Power and Government retrenched or reformed; nor were they permitted, except in Case of extraordinary Necessity, or uncommon Merit, to deviate from[pg 009]their proper and primitive Spheres of Action: Since, where an harmonious Subordination of Rank and Order hath not been duly preserved, even in free Estates, Liberty itself (wisely attempered, the greatest of all social Blessings) hath often, from Abuse and Neglect, sickened into Licentiousness, the immediate lewd Mother of Anarchy! In the visible Creation, the direct Result of infinite Wisdom, the lesser Planets do not interfere with, much less shock or oppose the Motions and Revolutions of the greater; they constantly keep the Distances first prescribed them, and all move regularly to their respective Ends. The most verdant and fragrant Meadows may, from the too frequent Irruption of muddy Waters, degenerate into noxious Marshes, if some Care was not taken to divert those impure Gushings into their proper Channels. Hence it may be inferred, that laying open the most honorary, as well as important and useful Professions of Society, to the Intrusion, or rather pyratical Invasions, of the Scum and Dregs of the People, cannot, however varnished over with the fictitious Colourings of pretended Liberty, consist with true Political Wisdom.Those ancientSophiandLiteratienjoyed their Places with the greater Security, that they were uninvadable by the inferior Classes of Mankind; with the greater Content and Chearfulness, that much Esteem and Emolument were connected with them: The Priest and Advocate informed and directed the Conscience and Conduct; the Historian and Annalist recorded the Institutions; the Poet and Musician celebrated and sung the Exploits of their Kings and Leaders: No Wonder then this Kingdom should[pg 010]have been revered at Home, and admired Abroad; when Religion formed, Erudition nurtured, Philosophy strengthened, History preserved, Rhetorick adorned, Musick softened, and Poesy refined, the National Wisdom and Accomplishments; to all which was added, a thorough Knowledge of Tactics, and great Skill and Agility in all the athletick Arts, and bodily Exercises.In the Versions of some original Codes exported by our Countryman, the learned and pious St.Fiechry, still extant in theNavarreLibrary atParis, the Constitutional Wisdom ofIrelandappears in a clear and happy Light: Persons, Things, Actions, and Expressions, were cautiously attended to, by the Laws;Persons, in their Minority, Youth, and Manhood, according to their different Ranks in the State, so as by Care, Education, and Discipline, to render them, some subservient, others useful, some beneficial, and others ornamental thereunto.Things, so carefully, as to prevent, by prohibatory Laws, Wastes of whatsoever Kind, and to ascertain to each Individual, as well as Society, their proper and distinct Rights.Actions, by directing those in general, and particular, to the Honour of the Deity and Welfare of the Community:Expression, by the penal Interdiction of prophane Cursing and Swearing, Obscenity, Scurrility, Calumny, and Detraction, yet with a full Indulgence of proper Satire against such as merited popular Reprehension, or Contempt; the Satirist's Pen in those Days being as much dreaded, or rather more so, than the Magistrate's Rod, and consequently as diligently avoided by a Demeanour absolutely irreproachable.[pg 011]It appeareth that, under the antient Government ofIreland, the Education of the landed Gentry, when Luxury, with its wasteful Catalogue of Vices, had not rendered Property so mutable and wavering as in modern Ages, was provided for; whether by the immediate Care of Parents, or essential Attention of Guardians, by the Laws of the Land; in order that Gentlemen should, to the Antiquity of Birth and Possession, add the important Dignity of Learning, and social Refinement of Arts: Since a Man at the Head of an original Estate, who should want the necessary Cultivation of Letters, was considered only as a Peasant in Disguise, and not more respected than a Hewer of Wood, or Drawer of Water.In these Writings of St.Fiechry, the legislative Wisdom ofOlam-Fodla; the philosophically-religious Capacity ofCormac-O Quin, who, from the pure Light of Nature, in a great Measure defeated the absurdPolytheismof theDruids; the consummate Integrity and Impartiality ofFederachthe Just, andMoranhis Chief Justice; the Magnanimity ofCon-Ked-Cathagh; the Conquests ofKineth Mac Alpin; the long, glorious, and peaceful Reign ofConarythe Great,coævalwith the Birth of our Blessed Lord and SaviourJesus Christ, (undoubtedly the happiest, brightest, and most blissful Period the World ever saw;) are all displayed in a copious masterly Style, yet with strict chronological Exactness.This learned St.Fiechrywas Founder of the University inParis, in the Beginning of the 8th Century. The better to enable him to carry on that noble Work, he obtained ofCharlesthe Great a Tax on all Wheel-Carriages, within[pg 012]the Barriers of that City: Whence, a Hackney-Coach is at this Day technically term'dFiacre.Charlesthe Great, in order to repair the cruel and truly lamentable literary Dilapidations of the ferocious North-men, invited Numbers of the learned and piousIrishto the Continent, where he established and entertained them with Dignity, Tenderness, and Respect. In a curious Manuscript ofNicholaus Gurtlerus, (now in theFrenchKing'sParisianLibrary) Author of theOrigines Mundi, where he alludes to these Times, you find the following favourable, but true Account ofIreland.—Temporibus illis, barbaris Normannorum Cohortibus undequaque irrumpentibus, Religio, Fides, Philosophia, Virtus, Hospitalitas, Fortitudo, Castitas, necnon et Amœniores omnium generum Artes, Hibernia solummodò natali, veluti Solo, viguerunt; little Wonder thatIrelandshould have been esteemed theIerne, or sacred Isle of theGreeks, theInsula Sanctorum, or Island of Saints of theRomans.—Would to Heaven our Countrymen had, upon all considerable Occasions, recollected those deserved Encomiums, thereby to approve them worthy their applauded Origin, and native Soil!We now proceed to considerIrelandin her happiest and brightest View, after the Admission and Propagation of Christianity. It is certain there were many Christians inIreland, before the Arrival ofPalladiusin 431, or of St.Patrickthe Year following: St.Kieran, St.Ailbe, St.Declan, and St.Ibar, whomUsshercalls the Precursors, or Forerunners of St.Patrick, are pregnant Proofs of this; they were of the Birth ofIreland, from whence they travelled toRome, in Search of Education and Learning, where[pg 013]they lived some Years, were ordained, and returned Home about the Year 402.It seems that those early Preachers confined their Labours to particular Places, in which they had considerable Success, but fell very short of converting the Body of the Nation: However, they sowed the Seed which St.Patrickcame after to water: And it is certain that St.Patrickwas so well satisfied with the Progress they made, in their particular Districts inMunster, that this was the last Province inIrelandhe thought proper to visit. That there were many Christians inIreland, at this Period, seems to be confirmed byProsper, who, in giving an Account of the Mission ofPalladius, says, that he was ordained by PopeCelestin, and sent the first Bishop to theScotsbelieving in Christ. This Passage can mean nothing else, but thatPalladius, born in Britain, was sent to the Scots [i.e. theIrish] who had already formed Churches underKieran,Ailbe,DeclanandIbar; and so the Bishop of St.Asaphexpounds it. This then was the next Attempt that was made for the Conversion of theIrish:Palladiusengaged in a more ample and extensive Design than his Predecessors, yet he failed in the Execution of it, stay'd but a short Time inIreland, and did little worth remembring; he converted, however, a few, and is said to have founded three Churches; but he had neither Courage to withstand the Fierceness of the heathenIrish, nor Abilities, for Want of the Language, proper for the Work.Nathi, the Son ofGarcon, anIrishPrince, opposed his preaching; upon whichPalladiusleft the Kingdom, and died in the Land of thePicts, on the 15th ofDecember, 431. This[pg 014]glorious Work was reserved for St.Patrick, to whose holy Life, divine Mission, and extraordinary Success, I refer the Reader. This great Apostle of theIrishfounded and built the Cathedral Church ofArdmagh, about the Year 444, or 45, which, from that early Period to this, hath continued the Metropolitan Church of allIreland. So that 1194 Years passed away from the Founding of the City ofRome, to that ofArdmagh.The various and most signal Blessings derived to this Nation, from the salutary Mission of this illustrious Saint, require, in Gratitude, our giving the Reader yet a further Account of the Author of such Happiness and Glory toIreland.He was born in the extreme Bounds ofBritain, (in that Part thereof which is now comprehended within the Limits of the modernScotland) at a Village calledBanaven, in the Territory ofTabernia, (as he himself saith in his Confession) inVico Banaven Taberniæ, &c. He tells us that he was born of a good Family.Ingennuus fui secundum Carnem.His Father wasCalphurnius, a Deacon, who was the Son ofPotitus, a Priest; from whence may be clearly inferred that the Clergy were not restrained from Matrimony in that Age. He was just advanced into his sixteenth Year, when he was taken Captive, the Manner of which is thus related by St.Evinand others: His Father, Mother, Brother, and five Sisters, undertook a Voyage toAremorick Gaul, (now calledBass Bretagne) to visit the Relations of his MotherCouchessa. It happened about this Time, that the seven Sons ofFactmude, aBritishPrince, were banished, and took to the Sea; that, making an Inroad intoAremorick Gaul, they tookPatrick[pg 015]and his Sister,Lupita, (some sayTigridaalso) Prisoners. They brought their Captives to the North ofIreland, and soldPatricktoMilcho Mac Huanan, a Prince ofDalaradia: Others tell the Story in a different Manner, and with a stronger Degree of Probability. That theRomanshaving desertedBritain, to preserve their own Country from the barbarous Incursions of theNorthern Hive, theIrishmade frequent Conquests, inNorth Britainespecially, whence returning victorious, in one of those Expeditions among others broughtPatrickCaptive. But in this they all agree, and he himself confirms it, that he continued Prisoner inIrelandsix Years; he was sold toMilchoand his three Brothers, which gave Occasion of his changing his Name intoCathraigh, or ratherCeathir-Tigh, because he served four Masters;Ceathirsignifying four, andTigha House or Family.Milchoobserving the Care and Diligence of his new Servant, bought out the Shares of his Brothers, and made him his own Property. He sent him to feed his Hogs onSliev-Mis. And St.Patrickhimself tells us his Behaviour in this Office.“My constant Business was to feed the Hogs. I was frequent in Prayer; the Love and Fear of God more and more inflamed my Heart; my Faith was enlarged, and my Spirit augmented, so that I said an hundred Prayers by Day, and almost as many by Night. I arose before Day to my Prayers, in the Snow, in the Frost, and in the Rain, and yet I received no Damage; nor was I affected with Slothfulness; for then the Spirit of God was warm within me.”It was here he perfected himself in theIrishLanguage, the wonderful Providence of God visibly appearing in this Instance of his[pg 016]Captivity, that he should have the Opportunity in his tender Years of becoming well acquainted with the Language, Manners, and Dispositions of that People, to whom he was intended as a future Apostle. He continued six whole Years in Servitude, and in the seventh was released. There seems to have been a Law inIrelandfor this Purpose, agreeable to the Institution ofMoses, that a Servant should be released the seventh Year.Having parted from his Master, after a great Variety of Distresses, he at length arrived to his Parents, who received him with extraordinary Joy; with these he remained two Years, and probably would much longer, had he not by a Vision been quickened to a more active and glorious Life. In this he thought he saw a Man coming to him fromIreland, whose Name wasVictoricus, with a great Number of Letters; that he gave him one of them to read, in the Beginning of which were contained these Words,Vox-Hiberionacum, the Voice of theIrish: While he was reading this Letter, he thought the same Moment, that he heard the Voice of the Inhabitants who lived near the Wood ofFoclut, in the Barony ofTyr-Awley, and County ofMayo, hard by the Western Sea, crying to him with an audible and distinct Voice,“We intreat thee, holy Youth, to come and walk among us.”He was greatly amazed at this Vision, and awoke; it animated him, however, to his future Studies and heavenly Progress; so far even, that he tells us himself, he thanked God, that after many Years he had dealt with theIrish, according to their crying out.These early Scenes of this great Saint's Life, should, among many others, serve as lessons of[pg 017]Charity, Consideration, and Humility, to the Rich, the Great, the Proud, and the Wanton; who may recollect that, altho' he was well born, he was nevertheless, in the most vigorous Season of Life, a Slave and a Swine-Herd: Happy, though wretched Servitude! In which, his leisure Hours, mostly employed in Christian Confidence and Prayer, made him so signally the Favourite of Heaven, that from those cloudy Dawnings, he in Process of Time became a learned Doctor, a sanctified Missioner, a venerable Prelate, an eminent Primate, a national Apostle, and the bright Instructor of Kings! Such were the fruitful Rewards of uninterrupted unshaken Devotion, Piety, and Zeal! From this Time he formed the steady Resolution of converting theIrish; and, the better to accomplish the heavenly Task, he undertook a laborious Journey to foreign Countries, to enrich his Mind with Learning and Experience.He continued abroad thirty-five Years, pursuing his Studies under the Direction principally of his Mother's Uncle, St.Martin, Bishop ofTours, who had ordained him Deacon; and after his Death, partly with St.German, Bishop ofAuxerre, (who ordained him a Priest, and called his NameMagonius, which was the third Name he was known by,) partly among a Colony ofHermitsandMonks, in some Islands of theTuscanSea; and he employed a good Part of the Time in the City ofRome, among the Canons Regular of theLateranChurch: At length, having his Soul thoroughly tempered with religious Virtue, enlightened with the true Evangelical Faith, and his Understanding enlarged by the most profitable and edifying Studies, he arrived inIrelandabout the 60th[pg 018]Year of his Age; and in the Year of our Lord 432, landed in the County ofWicklow, where he began his Ministry, by the Conversion ofSinel, a great Man in that Country, the Grandson ofFinchad, who ought to be remembered, as he was the first Fruits of St.Patrick's Mission inIreland; he was the 8th in lineal Descent fromCormac, King ofLeinster, and came afterwards to be enumerated among the Saints ofIreland.From this Country he sailed to an Island on the Coast of the County ofDublin, called after himInis Phadring, and by theEnglish,Holm Patrickat this Day, where he and his faithful Companions rested after their Fatigues. FromInis Phadring, he sailed Northward to that Part ofUlstercalledUlidia, and put in atInbherslayingBay. When he and his Fellow Labourers landed,Dichu, the Son ofTrichem, Lord of the County, being informed that they were Pirates, came out with armed Men in order to kill them: But being struck with the venerable Appearance of St.Patrick, he gave him Audience, and listened attentively to the Word of Life preached by him; he changed his wicked Purpose, believed, and was baptized, and brought over all his Family to the Faith: It is further observed of him, that he was the first Person inUlster, who embraced Christianity. He dedicated the Land whereon his Conversion was wrought to the Service of God, where a Church was erected, changed after to an eminent Monastery. He travelled hence by Land toCluneboisinDalaradia, to endeavour the Conversion of his old MasterMilcho, whose Service he had left thirty-eight Years before; but this obstinate Prince, hearing of the great Success of St.Patrick's preaching, and ashamed to be persuaded[pg 019]in his old Age, to forsake the Religion of his Ancestors, (by one especially who had been his Servant, in a most inferior Station,) made a funeral Pile of his House and Goods, and by the Instigation of the Enemy of Mankind, burned himself therein: Thus endedMilcho McHuanan.Hence St.Patrickreturned toInis, the Habitation ofDichu, and in his Journey converted great Numbers to the true Faith ofChrist. In some time, he took his Leave ofDichu, and bent his course Southward by Sea, keeping the Coast on his Right-hand, and arrived at PortColbdi, where he landed, and committed the Care of his Vessel to his NephewLuman, desiring him to wait for him there forty Days, while he and his Disciples were travelling in the inner Parts of the Country to preach the Gospel. His Intention in this Journey was, to celebrate the Festival ofEasterin the Plains ofBregia, and to be in the Neighbourhood of the Great Triennial Convention atTarah, which at this Season was held by KingLeogair, and all his Tributary Princes, Nobles,Druids,Annalists,and Fileas. St.Patrickwisely foreseeing that whatever Impressions he should make on this august Assembly must have an Influence on the whole Kingdom, and therefore, being supported with invincible Christian Fortitude, resolved not to be absent from a Place where his Presence was so conducive to the Ends of his Holy Ministry.Never did the Spirit of popular Freedom exert itself more powerfully or harmoniously, than in those truly parliamentary Triennial Conventions ofIreland, where the supreme Monarch, the Provincial Kings, the feudatory Lords, the Nobles, landed Men,Druids, &c. by the[pg 020]unbiased Suffrages of the People, convened for the Peace, good Government and Security of each particular Province, as well as those of the whole Kingdom. Many Centuries had this wise Constitution subsisted here, before our Neighbours, even ofSouth Britain, knew any thing relative to Houses, or Raiment; it being notorious that so late as the Arrival ofJulius Cæsaramong them, they painted their Bodies, to render them terrible, and lived in the open Fields. It is really somewhat surprzing that People so near in Situation, should differ so essentially in Disposition, as the Inhabitants of those Islands have in all Ages; Hospitality having been the distinguishing Attribute of theIrish, and it's opposite Defect, that of theBritons; the Account given of them byHorace1700 and odd Years ago,Visam Britannes Hospitibus feros, being as literally applicable to them at this Day, where the Force of Education doth not operate to mitigate their natural Ferocity.But to return: St.Patrickin his Way toTarah, took up his Lodgings at the House of the hospitableSesgneninMeath, who kindly received and welcomed him. St.Patrickpreach'd Christ and his Gospel to him; he believed, and was baptized with his whole Family.From the House ofSesgnen, he moved Westward, and arrived onEaster EveatFierta-fir-feic, on the Northern Banks of the RiverBoyne, where he rested, resolving there to prepare for the next Day's Solemnity. It was penal for any Person at the Time of the Celebration of this solemn Convention atTarah, to kindle a Fire in the Province, before the King's Bonfire first appeared. I am of Opinion this was a religious Ceremony, as the chief Deity of the ancient Inhabitants,[pg 021]in exterior Worship especially, wasBel, orBelus; whenceApolloorAp-haul, the Son of the Sun, whom they emblematically worshipped, by those fiery Offerings; whence the first Day ofMay, peculiarly dedicated to thisBel, is even now inIrish, calledLha-Bel-Thinih, and probably from the same Source may be derived the Custom of lighting up Bonfires, and Sops, on the Eve of the 24th Day ofJune. St.Patrickhowever, either not knowing or not minding this Ceremony, lighted up a Fire before his Booth, which altho' eight Miles distant fromTarah, was very visible. It was seen with Astonishment from Court, and theDruidsinformed the King, that if he did not immediately extinguish the Fire, he who kindled it, and his Successors, should for ever hold the Principality ofIreland; which hath hitherto turned out a true Prediction of those Heathen Priests, in a Primatial and Spiritual Principality.The King dispatched Messengers to bringPatrickbefore him, and gave his positive Orders, that nobody should presume to rise out of his Seat, or pay him the least Honour: ButEre, the Son ofDego, ventured to disobey this Command; he arose, and offered the Holy Father his Seat. St.Patrickpreached to him and converted him. He became a Person of eminent Sanctity, and after some Time was consecrated by St.Patrick, Bishop ofSlain.The Day following, when St.Patrickand two of his Disciples appeared unexpectedly at Court, and preached to the King and his Nobles,Dubtach, the King's Poet Laureat, payed Honour and Respect to the Saint, and was converted by his Preaching.Fiech, a young Poet, who was under the Tuition ofDubtach, was also converted,[pg 022]and afterwards made Bishop ofSletty, and is said to have been the Author of a celebrated Poem, composed in Praise of St.Patrick.Anselm, Arch-Bishop ofCanterbury, relates the Conversion ofTingar, the Son ofClito, (one of the Nobles in this Assembly,) in the same Manner. The Queen also, and many others of the Court, became Christians; and altho' the King held out for a long Time with great Obstinacy, yet at last he submitted to be baptized. St.Patrickis said here to have wrought many Miracles: There could not truly, even according to the Purposes of human Wisdom, have happened a more solemn or weighty Occasion, for God Almighty's supporting this Holy Preacher by Miracles, than when the collective Body of the whole Nation was assembled together; from whose Report and Conviction, the Influences of his blessed Works and Doctrine must of Course spread through the whole Kingdom.His Conduct and Proceedings here, with a particular Detail of the Miracles wrought by him, may be had at large in the History of his Life, published byJohn Colgan.FromTarah, the Saint proceeded next toTalten, not far from thence, at the Season of the Royal Diversions: Here he preached toCairbre, andConall, the two Brothers of KingLeogin; the former received him with great Indignity, and perversely shut his Ears against his Doctrine; butConallbelieved, and was baptized, and gave St.Patricka Place to build a Church on.ThisConallwas Great-Grand-Father toColumb-Kill. He spent the Remainder of this Year inMeathandLouth, and the Districts adjoining, preaching, and converting great Numbers of People. TheTaltenianSports above-mentioned,[pg 023]have been much celebrated by theIrishHistorians, and Antiquaries. They were a kind of warlike Exercises, somewhat resembling theOlympickGames, consisting of Racing, Tilts, Tournaments, Wrestling, Leaping, Vaulting, and all other manly and martial Exercises, which gave Rise to the many hyperbolical Tales, formerly related of thoseTaltenianSports. They were exhibited every Year atTalten, a Mountain inMeath, for fifteen Days before, and fifteen Days after the First ofAugust. Their first Institution is ascribed toLughaid-lam-fadha, the twelfth King ofIreland, who began his ReignA. M.2764 (a sufficient Proof ofIreland's Antiquity as a Kingdom). They were ordained byLughaid, in Gratitude to the Memory ofTailte, the Daughter ofMagh-More, (a Prince of some Part ofSpain) who having been married toEochaid, King ofIreland, took the sameLughaidunder her Protection, and had the Care of his Education in his Minority. From this Princess both the Sports, and the Place where they were celebrated, took their Names: FromLughaid, the First ofAugustwas calledLugnasa, or the Memory ofLughaid,Nasasignifying Memory, in theIrishLanguage.In the Year of the World 2700,Gideonthen reigning fourth Judge of theHebrews, appear'd many Heroes, asHercules,Orpheus,Castor,Pollux, theArgonauts,Jason,Laomedon,Thesæus,Dedalus, &c. TheAmazones, Heroines ofScythicExtraction, having lost their Husbands in Battle, took up Arms themselves, with a manly Spirit of Resentment, and (inspired with Love of their deceased Husbands, and Grief for so great and irretrievable a Loss!) subduedAsia, and builtEphesus.HerculesandThesæuswaged[pg 024]War against those Heroines, and defeated them, more to the Glory of the Vanquished than their own, those Matrons having defended themselves with surprizing Resolution. They cut off the Guards set over them, and escaped the Severity and Pride of their Conquerors.Hercules, in Honour of such extraordinary heroick Females, instituted theOlympickGames; as likewise didThesæus, theIsthmian, in the Year of the World, about 2700, theTaltenianSports, the very same with theOlympick, brought sixty-four Years after fromSpainintoIreland, byTailte, and her Followers. Now thisTailte, Queen ofIreland, was the Grand-daughter of anAmazonePrincess, those immortal Females having, with their Progeny, Friends and Followers, to avoid the ruinous Hostilities ofHerculesandThesæus, sought Shelter inSpain, whither they imported the Learning ofTrismegistus, the Grandson ofMercury, and Glory ofÆgypt, together with all the literary Arts derived intoGreece, fromPhœnicia, byCadmus, the Brother ofEuropa, about the Year of the World 2530,Othonielthen reigning the first Judge of theHebrews. The Posterity of this ancient and illustrious Colony, about the Year of the World 3000, (Solomonthen reigning with great Splendour, third King of theHebrews) settled in this Kingdom, as before observed: So that, by an impartial Estimate of Dates, Periods, and Facts, our Origin is well ascertained, our early Possession of Letters, wise Policy, and the politer Arts, proved, and the Remark of anItalianMonk in the 7th Century, from the University ofMongret, in an Epistle to his Correspondent atRome, justified,Nil mirum Populum hunc Celtico Scythicum è præclarâ Amazonidum stirpê oriundum, verâ Religionê et[pg 025]incorruptâ Fide illuminatum, sapientia Doctrina optimisque Morbidus ornatum, viros fortes et Fæminas castas plerumque procreare. A Rescript of this Original Epistle still extant, in theVaticanLibrary, some Years ago in the Hands of Father DonLevy, may therefore, I believe, be found in the College ofLombardatParis.In this shining Period were Cathedrals and Churches erected, Universities founded and established, Colleges, Seminaries and Schools propagated in many Parts of this Kingdom, which, at the same Time, became a peaceful and hospitable Retreat to religious and learned Men, disturbed on the Continent ofEurope, by the frequent Invasions, and cruel Hostilities of the North-men, whose Piracies and Barbarity, evenIrelandcould not always escape! For, from the Time ofArtigrius, Archbishop ofArdmaghin 822, for near 200 Years the cruelDanesmiserably ravaged this Kingdom, destroying, by Fire and Sword, every Establishment, as well of Piety as Learning, (to both which, and to all religious Maxims of civilized Society, they had been avowed implacable Enemies) till they were themselves, in 1014, totally defeated atClontarf, by the invincible Arms of the Great Monarch,Bryan Borou, from whom descended a Race conspicuous for exemplary Prelates, heroick Leaders, and steady Patriots.The learned Author of theDissertationsbefore-mentioned, charges this Hero with a Violation of the Constitution of his Country: Yet the Violation seems of far earlier Date, when the supreme Monarchy was, by theHugonianLaw, inalienably united to one Family, whose Sovereignty, however founded originally, whether by Birth, or Election, was essential to the public[pg 026]Welfare: For we must allow that the Preservation of the People is the principal Law to which all others are subordinate.Salus Populi suprema Lex; and equally, that not only the Necessities, but the Safety also of the People, at that Time of Danger and Distraction, eagerly called forth the Conduct and Valour, the protective and restorative Abilities of that great and virtuous Man, of whom a faithful Historian, in his Detail of the Battle ofClontarf, says;Integrâ prius adept a Victoriâ rebus humanis eodem Diê excessit vir Bellô ac Pacê summus, Justitiæ, Religionis, Literarum, Cultor eximius, et cum Carolo Magno utique comparandus.In the 239th Page of theDissertations, the excellent Author expresseth himself as follows:“I now proceed to give some Account of the second Royal House ofScots, the oldest of theMilesianRace, and the Posterity ofEber.”This Race then being avowed the oldest, in Respect of Primogeniture, must, of Course, have been prior in Point of Dignity and Sway, or at least, equally entitled to the Election of the People to such Ranks; were not those by violent Measures annexed to theHeremonianLine: Yet, however this might have been, certain it is, that no Houses that we read of, ancient or modern, have produced a greater Number of truly heroick Princes, or of longer Continuance, than those of the North and SouthHy-Nial; from whom also issued many noble Families of real Worth, and equal Renown. WithBryan, the happy Genius ofIreland, in a great Measure, expired: For the cruelDaneshad, for near 200 Years before, so wofully overturned the Universities ofArdmagh,Dondaleith-Glass,Mongret, andLismore, with all other Seminaries of Piety[pg 027]and Learning, (the only genuine Sources of national Greatness, Concord, good Discipline, and Happiness) had obliged, in the 8th Century, so many learned Men to seek that Shelter and Security on the Continent, which the barbarous Hostilities, and impious Manners of those Northerns, denied them at Home; had made such frequent lamentable Breaches in the antient, wise Constitution of the Kingdom; had, by the fatal Example of their profligate dissolute Lives, so vitiated the national Morality; and finally, had left behind them so many noxious Seeds of Faction and Anarchy, as, in less than two Centuries, gave up a Kingdom, of above 2000 Years Establishment, the unaccountable Prey of a few adventurousNormans!Patrickgoverned the See ofDublinabout ten Years, and, in a Voyage toEngland, perished by Shipwreck, in theBritishSea, on the 16th ofOctober, 1084; having been sent toLanfranc, Archbishop ofCanterbury, by KingTirdelvac.Donat, orDongus O'Haingly, having spent some Time in the Study of useful Learning inIreland, went over intoEngland, and became a Benedictine Monk atCanterbury. He was afterwards, (by the Consent of KingTirdelvac, and the Clergy ofDublin) consecrated,A. D.1085, in the Cathedral ofCanterbury, by the before-mentionedLanfranc, to whom he made the following Profession of Obedience:“I,Donat, Bishop of the See ofDublininIreland, do promise Canonical Obedience to you,O' Lanfranc, Archbishop of the holy Church ofCanterbury, and to your Successors.”It is evident that the Title of the Kings ofEnglandto this Kingdom, by Papal Donation,[pg 028]or Appointment, was very insufficient, if not absolutely trifling: Nor could a Right of Conquest be urged in any Period of the Reign ofHenrythe Second, or his Descendants. But the Great and Royal Families ofIreland, long the Prey of Faction, deliberately preferred a limitted and stipulated Submission to foreign Authority, to the various Evils arising from intestine Feuds and Animosities; and this, had the wise Conditions thereof been constantly attended to, with mutual Observance, had been a sound Title, well and judiciously founded.True it is, that after the Surrender of the Crown by KingJohnto the See ofRome, the Pope exerted some temporal Authority in this Kingdom, instanced in his having createdMc. Con More Mc. Namaras2Duke ofKlan Cullane, a Man of great Valour and Piety, supported by ample Possessions in the Baronies ofTullaandBunratty, in the County ofClare; which extensive Districts entirely belonged to that ancient, hospitable, martial, and religious Race, of whichMc. Con Morewas Chief: TheMc. Namaras, more or less, have in all Ages made, and still continue to make, a distinguished Figure, as well in the Field, as in the learned Professions; and were formerly so warlike a People, that of themselves they formed an heroic Cavalry, justly stiled thePhalanxof that Part ofIrelandwherein they resided.How our Neighbours came to call uswaild Ayrish, I am a Loss to conjecture; it being evident[pg 029]we have been a thousand Years, at least, in Possession of Letters, Laws, and Civility, before the Arrival ofJulius CæsarinBritain.I am equally at a Loss to know why a Man should become a standing Jest for his Ignorance in an alien Tongue, almost the constant Fate of our Countrymen inBritain, where, whoever is not smartly expert in theEnglishLanguage, is immediately denominated aTeague, aPaddy, or I know not what, in the Stile of Derision: At the same Time that the most awkward-tonguedIrishmaninLondonspeaksEnglishwith far more Propriety, and a better Accent, than the smartestBritish Petit MaitreinParisdothFrench.Some dramatick Scriblers, (probably of our own degenerate Growth) the better to qualify them for eleemosinary Dinners, gave Rise to this impertinent Treatment of a Nation, which, from the concurrent Testimonies of all the Dispassionate and Learned, can, in Reality, be as little the Object of Scurrility, as any other.Why should even poorTeagueprove so constant a Butt, to Farce-wrights, and Hackney Laughers; when, upon Examination, he is, by a thousand Degrees, preferable to theBritishHobbinol, orFrenchGregoire? ForTeagueis a very Pattern of Hospitality; so much so, that if a Gentleman should happen to miss his Road, and be nessitated to seek the Shelter ofTeague's Cabbin, or Hut, was poorTeaguetrusting to two Sheep for his worldly Subsistance, he would kill one, and sell the other, at the next Village or Inn, for the better Entertainment of his Guest, and think himself happy in such an Occasion of approving his Generosity and Respect: He would the next Morning abandon his Spade, and chearfully trot ten Miles to shew[pg 030]such bewilder'd Gentleman the right Road. He is naturally civil, generous, and hospitable, (for scarce a Night passeth that poor Travellers are not entertained in his Cottage,) extremely respectful to his Superiors, and to his Lord and Master faithful to Death. The military Annals ofEuropeproclaim his Capacity and Taste for Fighting; then if you should take this identicalTeague's infant Son, and give him a regular liberal Education, it is one hundred to one, but he turns out a Gentleman of Merit, Learning, Worth, and Politeness; whereas it would certainly require more thanHerculeanLabour to chissel aFrench Paisan, a primitiveWestmoreland, orDevonshireBoor, not only into the Form of an elegant, but even into that of a sociable Creature.The Insignificancy of those Jesters and Spatterers, will more clearly appear, if we look back to the wise, free, and truly parliamentary Constitution of this Kingdom; if we recollect the vast Length of its Duration, as a free and independant State; the military Prowess of its Inhabitants in all Ages; their victorious Conflicts with theRomans, and with theFrenchunderHenrythe Vth, and the BlackPrince; their having founded a Monarchy inNorth Britain, whence, by a Right of Descent, in Addition to every other, his present Majesty, (whom God long preserve,) by the special Providence and infinite Mercy of Heaven, ruleth over us: If we consider the Number of our Universities, Colleges, and Academies, religious Monasteries and pious Seminaries, resorted to from all civilized Parts ofEurope, our Metropolitical and Diocesan Cathedrals; on such impartial Review, surely, the foregoing Tribe of Sneerers[pg 031]and Flouters must dwindle into deserved Contempt.I shall close this feeble Attempt on the antient State ofIreland, with the Description thereof byDonat, Bishop ofFesulæ, nearFlorence, in the 7th or 8th Century; referring, at the same Time, to the most authentickBritishAntiquaries,Campden,Giraldus Cambrensis,Buchanan,Ware, &c. for Confirmation of what hath been previously observed on the same Subject.

In a Nation, where almost every Gentleman is better acquainted, and more conversant, with the Nature and Circumstances of other Countries than those of his own, the Publication of such Hints as may somewhat contribute to remove so odd an Inattention, and induce those far better qualified to render a Subject so interesting some Justice, will not, I hope, be deemed an Impertinence; in one especially who, by this Essay, however feeble, hath nothing beside the Honour and Advantage of[pg 006]Irelandin View, a Kingdom whereof he is, without Vanity, proud of being a Native.

As the Story of Savages and Barbarians can contain nothing instructive, or entertaining, theAntemilesianInhabitants of this Land having been mostly such, and all surviving Accounts of them almost totally overcast with Fable, we are therefore, in treating of the antientScotia, or modernIreland, to refer principally to three distinguished æras, whereof thefirstis, its being peopled by anIberianorSpanishColony: Thesecond, truly glorious, the Arrival of St.Patrick, in his most salutary Mission: Thethirdand last, its Cession toHenrythe Second, King ofEngland, (the first of the Royal Race ofPlantagenet) partly from a pretended Title ofAdrianthe Fourth, Pope ofRome; partly from the restless and insatiable Desires ofHenry;morefrom the manifold Infirmities of the then reigningIrishChiefs—but above all, from the peculiarly adverse Fate ofRoderick, the last of our Kings.

The assiduous, exact, and candid Author of theDissertations,1lately published, on the Origin, Government, Letters, Sciences, Religion, Manners and Customs of the antient Inhabitants of this Country, hath put all those Matters in so clear and happy, and, at the same Time, in so strong a Light, by the Powers of various foreign Testimonies, of undeniable Authenticity, coincident with our own, that scarce any Thing new can be offered on the same Subject.

It may, however, in general be observed, thatMilesius, aSpanishPrince, so far back as the Reign ofSolomon(instigated by Necessity, or induced by Ambition) with a considerable[pg 007]Number of Associates and Followers, landed from the Western Parts ofSpain, on the Southern Coasts of this Island, where it is probable they met little, or but faint Opposition, from wild and undisciplined Inhabitants.

Those People, from their early Knowledge of thePhœnicianArts and Letters, imported such Rudiments of Government and Learning, as those primitive Times admitted; a Truth visible from the Similarity or rather Identity of thePhœnicianandScoticAlphabet.

This antient Colony quietly settled here, remote from the Storms and Revolutions of the greater World, and secured by Situation from its hostile Incursions, there is no Doubt but the Cultivation of Religion, Philosophy, Politicks, Poetry, and Musick, became the chief Objects of popular Study and Application: The Spirit of Ambition in succeeding Ages, with its unhappy concomitant Train of Sedition, Faction, and Violence, the foreign Invasions, and often the intestine Oppressions and Calamities, to which our neighbouring Nations were subject, calling forth the protective or conciliating Aids of those ancient Heroes, made them great Masters also in the Art military.

The Pentarchy originally formed by thoseIberianorCeltic Spaniards, with a popular Right of Election, was certainly a Kind of Government extremely consistent with the Essence and Genius of true Liberty, and a System derived from the Patriarchs themselves. For when the various Necessities of Society required a Subordination, together with some stated Maxims to go by, to avoid the confused and promiscuous Intercourse in a State of Nature; then did the People elect the most Virtuous and Wise, to lead[pg 008]and conduct them in Times of War and Trouble; to govern, inform, and protect them, in milder and more auspicious Seasons. Then was the Motto of the Crown, or of the chief Ensign of Pre-eminence,Digniori detur, and so continued till the Degeneracy of Time, and the baneful Growth of Avarice and Pride, with the feverish Lust of Power, perverted it to—Rapiat Fortior!

Such, thro' a long Succession of Ages, was the Condition, and such at length the Fate of this Kingdom, destroyed after a longer Continuance than any other can boast, by the Abuse of its own Powers; a sure Argument that all created Beings, all sublunary Institutions, however wisely composed, in the very Essence of their Creation, and in the very Rudiments of their Formation, comprehend, at the same Time, the Seeds of Dissolution: Yet it is not more remarkable than true, that in the most boisterous Periods of this Kingdom's antient Establishment, the Arts and Sciences, with the fundamental Principles of Constitution, were preserved and cherished with inviolable Assiduity. The Priests, Philosophers, Advocates, Annalists, Poets and Musicians, were obliged to preserve Religion, political Wisdom, Law, History,&c.hereditarily in their respective Tribes, and to educate in these different Branches the Chiefs and Nobles of the Land, for which they were graciously maintained in secure and splendid Tranquillity: Those Sages attended the National Conventions, where all publick Acts were religiously recorded, and all Abuses of Power and Government retrenched or reformed; nor were they permitted, except in Case of extraordinary Necessity, or uncommon Merit, to deviate from[pg 009]their proper and primitive Spheres of Action: Since, where an harmonious Subordination of Rank and Order hath not been duly preserved, even in free Estates, Liberty itself (wisely attempered, the greatest of all social Blessings) hath often, from Abuse and Neglect, sickened into Licentiousness, the immediate lewd Mother of Anarchy! In the visible Creation, the direct Result of infinite Wisdom, the lesser Planets do not interfere with, much less shock or oppose the Motions and Revolutions of the greater; they constantly keep the Distances first prescribed them, and all move regularly to their respective Ends. The most verdant and fragrant Meadows may, from the too frequent Irruption of muddy Waters, degenerate into noxious Marshes, if some Care was not taken to divert those impure Gushings into their proper Channels. Hence it may be inferred, that laying open the most honorary, as well as important and useful Professions of Society, to the Intrusion, or rather pyratical Invasions, of the Scum and Dregs of the People, cannot, however varnished over with the fictitious Colourings of pretended Liberty, consist with true Political Wisdom.

Those ancientSophiandLiteratienjoyed their Places with the greater Security, that they were uninvadable by the inferior Classes of Mankind; with the greater Content and Chearfulness, that much Esteem and Emolument were connected with them: The Priest and Advocate informed and directed the Conscience and Conduct; the Historian and Annalist recorded the Institutions; the Poet and Musician celebrated and sung the Exploits of their Kings and Leaders: No Wonder then this Kingdom should[pg 010]have been revered at Home, and admired Abroad; when Religion formed, Erudition nurtured, Philosophy strengthened, History preserved, Rhetorick adorned, Musick softened, and Poesy refined, the National Wisdom and Accomplishments; to all which was added, a thorough Knowledge of Tactics, and great Skill and Agility in all the athletick Arts, and bodily Exercises.

In the Versions of some original Codes exported by our Countryman, the learned and pious St.Fiechry, still extant in theNavarreLibrary atParis, the Constitutional Wisdom ofIrelandappears in a clear and happy Light: Persons, Things, Actions, and Expressions, were cautiously attended to, by the Laws;Persons, in their Minority, Youth, and Manhood, according to their different Ranks in the State, so as by Care, Education, and Discipline, to render them, some subservient, others useful, some beneficial, and others ornamental thereunto.Things, so carefully, as to prevent, by prohibatory Laws, Wastes of whatsoever Kind, and to ascertain to each Individual, as well as Society, their proper and distinct Rights.Actions, by directing those in general, and particular, to the Honour of the Deity and Welfare of the Community:Expression, by the penal Interdiction of prophane Cursing and Swearing, Obscenity, Scurrility, Calumny, and Detraction, yet with a full Indulgence of proper Satire against such as merited popular Reprehension, or Contempt; the Satirist's Pen in those Days being as much dreaded, or rather more so, than the Magistrate's Rod, and consequently as diligently avoided by a Demeanour absolutely irreproachable.

It appeareth that, under the antient Government ofIreland, the Education of the landed Gentry, when Luxury, with its wasteful Catalogue of Vices, had not rendered Property so mutable and wavering as in modern Ages, was provided for; whether by the immediate Care of Parents, or essential Attention of Guardians, by the Laws of the Land; in order that Gentlemen should, to the Antiquity of Birth and Possession, add the important Dignity of Learning, and social Refinement of Arts: Since a Man at the Head of an original Estate, who should want the necessary Cultivation of Letters, was considered only as a Peasant in Disguise, and not more respected than a Hewer of Wood, or Drawer of Water.

In these Writings of St.Fiechry, the legislative Wisdom ofOlam-Fodla; the philosophically-religious Capacity ofCormac-O Quin, who, from the pure Light of Nature, in a great Measure defeated the absurdPolytheismof theDruids; the consummate Integrity and Impartiality ofFederachthe Just, andMoranhis Chief Justice; the Magnanimity ofCon-Ked-Cathagh; the Conquests ofKineth Mac Alpin; the long, glorious, and peaceful Reign ofConarythe Great,coævalwith the Birth of our Blessed Lord and SaviourJesus Christ, (undoubtedly the happiest, brightest, and most blissful Period the World ever saw;) are all displayed in a copious masterly Style, yet with strict chronological Exactness.

This learned St.Fiechrywas Founder of the University inParis, in the Beginning of the 8th Century. The better to enable him to carry on that noble Work, he obtained ofCharlesthe Great a Tax on all Wheel-Carriages, within[pg 012]the Barriers of that City: Whence, a Hackney-Coach is at this Day technically term'dFiacre.

Charlesthe Great, in order to repair the cruel and truly lamentable literary Dilapidations of the ferocious North-men, invited Numbers of the learned and piousIrishto the Continent, where he established and entertained them with Dignity, Tenderness, and Respect. In a curious Manuscript ofNicholaus Gurtlerus, (now in theFrenchKing'sParisianLibrary) Author of theOrigines Mundi, where he alludes to these Times, you find the following favourable, but true Account ofIreland.—Temporibus illis, barbaris Normannorum Cohortibus undequaque irrumpentibus, Religio, Fides, Philosophia, Virtus, Hospitalitas, Fortitudo, Castitas, necnon et Amœniores omnium generum Artes, Hibernia solummodò natali, veluti Solo, viguerunt; little Wonder thatIrelandshould have been esteemed theIerne, or sacred Isle of theGreeks, theInsula Sanctorum, or Island of Saints of theRomans.—Would to Heaven our Countrymen had, upon all considerable Occasions, recollected those deserved Encomiums, thereby to approve them worthy their applauded Origin, and native Soil!

We now proceed to considerIrelandin her happiest and brightest View, after the Admission and Propagation of Christianity. It is certain there were many Christians inIreland, before the Arrival ofPalladiusin 431, or of St.Patrickthe Year following: St.Kieran, St.Ailbe, St.Declan, and St.Ibar, whomUsshercalls the Precursors, or Forerunners of St.Patrick, are pregnant Proofs of this; they were of the Birth ofIreland, from whence they travelled toRome, in Search of Education and Learning, where[pg 013]they lived some Years, were ordained, and returned Home about the Year 402.

It seems that those early Preachers confined their Labours to particular Places, in which they had considerable Success, but fell very short of converting the Body of the Nation: However, they sowed the Seed which St.Patrickcame after to water: And it is certain that St.Patrickwas so well satisfied with the Progress they made, in their particular Districts inMunster, that this was the last Province inIrelandhe thought proper to visit. That there were many Christians inIreland, at this Period, seems to be confirmed byProsper, who, in giving an Account of the Mission ofPalladius, says, that he was ordained by PopeCelestin, and sent the first Bishop to theScotsbelieving in Christ. This Passage can mean nothing else, but thatPalladius, born in Britain, was sent to the Scots [i.e. theIrish] who had already formed Churches underKieran,Ailbe,DeclanandIbar; and so the Bishop of St.Asaphexpounds it. This then was the next Attempt that was made for the Conversion of theIrish:Palladiusengaged in a more ample and extensive Design than his Predecessors, yet he failed in the Execution of it, stay'd but a short Time inIreland, and did little worth remembring; he converted, however, a few, and is said to have founded three Churches; but he had neither Courage to withstand the Fierceness of the heathenIrish, nor Abilities, for Want of the Language, proper for the Work.

Nathi, the Son ofGarcon, anIrishPrince, opposed his preaching; upon whichPalladiusleft the Kingdom, and died in the Land of thePicts, on the 15th ofDecember, 431. This[pg 014]glorious Work was reserved for St.Patrick, to whose holy Life, divine Mission, and extraordinary Success, I refer the Reader. This great Apostle of theIrishfounded and built the Cathedral Church ofArdmagh, about the Year 444, or 45, which, from that early Period to this, hath continued the Metropolitan Church of allIreland. So that 1194 Years passed away from the Founding of the City ofRome, to that ofArdmagh.

The various and most signal Blessings derived to this Nation, from the salutary Mission of this illustrious Saint, require, in Gratitude, our giving the Reader yet a further Account of the Author of such Happiness and Glory toIreland.

He was born in the extreme Bounds ofBritain, (in that Part thereof which is now comprehended within the Limits of the modernScotland) at a Village calledBanaven, in the Territory ofTabernia, (as he himself saith in his Confession) inVico Banaven Taberniæ, &c. He tells us that he was born of a good Family.Ingennuus fui secundum Carnem.His Father wasCalphurnius, a Deacon, who was the Son ofPotitus, a Priest; from whence may be clearly inferred that the Clergy were not restrained from Matrimony in that Age. He was just advanced into his sixteenth Year, when he was taken Captive, the Manner of which is thus related by St.Evinand others: His Father, Mother, Brother, and five Sisters, undertook a Voyage toAremorick Gaul, (now calledBass Bretagne) to visit the Relations of his MotherCouchessa. It happened about this Time, that the seven Sons ofFactmude, aBritishPrince, were banished, and took to the Sea; that, making an Inroad intoAremorick Gaul, they tookPatrick[pg 015]and his Sister,Lupita, (some sayTigridaalso) Prisoners. They brought their Captives to the North ofIreland, and soldPatricktoMilcho Mac Huanan, a Prince ofDalaradia: Others tell the Story in a different Manner, and with a stronger Degree of Probability. That theRomanshaving desertedBritain, to preserve their own Country from the barbarous Incursions of theNorthern Hive, theIrishmade frequent Conquests, inNorth Britainespecially, whence returning victorious, in one of those Expeditions among others broughtPatrickCaptive. But in this they all agree, and he himself confirms it, that he continued Prisoner inIrelandsix Years; he was sold toMilchoand his three Brothers, which gave Occasion of his changing his Name intoCathraigh, or ratherCeathir-Tigh, because he served four Masters;Ceathirsignifying four, andTigha House or Family.Milchoobserving the Care and Diligence of his new Servant, bought out the Shares of his Brothers, and made him his own Property. He sent him to feed his Hogs onSliev-Mis. And St.Patrickhimself tells us his Behaviour in this Office.

“My constant Business was to feed the Hogs. I was frequent in Prayer; the Love and Fear of God more and more inflamed my Heart; my Faith was enlarged, and my Spirit augmented, so that I said an hundred Prayers by Day, and almost as many by Night. I arose before Day to my Prayers, in the Snow, in the Frost, and in the Rain, and yet I received no Damage; nor was I affected with Slothfulness; for then the Spirit of God was warm within me.”It was here he perfected himself in theIrishLanguage, the wonderful Providence of God visibly appearing in this Instance of his[pg 016]Captivity, that he should have the Opportunity in his tender Years of becoming well acquainted with the Language, Manners, and Dispositions of that People, to whom he was intended as a future Apostle. He continued six whole Years in Servitude, and in the seventh was released. There seems to have been a Law inIrelandfor this Purpose, agreeable to the Institution ofMoses, that a Servant should be released the seventh Year.

Having parted from his Master, after a great Variety of Distresses, he at length arrived to his Parents, who received him with extraordinary Joy; with these he remained two Years, and probably would much longer, had he not by a Vision been quickened to a more active and glorious Life. In this he thought he saw a Man coming to him fromIreland, whose Name wasVictoricus, with a great Number of Letters; that he gave him one of them to read, in the Beginning of which were contained these Words,Vox-Hiberionacum, the Voice of theIrish: While he was reading this Letter, he thought the same Moment, that he heard the Voice of the Inhabitants who lived near the Wood ofFoclut, in the Barony ofTyr-Awley, and County ofMayo, hard by the Western Sea, crying to him with an audible and distinct Voice,“We intreat thee, holy Youth, to come and walk among us.”He was greatly amazed at this Vision, and awoke; it animated him, however, to his future Studies and heavenly Progress; so far even, that he tells us himself, he thanked God, that after many Years he had dealt with theIrish, according to their crying out.

These early Scenes of this great Saint's Life, should, among many others, serve as lessons of[pg 017]Charity, Consideration, and Humility, to the Rich, the Great, the Proud, and the Wanton; who may recollect that, altho' he was well born, he was nevertheless, in the most vigorous Season of Life, a Slave and a Swine-Herd: Happy, though wretched Servitude! In which, his leisure Hours, mostly employed in Christian Confidence and Prayer, made him so signally the Favourite of Heaven, that from those cloudy Dawnings, he in Process of Time became a learned Doctor, a sanctified Missioner, a venerable Prelate, an eminent Primate, a national Apostle, and the bright Instructor of Kings! Such were the fruitful Rewards of uninterrupted unshaken Devotion, Piety, and Zeal! From this Time he formed the steady Resolution of converting theIrish; and, the better to accomplish the heavenly Task, he undertook a laborious Journey to foreign Countries, to enrich his Mind with Learning and Experience.

He continued abroad thirty-five Years, pursuing his Studies under the Direction principally of his Mother's Uncle, St.Martin, Bishop ofTours, who had ordained him Deacon; and after his Death, partly with St.German, Bishop ofAuxerre, (who ordained him a Priest, and called his NameMagonius, which was the third Name he was known by,) partly among a Colony ofHermitsandMonks, in some Islands of theTuscanSea; and he employed a good Part of the Time in the City ofRome, among the Canons Regular of theLateranChurch: At length, having his Soul thoroughly tempered with religious Virtue, enlightened with the true Evangelical Faith, and his Understanding enlarged by the most profitable and edifying Studies, he arrived inIrelandabout the 60th[pg 018]Year of his Age; and in the Year of our Lord 432, landed in the County ofWicklow, where he began his Ministry, by the Conversion ofSinel, a great Man in that Country, the Grandson ofFinchad, who ought to be remembered, as he was the first Fruits of St.Patrick's Mission inIreland; he was the 8th in lineal Descent fromCormac, King ofLeinster, and came afterwards to be enumerated among the Saints ofIreland.

From this Country he sailed to an Island on the Coast of the County ofDublin, called after himInis Phadring, and by theEnglish,Holm Patrickat this Day, where he and his faithful Companions rested after their Fatigues. FromInis Phadring, he sailed Northward to that Part ofUlstercalledUlidia, and put in atInbherslayingBay. When he and his Fellow Labourers landed,Dichu, the Son ofTrichem, Lord of the County, being informed that they were Pirates, came out with armed Men in order to kill them: But being struck with the venerable Appearance of St.Patrick, he gave him Audience, and listened attentively to the Word of Life preached by him; he changed his wicked Purpose, believed, and was baptized, and brought over all his Family to the Faith: It is further observed of him, that he was the first Person inUlster, who embraced Christianity. He dedicated the Land whereon his Conversion was wrought to the Service of God, where a Church was erected, changed after to an eminent Monastery. He travelled hence by Land toCluneboisinDalaradia, to endeavour the Conversion of his old MasterMilcho, whose Service he had left thirty-eight Years before; but this obstinate Prince, hearing of the great Success of St.Patrick's preaching, and ashamed to be persuaded[pg 019]in his old Age, to forsake the Religion of his Ancestors, (by one especially who had been his Servant, in a most inferior Station,) made a funeral Pile of his House and Goods, and by the Instigation of the Enemy of Mankind, burned himself therein: Thus endedMilcho McHuanan.

Hence St.Patrickreturned toInis, the Habitation ofDichu, and in his Journey converted great Numbers to the true Faith ofChrist. In some time, he took his Leave ofDichu, and bent his course Southward by Sea, keeping the Coast on his Right-hand, and arrived at PortColbdi, where he landed, and committed the Care of his Vessel to his NephewLuman, desiring him to wait for him there forty Days, while he and his Disciples were travelling in the inner Parts of the Country to preach the Gospel. His Intention in this Journey was, to celebrate the Festival ofEasterin the Plains ofBregia, and to be in the Neighbourhood of the Great Triennial Convention atTarah, which at this Season was held by KingLeogair, and all his Tributary Princes, Nobles,Druids,Annalists,and Fileas. St.Patrickwisely foreseeing that whatever Impressions he should make on this august Assembly must have an Influence on the whole Kingdom, and therefore, being supported with invincible Christian Fortitude, resolved not to be absent from a Place where his Presence was so conducive to the Ends of his Holy Ministry.

Never did the Spirit of popular Freedom exert itself more powerfully or harmoniously, than in those truly parliamentary Triennial Conventions ofIreland, where the supreme Monarch, the Provincial Kings, the feudatory Lords, the Nobles, landed Men,Druids, &c. by the[pg 020]unbiased Suffrages of the People, convened for the Peace, good Government and Security of each particular Province, as well as those of the whole Kingdom. Many Centuries had this wise Constitution subsisted here, before our Neighbours, even ofSouth Britain, knew any thing relative to Houses, or Raiment; it being notorious that so late as the Arrival ofJulius Cæsaramong them, they painted their Bodies, to render them terrible, and lived in the open Fields. It is really somewhat surprzing that People so near in Situation, should differ so essentially in Disposition, as the Inhabitants of those Islands have in all Ages; Hospitality having been the distinguishing Attribute of theIrish, and it's opposite Defect, that of theBritons; the Account given of them byHorace1700 and odd Years ago,Visam Britannes Hospitibus feros, being as literally applicable to them at this Day, where the Force of Education doth not operate to mitigate their natural Ferocity.

But to return: St.Patrickin his Way toTarah, took up his Lodgings at the House of the hospitableSesgneninMeath, who kindly received and welcomed him. St.Patrickpreach'd Christ and his Gospel to him; he believed, and was baptized with his whole Family.

From the House ofSesgnen, he moved Westward, and arrived onEaster EveatFierta-fir-feic, on the Northern Banks of the RiverBoyne, where he rested, resolving there to prepare for the next Day's Solemnity. It was penal for any Person at the Time of the Celebration of this solemn Convention atTarah, to kindle a Fire in the Province, before the King's Bonfire first appeared. I am of Opinion this was a religious Ceremony, as the chief Deity of the ancient Inhabitants,[pg 021]in exterior Worship especially, wasBel, orBelus; whenceApolloorAp-haul, the Son of the Sun, whom they emblematically worshipped, by those fiery Offerings; whence the first Day ofMay, peculiarly dedicated to thisBel, is even now inIrish, calledLha-Bel-Thinih, and probably from the same Source may be derived the Custom of lighting up Bonfires, and Sops, on the Eve of the 24th Day ofJune. St.Patrickhowever, either not knowing or not minding this Ceremony, lighted up a Fire before his Booth, which altho' eight Miles distant fromTarah, was very visible. It was seen with Astonishment from Court, and theDruidsinformed the King, that if he did not immediately extinguish the Fire, he who kindled it, and his Successors, should for ever hold the Principality ofIreland; which hath hitherto turned out a true Prediction of those Heathen Priests, in a Primatial and Spiritual Principality.

The King dispatched Messengers to bringPatrickbefore him, and gave his positive Orders, that nobody should presume to rise out of his Seat, or pay him the least Honour: ButEre, the Son ofDego, ventured to disobey this Command; he arose, and offered the Holy Father his Seat. St.Patrickpreached to him and converted him. He became a Person of eminent Sanctity, and after some Time was consecrated by St.Patrick, Bishop ofSlain.

The Day following, when St.Patrickand two of his Disciples appeared unexpectedly at Court, and preached to the King and his Nobles,Dubtach, the King's Poet Laureat, payed Honour and Respect to the Saint, and was converted by his Preaching.Fiech, a young Poet, who was under the Tuition ofDubtach, was also converted,[pg 022]and afterwards made Bishop ofSletty, and is said to have been the Author of a celebrated Poem, composed in Praise of St.Patrick.Anselm, Arch-Bishop ofCanterbury, relates the Conversion ofTingar, the Son ofClito, (one of the Nobles in this Assembly,) in the same Manner. The Queen also, and many others of the Court, became Christians; and altho' the King held out for a long Time with great Obstinacy, yet at last he submitted to be baptized. St.Patrickis said here to have wrought many Miracles: There could not truly, even according to the Purposes of human Wisdom, have happened a more solemn or weighty Occasion, for God Almighty's supporting this Holy Preacher by Miracles, than when the collective Body of the whole Nation was assembled together; from whose Report and Conviction, the Influences of his blessed Works and Doctrine must of Course spread through the whole Kingdom.

His Conduct and Proceedings here, with a particular Detail of the Miracles wrought by him, may be had at large in the History of his Life, published byJohn Colgan.

FromTarah, the Saint proceeded next toTalten, not far from thence, at the Season of the Royal Diversions: Here he preached toCairbre, andConall, the two Brothers of KingLeogin; the former received him with great Indignity, and perversely shut his Ears against his Doctrine; butConallbelieved, and was baptized, and gave St.Patricka Place to build a Church on.

ThisConallwas Great-Grand-Father toColumb-Kill. He spent the Remainder of this Year inMeathandLouth, and the Districts adjoining, preaching, and converting great Numbers of People. TheTaltenianSports above-mentioned,[pg 023]have been much celebrated by theIrishHistorians, and Antiquaries. They were a kind of warlike Exercises, somewhat resembling theOlympickGames, consisting of Racing, Tilts, Tournaments, Wrestling, Leaping, Vaulting, and all other manly and martial Exercises, which gave Rise to the many hyperbolical Tales, formerly related of thoseTaltenianSports. They were exhibited every Year atTalten, a Mountain inMeath, for fifteen Days before, and fifteen Days after the First ofAugust. Their first Institution is ascribed toLughaid-lam-fadha, the twelfth King ofIreland, who began his ReignA. M.2764 (a sufficient Proof ofIreland's Antiquity as a Kingdom). They were ordained byLughaid, in Gratitude to the Memory ofTailte, the Daughter ofMagh-More, (a Prince of some Part ofSpain) who having been married toEochaid, King ofIreland, took the sameLughaidunder her Protection, and had the Care of his Education in his Minority. From this Princess both the Sports, and the Place where they were celebrated, took their Names: FromLughaid, the First ofAugustwas calledLugnasa, or the Memory ofLughaid,Nasasignifying Memory, in theIrishLanguage.

In the Year of the World 2700,Gideonthen reigning fourth Judge of theHebrews, appear'd many Heroes, asHercules,Orpheus,Castor,Pollux, theArgonauts,Jason,Laomedon,Thesæus,Dedalus, &c. TheAmazones, Heroines ofScythicExtraction, having lost their Husbands in Battle, took up Arms themselves, with a manly Spirit of Resentment, and (inspired with Love of their deceased Husbands, and Grief for so great and irretrievable a Loss!) subduedAsia, and builtEphesus.HerculesandThesæuswaged[pg 024]War against those Heroines, and defeated them, more to the Glory of the Vanquished than their own, those Matrons having defended themselves with surprizing Resolution. They cut off the Guards set over them, and escaped the Severity and Pride of their Conquerors.Hercules, in Honour of such extraordinary heroick Females, instituted theOlympickGames; as likewise didThesæus, theIsthmian, in the Year of the World, about 2700, theTaltenianSports, the very same with theOlympick, brought sixty-four Years after fromSpainintoIreland, byTailte, and her Followers. Now thisTailte, Queen ofIreland, was the Grand-daughter of anAmazonePrincess, those immortal Females having, with their Progeny, Friends and Followers, to avoid the ruinous Hostilities ofHerculesandThesæus, sought Shelter inSpain, whither they imported the Learning ofTrismegistus, the Grandson ofMercury, and Glory ofÆgypt, together with all the literary Arts derived intoGreece, fromPhœnicia, byCadmus, the Brother ofEuropa, about the Year of the World 2530,Othonielthen reigning the first Judge of theHebrews. The Posterity of this ancient and illustrious Colony, about the Year of the World 3000, (Solomonthen reigning with great Splendour, third King of theHebrews) settled in this Kingdom, as before observed: So that, by an impartial Estimate of Dates, Periods, and Facts, our Origin is well ascertained, our early Possession of Letters, wise Policy, and the politer Arts, proved, and the Remark of anItalianMonk in the 7th Century, from the University ofMongret, in an Epistle to his Correspondent atRome, justified,Nil mirum Populum hunc Celtico Scythicum è præclarâ Amazonidum stirpê oriundum, verâ Religionê et[pg 025]incorruptâ Fide illuminatum, sapientia Doctrina optimisque Morbidus ornatum, viros fortes et Fæminas castas plerumque procreare. A Rescript of this Original Epistle still extant, in theVaticanLibrary, some Years ago in the Hands of Father DonLevy, may therefore, I believe, be found in the College ofLombardatParis.

In this shining Period were Cathedrals and Churches erected, Universities founded and established, Colleges, Seminaries and Schools propagated in many Parts of this Kingdom, which, at the same Time, became a peaceful and hospitable Retreat to religious and learned Men, disturbed on the Continent ofEurope, by the frequent Invasions, and cruel Hostilities of the North-men, whose Piracies and Barbarity, evenIrelandcould not always escape! For, from the Time ofArtigrius, Archbishop ofArdmaghin 822, for near 200 Years the cruelDanesmiserably ravaged this Kingdom, destroying, by Fire and Sword, every Establishment, as well of Piety as Learning, (to both which, and to all religious Maxims of civilized Society, they had been avowed implacable Enemies) till they were themselves, in 1014, totally defeated atClontarf, by the invincible Arms of the Great Monarch,Bryan Borou, from whom descended a Race conspicuous for exemplary Prelates, heroick Leaders, and steady Patriots.

The learned Author of theDissertationsbefore-mentioned, charges this Hero with a Violation of the Constitution of his Country: Yet the Violation seems of far earlier Date, when the supreme Monarchy was, by theHugonianLaw, inalienably united to one Family, whose Sovereignty, however founded originally, whether by Birth, or Election, was essential to the public[pg 026]Welfare: For we must allow that the Preservation of the People is the principal Law to which all others are subordinate.Salus Populi suprema Lex; and equally, that not only the Necessities, but the Safety also of the People, at that Time of Danger and Distraction, eagerly called forth the Conduct and Valour, the protective and restorative Abilities of that great and virtuous Man, of whom a faithful Historian, in his Detail of the Battle ofClontarf, says;Integrâ prius adept a Victoriâ rebus humanis eodem Diê excessit vir Bellô ac Pacê summus, Justitiæ, Religionis, Literarum, Cultor eximius, et cum Carolo Magno utique comparandus.

In the 239th Page of theDissertations, the excellent Author expresseth himself as follows:

“I now proceed to give some Account of the second Royal House ofScots, the oldest of theMilesianRace, and the Posterity ofEber.”This Race then being avowed the oldest, in Respect of Primogeniture, must, of Course, have been prior in Point of Dignity and Sway, or at least, equally entitled to the Election of the People to such Ranks; were not those by violent Measures annexed to theHeremonianLine: Yet, however this might have been, certain it is, that no Houses that we read of, ancient or modern, have produced a greater Number of truly heroick Princes, or of longer Continuance, than those of the North and SouthHy-Nial; from whom also issued many noble Families of real Worth, and equal Renown. WithBryan, the happy Genius ofIreland, in a great Measure, expired: For the cruelDaneshad, for near 200 Years before, so wofully overturned the Universities ofArdmagh,Dondaleith-Glass,Mongret, andLismore, with all other Seminaries of Piety[pg 027]and Learning, (the only genuine Sources of national Greatness, Concord, good Discipline, and Happiness) had obliged, in the 8th Century, so many learned Men to seek that Shelter and Security on the Continent, which the barbarous Hostilities, and impious Manners of those Northerns, denied them at Home; had made such frequent lamentable Breaches in the antient, wise Constitution of the Kingdom; had, by the fatal Example of their profligate dissolute Lives, so vitiated the national Morality; and finally, had left behind them so many noxious Seeds of Faction and Anarchy, as, in less than two Centuries, gave up a Kingdom, of above 2000 Years Establishment, the unaccountable Prey of a few adventurousNormans!

Patrickgoverned the See ofDublinabout ten Years, and, in a Voyage toEngland, perished by Shipwreck, in theBritishSea, on the 16th ofOctober, 1084; having been sent toLanfranc, Archbishop ofCanterbury, by KingTirdelvac.

Donat, orDongus O'Haingly, having spent some Time in the Study of useful Learning inIreland, went over intoEngland, and became a Benedictine Monk atCanterbury. He was afterwards, (by the Consent of KingTirdelvac, and the Clergy ofDublin) consecrated,A. D.1085, in the Cathedral ofCanterbury, by the before-mentionedLanfranc, to whom he made the following Profession of Obedience:

“I,Donat, Bishop of the See ofDublininIreland, do promise Canonical Obedience to you,O' Lanfranc, Archbishop of the holy Church ofCanterbury, and to your Successors.”

It is evident that the Title of the Kings ofEnglandto this Kingdom, by Papal Donation,[pg 028]or Appointment, was very insufficient, if not absolutely trifling: Nor could a Right of Conquest be urged in any Period of the Reign ofHenrythe Second, or his Descendants. But the Great and Royal Families ofIreland, long the Prey of Faction, deliberately preferred a limitted and stipulated Submission to foreign Authority, to the various Evils arising from intestine Feuds and Animosities; and this, had the wise Conditions thereof been constantly attended to, with mutual Observance, had been a sound Title, well and judiciously founded.

True it is, that after the Surrender of the Crown by KingJohnto the See ofRome, the Pope exerted some temporal Authority in this Kingdom, instanced in his having createdMc. Con More Mc. Namaras2Duke ofKlan Cullane, a Man of great Valour and Piety, supported by ample Possessions in the Baronies ofTullaandBunratty, in the County ofClare; which extensive Districts entirely belonged to that ancient, hospitable, martial, and religious Race, of whichMc. Con Morewas Chief: TheMc. Namaras, more or less, have in all Ages made, and still continue to make, a distinguished Figure, as well in the Field, as in the learned Professions; and were formerly so warlike a People, that of themselves they formed an heroic Cavalry, justly stiled thePhalanxof that Part ofIrelandwherein they resided.

How our Neighbours came to call uswaild Ayrish, I am a Loss to conjecture; it being evident[pg 029]we have been a thousand Years, at least, in Possession of Letters, Laws, and Civility, before the Arrival ofJulius CæsarinBritain.

I am equally at a Loss to know why a Man should become a standing Jest for his Ignorance in an alien Tongue, almost the constant Fate of our Countrymen inBritain, where, whoever is not smartly expert in theEnglishLanguage, is immediately denominated aTeague, aPaddy, or I know not what, in the Stile of Derision: At the same Time that the most awkward-tonguedIrishmaninLondonspeaksEnglishwith far more Propriety, and a better Accent, than the smartestBritish Petit MaitreinParisdothFrench.

Some dramatick Scriblers, (probably of our own degenerate Growth) the better to qualify them for eleemosinary Dinners, gave Rise to this impertinent Treatment of a Nation, which, from the concurrent Testimonies of all the Dispassionate and Learned, can, in Reality, be as little the Object of Scurrility, as any other.

Why should even poorTeagueprove so constant a Butt, to Farce-wrights, and Hackney Laughers; when, upon Examination, he is, by a thousand Degrees, preferable to theBritishHobbinol, orFrenchGregoire? ForTeagueis a very Pattern of Hospitality; so much so, that if a Gentleman should happen to miss his Road, and be nessitated to seek the Shelter ofTeague's Cabbin, or Hut, was poorTeaguetrusting to two Sheep for his worldly Subsistance, he would kill one, and sell the other, at the next Village or Inn, for the better Entertainment of his Guest, and think himself happy in such an Occasion of approving his Generosity and Respect: He would the next Morning abandon his Spade, and chearfully trot ten Miles to shew[pg 030]such bewilder'd Gentleman the right Road. He is naturally civil, generous, and hospitable, (for scarce a Night passeth that poor Travellers are not entertained in his Cottage,) extremely respectful to his Superiors, and to his Lord and Master faithful to Death. The military Annals ofEuropeproclaim his Capacity and Taste for Fighting; then if you should take this identicalTeague's infant Son, and give him a regular liberal Education, it is one hundred to one, but he turns out a Gentleman of Merit, Learning, Worth, and Politeness; whereas it would certainly require more thanHerculeanLabour to chissel aFrench Paisan, a primitiveWestmoreland, orDevonshireBoor, not only into the Form of an elegant, but even into that of a sociable Creature.

The Insignificancy of those Jesters and Spatterers, will more clearly appear, if we look back to the wise, free, and truly parliamentary Constitution of this Kingdom; if we recollect the vast Length of its Duration, as a free and independant State; the military Prowess of its Inhabitants in all Ages; their victorious Conflicts with theRomans, and with theFrenchunderHenrythe Vth, and the BlackPrince; their having founded a Monarchy inNorth Britain, whence, by a Right of Descent, in Addition to every other, his present Majesty, (whom God long preserve,) by the special Providence and infinite Mercy of Heaven, ruleth over us: If we consider the Number of our Universities, Colleges, and Academies, religious Monasteries and pious Seminaries, resorted to from all civilized Parts ofEurope, our Metropolitical and Diocesan Cathedrals; on such impartial Review, surely, the foregoing Tribe of Sneerers[pg 031]and Flouters must dwindle into deserved Contempt.

I shall close this feeble Attempt on the antient State ofIreland, with the Description thereof byDonat, Bishop ofFesulæ, nearFlorence, in the 7th or 8th Century; referring, at the same Time, to the most authentickBritishAntiquaries,Campden,Giraldus Cambrensis,Buchanan,Ware, &c. for Confirmation of what hath been previously observed on the same Subject.

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