The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1904-03-18

ture of the brains of our Anglo maniacs.
This great nation was not brought forth
by any single race she acknowledges no
particular country as her progenitor. but
with Napoleon Bonaparte she can proud
ly say: Il am my own ancestor"
Some ask, why keep up this distinction
between Puritan and Cavalier. between
German and Celt?
Natural Distinction.
The distinction does exist~-it Is natural
enc and 1t will continue to exist for many
generations It is distinction such as
the many colors of the rainbow do pre-
sent, each color differing from the other.
but all blending. presenting whole and
complete a most perfect picture. The man
who does not cherish the memories Of
the race from which he sprang, or the
country which gave him or his fathers
birth. IS like the vandal, who demolishes
the cradle in which he was rocked. The
man vino is Indifferent to the memories
of his ancestry Is so, most likely, because
he has no ancestors worth remembering.
What Is civilization? Many definitions
Of this term have been attempted. One
authority defines 1t thus: THE permanent
changes in the condition and arrange
ment of mans life effected by his own
intelligence and exertions." 1 would say
that civilization Is the sum total or the
highest and best that mankind has at
tanned to-" The civilization of our day
is not the exclusive property of any one
people, nor was 1t wrought by any partic-
ular race or nationality 1t is the COM
mon property of the cultured nations and
1t represents the collected efforts of many
races and of many ages.
Sources of Civilization.
If we inquire into the sources of our
al xyI bat q
best and highest has been derived we ara
led into an examination of what certain
elements have contributed thereto.
Greece gave us arts, sciences and liter
ature; Rome, jurisprudence and systems
Of government; Palestine, true and sub
lime conception of mans relation to his
Creator. The precepts which emanated
from Mount Sinai and which were later
SEALED with the precious blood of our
Savior upon Calvary, have potently col
ored and nodded our civilization. The
Ttutonie and Celtic races, inheritors of
these valuable gifts, have given to the
world love Of freedom, personal worth,
reverence for womanhood, free govern
ments, based or the consent Of the gov
erned freedom of speech and liberty of
conscience.
This is the day which the Irishman cell
ebrates 1t is the day that brings back
to his memory the records and the
achievements of his race the faith of his
fathers and the sufferings he has endured
for that faith. Bright, In truth, are the
pages of ancient and modern history with
the deeds of the sons of Erin. Long be-
fore the dawn of history, at a time when
most of the powerful nations which now
rule the world did not yet exist in en-
bryo, the Celtic race, the vanguard Of
the great Arvan movement into Europe,
had planted the seeds OF our civilization
In the greater portion of that continent.
The Celt then was master of the coun-
tries we now know as Austria, Germany,
Switzerland, Upper Italy, France, Spain
and Portugal, the Low Countries and the
British Isles. History had not yet deigned
to take notice of Saxon and Frank when
there was IN use In Ireland a language
rich, cultivated highly developed. the
medium of scholars, the vehicle of learn
ing.
Ancient Ireland.
There was established In the land of
your forefathers, before the advent of
st. Patrick a regular form of govern
ment based on the consent of the peo-
pie, carried on by representatives who
met triennially In the national congress
at Tara. Centuries before the barbarians
of the north knew an alphabet the Irish
people had a written code Of laws
With pride can you point to the fact
that when Christianity was first preached
In Ireland, her people did not murder the
missionaries. Their hearts were prepared
for the gospel Of peace and good will,
the isle of the shamrock bloomed in the
verdure of cultivation: the venom of re-
ligious persecution was not found in her
fields because the frenzy of the barha-
rian was not the characteristic Of her
people The gospel opened to Ireland the
brightest page In her history. The rage
of the vandal and the fury of the Goth
had ravaged and desolated the west and
the east Shrouded in her gloomy man.
tie, ignorance brooded In stupid satisfae-
ton over the widespread waste. Ireland
had been saved from the inundation of
barbaric destruction and in her cloisters
and schools and colleges were preserved
the means of re-establlshing the civilized
race OF men,
st. Patrick.
These conditions in the land of your
fathers were, in a large measure, the
results of the life work and influence Of
the great apostle of the Irish-St. Patrick.
St. Patrick was born about the year 3S7.
His mother is said to have been a sister
of the great bishop, St Martin OF Tours.
When 16 years Of age he was seized by
pirates and carried Into Ireland where
he remained in bondage for six years.
dplflB INTO fIHllCe nc lHere TOOK nOlN
orders and we know that he appeared at
Rome In the year 431. Pope Celestine sent
him to Ireland as a missionary
For more than two generations this
simple, sublime man went through the
country preaching and baptizng, and
when his labors had ended. the land
which he had found pagan had become
Christian forever. St Patrick is truly
one of the greatest figures which history
presents 10 US. His influence lives today
in every land. He inspired his people
with a faith so firm and so ardent that
neither the tocsin Of fanatIcism the cav
age yell of persecution. the deepest dun
eeon the highest gibbet, nor exile nor
death, have been able TO quench II.
All Over the Globe.
II you who are assembled here tonight
could have stood, some fifteen hours
since, In far off Asia. upon the misty
banks Of the river Ganges, you would
have heard there ascending TO the clouds
~. Del ri