The Irish standard., 1904-02-13

sixty or seventy years bchindhand.
considered as Il cultivated, living
speech. Nevertheless, as medium of
literary expression, it had several ad-
vantaSes over it's rival. IT has never
been vulgarized, it's vocabulary was
rich ana copious in words and turns of
phrase that expressed the emotions of
the soul: its illusions We're mainly to
the deeds performed in the heroic DAYS
OF Irish history: it had been tuned to
exquisite melody by long ages of
poetic cultivation; it was the languag e
OF simple, direct thought of domestic
affection, of sincerity. of loyalty, of
faith; it was the language of pathos,
or human sympathy. of fierce war
ana faithful love-; it was the language
OF simple. earnest devotion. of courl ge
and hcroism, of wit and humor, and of
the decpseatcd virtues of Il gifted
race. In the areas over which it WAS
still spoken the people retained I'M
spoiled all the best qualities of the
traditional Irish race. In proportion
us that language was cultivated. and
Its empire extended. would these uuali-
ties take deeper root and exercise wild
er influence and produce lasting effects
that would tend to the development
of Irish ideals and Irish character.
The battle was beginning to be fought
between Irish and English on the soil
of Ireland. Each language had its
legitimate place and it's own proper
functions, but there wns Il sense in
which they were struggling at this mo-
mcnt for supremacy. The struggle be-
tween the languages was a struggle
between the civilizations which these
languages represented. The civiliza-
ton that modelled England to great
ness was fast becoming Il corrupt sys-
tenn and IL positive national danger.
1t was the simpler old-world virtues of
our ancestors that alone could save us
from the ruin with which were threat
ened, and these virtues grew up and
iourlshed wherever the language eX-
listed. The language was their natural
guardian, it was the natural medium
for their expression. Remove it from
the scene and the virtues were certain
TO droop and die. 1t would obviously
take long time and much hard work
to repair the r;lvages that long neglect
and positive ill-treatmcnt had made
upon the language. All that required
to he done to put our language on a
par with other languages was to slim
uate the rising talent and energy of
the country to devote themselves to
it's cultivation with even half the vigor
they expended on many worthless
items of our modern program of edu-
cation. If in our leading educa tonal
establishments the rising youth are not
taught to attach first Importance to
the things that pertain to the nations
honor and self-respect, they will neces-
sarily grow up degraded Irishmen and
fit subjects for becoming the victims
of all the evil effects of foreign civiliZa-
ton. The time was at hand when a
nations material advancement would
be commanded by title deeds to an
tiuuity and past greatness. In those
days the world was scrutinising close
ly the history of nations. examin-
in% into their pedigree and their claim
to nobility and rcnOwn Since then
Irish is the national language of Ire
land, and since the country is begin
ming to awaken to a sense of that fact,
it bclooves the public bodies through
the country and the scholastic institu-
tons to treat that language with rev.
crancc due to its dignity, to serve it
with the zeal which genuine patriotism
inspires. The institutions to which
he referred were the accredited
moutlpiece of the nations will; to
them it looked for guidance and assist
ance in moments of crisis. Should it
be said that when certain classes of
the community are banding themselves
together in one supreme effort to pre-
serve in it's purity the ancient speech
of its mOtherland, when they are en-
deavoring to preserve the golden ira
ditions of four thousand ycars-those
traditions that stamp their country
with the sign Of characteristic, distinct
natiOnhOOd-to preserve them from be-
ing swallowed up in the vortex of Il
dccaying and degenerate civilization
should it be said that these public
bodies folded their arms and looked
on with Indifference? If the supreme
struggle which our venerable language
was now making to regain it's lost do
minlons aroused not one feeling of
national sentiment, excited not one
spark of national honor in the hearts
of our public bodies. if it induced them
not to come to its aid armed with
their representative power. then let
them sink unmolestcd into the dcgrc-
dation national in its extent and IT.
rcparablc in its evil: let them freely
lavish public money on the English
language, that language, an excellent
speech in the mouths of EnGlishmcn.
Will become on their lips and on the
| lips of their children the dcspcabc
| jargon of helots and slaves.