The Irish standard., 1905-11-25

the cultivation of the native Irish Ian
guage and on other than material
grounds, namely, its value in the pres
ervation and development of Irish
Ireland, of old, was renowned for
her hospitality, courtesy, piety and re-
spect for learning. Ever on the side
of truth and honor, even when worsted
in battle and in the bitterest mo-
ments of her history she was borne
up by an unshakabe belief in herself
and confidence in her destiny.
She won the respect and ad
miration of the world. AS al
Celtic nation she was the idealist
among nations. Whatever was cx-
allied, noble true or grand appealed to
unworldliness, faith in holiness and at
tachnent to the spiritual world need
not to be enlarged upon here, nor
would it be IL pleasant task to point
out how the Irish in their efforts to
forget themselves are in danger of los
ing these qualities and the respect for
them. 1t will not be to Ircland's credit
to dcspoil herself of her own character
and to present nothing but what is
common to other peoples as well as
TO herself. Her greatest privilege will
be to enrich to the utmost of her power
the common fund of humanity by add
ing to it those pualitics-hcr Eigcnart
in fact--which she alone possesses.
What pnnaccn can there be for the
threatened deterioration of Irish char
actcr? What will save Ireland from
the ditch of materialism, skepticism
and irreligion into which foreign
ideals have been leading her? The
revival of the native language, 1t Is
argued will, more than anything else,
accomplish this, for it will bring into
vogue the simple, oldworld virtues.
We cannot doubt that between the ma
tul Z VI luIS loIlSuc anu lIlc
of the Irish intelligence there is mys-
tcriOus re-establishcd harmony. The
simplest lisp, the most rudmentary
affection when expressed in the native
tongue expresses a world of meaning
impossible to convey in any other This
language has been fashioned by the
habits of mind and the tournurcs OF
the imagination of the race to whom
1t belongs, and, better than any other,
1t will enable Irishmen to see, to think,
to understand themselves to UNDER
stand their own nature, In fact, which
the natural, the correlated vehicle of
thought and emotion.
1t may be worth while, as pertinent
to the subject under consideration, to
translate from De Temps for March
80, 1898, report of an address, re-
markable because Of its source, by the
leader of the German Socialists, Herr
Rebel: "The particular nature Of q
people is incarnate in its language;
1t is by this that 1t is distinguished
from other peoples; 1t is by this that
it expresses it's sentiments and it
needs in that form which is the only
true one. To constrain q people to
express it's sentiments and its needs
in a language which is foreign
to it, is equivalent to mutilating its
most inward being. No doubt it is no
mistake for a population to be made
to learn the language Of another civil
lied people with whom it is in con-
tact, but this should never be at the
expense Of the mother tongue" :"
II 1t is important to preserve the
spirit that is peculiar to each people
and which is called it's national genius,
its Eigenart. it must consequently be
important to maintain the language
and the customs OF the country which
are its safeguard and the symbol Of
the country's nationhood. The value
Of the inherited language in the for
nation of the nation cannot be over
estimated II is much to be regretted