Patrick

“ Beside the font Aengus stood; his face
Sweet as a child’s, yet grave as front of eld:
For reverence he had laid his crown aside,
And from the deep hair to the unsandalled feet
Was raimented in white. With mitred head
And massive book, forward Saint Patrick leaned,
Stayed by the gem-wrought crosier. Prayer on prayer
Went up to God; while gift on gift from God,
All Angel-like, invisibly to man,
Descended. Thrice above that princely brow
Patrick the cleansing waters poured, and traced
Three times thereon the Venerable Sign,
Naming the Name Triune. ”

“ For all Eire's good clergy were come
To bury Saint Patrick with pride;
And the sounds of the singing from heaven
Cast them sleeping all round, far and wide.
XXXII.
Saint Patrick's pure soul fled his frame
(His works immortality make) ”

“ Save Garban. Crafty he, and full of lies,
That thing which Patrick hated. Sideway first
Glancing, as though some secret foe were nigh,
He spake: “Mac Kyle! a counsel for thine ear!
A man of counsel I, as thou of war!
The people love this stranger. Patrick slain,
Their wrath will blaze against us, and demand
An eric for his head. Let us by craft
Unravel first his craft: then safe our choice;
We slay a traitor, or great ransom take:
Impostors lack not gold. ”

“ And their visions were true, as we know
From the facts which his histories paint.
XII.
Renowned was Saint Patrick through life,
And of error he was a dire foe;
Hence for ever his name shall be grand
Among the nations, as ages shall flow. ”

“ When the tumult and shouting had died Patrick went in quest of the little Padre.
He discovered him sitting on the wreck of his bivouac of the night; he was clasping some small article to his bosom, and the look on his face was that of a man who had found his heart's desire.
Patrick sat himself down on a box of bombs, and looked humbly at the Reverend Paul. It is an awful thing for a man suddenly to find he has been entertaining a hero unawares. ”

“ And Patrick, seeing the heathen about to attack him, cried in a loud voice, “Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered.” Then a great darkness fell and the earth quaked, and in the tumult the heathen fell upon each other, and the horses fled over the plain, and of all that company only the king and queen, and Lucetmael, the other sorcerer, and a few others survived. Then the queen went to Patrick and besought him, saying, “O mighty and just man, do not destroy the king! He will come and kneel and worship your god.” ”

“ And since the Christian tomb is decked with Cross
He shall not lack his right.”
Then Patrick spake:
“O woman, hearken, for through me thy son
Invokes thee. All night long for thee, unknown,
My hands have risen: but thou hast raised no prayer
For him, thy dearest; nor from founts of God,
Though brimful, hast thou drawn for lips that thirst.
Arise, and kneel, and hear thy loved one’s cry:
Too long he waiteth. Blessed are the dead:
They rest in God’s high Will. ”

“ Before Patrick can become the father of a Pericles, before Ireland can become an Attica, Patrick must be led out of his economic cave: his low cunning in barter must be expanded into a knowledge of economic law—his fanatical concentration on his family—begotten by the isolation and individualism of his life—be sublimed into national affections; his unconscious depths be sounded, his feeling for beauty be awakened by contact with some of the great literature of the world. ”

“ Caught warmth yet scarcely flamed, Aengus stood
With Patrick in a westward-facing tower
Which overlooked far regions town-besprent,
And lit with winding waters. Thus he spake:
“My Father! what is sovereignty of man?
Say, can I shield yon host from death, from sin,
Taking them up into my breast, like God?
I trow not so! Mine be the lowliest place
Following thy King who left his Father’s throne
To walk the lowliest!” Patrick answered thus:
“Best lot thou choosest, son. If thine that lot
Thou know’st not yet; nor I. The Lord, thy God,
Will teach us.” ”

“ That hour was strong in prayer. “From God he came,”
Thus cried they; “and we worked a work accursed,
Tempting God’s prophet.” Patrick heard, and spake;
“Not me ye tempted, but the God I serve.”
At last Mac Kyle made answer: “I have sinned;
I, and this people, whom I made to sin:
Now therefore to thy God we yield ourselves
Liegemen henceforth, his thralls as slave to Lord,
Or horse to master. That which thou command’st
That will we do.” And Patrick said, “Believe;
Confess your sins; and be baptised to God,
The Father, and the Son, and Holy Spirit,
And live true life.” ”

“ But when he would have continued to read, he seemed in the spirit to hear the Irish infants which were yet unborn crying unto him with a loud voice, "O holy youth Patrick! we beseech thee come unto us, and abide with us, and release us!" And Patrick, being pierced therewith in his heart, could not finish the letter; but awaking, he gave infinite thanks to God, for he was assured by the vision that the Lord had set him apart, even from his mother's womb, had by His grace called him to convert and to save the Irish nation, which seemed to desire his presence among them. ”

“ Patrick afterwards blessed Eoghan, with his sons. "Which of your sons is dearest to you?" asked Patrick. "Muiredhach," said he. "Sovereignty from him for ever," said Patrick. "And next to him?" asked Patrick. "Fergus," answered he. "Dignity from him," said Patrick. "And after him?" asked Patrick. "Eocha Bindech," said Eoghan. "Warriors from him," said Patrick. "And after him?" asked Patrick. "They are all alike to me," answered Eoghan. "They shall have united love," said Patrick. ”

“ And while arrayed in armor they rose unto arms, they heard a voice from heaven, which seemed as the voice of Saint Patrick, staying their violence; and the sea, rising above its wonted bounds, reared itself as a wall, and separated the contending people, so that they could neither behold nor attack one the other ”

“ Is there anything else granted to me?" asked Patrick. "There is," answered the angel; "the great sea to come over Erinn seven years before the Judgment; and depart from the Cruachan."
"I will not depart," said Patrick, "since I have been tormented, until I am gratified." "Is there anything more you demand?" asked the angel. "There is," answered Patrick; "that Saxons may not occupy Eriu, by consent or force, whilst I shall be in heaven." "It shall be granted thee," said the angel; "and depart from Cruachan." "I will not depart," said Patrick, "since I have been tormented, until I am gratified. ”

“ Whereby was it plainly given to be understood that the darkness of night obscured not Patrick, the son of life, the inhabiter of eternal brightness, while the night was to him the illumination of his joys, while he ascended unto the light without spot, the day without night, the sun without eclipse. ”

“ I, Patrick, a sinner, the rudest and least of all the faithful, and most contemptible to very many, had for my father Calpornius, a deacon, the son of Potitus, a priest, who lived in Bannaven Taberniae, for he had a small country-house close by, where I was taken captive when I was nearly sixteen years of age. I knew not the true God, and I was brought captive to Ireland with many thousand men, as we deserved; for we had forsaken God, and had not kept His commandments, and were disobedient to our priests, who admonished us for our salvation. ”

“ And Patrick went to the place which the angel had pointed out unto him, and he found therein no small weight of gold. Wherefore he addressed for his ransom his hard and cruel master, and with the offering of the yellow metal induced his mind, greedy of gold, to grant unto him his freedom. ”

“ And at another time the aforementioned brothers, for the purpose of visiting Saint Patrick, took their way on foot over the sands of the sea-shore. And as they walked along, communing on the way together, behold, the flowing-in of the tide surrounded them, and, preventing all escape, smote them with the fear of death. Then the saint, instructed of heaven, saw their peril, and, showing it unto his disciples, professed that he grieved for them. ”

“ With face of one who notes not shapes around,
But dreams some happy dream. The king drew nigh,
And on her golden head the sceptre staff
Leaning, but not to hurt her, thus began:
“Your prophets of the day, I trust them not!
If sent from God, why came they not long since?
Our Druids came before them, and, belike,
Shall after them abide! With these new seers
I count not Patrick. Things that Patrick says
I ofttimes thought. His lineage too is old—
Wide-browed, grey-eyed, with downward lessening face,
Not like your baser breeds, with questing eyes
And jaw of dog. ”

“ And Saint Patrick in his journeying passed with his people through a forest in Midernia, and he met therein certain slaves that were hewing wood; and these men were under the yoke of a hard and cruel master, named Tremeus; and they hewed the wood with blunt axes, nor had they whetstones nor had they any other means whereon to sharpen them. Wherefore their strength failed, their arms stiffened, and the flesh fell from their hands, and the naked sinews were seen, and the miserable men wished rather for death than for life. ”

“ These men by their enchantments covered the whole country with thick darkness for three continual days, whereby they hoped to prevent the entrance of Patrick into that place. But the son of light, in whose heart the morning star that never sets perpetually shone, while he lifted up unto heaven his heart and his hand and his tongue in prayer, the light-streaming rays of the sun, shining forth, dispersed the magic darkness ”

“ And Patrick, “Spirits twain are theirs:
The stranger, and the poor, at every door
They meet, and bid him in. The youngest child
Officious is in service; maids prepare
The bath; men brim the wine-cup. Then, forth borne,
Cities they fire and rich in spoil depart,
Greed mixed with rage—an industry of blood!”
He spake, and thus the younger made reply:
“Father, the stranger is the brother-man
To them; the poor is neighbour. Septs remote
To them are alien worlds. They know not yet
That rival clans are men.” ”

“ Then the shipmaster said to Patrick, “Now, O Christian, thou sayest thy God is great and almighty. Why then dost thou not pray for us? For we are in danger of starvation, and there is no likelihood of our seeing any man.” And Patrick, in the spirit of the missionary, replied, “Nothing is impossible to the Lord, my God. Turn to him truly, that he may send you food in your path this day till ye are filled, for he has plenty in all places.” ”

“ In splendour o’er it, like the stars of God.’”
Then Patrick said, “A boon! I crave a boon!”
The angel answered, “Speak;” and Patrick said,
“Let them that with me toiled, or in the years
To come shall toil, building o’er all this land
The Fortress-Temple and great House of Christ,
Equalled with me my name in Erin share.”
And Victor answered, “Half thy prayer is thine;
With thee shall they partake. Not less, thy name
Higher than theirs shall rise, and wider spread,
Since thus more plainly shall His glory shine
Whose glory is His justice.” ”

“ The astonishing increase of the flock, which multiplied every day beneath his charge, soon became known to his master, who, being one night asleep, saw among the obscure visions of his dreams his slave Patrick rejoicing and surrounded by a great light, from whose mouth issued a beautiful and resplendent flame, which touching his two daughters, who he thought were by his side, burned them and reduced them to ashes, leaving himself alone untouched by that sweet and amorous flame. ”

“ As the children grew up he was their guide. He was all honor, honesty, and affection. He was with us in New Hampshire last summer, and his hair was just as black, his eyes were just as blue, his form just as straight, and his heart just as good as on the day we first met. In all the long years Patrick never made a mistake. ”

“ And Ethne had replied—
“Beloved, I am afraid the whole world is a land of divisions and dissolvings. What Patrick has brought us is the one universal Church of the One Living God, as he told the princesses of our race at the well—‘Our God is the God of all men.’ If our Ireland, if your Italy, can live in His life, we shall be one and at peace, and strong. And this is what we in our little way, what Patrick and Leo in their great way, are labouring for night and day, heart and soul, every day and for ever.” ”

“ The which when Patrick heard, taught by the Divine Spirit, he knew that the vessel of evil was hardened in reprobation, prepared in no wise for correction, but rather for perdition; and thus he prayed unto the Lord: "O Lord God, as thou knowest this vulpine man to be monstrous in vice, do thou in a monstrous mode cast him forth from the face of the earth, and appoint an end unto his offences!" ”

“ And in Lesser Britain lived a venerable man, named Vinvaloeus, who was even from his infancy renowned for signs and wonders; for as his acts are recorded, very many exceeding great miracles are attested to have been done by him. And he, the south wind so blowing that all his perfumes breathed forth, heard the holy name of Saint Patrick, and earnestly desired he to hasten unto the odor of his virtues. ”

“ Where Dairè dwelt, its lord.
Saint Patrick sent
To Dairè embassage, vouchsafing prayer
As sire might pray of son; “Give thou yon hill
To Christ, that we may build His church thereon.”
And Dairè answered with a brow of storms
Bent forward darkly, and long, sneering lips,
“Your master is a mighty man, we know.
Garban, that lied to God, he slew through prayer,
And banned full many a lake, and many a plain,
For trespass there committed! Let it be!
A Chief of souls he is! No signs we work,
Rulers earth-born: yet somewhat are we here—
Depart! By others answer we will send.” ”