The Triads of Ireland. Various
Читать онлайн книгу.
from which date onward it is always Lusca (a.d. 916, 928, &c.). In our text (§ 46) all the manuscripts read Lusca.
In slender io-stems the dative singular in Old-Irish ends in -iu. I find this form in the Annals of Ulster for the last time in a.d. 816 (Gertidiu). Thence onward it is always -i, as in our text (hi Cúailgni 43, d'uisci 64).
The nasal stem léimm makes its nom. plur. léimmen in Old-Irish. In § 32 we find instead (tair-)leme. So also foimrimm makes its nom. plural foimrimme in § 163.
The word dorus is neuter in Old-Irish, making its nom. acc. plural either dorus or doirsea. In our text (§§ 173, 174) the word is masculine, and makes its nom. plural doruis.
Druimm is an i-stem in Old-Irish, but in the later language passes into an n-stem. In § 51 we find the nom. pl. drommanna.
The neuter grád in § 166 makes its nom. plur. grúda for O. Ir. grád.[11]
[11] The infinitive bith for O. Ir. buith (91), the dative cinn for O. Ir. ciunn (98, 135), the nom. pl. sligthi for O. Ir. sligid (which I have restored in § 49), the confusion between do and di (e.g. 83), and other details are probably due to the Middle-and Modern-Irish transcribers.
On linguistic grounds, then, I should say that our collection was made some time during the second half of the ninth century. That it cannot be dated earlier is also apparent from another consideration. Professor Zimmer has taught us to search in every ancient Irish text for indications of its having been composed either before or after the Viking period. I find no words from the Norse language in the Triads, or, if there are any, they have escaped me; but there are two distinct references to the Viking age. In § 232, a Viking in his hauberk (Gall ina lúirig) is mentioned as one of three that are hardest to talk to; and, in § 44, Bangor in Co. Down is called unlucky or unfortunate, no doubt, as the gloss says, because of the repeated plunderings and destruction of its monastery by the Norse during the early part of the ninth century (a.d. 823, 824).
In endeavouring to trace the origin of the Triad as a form of literary composition among the Irish, one must remember that it is but one of several similar enumerative sayings common in Irish literature. Thus the collection here printed contains three duads (124. 133. 134), seven tetrads (223. 230. 234. 244. 248. 251. 252), and one heptad (235). A whole Irish law-book is composed in the form of heptads;[12] while triads, tetrads, &c., occur in every part of the Laws.[13] Such schematic arrangements were of course a great aid to memory.
[12] See Ancient Laws of Ireland, vol, v., pp. 118-373.
[13] Thus in the first volume of the Laws we find duads on p. 228, 15; 294, 27; triads on p. 50, 9. 27; 230, 4; 264, 20; 288, 28; tetrads 40, 21; 54, 7; 64, 1; 240, 24; 256, 4, &c.; 272, 25; 274, 3, &c.; pentads 30, 21; 50, 32; 90, 29; 102, 6; hexads 68, 11; 248, 7: a heptad 134, 9; an ennead 16, 20.
If the Triad stood alone, the idea that it owes its origin to the effect of the doctrine of the Trinity upon the Celtic imagination might reasonably be entertained. The fact that this doctrine has led to many peculiar phenomena in Irish folklore, literature, and art has frequently been pointed out. Nor would I deny that the sacred character of the number three, together with the greater facility of composition, may have contributed to the popularity of the Triad, which is certainly the most common among the various numerical sayings as well as the only one that has survived to the present day.
However that may be, I believe that the model upon which the Irish triads, tetrads, pentads, &c., were formed is to be sought in those enumerative sayings—Zahlensprüche, as the German technical term is—of Hebrew poetry to be found in several books of the Old Testament. I am indebted to my friend the Rev. Carl Grüneisen for the following list of such sayings, which I quote in the Vulgate version.
Duads and Triads.
Ecclus. 23: 21, Duo genera abundant in peccatis, et tertium adducit iram et perditionem, &c.
Ib. 26: 25, In duobus contristatum est cor meum, et in tertio iracundia mihi advenit: 26 vir bellator deficiens per inopiam, et vir sensatus contemptus, 27 et qui transgreditur a iustitia ad peccatum, Deus paravit eum ad romphaeam.
Ib. 26: 28, Duae species difficiles et periculosae mihi apparuerunt: difficile exuitur negotians a neglegentia, et non iustificabitur caupo a peccatis labiorum.
Triads and Tetrads.
Proverb. 30: 15, Tria sunt insaturabilia, et quartum quod nunquam dicit: sufficit. 16 Inferuns, et os vulvae, et terra quae non satiatur aqua; ignis vero nunquam dicit: sufficit.
Ib. 30: 18, Tria sunt difficilia mihi, et quartum penitus ignoro: 19 viam aquilae in caelo, viam colubri super petram, viam navis in medio mari, et viam viri in adolescentia.
Ib. 30: 21, Per tria movetur terra, et quartum non potest sustinere: 22 per servum cum regnaverit: per stultum cum saturatus fuerit cibo, 23 per odiosam mulierem cum in matrimonio fuerit assumpta, et per ancillam cum fuerit heres dominae suae.
Ib. 30: 29, Tria sunt quae bene gradiuntur, et quartum quod incedit feliciter: 30 leo fortissimus bestiarum, ad nullius pavebit occursum, 31 gallus succinctus lumbos, et aries, nec est rex qui resistat ei.
Ecclus. 26: 5, A tribus timuit cor meum, et in quarto facies mea metuit: 6 delaturam civitatis, et collectionem populi, 7 calumniam mendacem, super montem, omnia gravia, 8 dolor cordis et luctus mulier zelotypa.
A Tetrad.
Proverb. 30, 24: Quattuor sunt minima terrae, et ipsa sunt sapientiora sapientibus: 25 formicae, populus infirmus qui praeparat in messe cibum sibi, 26 lepusculus, plebs invalida qui collocat in petra cubile suum.
A Hexad and Heptad.
Proverb. 6. 16 Sex sunt quae odit Dominus, et septimum detestatur anima eius: 17 oculos sublimes, linguam mendacem, manus effundentes innoxium sanguinem, 18 cor machinans cogitationes pessimas, pedes veloces ad currendum in malum, 19 proferentem mendacia testem fallacem, et eum qui seminat intra fratres discordias.
An Ennead.
Ecclus. 25, 9: Novem insuspicabilia cordis magnificavi, et decimum dicam in lingua hominibus, &c.
The question arises whether these biblical sayings were the direct source from which the Irish imitations are derived, or whether the Irish became acquainted with the numerical Proverb through the medium of Greek and Latin literature. As the Irish clerics ever since the days of St. Patrick were diligent students of the Bible, there would be nothing strange in the former assumption. But there exists at least one early document which renders the latter equally possible. Under the title of Proverbia Grecorum we possess a collection of sayings translated by some Irish scholar in Ireland from the Greek into Latin before the seventh century.[14] Among them we find three triads,[15] two pentads,[16]