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Vallancey - Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis, Volume 1, Issue 7, Page 3

Vallancey - Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis, Volume 1, Issue 7, Page 3
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periodical Publisher
The Antiquarian Society, 1782
periodical Editor
Vallancey, Charles
periodical Title
Vallancey - Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis
volume Number
1
issue Content
r64 DRUIDISM REVIVED.DRuIDISM REVIVED.writers, Co far from confidering the Irifh of theirtimes a cicilized and le rned people in generat,efleem them a favage and ignorant race; thoughIreland, in thofe periods, muft have been wellknown to tb ni, both by reafon of the trade whichthe Rornans cairied on with it, and their remaininglb many years in Britain. Strabo is the firft writerof antiquity, who treats with any degree of precifionof the manners of the old IriIh; his account differsin no refpe from thole we have at prefent, relativeto the favage tribes of Indians who perambulatethe wilds of AmerIca; nay, in hme of his relations(b), he not only aflerts they were in a barbarousfiate, but much more fo than the Britons; andmcnhions fcveral of their manners, which would befuflicient to degrade the moff ferocious favages (c),Nor is the teflimony of Diodorus Siculus d) morefavourable than that of Strabo; they were in thedays of this writer, fo far from being civilized bylong poffeflion of letters and a confiant cultivationof arts and fciences, that they were thought to feedon human bodies; a circumftance pofitively affertedby St. Jeroni, who lays that in his younger days,having an occafion to make a voyage into Gaul,he there faw the Sc ts or I rifli, a people of Britaineat human fleffi, though there were found, lays lie,in their forefis, great herds of fwine and othercattle (e). Even the account given by PomponiusMela, is extremely unfiivourable to a civilizationarifing from a long pofThflion of letters; he callsthem(1) Straho, 1h. .(e; S r bo, ib. 4.(i) Died. S cu. l!!. . .( tiier ra n. ,dv. ,v:r t.b. .u -Them a race of men, unpolilhed, barbarous andignorant of every virtue cf). Nor were they muchimproved, if we can credit Julius Solinus, aboutthe third century (g). Thefe authorities appearfufficient to overthrow intirely the preterdion of theIrilh hiflorians, relative to the learned flate of theirpagan ancetfors; as the Britons who, ccordirig toStrabo, reforted to Rome (/i) could not be ignorantof the internal flate of this ifland; and from whomwe may reafonably conclude both Strabo an.IMela btained their information concerning theIrifh. And in the days of Tacitus, the ports ofIreland were well known fj) ; confequently, thatcelebrated hiflorian could not be ignorant of thereal chara&er of its inhabitants. But Solinus hada better opportunity than either Strabo, Mela, orTacitus, of obtaining information on this fubje&;as in his time, Britain had been a province of theempire at lealt aoo years. Some communicationmuft have been maintained between the t o iflandsduring that period, and coniquently the Romanscould not have remained ignorant of the mannersand cuftoms of the inhabItants of Ireland.Sir James Ware, the moft jufily efteemed ofall the Irifh antiquaries, and ever zealous for thehonour o his country, gives not the ieaft credit tothe pretenfions of the Irifli to an alphabet, beforetheir converfion to Chriftianity; and Nennius feernsf) Pomp. Mela, lib. 4..(g) Solinus. 36.(ii) 1 sra a; v fhu it o1.u , y P . Strabo, lib.j i) Tac tus vit. A ric. Z 4 .
issue Number
7
page Number
3
periodical Author
[various]
issue Publication Date
2006-01-01T00:00:00
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anonymous,guest,friend,member

Vallancey - Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis, Volume 1, Issue 7

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