says, "Who even from his boyhood was given to a Christian education and the studies of wisdom." He is said to have confounded gainsayers, and taught his disciples to support their doctrines, by putting forward the testimonies of the sacred scriptures. No wonder then that a church built upon two such pillars as these should be, for a time at least, "A shining light;" by the ancient annalists compared to the celestial luminaries.-See Revel, c. 1.

St. Chrysostom, who died in the year 407, left the following written record.

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Although thou shouldest go to the ocean, and those British isles," &c. "thou shouldest hear all men every where discoursing matters out of the Scriptures, with another voice, indeed, but not with another faith." We have a still more decisive assertion of Bede in regard to Britain. "This island at this present, with five sundry languages, to the number of the five books of Moses, doth study and set forth the knowledge of the perfect truth-that is with the language of the English, the Britons, the Scots (or Irish,) the Picts, and the Latins, which by the study of the scriptures is made common to all the rest.”

Bede mentions St. Kilian and St. Fursa, who "from the time of their very childhood," applied themselves to the study of the scriptures, and tells us also of St. Hilda, Abbess of Lindisfarne, that "such religious men as lived under government, she made them to bestow their time in the reading of the scriptures." And farther, so great was the character of Ireland as a place for "the studying of the scriptures," that Agilbert a native of France, came here and remained for some time for that sole purpose. And British princes were sent here to obtain this best

of learning. Altfrid became thus most learned in the Scriptures-"Successit Eyfrido in regnum." Northumbriæ, “ Altfrid, vir in scripturas doctissimus." Bed. iv. 26.

Again, he relates of St. Aidan, St. Columbkille's principal successor, that, "all such as went with him, whether clergy or laity, were obliged to exercise themselves in reading the scriptures, or in the learning of the psalms;" and also, that "the people flocked anxiously on the Lord's day to St. Aidan, and St. Finan, and St. Colman, to the churches and monasteries, not for the feeding of their bodies, for the hearing of the word of God."

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Therefore was this island called, "Sanctorum patria," the country of saints. In the ancient rude poetry of the day, Erin is thus mentioned.

"Ivit ad Hibernos sophia mirabile cluris."

Jonas, a Roman Catholic writer, bears testimony at once to the independence of her inhabitants of all authority, and to their enjoyment of Christian doctrine, and also the influence of that doctrine upon their faith. He writes thus, "A nation which, although without the laws of other nations, yet so flourishing in the vigour of Christian doctrine, that it exceeds the faith of all the neighbouring nations." (Vit. Colum. c. l.) And Bede says of them, "They observed only those works of piety and chastity which they could learn in the prophetical, evangelical, and apostolical writings." And he too was a Roman Catholic. He says, of St. Adamnanus, "He was a good man, and wise, and most nobly instructed in the knowledge of the scriptures;" it is remarkable, that, while this venerable, historian manifestly condemns the independence of the Irish Christians, he bears this candid

and generous testimony to their character. Speaking of St. Aidan, he says, that although he could not keep Easter contrary to the manner of them that sent him, yet he was careful diligently to perform the works of faith and godliness, and love, according to the manner used by holy men. Wherefore he was justly beloved of all, even those who differed from him with respect to Easter; and he was not only held in reverence by those of meaner rank, but also by the bishops themselves, Honorius of Canterbury, and Felix of the east Angles.'

Ancient Erin was the island of missions, from which emanated those crowds of sainted teachers, from whom savage clans and roving barbarians `received the benefits of knowledge and the blessings of religion,' and the greater part of Britain her first hearing of the blessed truths of the gospel.

It is pleasing to find a foreigner, M. Rapin, doing justice to this fair claim of Ireland, which will probably be ridiculed by some of her sons at home. He says, 'It is surprisingly strange that the conversion of the English should be attributed to Austin, rather than to Aidan Finan, to Colman, to Cedd, to Dimna, and the other Scottish' (or Irish) 'monks, who undoubtedly laboured much more abundantly than he.' (Hist. of Eng. Fol. Lond. 1732, p. 80.)

In the primitive Christian church of Ireland the Bible was read, as we have seen, by all, in their vulgar tongue; the laity, the common people, the women, the very children were encouraged, nay ordained to engage in this hallowed occupation, and therefore was her church orthodox and flourishing at home, and pressing to spread its blessings abroad. But when the light was extinguished by the Danes,

and the churches and colleges destroyed, and the Bible itself immured in a foreign language, darkness covered the land, and gross darkness the people; until that Word, which is 'the religion of the Protestants,' and which at the first commanded the light to shine out of darkness, broke the clouds, and gave the promise of a better day. And never, oh! never may the compromising spirit of expediency prevail to shade its effulgence with an attenuating veil!

Columbkille was born in 521, during the reign of Murkertach.

The name originally given him was Crimthan; he was afterwards called Columba, with the surname of Cille or Kille, which signifies The Churches. He was called the Dove of the Churches, from the gentleness and simplicity of his character.

In the year 550, Columba revisited the scene of his early instructions. The esteem in which he was held was seen in the reception he met with, and is thus described:- All the people in the monastery and its neighbourhood poured out to meet him, kissed him with the greatest reverence and affection, and, singing hymns and psalms of praise, led him to their church, surrounded with a rail of wood, carried by four men, to prevent his being incommoded by so immense a multitude.'

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Disgusted with the unabated rancorous feuds of the provincial princes, among whom his own relatives, the Nials of the north and south, took a conspicuous part, Columba turned away from his own beloved island, and carried the story of peace' to districts he had not hitherto visited. In the year 563, with twelve of his disciples, he sailed for the little island of Hy or Iona, which was assigned to

him by the king of Albania, who was one of his relatives, and to whom the island belonged. And he trod the wild range of the Grampian Hills on the same divine mission; and his labours in the Lord were blessed.

The Druids were the priests or clergy of the Celts. In the earliest ages they established themselves at Iona; their religion was as old as that of the Magi of Persia, the Bramins of India, and the Chaldees of Babylon and Assyria. These all originally sprang from the religion of Noah and the antediluvians. The Celtic tribes were of the posterity of Japhet; and wherever they came they carried their religion with them, which has suffered less change in the Highlands and islands of Scotland than in any other country. This was the reason why Cæsar asserted that Druidism had its first rise in Britain.`

The Druids worshipped the sun; calling him the 66 source of all life." There are many remains of Druidical worship, curious stones, hillocks, and mounts still to be seen in many parts of these countries, which they overran.

In 565 they were expelled by St. Colombkille. At first the Druids tried to persuade him that their religion and his was the same, hoping thereby that he would be induced to leave them in the peaceable possession of their tenement; but he soon taught them that a stronger than they had made it over to him. He founded a monastery on the island. In his notice of its privileges, the venerable Bede says, that its abbots had the superiority over the bishops of Scotland, and that it is accustomed to have a superior priest or abbot, to whose jurisdiction all the province, and bishops themselves, though unusual,