lect02-第3章

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Caesar　declares　the　Druids　to　have　been　specially　fond　of






arguing。　It　in　one　place　sets　forth　how　God　made　the　heaven　and






the　earth；　but　the　account　is　not　the　least　like　the　Mosaic






account。　It　goes　off；　as　Caesar's　Druids　did；　into　a　number　of






extraordinary　statements；　'de　sideribus　atque　eorum　motu'；　'de






mundi　ac　terrarum　magnitudine'。　Among　other　things；　it　declares






that　God　fixed　seven　divisions　from　the　firmament　to　the　earth；






and　that　the　distance　he　measured　from　the　moon　to　the　sun　was






244　miles。　'And　the　first　form　of　the　firmament　was　ordained






thus：　as　the　shell　is　about　the　egg；　so　is　the　firmament　round






the　earth　in　fixed　suspension。。。　there　are　six　windows　in　each






part　through　the　firmament　to　shed　light　through；　so　that　there






are　sixty…six　windows　in　it；　and　a　glass　shutter　for　each　window；






so　that　the　whole　firmament　is　a　might　sheet　of　crystal　and　a






protecting　bulwark　round　the　earth；　with　three　heavens；　and　three






heavens　about　it；　and　the　seventh　was　arrange　in　three　heavens。






this　last；　however；　is　not　the　habitation　of　angels；　but　is　like






a　wheel　revolving　round；　nd　the　firmament　is　thus　revolting；　and






also　the　seven　planets；　since　the　time　when　they　were　created'。






Parts　of　the　passage　reflect　the　astronomical　notions　known　to






have　been　current　in　the　Middle　Ages；　but　much　of　it　reads　like　a






fragment　of　a　heathen　cosmology；　to　which　a　later　revision　has






given　a　faint　Christian　colouring。　The　same　Preface　contains　also






some　curious　speculations　on　the　etymology　of　law…terms；　and　the






Preface　to　the　Book　of　Aicill　enters；　among　other　things；　into






the　question　of　the　difference　between　genus　and　species。






　　　　I　suggest；　therefore；　that　the　same　tendencies　which　produced






among　the　Celts　of　the　Continent　the　class　called　the　Druids






produced　among　the　Celts　of　Ireland　the　class　known　to　us　as　the






Brehons；　nor　does　it　seem　to　me　difficult　to　connect　the　results






of　these　tendencies　with　other　known　phenomena　of　ancient






society。　There　is　much　reason　to　believe　that　the　Tribe…Chief；　or






King；　whom　the　earliest　Aryan　records　show　us　standing　by　the






side　of　the　Popular　Assembly；　was　priest　and　judge　as　well　as






captain　of　the　host。　The　later　Aryan　history　shows　us　this






blended　authority　distributing　or　'differentiating'　itself；　and






passing　either　to　the　Assembly　or　to　a　new　class　of　depositaries。






Among　the　Achaeans　of　Homer；　the　Chief　has　ceased　to　be　priest；






but　he　is　still　judge；　and　his　judicial　sentences；　Themiotes；　or






'dooms'；　however　much　they　may　be　drawn　in　reality　from






pre…exiting　usage；　are　believed　to　be　dictated　to　him　from　on






high。　Among　the　Celts　both　of　Gaul　and　of　Ireland　he　has　ceased






to　be　priest；　and　also　probably　to　be　judge；　although　some






measure　of　judicial　authority　may　still　belong　to　his　office　as　a






'survival'。　The　order　of　change　thus　departs　from　that　followed






in　Athenian　history；　where　the　institution　of　kingship　survived






only　in　the　name　of　the　King　Archon；　who　was　a　judicial






functionary；　and　from　that　followed　in　Roman　history；　where　the






Rex　Sacrificulus　was　a　hierophant　or　priest。　The　Popular






Assembly；　meanwhile；　which　virtually　attracted　to　itself　the






whole　civil　and　criminal　jurisdiction　of　the　Kings　among　the






Athenians；　and　which　at　Rome　engrossed　the　whole　administration






of　criminal　justice　through　the　commissions　it　appointed；　seems






to　lose　all　judicial　authority　among　the　Celts。　Perhaps　I　may　be






permitted　thus　to　describe　the　change　I　conceive　to　have　taken






place　among　the　Celts　of　Ireland。　Themis；　who　in　Homer　is　the






assessor　of　Zeus　and　the　source　of　judicial　inspiration　to　kings；






has　（so　to　speak）　set　up　for　herself。　Kings　have　delegated　their






authority　to　a　merely　human　assessor；　and　we　see　by　the　story






which　begins　the　Senchus　Mor　that；　even　when　a　Saint　is　supposed






to　be　present；　the　inspiration　of　which　he　is　the　source　does　not






find　expression　through　his　lips；　nor　does　it　descend　on　the






King；　it　descends　on　the　professional　judge。　When　we　obtain　our






last　glimpse　of　the　class　which　has　received　this　inheritance






from　Chief　or　King　　the　Brehons；　Judges；　or　Authors　of






Judgments　　they　have　sunk　to　the　lowest　depth　of　misery　and






degradation　through　the　English　conquest。　At　an　earlier　date　they






are　seen　divided　into　families　or　septs；　the　hereditary






law…advisers　of　some　princely　or　powerful　house。　Hugh　McEgan；　who






wrote　the　note　'in　his　own　father's　book'　which　I　read　in　the






last　Lecture；　was　one　of　the　hereditary　Brehons　attached　to　the






McCarthys。　But；　in　the　earliest　Irish　traditions；　the　functions






of　the　Brehon　and　the　King　run　very　much　into　one　another。　The






most　ancient　Brehons　are　described　as　of　royal　blood；　sometimes






as　king's　sons。　The　Tanaists　of　the　great　Irish　Chiefs；　the






successors　elected　out　of　the　kindred　of　each　Chief　to　come　after






him　on　his　death；　are　said　to　have　occasionally　officiated　as






judges；　and　one　of　the　law…tracts；　still　unpublished；　contains






the　express　rule　that　it　is　lawful　for　a　king；　though　himself　a






judge；　to　have　a　judge　in　his　place。　Cormac　MacAirt；　one　of　the






traditional　authors　of　the　Book　of　Aicill；　was　a　King　in






retirement。　Apocryphal　as　his　story　may　be；　it　is　one　of　much






significance　to　the　student　of　ancient　institutions。　He　had　been






accidently　blinded　of　one　eye；and　is　said　to　have　been　deposed






from　his　regal　office　or　chieftiancy　on　account　of　the　blemish。






Coirpri；　his　son　and　successor　（says　the　Book　of　Aicill）；　'in






every　difficult　case　of　judgment　that　came　to　him　used　to　go　and






ask　his　father　about　it；　and　his　father　used　to　say　to　him；　〃My






son；　that　thou　mayest　know〃'　　and　then　proceeded　to　lay　down






the　law。






　　　　If；　without　committing　ourselves　to　any　specific　theory






concerning　the　exact　extent　of　the　correspondence；　we　can　assume






that　there　was　substantial　identity　between　the　literary　class






which　produced　the　law…tracts　and　the　literary　order　attributed






to　the　Celtic　races　by　Caesar；　we　not　only　do　something　to






establish　an　historical　conclusion　perhaps　more　curious　than






important；　but　we　remove　some　serious　difficulties　in　the






interpretation　of　the　interesting　and　instructive　body　of　archaic






law　now　before　us。　The　difference　between　the　Druids　and　their






successors；　the　Brehons；　would　in　that　case　be　mainly　this：　the






Brehons　would　be　no　longer　priests。　All　sacerdotal　or　religious






authority　must　have　passed；　on　the　conversion　of　the　Irish　Celts；






to　the　'tribes　of　the　saints'　　to　the　missionary　monastic






societies　founded　at　all　points　of　the　island　　and　to　that






multitude　of　bishops　dependent　on　them；　whom　it　is　so　difficult






to　reconcile　with　any　of　our　preconceived　ideas　as　to　ancient






ecclesiastical　organisation。　The　consequence　would　be　that　the






religious　sanctions　of　the　ancient　laws；　the　supernatural






penalties　threatened　on　their　violation；　would　disappear；　except






so　far　as　the　legal　rules　exactly　coincided　with　the　rules　of　the