The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1914-10-03
CONTINUED from Page -
BOOK OF ARMAGH.
Irish Zeal for Learning.


The Irish by their natural genius
ind bent of mind have always been
Jealous for history, for literature and
.or all the highest things in human
culture. This native characteristic
has been heightened and ennobled
oy the Gospel. Looked at in this
way the Book of Armagh is an un-
lnswerable refutation of those
houghtless people who go on repeat
ng the old fable that the Catholic
Church and the Irish Catholic people
ire careless about the Bible or hos
lie to the best results of human sci
ence and culture. This very truth
borne in upon the minds even of
Protestant Irishmen who busy them
selves with the old books of Erin
Or. GWynn's editorial writing in this
edition of the Book of Armagh shows
this very plainly. He writes with a
commendable pride and with quiet en-
.husiasm of the work of the ancient
IRISH scholars and teachers of the
world. In this he is only repeating
history; and Godfrey Keating's noble
indication of his people against the
EenOmous pamphleteers and political
5chemers Of Puritan England had it's
refreshing parallel when the illustri-
JUS chaplain of the. Irish Brigade, the
Able MacGeoghegan, was able to
luote the Protestant USHER in de-
;ence of the old books of Erin against
the attacks Of the Catholic Tillemont
and the Bollandists. This spirit of
union and loyalty to Ireland is the
Inevitable fruit of native studies which
are being pursued with ardor at the
present day, and it is one of the most
cheering and hopeful results of the
Irish revival.
Down to the time of the Danish
invasion of Ireland there subsisted at
Armagh series of learned men whose
honour as well as monastic service
was to multiply books and supply the
literary requirements of a studious
community Thus, the Annals of the
Four Masters and the Annals of us
ter record that, in the year S12, "Tor
bach Son of German, Scribe, Lector
and Abbot of Armagh died." DR..
Gwynn notes the significance of the
order of the titles of the learned Alb
bot. 1t shows that the Irish Annal-
lists agreed with st. Teresa in the
view that learning is no hindrance,
out rather help, to holiness when
sought and used in the right spirit.
And this has always been a favourite
notion of the Irish. This Torbach,
himself a learned and skilful scribe,
was the patron and teacher of Fer
1omnach, who copied from older
Manuscripts the identical pages of
the Book of Armagh which now adorn
the Library of Dublin University, and
from which the present edition has
been printed. Dr. Graves has shown
that the first part was finished by
Ferdomnach in the year S07 at Ar
magh under the primacy of Torbach.
The Book of Armagh is so called from
it's place of origin, where, too, it was
preserved for many long centuries !;
as also, perhaps, from the apparent
object of the compiler to uphold the
rights and privileges of st. Patrick S
primatical See.
The present successor of st. Patrick
in the See of Armagh, Cardinal Logue,
has shown on many occasions that
the old spirit lives still in that sa.
cred capital of Irelands faith His
zeal on behalf of the shrine of st.
Columbanus at Bobbio in Italy places
him in line with the scholarly pre-
lates of the past.