The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-03-25
THE POWER OFTHE CHURCH
FURTHER DISCUSSION or ITS SOCIAL
and MORAL INFLUENCE NE
GIRDING WOMEN.
p.,,v nv IN, Professor Of Celtic Languages
- .,hnlin rniynraitX Mt Warrington.

Reply nv tho Professor Of Celtic Lansuass'
In the Catholic University Mt Wash'nRto"'
To ruy Fpt1oR or TIKI suS-Str; As l con
alder Mr.. Oukes TO be in good hands In the con.
,,oysrsv now being waged In The SUN. lwouln
M, have lnteriered with him wore 1t not that nc
ancroached on IA certain territory. where. accord
inv 10 A little conccit of mine, / fancy 1 perform
.ome OF the duties Of n watch dog. He says:
NO one can read OCurry's Manners ana Gus
toms OF the Ancient Irish Wood Martin y
Pagan Ireland and Rhys's Celtic Heathen-
dom and doubt that all which goes to make up
,he freedom, the happiness, the honor ana
Yell being OF womankind was more assured
70 the pagan Irish woman than all the Church
NJ Rome has ever given her" l have looked
into Prof. OCurry's works, and l am fairly
familiar with the materials from which they
are drawn. and In neither did | discern any
thing that would 60 to sustain Mr. Oakes's
,hesis. Az for Col. Wood. Martin, he has
written some papers on stone monuments and
IN, like, but he is no authority on Celtic Lam
suages. The curlous may consult the Revue
Ieuious, vol. IT,, .. l3S. where It is said OF him
"Esminen, archsoIoeus nest pas hnguiste."
Prof. Rhys can change his notions with his
clothes. He IL an authority. but a very danger.
DUB OQ0 " III hANA"Hs -
s~pecially Questionable as an inde'atiRable
theorist. Zee studies In Irish Biography"
written by q pupil OF his london. 1897. where
on page 81 a system a. fantastic a. a Chinese
pagods Ia raised on a single point. which could
ITSELF be Interpreted In twsnty-seven other
ways. without counting the right one. would
advise Mr.. Oakes TO use such authorities with
very great caution Rhys Ia exactly the sort OF
49, u-.,1t lad bI,n into a hoe
So much for his sources. His conclusions are
also wrong. for he Jumps together matters that
are incongruous and incommeasurable. Two
civilizations, with the ditfer entiatlng con-
comitants attaching to each, must be kept
sedulously apart. The first is Old Celtic clvili-
cation AZ We find II among II rural nature folk.
constituted on a tribal system. where common
sense prevailed and the whole body Of thought
and world outlook 10th in Pagan and Christian
times utterly precluded the entertaining OF
certain notions that are become dormant in-
fuences under other conditions. The second
Ia modern Teutonic civilization, developed from
n ,eudal basis. vitintcd under the artificial and
highly unnatural circumstances OF life In large
cities. further complicated and depraved by
admixture OF a large proportion 81 people
whose heads are ever bu2zing with the In
tOlrrabIe Dir OF OPINIONS, thouEnlS ana Iaucles
now so easily banded about, who are under
taught. ~over.fed and utterly at a loss for some
thing TO 30. The two systems. with all on"
are totally distinct and incommunicable. To
nudge one by the standards OF the other Is an
entirely silly proceeding.
let the following he for samples OF what the
Church Of Rome" did for women in Ireland:
J. The Lcr hHocsn'itm freed women from
the duty OF military service. See Reeyes's
Albanian, =. 10. note
. The pagan unit Of value in Ireland was a
c,mldl. t. e. a slave girl. This system OF cur
rency was abolished by Christianity.
3 The Church Of Rome furnished women
In Ireland with the only ofectual remedy for
that sexual slavery" against which Mr.. Cakes
so %strenuously protests-yiz,. the option OF
retiring to a nunnrry.
Whatever the ancient Germans may have
fanced in that line. ! am thankful that my
pagan ancestors at least had no ~petticoat
deities. But there Is no accounting for tastes.
RICHARD HENEBRY. Pm. D..
Professor Of Celtic Languages at the Catholic
University OF America. at Washington. ID. c.
W,sHINGToS. March 81.