The Irish standard., 1903-06-13
world. Professor Westwood, of OK

says: ut is unquestionab the most
deliberately executed MSS. of so early
a date now in existence, far excellinc
in the gigantic size of the letters at
the beginning of each gospel, the exces-
sive minuteness of the ornamental de.
tails crowded into whole pages, the
number of its very peculiar decora-
tons, the tineness and endless variety
OF its initial capitals, the famous Cos
pels Of Lindisfarne," which was also
the work of Irish artists, as the Eng
llsh Lindisfarne was founded and long
governed by Irish monks from Iona.
In the schools of COLUMBIA the fine
arts too We're cultivated with much
success. To-day the church orna-
ments. the bells. the chalices and
wrought vestments are gone. But
the old graveyards are there,-melan-
choly monumcntS,-and they show
what cunning hands the Irish artists
had. At Durrow and Nells the tray
eler may yet see ancient Celtic
crosses, with inciscd spirals, and knots
and frets. that would honor any mod
eln sculptor, and betray the finest
poetic feeling. delicate mysticism of
fancy in their endless interlac ings
and labyrinthine designs.
But a day came when COLUMBIA had
| To lnpvn Ipnli,,I III.
old teacher, st. Finnian, he discovered
splendid copy of the Scriptures, a
fine new edition. which the latter
had brought from Rome to serve as
the prototype for future transcript
tons of the sacred text. Finnian was
very proud of his book. the most per-
feet i'll Erin. and he guarded it jcal-
ously i'll the little church beside his
cell, close by the tossing pillows of
| Neville Bay. But COLUMBIA stayed M
at night to copy it, He was discov-
cred as soon as he finished the tran
scription. Finniun claimed the book.
| The two saints Went before the Brc-
| hon Judges. who having no prccc-
dents for Judging such Il case in
| their pcrplrXity invoked an old Rrc-
hon maNim,-to every COW her calf
and so adiudged the copy to the owner
of the book. The Ard-Rigl. or over
king of Ireland. may have influenced
the decision. lie was. moreover.
guilty of other oifrnScS against Co
lumha. whose hot blood could i'll stand
unjust treatment. lie reused his
can,-sonething unique in the his
tory of war.-thrrr was II desperate
conflict for the ownership of the book.
Columba'S people won but the
churchmen of Ireland were very So
we're on the saint for having caused
the slaughter of so many thousands.
One of tn" StricteSt of these old Irish
chnrchmcn. Moaisc of Innis,nurray,
to whom COLUMBIA went to confession
put q proportionatc penancc on him.
lie hnde him leave lrclnnu forever, to
never set eyes on il again. and to win
as many souls to Christ as he had
caused lives to he lost in the battle of
Cuil-l'rrinil,ur. HOW Cool:,dr,,mmon i'm
Sligo CA. u. Ssh. II cost Colunb, no
small struggle to quit the oak woods
of Derry and the little cells of his fcl-
low monks: but he accepted the sen
tcnce of exile, and on Pcntccost eve.
N:' \. d., he landed on the shore of
Iolr
The king of the neighboring terri
tory made him n present of the islct,
and soon he had built a little village
of Oakcn lutS for himself and his COM
phniolls. This was the origin of the
famous school of Iona, to which for
centuries the nobility of all the north
crn kingdoms were wont to send their
children. From this little rocky isle
all the monastic schools of northern
Ireland and many in England were
governed This was the center of the
Catholic propaganda of the Celts from
the end of the sixth century to the
arrival of the cruel Danes. The alb
bots OF Iona were the greatest cccle-
sihSticS among the CcltS. The monks
of Iona were regarded throughout the
Christian world much as we to-day
look upon the Trappists or the Car
thuSinnS,-aS the models of the virtues
OF humility. ahncgation and industry
Iona is the Holy Land of the Celtic
race. Every inch of it's soil is sacred
by contact with generations of saints
ana scholars. On that rocky patch Of
soil, amid the boiling tides, only God
and the soul, only the things of the
intellect. can occupy the attention.
TIL" school of Iona was soon famous
for the industry ana the splendid pen
mhnSlIip of it's writer's and TRANSCRIPT
rrs. COLUMBIA himself was the choicest
srril" in ireland, ana his last act was
to finish Il page of the gospels. His
children improved the Inheritance he
LETT them. They became the writing
masters of Europe, and, centuries
later, when France and Germany had
not yet completely emerged from their
bhrbnrism, the scribcs of Iona were
welcomed in the mOnastcrics ana the
cities of the continent as teachers of
writing. The books written by them
were eagerly sought after, Just as i'm
our day men pay great sums of money
for some small printed book from the