NOTES

New Zealand Tablet, 5 February 1920, Page 26

NOTES

The Gaelic We want to call your attention to Mr. O'Connor's advertisement on page 24 of the Tablet. Among his new books you will find Simple Lessons in Irish, by Eugene O'Growney. Now you cannot find a better little book to put in your pocket, or in your friend's for that matter, than an Irish grammar. For those of us who had not the opportunity of learning the language in our youth or from a native speaker, books are essential. Most of us may never get very far with it, but at any rate we can pick up a .smattering of Gaelic and learn to use the common salutations, that are so beautiful on Catholic lips. If anything shows the vast difference between Gaelic and Saxon ideals it is the casual words that leap to the lips when we meet or leave a friend. Every Irish salutation is a prayer. Instead of an asinine "ta-ta," or an affectedly foolish "toorle-oorle," or the matter of fact "so long," you will find the Irish saying "May God bless you," "May God and Mary bless you," "God prosper you," or "God save you." It is a little thing, but it tells volumes of the difference between the two races. 'And as Eugene O'Growney was the pioneer, not only of the. Gaelic League, but even of Sinn Fein, which had never been born but for the League, we ought to love a book of his and hold it as a treasure above price. To have for our own something of the man who did so much for Ireland shoud appeal to most of us. Gaelic Romances There is another book in the list that we want to recommend particularly. (By the way, we hope Mr. O'Connor won't object to our taking his name in vain.) The second book is Old Celtic Romances, by Dr. Joyce. Dr. Joyce is another pioneer who has deserved well of his country. His Irish history has kindled the sacred flame in many a young heart; his Irish primer has been conned by many a turf fire and on many a wind-swept hill; his scholarly volumes on ancient Irish culture are invaluable for the student of Irish history. The Old Celtic Romances will lead you into the world of old, dear dreams whither Irishmen and women have ever gone for inspiration for their literary work. Plutarch and Boccaccio were the mines in which Chaucer and Spenser and Shakespere delved for their materials and Joyce's book is equally a mine of inexhaustible 'treasure for Irish writers in prose or verse. The sad story of the children of Usna, and the fate of the children of Lir have been the inspiration of many a poet, and will continue to be for many a year to come. Dr. Joyce brings you back to the fountain and tells you simply

and beautifully the old ■ tales that mean so much to Irish culture : to-day, yesterday, and to-morrow. This book -will illumine your mind s and give you anew pleasure in reading many a masterpiece. From . Moore's pathetic melody, Silent 0 Moyle, to iSynge's immortal play, Deirdre, there is a long interval with many a book in the same strain in between. Joyce will help you .to enjoy Synge. better as he will give substance and meaning to the lovely lines of Moore: When . shall the swan her death note singing Call my spirit to the fields above When shall Heaven, its sweet bells ringing, Warm our isle with peace and love ? Fascinatio Nugacitatis The fascination of migacity! " What a luminous phrase it is in which the Bible expresses an evil habit of mind, fruitful with failures, destructive of high character, fatal to great promises. How many men and women who are endowed by God with splendid talents wrap them in a napkin and bury them because they are captivated by the fondness for trifling, for small talk, for dilettanteism, and never strive to use their opportunities for doing any good for themselves or for their fellows. In a few vivid words Dante has painted a picture of (hose whose lives Avere thus wasted : Questo mlsero modo Tenr/on I'aninte trist-e di coloro Che visiter senza infamia e senza lodo. Mischiate so no a quel cattivo corn Degli atic/eli, die -non furon ribelli, Ne fur fedeli a Dio, ma per se foro. CarriarJi i Ciel per non e.iser men. belli; Xe lo profondo inferno i/li riceve, Che (ileu (florin i rt-i avrebber (V elli .. . Fama (h lorn if mondn ewer non lasaa: MUericordia e f/iinttiziu tfli sdei/na: on ragioniam di lor, ma gitarda e passa. Turn up your Longfellow or your Carey and read the translation of these powerful lines which so caustically describe the souls of them that Revelled beneath the stars, And slept beneath the sun, And lived a life of going to do And died with nothing done. One other word occurs, and it is the severest of all: "I would you were either hot or cold, but because you are neither hot nor cold I will begin to vomit you out of my mouth." The Parable of the Talents The parable of the talents contains a warning and a lesson for us all. We have two natures, or rather two sides of one complex nature, to develop, the spiritual and the temporal. Christ's strong, hard saying applies directly to those who are neither hot nor cold in His service. Dante's covers also those that spend their lives in the fascination of doing nothing, whom he dismisses scornfully with the remark:

"Let us not talk about them, look at them and pass by." We have incessantly pleaded for activity among our educated laity in the direction of greater interest in the Church and in all that concerns our Holy Religion. Young men and women who have the ability could do untold good for God if, instead of wasting precious time in reading useless books and in small talk, they studied Catholic principles and tried to make them known to others. They have an opportunity that the clergy have not. In the workroom, in offices in casual conversation with their non-Catholic friends, they must have been struck, time and again, by the crass ignorance of all things Catholic in the world around us. Protestants believe the silliest stories about us. They have been brought up to regard as true the monstrous fables about our devotions that now and then we see printed by the unmentionable papers which cater for bigots. -'And it is because of their prejudices

hired agitators are able to reap a rich harvest among them. There is a large field for endeavor in this respect. Sound study, zeal for God's Glory, a victory over laziness and a realisation of our dignity are needed for a start. That is one reason why we should conquer the fascinatio nugacitdtis; there are scores of others.