, 1880-06-27

of page of each Of the best-knowu
Gaelic, Latin, Norman, French, and En-
glish old books produced in Ireland
in ancient times, and that have ESCAPED
the multitudinous wars and invasions Of which
that unhappy country was so long the theatre,
Judging by the remnant that has been spared By
Dane, Norman, and Cromwel1iau, the early lit
eraturc OF ireland must have been enortuons in
quantity: and it seems strange inversion of
facts that the nation Of all others OF medieval
Europe that was most noted for the production
of books and love Of literature should be the
one which to-day stands, If not the lowest.
at least very low In the scale OF
education or love for books. However
great the distastc for books that too
many Irishmen evince at present, it is certain
that in the past they held them in the highest
veneradon, and produced them in extraordinary
abundance. A glance over the table Of contents
the most skepticnl of the amount of the existing
manuscript matter in the old Gaelic language,
not to speak of what's In Latin. The tlYe vol
umes generally known rs tho "FIve Great
nooks," coutain almost as much matter as ex-
lists in manuscripts Of equal antiquity in the
are known By the names Of tho Book of the
pnn the the "sPockleM M Ro1k the Book Of
Book OF Lccan." They were written between
the eleventh and fourteenth centuries; but the
Krcatcr part Of then: consists Of copies Of manu-
scripts Of vastly greater age. The ''Book Of the
Dun Cow" for instance, Is copy, or rather q
fragment Of copy, OF the original, COM
piled in tho latter part Of the sew
much mntter as the Old Testament. One OF the
strAngcst things connected with the ancient
literature of Ireland is the fact that so little OF
1t is yet Transmitted. There is not an ancient
manuscript known to exist either in Saxon, old
French, or Morse, that has not been translated
anq retransated l9nE ago; but since the death
done in the way Of transladons from the old
Gaelic. There are only two volumes OF tho
oae and hee
of tho slowness IN bringing out translations OF
the old literature and laws of ireland is tho
pie who have been born in Ireland. and whose
Immediate ancestors were English or Scotch,
might naturally enough be excused for not TAX
ing much interest in such q class Of literature.
but when we see the loudest- mouthed Feninns
and self-styled Nntionalists just as apathetic
and indifferent as the Saxon about rescu-
BIZ BIZ evidences Of their nfsy countsys pos5, an
to the. conclusion that there is very little hope
better, aud that a great deal Of what We hear
about tho patriotism OF the Irish people Is an
exaggcration. Another difficulty exists about
transllt1ng these old documents, and thut is the
extreme antiquity Of the language In which
MOST Of them arc written; and there is vet an-
other diihcnity-namely: the contracted form
Of the writing. However, If the present race of
Irish people cared to know what these old books
contained. and to purchase them when trans
lared, translators would be soon found in abund-
ance. Whatever has already been done in
translating and copying those old books has
been done almost altogether at the expense Of
Matthew Arnold in bis "Celtic Literature"
speaks in the strongest terms Of the ilnmensty
as well as Of the interesting quality OF the old
nirhar frfhnfa Of nrAfSa than rtc far
ever has paid it; and Germany, as a nation, has
dne to ooag the eaad snr
sef has eoa dome. "oSF Wt6a 's the Is no tren @s5
ty,tiye years school Of German
poGgsts has sor%ug a9d has given great
probable that If the ten volumes OF Breion law
tracts are ever translated the work will be dono
by the scholars Of Germany. It must, however,
who not only gave the first real stimulus to the
study Of ancient Celtic literature. but who
saved good deal Of 1t from destruction. There
libraries IN Great Britain and 1relnnd that ex-
cited hardly any interest, simply because they
were known to be Irish, and little curiosity, be-
however. as some Of them we're translated their
auaintness and beauty excited considerable in
boeu followed By general apathy with regard
to early Celtic literature, and with the exception
es and S esn M
death to familiarize the English reader
with the hidden treasures Of the
carly Celtic. But the work achieved in
the three volumes Of Irish national manuscripts
under notice is a step In the right direction.
Nothing can exceed the admirable style In which
those COLOSSAL volumes are brought out; no ex-
pense seems to have been spared on them, and
to the lover Of literature, no matter what his
nationality may be, or to tho artist, It is hardly
too much to say that they are the most interest
Ing books In the library: the Irish race may feel
justly proud of them It Is true that they are a
treat for the artist as we'll as the antiquarian;
the fac similes OF illuminated letters from the
Book OF Kells and other manuscripts are
amongst the greatest pictorial works of art eK-
tant; the very writing Is Il marvel Of beauty and
style; In fact. the illuminated Irish manuscripts.
as works OF art, excel those of any other nation.
Largo as the three volumes are. they are not
large enough to give specimens Of all the! Irish
national manuscripts; but NIL the important
ones known to exist in Great Britain
and ireland, not including the Brehon law
tracts, are mentioned in a summary attached
to each volume, and the time when the manu-
scripts were written Is also mentioned as nearly
rs 1t can be nscertaincd. There are, however,
large quantities OF Gaelic manuscripts In the IT.
braries of the Continent which are not noticed
In these volumes Tho citizens Of Chicago. the
Irish ones especially, should feel grateful to
Mr. ". J. Onahan, as he was mainly instrument
tai in having those magnificent books got into
the Public Library here, and it speaks we'll for
tho literary taste and enterprise OF Chicago that
she was the first city in tho United States to be-
come possessed Of such expensive but most In
terest1ng books. <.