The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1909-01-02
The Island of Scholars is Rapidly Awakening From the
Lethargic State in Which She Has Lain For
Many Years.
A LINGUISTIC AND EDUCATIONAL REVOLUTION
The Ancient Celts Had Alphabet of Their Own Long
Before the Phoenician Letters Reached Them
From the East.

To form a correct conception of the
remarkable reawakening which is rap
idly taking place in Ireland. we should
know what Ireland was before she Cell
under the domination of u foreign gov
ernment, what she came to be, at her
worst, under that domination, and
what she is or is speedily coming to be
lin our own day. writes Rev. NJ. l.
Stritch, S. j., in the Catholic Column
sbian.
.5 To clarity matters we shall put out
questions more specifically i'll the fol-
lowing order: What was the condition
of Ireland at these three stages of her
history 2 1. In language and literature!
2..ln education? 8. In her system of
land tenure? 4. In her industries and
commerce: s. In spirit Of self relf-
gance? 6. In her religion? If in all
these respects 1t plainly appears that
ireland aourished before English inter-
-laferance began, decayed under that in
sFerference and is now fastregaining. her
pristine condition the case for the Irish
Renaissance will be satisfactorily es-
tablished. 1..., ........ ....
[ First with regard to language and
literature. Philologists OF the first
rank assure us that. the Irish Ian
eguage, a branch, Of. the Celtic. be-
longs to the Indo-European or Aryan
family. The sanscrit;, the Zend, tho
lslavic, the Greek, the Latin, the reu-
ftonic, the Celtic are =hs members of
this greatest and most highly dcvel-
toped Of the liguistic families known tc
Ascience; and Of these the Celtic is pro
l'nounced to be the purest and 'least
spoiled" Of them all. The p1ilosophi-.
cal Hnguists Of Germany, Switzerland,
tDenmark and France are profuse. in
their praise Of the Celtic branch and
more particularly of the irish. 1t is.
however, not merely the language OF
Erin, but her literature as well that
has extorted the admiration of philo-
logical science.
The ancient Irish had An alphabet Of
their own before the Phoenician letters
which were borrowed oy the rest of Eu-
rope could reach them. The date of
Ireland's first written literature is still
undetermined. It is, however, no lon
ger questionable that voluminous
body Of literature. poetic, historic and
legal, whether written or held in the
capacious memories Of brehon, bard
and historian, existed before the coming
of st. Patrick. BY the introduction of
Christianity the Irish mind was deep
ened and quickened and the scope of
it's activity was vastly enlarged. In
Vulnerable manuscripts We're produced
on all manner Of subjects during Ire
lands golden age Of enlightenment from
the fifth to the ninth century, from the
advent Of Christianity to the invasion
of the Danes.
These Vikings hated til. Christian
reHslon, 1ts learning and its institu-.
tions. The monasteries and schools Of
the land were the particular objects of
their plundering and destroying fury.
Their special delight was to discover,
pillage and cast into the sea the manu-
scripts wherein We're enshrined the
',scholarship and literature of Ireland.
This practice is clearly proved ny nu-
aaerous authentic historical references.
The loss thus incurred was Immense
and irreparable. And continental phi!o-
1ogists wax eloquent In deploring and
denouncing the barbarity which thus
suthlessly gave to oblivion the fruits
OF Irish genius in literary and other
forins Of art.
iStill the scholars Of Erin, though
sadly disturbed by Dane and Norman
ana Saxon, continued to speak and to
wriie their own beautiful Aryan tongue
down to the eighteen century. This
.syas the century Of the penal laws. Eng
fsnd resolved to be rid of everything