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A Short History of Celtic Philosophy

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A Short History of Celtic Philosophy A S H ORT H I STO RY O F L I L Y C E T IC PH O S OPH . DEDI CA TI ON TO MY DEA R FR IEND S I R A . G L . L . D . S MUEL R KEI HTLEY , A S H O R T H I STO R Y O F C E LT I C P H I LO SO P H Y BY H ER B ER T M O O R E P I M NOTES BY PR OF . EOIN M A C NB ILL ‘ N E M E S . FO ULI S W . T P T T D UNDALGAN PR E SS E D I N B U R G H D U N D A L K A ND LONDON B Y THE SA M E A UTHOR . A VA MP IR E OF SOULS THE MA N WITH THIR TY LIVES THE PESSIMIST SELECTED POEMS UNK NOWN I MMOR TA LS UNCONQ UE R A B LE ULSTER SONGS FR OM A N ULSTER VALLEY E I I l R M N SCENSES (Short y) . CONTENTS . I NTR OD UCTION — CHAPTER I . THE CELTIC MIND 9 — I I . THE SOUL OF MAN 19 —T R 1 I I I . HE SOUL OF THE WO LD 3 — I V THE DOCTR INE OF REST 4 1 -T I D S V . HE THEOR Y OF EA 57 — S R G VI . JO HN SCOTU E I ENA 75 — S S VI I . JOHN DUN SCOTU 87 — D S VI I I . BER KELEY A N HUTCHE ON 93 NOTES BY PR OFESSOR EOIN MA CNEILL 1 07 P R INTE D B Y WM . T E M PE ST , DUNDA LGAN P RE SS , D UNDALK. I I NTRODUCT ON. T seems desirable that a few words shoul d be offered I to explain how this book came to be written . had spent about seven years in the study of philosophy and during a part of that time I Was engaged in writing in dialogue form a work on the Problem of Pain which was The P essimist. r a r a entitled This wo k, fte m ny r was a and was r d evisions , eventu lly published , eceive r a r w with g e at kindness by the Press . Its m in theo y as — somewhat of a novelty the placing of a doctrine regard e r a i ing th esponse of the inanimate upon logical bas s . This doctrine m ay be set forth as follows or at r When one is ill , even othe times when con a is r m a v a sol tion much desi ed , y not the isit of r a friend be p oductive of consolation It m y. The friend m ay not , experience any unusual r r s r the deg ee of emotion , but his p e ence p oduces in t a f r not I t one visi ed feeling of com o t , does it ' S'HO R T‘ HI STORP O F CELTIC PHILO SO PHY ‘ ‘ ‘ h s o e can Artd .t i : n who is visited describe his feeling of comfort by saying that he received a c an I s a r symp thy , he not It usu l so to desc ibe it . But could he not receive the s ame sym pathy from a favourite and affectionate animal " He could . O r from the contemplation of a gift Certainly O r from the observation of some beautiful flowers" Certainly . a r a a ur O r from n obse v tion of n t e Yes . Then this feeling of comfort is an emotion within himself " It is . ’ And a as al for i the symp thy , we c l it conven ence , a r r m an a a rs and is p ope ty common to , nim l , flowe , r s the wo ld It seem to be . man a a fl r and r But the , nim l , owe s , the wo ld a r d as r must be in f ien ly mood , it we e They must . r as a r r s a a It would be e on ble , the efo e , to y th t ‘ there is the s ame sympathy in beautiful things a are as r a s s a th t silent , the e is in be utiful oul th t Speak So it seems . Immediately after the publication of The P essimist I was asked to undertake the construction of a history of h a was philosophy ; but t is t sk I declined . It then put to me that my P essimist exhibited certain character istics which proved my competence to undertake the discovery of what was suspected to have been done by ar C a h s v ious eltic peoples in the dom in of p ilo ophy . I protested that the tas k was beyond my powers but eventuall y I agreed to make an attempt at a history of INTRO DUCTIO N 3 Celtic Philosophy which would exhibit philosophical development among the al ert and original minds of that r a ra rema k ble ce . was as n r a r a a It ple i g to discove , fte the ccumul tion an ns a a ri a a of imme e qu ntity of m te l , th t much might be s aid on behalf of the existence of a science which had not hitherto been attributed with much seriousness a al f to the Celts . Cl ssic evidence existed to the e fect th at the Celts had produced original philosophy ; but the existence of any particulars as to the working out was an r a r of such Celtic systems othe m tte . When I had satisfied myself as to the discovery of ’ a ri s a r two of Pl to s doct nes , which unque tion bly we e developed by the Druids without any knowledge of P a a s r r ar r l to , I pl ced thi po tion of my ese ch befo e the learned world in two articles which appeared in the Scottish R eview for the winter quarters of 1 915 and 1916 . Up to the present no s cholar has challenged my claims as r ar u a set fo th in these ticles , tho gh they h ve been r s r s s encou ra f eely di cussed in the p ess . Thi in it elf is g r a ra r ing . But mo e intim te encou gement had been fo th i r a r coming , when I subm tted the fi st six ch pte s of my r r M N m T r E acNeill . o an as he wo k to P ofesso oin , Times r a can s a i r a r ecently dmitted , pe k w th g e te authority on ancient Celtic matters than Professor MacNeill ; and it was most gratifying to discover a r i r a s . th t he ed no objection to my wo k Indeed , he did me the great service of wri ting notes for the r a r and for r t . fi st six ch pte s , two notes this Int oduc ion am To him I deeply indebted . At and a he a a the outset , in ddition to t cl ssic l comments ru ll hi r the on the D ids which wi be found in t s wo k , 4 SHO R T HISTO R Y O F CELTIC PH ILO SO PHY following statements about these remarkable and learned men of the ancient Celtic community m ay be s ra r a offered for the con ide tion of the e der . The Druids are generally supposed to have been priests but recent rese arch has put an end to this misconception of their Diodorus a : r r ra functions . s ys They p edict the p efe ble h cri es r s A d things through t e sa fic of the p ie ts . n the following passages m ay be offered to the reader a a s a are r a as valu ble cl s ic l evidence . They he e tr ns r s ra lated as lite ally as po sible . St bo says The Druids profess to know the form and magnitude ar and r a of the e th of the wo ld , the motions of the he vens d s and s ar an . a of the t s , the wi hes of the gods They te ch the nobles t of the people secretly and daily for twenty ar at a . a u r n ye s time Is it to be supposed th t , d i g this a a u r ar s h c demic co se of twenty ye s , no ystem of p ilosophy was taught " MacNeill had said plainly enough in his Celtic R eli ion was r g , which published long befo e I o n s a r a r r l oked i to the e m tte s , th t the D uids we e not priests . * Clement of Alexander says The Gauls have their ” Druids but the Celts have philosophisantes .
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