248

was set over a similar institution in Italy. Somewhat page." The subtle speculations of Erigena have
later, we find another eminent Irishman, named strongly attracted the notice of the most eminent
Dungal, selected by the emperor Lothaire I., the among the modern inquirers into the history of
grandson of Charlemagne, to superintend the whole opinion and of civilization; and the German Tenne-
system of the Italian universities or public schools. man agrees with the French Cousin and Guizot in
He governed that of Pavia in person; but he is stated attributing to them a very extraordinary influence
to have founded and exercised a general control also on the philosophy of his own and of succeeding
over those of Ivrea, of Torino, of Ferno, of Verona, times. To his writings and translations it is thought
of Vicenza, and of Cividad del Friuli. Dungal has may be traced the introduction into the theology
left various works, which bear honorable testimony and metaphysics of Europe of the later Platonism of
both to his scientific and his literary acquirements. the Alexandrian school. It is remarkable, as Mr.
A second Irish Sedulius, the author of a prose Moore has observed, that the learned Mosheim had
Commentary on the Epistles of St. Paul, also ap- previously shown the study of the scholastic or Aris-
pears to have flourished in the early part of the ninth totelian philosophy to have been also of Irish origin.
century. He became Bishop of Oreto in Spain; and "That the Hibernians," says that writer, "who
besides his Commentary, is the author of a treatise were called Scots in this (the eighth) century, were
entitled "The Concordance of Spain and Hibernia ;" lovers of learning, and distinguished themselves in
in which he not only maintains the Irish to be these times of ignorance by the culture of the
Spaniards by origin, but asserts their right to be sciences beyond all the other European nations,
still considered as merely a division of the Spanish traveling through the most distant lands, both with
nation. Donatus, who was about the same time a view to improve and to communicate their knowl-
Bishop of Fiesole, in Italy, was also an Irishman. edge, is a fact with which I have been long acquaint-
The only piece of his that remains is a short Latin ed; as we see them in the most authentic records
poem in praise of his native country.1
of antiquity discharging, with the highest reputation
and applause, the function of doctor in France, Ger-
many, and Italy, both during this and the following
century. But that these Hibernians were the first
teachers of the scholastic theology in Europe, and
so early as the eighth century illustrated the doc-
trines of religion by the principles of philosophy, I
learned but lately." And then he adduces the
proofs that establish his position.

But the glory of this age of Irish scholarship and genius is the celebrated Joannes Scotus, or Erigena, Turner as he is as frequently designated,—either appellative equally proclaiming his true birthplace. He is supposed to have first made his appearance in France about the year 845, and to have remained in that country till his death, which appears to have taken place before 875. Erigena is the author of a translation from the Greek of certain mystical works ascribed to Dionysius the Areopagite, which he executed at the command of his patron, the French king, Charles the Bald, and also of several original treatises on metaphysics and theology. His productions may be taken as furnishing clear and conclusive evidence that the Greek language was taught at this time in the Irish schools. Mr. Turner has given a short account of his principal work, his Dialogue de Divisione Naturæ (On the Division of Nature), which he characterizes as "distinguished for its Aristotelian acuteness and extensive information." In one place" he takes occasion," it is observed, "to give concise and able definitions of the seven liberal arts, and to express his opinion on the composition of things. In another part he inserts a very elaborate discussion on arithmetic, which he says he had learnt from his infancy. He also details a curious conversation on the elements of things, on the motions of the heavenly bodies, and other topics of astronomy and physiology. Among these he even gives the means of calculating the diameters of the unar and solar circles. Besides the fathers Austin, the two Gregories, Chrysostom, Basil, Epiphanius, Origen, Jerome, and Ambrosius, of whose works, with the Platonizing Dionysius and Maximus, he gives large extracts; he also quotes Virgil, Cicero, Aristotle, Pliny, Plato, and Boethius; he details the opinions of Eratosthenes and of Pythagoras on some astronomical topics; he also cites Martianus Capella. His knowledge of Greek appears almost in every 1 Translated in Moore's Hist. of Ireland, p. 300.

We now proceed to give some account of the Anglo-Saxon language and literature.

The Anglo-Saxon language is one of the dialects of the ancient Gothic, which prevailed over all the countries of Europe designated as barbarous by the Greeks and Romans, except those in which the Celtic and Sclavonian were spoken. The three immediate descendant languages from the Gothic. were the Anglo-Saxon, the Franco-Theotisc, and the old Icelandic. From the Anglo-Saxon the Eng-| lish, and probably also the Lowland Scotch, are descended; from the Francic, the German and the Dutch; from the old Icelandic, the Swedish, the Danish, the Norwegian, and the modern Icelandic. Of the Gothic itself but a single monument remains, an imperfect copy of the Gospels, preserved in the library at Upsala in Sweden. From the silver with which the characters in it are adorned, it has long been called the Codex Argenteus, or silver book; and it is believed to be a portion of the Gothic Bible, all, or the greater part of which was translated by Ulphilas, Bishop of the Moesian Goths, who lived under the Emperor Valens, about the year 360, and who is supposed to have invented or applied an alphabet, formed from the Greek and Latin, to his translation.

What was the form of the Saxon language when Hengist and Horsa entered Britain, in 449, it is impossible to discover. The Saxons were evidently at that time a people without learning, and there is every probability that they were without an alpha1 Turner, Anglo-Sax. iii. 393.

2 Moore's Ireland, i. 302

melted into one language, just as the kindred tribes lect. Inspiron enturers. J+Pelis

The Song of the elder Caedmon, "On the Origin of Things," preserved in Alfred's Translation of Bede's Ecclesiastical History, is one of very few specimens now remaining of the Saxon of the earliest period. It follows, with a literal translation in the opposite column :

The next specimen of Saxon which we shall give is a copy of the Lord's Prayer, written by Eadfrith, Bishop of Lindisfarne, about the year 700: there is little in it that is unintelligible to an English reader. It is preserved in the ancient copy of the Gospels called the Durham Book :

Fader uren thu arth in heofnum sie gehalgud noma thin; to cymeth ric thin; sie willo thin suals inheofne & in eortho; hlaf usenne ofer wistlic sel us todæg; & forgef us scylda usna suæ uæ forgefon scyldgum usum; & ne inlæd usih in costunge uh gefrig usich from yfle.

Next in order of time, as a composition, we are perhaps to place the " Metrical Paraphrase of Parts of the Holy Scriptures," by a nameless author, but ascribed to a second Caedmon, which has recently been so ably edited by Mr. Benjamin Thorpe. The first portion of this poem, after an exordium of thanksgiving to the great Creator, relates the fall of a portion of the angelic host, and the design of the Deity to replenish the void thus occasioned in his creation by a better and a holier race. The fall of Man is next considered, ushered in by a repetition of the circumstances already introduced in the exordium, of the pride, rebellion, and punishment of Satan and his powers, and with a resemblance to Milton so

remarkable, that, as Mr. Conybeare has observed, much of this portion might be almost literally translated by a cento of lines from that great poet. We shall produce a specimen or two, accompanied by Mr. Thorpe's version:—

The following is another passage from the same paraphrase—a part of the Song of Azariah :—

We shall now give one or two specimens of the language as it existed in the latter part of the ninth century, from the works of Alfred. The following is the preface to his paraphrase, or imitation of u Boethius' De Consolatione Philosophia; a work which we are assured he carried constantly about him :11/3 Alfred kuning was wealhstod thisse bec. & hie of bec Ledene on Englisc wende. swa hio nu is gedon. hwilum he sette worde be worde. hwilum andgit of andgite. swa

Alfred, king, was translator of this book, and turned it from book Latin into English, as it now is done. Sometimes he set word by word, sometimes meaning of mean

swa he hit the sweotolost and andgit-fullicost gereccan ing, as he the most plainly and most clearly could render fe

mihte for them mistlicum & manigfealdum weoruld bisgum the hine oft ægther ge on mode ge on lichoman bisgodan. Tha bisgu us sint swithe earfoth rime the on his dagum on tha ricu becomon the he underfangen hæfde. & theah tha he thas boc hafde geleornode & of Lædene to Engliscum spelle gewende. tha geworhte he hi efter to leothe. swa swa heo nu gedon is. & nu bit & for Godes naman healsath ælcne thara the thas boc rædan lyste. that he for hine gebidde. & him ne wite gif he hit rihtlicor ongite thonne he mihte. forthæmthe ælc mon sceal be his andgites mathe and be his mettan sprecan that he sprecth. & don that that he deth.

it, for the various and manifold worldly occupations which
often busied him both in mind and body. The occupa-
tions are to us very difficult to be numbered, which in his
days came upon the kingdoms which he had undertaken;
and nevertheless, when he had learned this book, and
turned it from Latin into the English language, he after-
wards composed it in verse, as it now is done. And he
now prays, and for God's name implores every one of those
whom it lists to read this book, that he would pray for
him, and not blame him if he more rightly understand it
than he could; for every man must, according to the
measure of his understanding, and according to his leisure,
speak that which he speaks, and do that which he does.

We add the Story of Orpheus, from the 31st chapter of the work :

Hit gelamp gio. that te an hearpere. was on thære theode. the Thracia hatte. sio was on Creca rice. se hearpere was swithe. ungefræglice god. thas nama wæs Orpheus. he hæfde an swithe ænlic wif. sio was haten Eurydice. tha ongann monn secgan. be tham hearpere. that he mihte hearpian that se wuda wagode, and tha stanas hi styredon. for thy swege. & wild deor. thær woldon to irnan. & standon. swilce hi tame wæron. swa stille. theah hi men. oththe hundas. with eodon. that hi hi na ne onscunedon. tha sædon hi. that thæs hearperes wif. sceolde acwelan. & hire sawle. mon sceolde. lædon to helle. tha sceolde se hearpere. weorthan swa sarig. that he ne mihte. on gemong othrum mannum bion. ac teah to wuda. & sæt on them muntum. ægther ge dæges. ge nihtes. weop & hearpode. that tha wudas bifodon. & tha ea stodon. & nan heort. ne onscunode. nænne leon. ne nan hara. nænne hund. ne nan neat. nyste nænne andan. ne nænne ege. to othrum. for thære mirhte thæs sones. Tha thæm hearpere tha thubte. that hine tha. nanes thinges ne lyste on thisse worulde. that thohte he. that he wolde gesecan. helle Godu. & onginnan him. oleccan mid his hearepan. & bidden that. hi him ageafan eft his wif. Tha he tha thider com. tha sceolde cuman. thære helle hund. ongean hine. thas nama was Geruerus. se sceolde habban. thrio hæfdu. & ongan fægenian. mid his steorte. & plegian with hine. for his hearpunga. Tha was thær eac. swithe egeslic

Turner II 15

It happened formerly that there was an harper in the country called Thrace, which was in Greece. The harper was inconceivably good. His name was Orpheus. He had a very excellent wife, who was called Eurydice. Then began men to say, concerning the harper, that he could harp so that the wood moved, and the stones stirred themselves at the sound, and wild beasts would run thereto and stand as if they were tame; so still, that though men or hounds pursued them, they shunned them not. Then said they, that the harper's wife should die, and her soul should be led to hell. Then should the harper become so sorrowful that he could not remain among other men, but frequented the wood, and sat on the mountains, both day and night, weeping and harping, so that the woods shook and the rivers stood still, and no hart shunned any lion, nor hare any hound, nor did cattle know any hatred or any fear of others, for the sweetness of the sound. Then it seemed to the harper, that he desired nothing in this world. Then thought he, that he would seek the gods of hell, and endeavor to soften them with his harp, and pray that they would give him back his wife. When he came thither, then should there come towards him the dog of hell, whose name was Cerberus (he should have three heads), and began to wag his tail and play with him for his harping. Then was there also a very dreadful gate-keeper, whose name should be Charon. He had also

1 Thorpe's Caedmon's Paraphrase, p. 237