﻿606
AN GAODHAL.
And Breton, Druid, the Sages of the land,
That language spoke in ideas all sublime,
And Ossian sung in martial tones so grand,
His classic poems unequalled since his time.
And Finn and Goul with hosts of warriors brave,
That language spoke in purity of style,
And told their grief upon the patriots grave,
And sung his praises thro' his native Isle.
And saint aud pilgrim at the hallowed shrine,
That language used for thousand years and odd,
And Angels bore the symphonies divine,
Of Irish anthems to the Throne of God.
While this intact, the vehicle of thought,
Our Isle was safe, at least it was our own,
Tho' foes attacked, and bloody battles fought,
We victors were, for Irish was our tone.
Alas ! a blight, a failure and decay,
From various causes tended to its doom,
That told in boast, or seemed as such to say,
You are no more except within the tomb.
For fossil like an emblem of the past,
That mark the Saurons of their genial climes,
And trod this earth and disappeared at last,
Left scarce a wreck save these of modern times,
The Celtic tongue that stood so long the test,
Of Vandal, Goth, and Dane and Saxonhordes,
Is now alas but spoken in the West,
Among the peasants and the petty Lords.
No more it sounds, the soul entrancing lays,
Of ages past when Chieftains felt a pride,
To rouse their clans in strains of heroic praise,
To meet their foes upon the Shannon side.
But yet withal a spell it still contains,
To those but known, who speak it as the Gael,
To rouse each man to meet upon the plains —
If they but had a Caieftain as O'Neil.
M. BURKE.
PROF. ROEHRIG on the IRISH
LANGUAGE.
(Continued from page 593.)
And wherever you can analyze the facts, where
ever you can find out the reason why of such and
such rule, its principle, its cause, its "rationale,"
and penetrate, as it were, the subject-matter, intel¬
lectually, — there all painful efforts, which so com¬
monly accompanies the mere mechanical application
of memory, ceases and gives way to a most easy,
pleasant, and in its results, prompt, certain and ex¬
tremely satisfactory sort of mental activity. Now,
for example, if the rules of aspiration become the
subject of study, I would advise the learner to pro¬
ceed in the order of the parts of speech. This is
the most natural and simple way. Perhaps it will
be best to begin with the Definite Article. Note
down the two instances where aspiration occurs
viz., in the Feminine Gender Nominative and Ac¬
cusative Singular), in the Masculine (Genitive Sin¬
gular). The exceptions are very easily remember¬
ed. (They are the same in both instances, viz.
words beginning with d, t, or s). Pass on to the
compound words ; excepting, however, such unreal
compounds as those in which the second part
stands in the Genitive case, etc. Here the above
exceptions with d, t, s ccur again (when, at the
same time, the terminal letters of the preceeding
part are d. t, s, l, n). Next, to the adjective; then
proceed to the personal pronouns, dam, and duit
— to me, to thee — where the aspiration takes place
after a preceding vowel or aspirated letter, then
proceed to the numerals 1, 2, 1st, 3d, then to the
verb, preceded by certain particles; then to an,
privative as well as intensitive, the former you may
take together with the other privative neamh, the
latter with the intensitives sc and sar, etc.: then
pass to the prepositions and finally to budh (ba, b')
when followed by an adjective beginning with a
labial. Proceed in a similar manner with eclipsis.
Begin with the Definite Article (when preceded by
prepositions). In this connection, take also a few
prepositions, that cause eclipses, even if they are
not followed by the Definite Article (a, i, iar, ria).
Then pass on to the Plural. Plural of what? 1st,
of the Possessive Pronouns, 2d, of the Genitive af¬
ter na. Then pass to the numerals, 7, 8, 9, 10, and
2-3, (dha d-trian), to the verb preceded by certain
particles (an nach, go, da, ca, muna, a), etc. Now
consider also the prefixing of t before words begin¬
nig with s. (in the cases specified by grammar);
distinguish also between this and the cases where
it is prefixed to a word beginnining with a vowel.
Then, also remember the exceptions, where s does
not take the prefixed t. The classical student can,
at once, simplify the statement of these exceptions
by expressing it in grammatical terminology, as s
by one of the tenues (p, c, t), or one of the mediae,
(b, g, d), or by m. Diagrams will also prove to be
a great help to the learner; thus for example, to
survey instantaneously cases of aspiration and ec¬
ipsis, at the same time; —
The table here indicated will be given in the
next Gael.)
I give this as a simple specimen. Ever so many
useful diagrams may be made, with great advantage
to the learner, and bearing on all parts of Irieh
grammar. A good deal might be said in this rela¬
tion, but it seems to me almost useless to make any
further specifications, — thinking these few suggest¬
ons will prove amply sufficient to every student of
the Irish language. Now, it may be objected;
that all such help, that I propose is hardly needed
that the main thing is, and remains the actual
practice in speaking and writing, — where aspiration
and eclipsis are to be continually applied, that this
is a most essential and important exercise which
nothing else can replace. To be sure, that is what
I say, too. But that is not enough; — theory has
to go hand in hand with practice, and it is exceed¬
ingly desirable and satisfactory, leading to accuracy
of knowledge and genuine thoroughness, to obtain
