AN GAOḊAL-
425
supposed to possess of enveloping the island in
mist and thus preventing the foe from opproach¬
ing it.
Cha-n e leis a chlaidheambr rinn e e raighail
Cha'n e leis a shaighdean no leis a bhogha,
Ach tra fhaicidh e luingeas triall
Fholuicheadhe e mo cuairt leis ceo.
That our cousins, the Manksmen, were able to
preserve the semblance of their distinctive nation¬
ality. and to continue faithful amid all their harass¬
ing fortunes to the language and traditions of the
fathers, beautifully indicates that their love for
their Gaelic lineage and Gaelic language must
have been deep and strong. That the Manksmen
could and can, speak their own Gaelic after bear¬
ing the yoke of their Welsh neighbors for 400
years, and the yoke of the Danes for 153 years,
and the yoke of the Norwegians for 200 years; and
after owning the sway of England and Scotland
for 139 years, before the Isle of Man was given to
the Stanleys, with whom it remained for 330 years,
when it passed into the possession of the Dukes of
Athole, who surrendered every claim to it in 1829,
— goes very far to show how strong the life of a
language is, and how its vitality can continue to
be vigorous even when unfriendly forces of a pow¬
erful kind are bent on destroying it. The Manx
resembles the Scottish Gaelic so closely that a
Manksman and a Scottish Gael can converse easily
together in their respective dialects. To Bishop
Bedel the honor belongs of translating the Bible
into Irish Gaelic ; to the Stewarts, father and son,
and to Dr. John Smith, the honor belongs of trans¬
lating the Holy Scriptures into Scottish Gaelic; to
Bishop Morgan his Welsh countrymen are grate¬
ful for his excellent version of the Holy Scriptures
into Welsh. The names of Bishop Wilson, and
especially of Bishop Hildesely, with his coadjutors
Dr. Kelly and Mr. Philip Moore, ought to be, as
they doubtless are, dear to every patriotic Manks¬
man for the excellent translation which they made
of the Holy Scriptures into Manx. Manx is writ¬
ten phonetically. No regard is paid to the etym¬
ological history or value of its words. The trans¬
lators of the Bible openly avowed that their desire
was to spell their language, as to adapt it in its
written form to the manner in which it was spoken,
that thus the Holy Scriptures could be easily read
and understood by every Manksman. No small
ingenuity is required in many cases to discover the
exact value of certain words and sounds. Irish
Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic, and Welsh have been im¬
mensely benefitted, in a literary point of view, by
the idiomatic and copious phraseology which oc¬
curs in the translations that were made of the Ho¬
ly Scriptures into those languages. The Manx
version of the Bible forms the principal portion
the literature of the Isle of Man. It redonnds to
the credit of Manxmen that in 1858 a Society was
formed for the publication of National Documents
in the interests of Chengey ny Mayrey ; and that
already twenty-eight volumes at least have been
published by that Society.
From the very imperfect sketch which has now
been given of the Celtic literature of Ireland and
Scotland and Wales and the Isle of Man, it will be
manifest, I hope, that we — the Celts of to-day —
have a rich literary inheritance; and that we owe
it to ourselves, — to the honorable demands of a
generous patriotism, and to the affection which we
ought to cherish for the homes and writings and
traditions of our venerable Celtic fathers and mo¬
thers in the far off centuries, — to appreciate our
literary treasures very highly; to take an affection¬
ate interest in them; and, so far as we may have
leisure or opportunity, to gain an accurate knowl¬
edge of them; for, what true-hearted Celt can de¬
ny that to the literature of his race these words of
Cicero are applicable in all their force ; Cujus stu¬
dium qui vituperat hand sane intelligo quidnam sit
quod laudanum putet? Nor is the statement of
Burns otherwise than appropriate where ever Celts
do not care for Celtic literature;
"She honest woman may think shame,
That ye're connected wi' her."
The Celts on the Continent of America have
earned for themselves a distinguished place in ev¬
ery avenue of toil and enterprise; and have re¬
peatedly risen to the loftest positions in the lear¬
ned professions, in commercial pursuits, and in
the administration of Government. It is not only
by their study and manful application to ten
thousand forms of industry, but also by their cul¬
tivation of the Celtic muse, that our Celtic breth¬
ren in our own Dominion verify the words of Hor¬
ace:
Coelum non animum mutant qui trans mare cur¬
runt. Breathing as we do with too much frequen¬
cy in Canada, a literary atmosphere that is impreg¬
nated with utilitarianism, the question may be
asked by some persons, "What practical benefits
can result from the labor of our Society? Will
it not be sufficient for us to avail ourselves of the
labors which Celtic scholars are performing across
the Atlantic in the field of our common literature,
and to utter sentimental ejaculations of admiration
and affection while we ourselves are studiously
idle?" Apart from the certainty that we must all
agree with Juvenal who says, Miserum est aliorum
incumbere famae, it becomes us to act as the Manx
saying admonishes us, Shass er dty chione hene.
"rely on your own understanding," and to draw
together more strongly and sincerely the bonds of
literary consanguinity which unite the Celts of
Canada. If we are successful in deserving and
obtaining the co-operation of the Celtic scholars
of Canada; we can in all fairness hope to do some¬
thing towards ornamenting, at least, the trees and
fences of our common inheritance; and, if our la¬
bors be unimportant in the general forthputting of
Celtic ardor for Celtic learning, we can console
ourselves by believing with Cicero that primo se¬
quent m putchrum est in secundise terviisque concist
