CH. 6. COMMON LAW AMONG THE ANCIENT ... - Origin of Nations

The great German celtologist Zeuss was profoundly impressed with the vast antiquity,even from B.C. times, of Ogham. The fact is, even books were then being written inIreland -- and had already been written for a very long time -- ere the start of St. Patrick'slife-long mission there in 432 A.D. Thus also MacManus,#80# in The Story of the IrishRace.In the second century one encounters the writings of Feredach, Modan, Ciothruadh, andFingin; and in the third century, many poems and much prose. Thus Aethicus, in hisA.D. 417 Cosmography of the World, states he had earlier gone to Ireland and examinedwhole "volumes" of books in Irish.No later than the third century, Cormac MacArt inscripturated#81# the extremely ancientPsalter of Tara. He also required all his fianna warriors to memorize twelve books ofpoetry.#82# Note: twelve books!Used by the druids before the advent of Christianity, Ogham consists of twenty-five runicor cuneiform-like letters similar to characters also found in the Orient. Most of its extantinscriptions are to be found on stones (and especially on gravestones). Yet some werealso used in antique books.More than three hundred Ogham writings have been discovered in both Gaelic andPictish. Most are from Kerry and Cork in Ireland -- yet some are from the Isle of Man,Scotland, the Shetlands, Wales, Cornwall, Devon, and Hampshire.#83#O'Flaherty shows in his great book Ogygia#84# that the Pre-Christian Irishmen ForchernMacDeagh, Neidhe MacAidhna and Aithirne MacAmhnas once composed many workson poetry and on the laws and on celestial judgments. Again, King Cormac Ulfadaaddressed his written work called The Education of a Prince -- to his own son. Thatwork not only evidences a written tradition of educational methodology, but also anestablished practice of teaching children how to read.Indeed, also the Scot Sir George MacKenzie states#85# that he himself saw manuscriptsin Columba's Abbey written by Cairbre Liffeachar, who lived six generations before St.Patrick. Other manuscripts he saw there, clearly dated from about the time of ourSaviour. Indeed, he saw too yet other manuscripts of the royal genealogies even fromPre-Christian times.Patrick himself noted the native literacy of the Chief Druid Dubthach O'Lugair -- beforethe latter's christianization. Indeed, St. Patrick even supervised the burning of some 180volumes of unacceptable writings#86# – as distinct from a much greater number ofwhich he approved. Very clearly, then, this suggests that certainly in Ancient Irelandalso druidic doctrines had long been in writing. Indeed, the fact that Patrick also updatedthe Senchus Mor alias the Irish Law Code -- again presupposes its Pre-Patricianinscripturation.When the above-mentioned 180 volumes of unacceptable writings were destroyed, many21