The
landmarks of history stand clear and fixed, each in its own place
unremoved; and through that forest-growth the highways of history
run on beneath over-arching, not interfering, boughs. The age of
the predominance of Ulster does not clash with the age of the
predominance of Tara; the Temairian kings are not mixed with the
contemporary Fians. The chaos of the Nibelungen is not found here,
nor the confusion of the Scotch ballads blending all the ages into
one.
It is not imaginative strength that produces confusion, but
imaginative weakness. The strong imagination which perceives
definitely and realises vividly will not tolerate that obscurity so
dear to all those who worship the eidola of the cave. Of each of
these ages, the primary impressions were made in the bardic mind
during the life-time of the heroes who gave to the epoch its
character; and a strong impression made in such a mind could not
have been easily dissipated or obscured. For it must be remembered,
that the bardic literature of Ireland was committed to the custody
of guardians whose character we ought not to forget. The bards were
not the people, but a class. They were not so much a class as an
organisation and fraternity acknowledging the authority of one
elected chief. They were not loose wanderers, but a power in the
State, having duties and privileges. The ard-ollav ranked next to
the king, and his eric was kingly. Thus there was an educated body
of public opinion entrusted with the preservation of the literature
and history of the country, and capable of repressing the
aberrations of individuals.
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