The Irish standard., 1902-02-15

The Right Rev. Bishop Conaty, D.
D., rector of the Catholic University
of America, Washington, D. G., re-
Gently delivered lecture in the Col
umbia Theater, Brooklyn, N. Y, upon
"The influence of Irish Character on
Our National Life"
He spoke in part as follows:
"We discuss tonight what may be
called the Irish influence in our ma
tional development. The realism Of
material prosperity and the overbear-
ing grasp Of commercialism are apt
to make us lose sight of influences
that are more essential to country's
sreatness-those influences that make
for manhood, upon which all national
greatness must depend. The poet,
the artist, the idealist, are brushed
aside by the noisy demands for rec
sgnition coming from Industrial and
financial successes. Still there should
be found moments in which men
might retire from the busy world to
consider the influences that have made
a nations past greatness, and to es-
innate how far these influences will
stand for a nations future develop
ment."
He said that he did not wish to be
considered as insisting that the Irish
xro,o Tho or11, oroc rocpo,c;J,Ja fo,. tho
good which has come to the country.
He was simply discussing them as one
of the influences for good, while CIV
r ing credit to other races for all that
they brought of their race-strength to
the country's greatness.
'The providence of God imposes mis-
sions upon nations as upon individ-
uals. Ireland has been fashioned by
Gods providence through bright days
of glory and through dark wales Of
sorrow into vocation and place in
the history Of mankind. Few nations
have been called to greater influence
upon the peoples among whom it has
come in contact Poor, downtrodden,
despised and illuminated for seven
centuries, she has never failed to
protest against her oppressors, never
allowed her love Of country to dimin-
ish, never lost hope in ultimate free
dom. She has learned the language
Of her oppressors, which was expected
to be her destruction. Though her
children in large numbers have been
driven forth by cruel legislation from
her home, they have entered largely
into the English-speaking world, to
be a powerful influence for the very
things which their enemies despised-
the religion, the language and the ma
tional ideas of Ireland.
"Her, influence was not unlike that
Of the Jews and the Greeks. The
Jews lost the enjoyment Of their ma
tionality, but they became a world
wide influence They bore to the world
the idea of monotheism in the tradi-
tions Of purer idea Of God and a no
bier standard Of life than the world
knew. The Greeks lost their father
land to the Romans, but gave through
the Romans to the world an ideal in
fuence in the philosophy which was
scattered everywhere. This was the
fine gold thread which was spun and
woven into all the literatures of the
world.
"Like Jews and Greeks, the Irish
have been the bearers to the world Of
an idea in religion and literature.
They have been in their exile, as in
their native land, the standard-bear-
ers Of Roman Catholicism, the un-
fiinching asserters of the unity Of the
Church of Christ. In education they
have borne the message of the spirit
I ual and the imaginative, which act as
the very soul of poetry and give life
| to literature. The Irish merged into
! many nationalities, but never lost love
for Erin. Their Ireland always re-
I mains; and while hold has been lost
! Of its nationality, hope has never been
lost Of regaining it."
Bishop Conaty in discussing the
peculiar strength Of the religious in