Standish O'Grady; selected essays and passages

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50 STANDISH o'gRADY
Of European countries, Greece and Ireland only
exhibit in their literary-historical monunients that regular
progression of thought which ought to have if it did
not characterize all the rest. The early traditions of
Italy seem to have been lost in quite pre-historic times.
The Rome that we know started into existence like a
seedling out of some pre-existing perished civilization.
Those of Spain and France were obliterated by the
latinization of those countries. The traditions of Britain,
which probably would never have assumed a large national
character, owed their extinction to the same cause. Those
of Scotland, owing to the predominance of Ireland and
Irish thought, were lost or merged in those of this country.
The Scandinavian and German still exist of European
and world-wide importance indeed, but not so blended
and intermingled with the history of any one German
or Scandinavian nation as to fill the same place as the
Irish and Greek mythological narrative.
Ireland not only escaped subjugation at the hands
of Rome, but accomplished such a unity of thought
and feeling as impressed upon the traditions a large
national complexion, so that her history, like that of
Greece, blends imperceptibly with her mythology. The
historian is aware of the existence of a point of contact,
but he cannot detect it. He may, however, trace back
the current of history to a point at which demonstrative
proof fails ; but it is manifest that it would be most
unscientific to declare, that because proof is not forth-
coming for what immediately precedes this, mythology
then commences, and fact is succeeded by fancy.