Standish O'Grady; selected essays and passages

IRISH POLITICS AND POLITICAL HISTORY .
of wisdom in the secret ear ;
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youths studious and literary
(don't forget this one great task of the future Ireland's
history) ; men and minds of many types and of all types,
see that you make yourself fit to be their king. As sure as
I write these words they will gather to you from the
nodh, the south, the east, and the west, out of Ireland,
and out of all lands.
There are many other things which I would like to
bring under your notice, but the subject has a sort of infinite
character, branching off in directions numberless. For
the present, at least, I have perhaps written sufficient
and I know that little, very little, depends on the extent
or power of the language used by me. All will come from
the heart,' conscience, and imagination of you, your
— ;
courage, energy, and wisdom, the good grace assisting of
Him who fashioned of old—surely for some high purpose
this sea-girt land of ours, here in the wild Western main,
and has guided so far upon its road this wayward Irish
race, ever onward and upward— guided and also compelled,
driven many times as with fiery whips, for it is a tameless
people this, none on the earth's surface in such need of
the whip and rein, having, indeed, much of the wild ass
in its composition—ever onward and upward through the
centuries, as I clearly see ; but whether upward still or
straight down to perdition will depend, I say it most
seriously and deliberately, on you, dear friend, to whom
He has given understanding and material power, and to
whom sent for final warning this last and most terrible of
all prophets—Revolution-prophet and executioner in
one. Ireland and her destinies hang upon you, literally