The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1877-04-12

noble reverence for learning.
It's very strange, ladies and gentle.
men, that we can't find on record that
any other people with or without traits
of the pure savage initiated the Irish in
founding universities and giving gratui~
tous education to every foreigner that
reached their hospitable shores.
And whilst my savage" forefathers
were displaying their ignorance in this
manner, pray what were the enlighten-
ed, chivalrous and highly-cultivated
saxons doing? They were roaming the
primeval forests, untutored painted
barbarians like the Indians of the pres
emit day but possessing neither half their
pluck nor bravery.
If Americans read more impartial his.
tory and less OF the pernicious and big
oted writing referred to they wonld soon
come to the conclusion that whatever is
pure savage in an Irishman's nature is
engendered by British oppression and
rascality, Gmmense applause.)
purpose to prove to youths evening,
beyond the possibility of doubt that
instead of the English civilizing the
Irish the Irish civilized them, and l shall
do so without producing a single Irish
authority. A difficult task you may
, think not at all,
Lord Lyttleton says: "Many Saxons
resorted to Ireland tor instruction and
brought from thence the use OF letters to
their ignorant countrymen. 1t will be
new to many of you that the Irish once
gave an alphabet to England but such is
undoubtedly fact.
DR.. Miner, an Englishman of great
historical tradition, when speaking of
the round towers of Ireland (Which
the way are as old as the Pyramids Of
Egypt, } remarks:
"Can we suppose that the tutors OF
the English, French and Germans in the
learned languages, the sciences and
music az the Irish were known to have
been, during four centuries, were inca,
pable to build those round towers Who
were the luminaries of the western
world when the sun Of science had al
most set upon it but the pious men of
Ireland. To them you are indebted tor
the preservation of the Bible, the works
of the Christian fathers, and the ancient
and modern classics; in short, Of the
means by which you Englishmen your.
selves have acquired whatever literature
you possess
Here let me digress for a moment to
comment on the essay OF Martin Luther,
delivered here a few evenings ago.
shall not introduce nothing sectarian
but merely ask, How could Luther have
translated the Bible if those holy men
had not preserved it for him?
For remember, tbs was during and
before the so-caled "dark ages prior te
the invention OF printing when ignorance
aid superstition reigned supreme
Perhaps the essayist is not aware tha
Virgiluis AN Ignorant monk" OF lrelant
declared the earth was round. 500 year:
before Galli,eo was born or that Mich
olas Copernicus, the great astronomer
after whom the Copernican system il
called, was only a "licentious priest :;
!; or that Luther himself was, in the tru'
sense Of the expression, only a licenti0u.
and fallen monk, which accounts for tn
greal learning attributed to him.
7 am afraid my friend knows as littl
: Of ecclesiastic history as hs does of Iris
, history, for HE NEVER READS Blu.
ONE SIDE. Let US hear Ralph Wald
, Emerson, the great New England phi
4 osopher, on this question: "In moder
Europe, the Middle Ages were calle
. the dark ages. Who dares to call Their
Q so nowo They seem to be the feet o
I which we walk, the eyes with which W
9 see. IT'S one of our triumphs to hay
n reinstalled them. Their Dante and A
: fred, and Abelard and Bacon; thei
Magma Charta, decimal numbers, mar
b iner's compass. gunpowder. glass,pape
:. and clocks, chemistry, algebra, astroI
2. omy; their Gothic architecture, the
$ painting-are the delight and tuition
= ours.n
1t The Ozark Ages" is \ misnomer. d
g Sp ,ulding. Aberdeen University, Sco
E land. says: The Irisa people had the
own history written in their own laI
y guage in the fourth century and no n,
ID ton of modern Europe can make
l. similar boast" Another Scotchma
r, Prof. Buckle says that in order to unde
<. stand the language of Europe thorough
81 IL, YOU must first know the Iri:
language, because it is the oldest. Al
lie another. Sir james Mcintosh, the hist
= rian saws: mo one can deny that ii
e Irish were lettered people while t
N c.~r. xvoro ot,1l ;rrv.arsod in ;,rc.~r