nall dia tairmesc & ni dernad fair. Zuid Sechnall for a ais iarsin & tuarcaib a lama co Dia, coro sluic in talum .x. cairptiu .ííí. dib, cum suis equitibus, et ceteri in fugam exierunt.

Uel haec est causa.i. as in tocrad do rat rechnall for Patraic .1. Fo fer Patraic minbad oen .1. a laget pritchas deircc. O no chuala tra Patraic insein do luid co Sechnall, ocus ferg mor fair. Is andside no riacht se Sechnall oiffrenn act dul do ourp Crist, in tan it cuas do Patraic do tidect don baile & ferg mor fair fria Sechnall. Facbais iaram, Sechnall in edpairt for sin altois, & slechtais do Patraic. Do rat tra Patraic in carput tairis, 1 tuarcaib Dia in talmain imme hinc & inde co na ercotig do. Cid romba dam, or Sechnall. Cia h-oen sut ol Patraic, dixisti na na comall-su, ar mani domallaimsea deircc, am bidba thimmna De. Ros fitir mo Dia brathai is ar deircc na pritchaim ar ticfat mic bethaid post me in hanc insolam 1 ricfait aless a fognam ab homnibus. Ni con fetarsa sin or Sechnall nach ar laxu do signis.

Vel hæc est causat; i. e. from the attack that Sechnall made upon Patrick, viz. [when he said] "Patrick is a good man, except in one thing, viz. that he preaches almsgivings so little." When Patrick heard this, he went to Sechnall, and he was in great wrath. It was when Sechnall had finished the Mass, except taking the Body of Christ, that he heard that Patrick had arrived at the place, and that he was in great wrath against Sechnall. Sechnall, therefore, leaves the oblation upon the altar, and prostrates himself to Patrick. Patrick, however, drove the chariot over him, but God raised the ground around him hinc et inde, that he should not be injured. "Why hast thou done so to me?" said Sechnall. "Who then is the man," said Patrick, "who said that I did not preach almsgiving? for if I preach not almsgiving, I am the enemy of God's Testament. But God, my judge, knoweth, that it is for charity that I preach it not, because there shall come after me into this island Children of Life", and they shall have need for its being exercised by all." "I did not know," said Sechnall, "that it was not from laxity thou didst so."

• For him.—i. e. his interference availed nothing to put an end to the fair. See the account of this given in the Tripartite Life, Part iii. c. 90.

t Hæc est causa.-i. e. this is another account of the occasion on which the hymn was composed. See the story of this misunderstanding between Patrick and Sechnall. Jocelin. c. 176, 177, Tripart., Part iii. c. 88. But we have here several curious particulars not mentioned in any of the Lives as published by Colgan.

u Children of Life.-In the Irish preface to the hymn "Imnum dicat turba fratrum,” in a subsequent part of this work, the same words, meic bethaid, are used in the general sense of Christians. In one of St. Patrick's prophecies he is represented as having predicted St. Kieran as "qui

dem filius vitæ nondum natus."—Jocel., c. 113, Vit. Tripart., lib. ii. c. 25 (where, for fluvius, read filius), and in another St. Colman Ela is foretold under the same title. Cf. Jocel. c. 96 and 98. Patrick himself is called "a certain Child of Life," in this Preface. See next page. Mac beta, a child of life, signified a righteous man; mac bais, a child of death, a wicked man.

▾ I did not know.-St. Patrick in his defence of himself (as given above), is made to say, that if he had asked for offerings or land to be given to the Church, he would have obtained all the property of the country, and have left nothing to the Christians that were to come after him. And the Angel says to him, “All, nevertheless, is thine, even though it be given to thy successors."

IS andsin arbert in t-aingel fria Patraic, bid latsu sin uile. Do sonsat tra sith andsin, Patraic & Sechnall, ↑ cen batar [ac] tiadtain timchell na relgi ro chualutar clais aingel oc cantain imon fdpairt is in eclais, & issed ro dansat in n-immon dia dan tossach,

Sancti venite christi corpus, etc. Conid o sem ille dantar in Eirinn in imunsa in tan tiazar do churp Crist.

Ocus no faid Patraic iar sin Sechnall co Róim for cend neich do thaissib Poil Perair & martire aile, ar in cursaćud do rat fair, & ite sin taisse filet in Ard macha h-i scrin Poil & Petair.

O su saith tra do Sechnall in molud-sa do denam, luid dia taispenad do Patraic. In tan ro siact Sechnall co Patraic asbert Friss, Molad do signes dia araile mac bethad, is ail dam etseċt duitsiu friss. Asbert Patraic, mochen molad fir muintire Dé. Ise tra tossach do rat Sechnall for a immon.1. beata Christi custodit, ar na ro tucad Patraic [dia aire] cia dia n-dernad in t-immon co tairsed a gabail. In tan din, no paid Sechnall, Maximus namque in regno celorum, sochumscaig Patraic alluc h-illoc, & dixit, cindas bas maximus homo in regno celorum . Dixit Sechnall, pro possitivo est hic. No is do ilib a cheneoil fen dorroisce. Is maith in frecra ol Patraic.

Then the Angel said to Patrick, "All these shall be thine." They made peace then, Patrick and Sechnall. And as they were going round the cemetery, they heard a choir of Angels chanting a hymn at the Offertory in the church, and what they chanted was the hymn whose beginning is

Sancti venite, Christi corpus, &c.

So that from that time to the present that hymn is chanted in Erinn when the Body of Christ is received.

And Patrick, after this, sent Sechnall to Rome for portions of the relics of Paul and Peter, aud other martyrs, in consequence of the accusation he had made against him. And these are the relics" which are now in Ardmacha, in the shrine of Paul and Peter.

Now, when Sechnall had finished this Hymn, he went to show it to Patrick; and when he had reached Patrick, he said to him, "I have composed a hymn in honour of a certain Child of Life,-I wish that thou wouldest listen to it." Patrick answered, "I welcome the praise of a man of the people of God." But the beginning that Sechnall gave to the hymn was, Beata Christi custodit, in order that Patrick should not know in whose honour the hymn was made, until he had finished it. But when Sechnall repeated, Maximus namque in regno cælorum, Patrick moved from place to place, and said, "How can a man be greatest in the kingdom of heaven ?" Sechnall said, "Pro positivo est hic; or it is because he excelled great numbers of his own race." "The answer is good," said Patrick.

These are the relics.-Jocelin makes St. Patrick himself go to Rome for these relics, and the Tripartite Life adds that he constituted S. Secundinus Archbishop of Armagh during his absence. See Note D, p. 44

The beginning.-i. e. he omitted the first stanza in which Patrick was named.

Y Pro positivo.-Colgan's version of the Preface to this hymn, gives this passage thus-" S. Secundinus respondit, Pro positivo hic ponitur superla

tivus." But the text seems to be taken from the Tripartite Life (Part. iii. c. 91), where the story is thus told in Colgan's version-" Quo audito S. Patricius è loco surgens, et in via progrediens, petiit a Secundino, quomodo de homine diceret Maximus in regno calorum. Secundinus . . respondit se non vocare Maximum liberà comparatione facta quoad omnes absolute, sed propositive [read. pro positivo] inquit, sive respective, ved quod plu

......

In tan tra so scaich re Sechnall in t-immon do gabail, is and do rocht fer ocur ben co m-biad leo do Patraic .i. gruth & imm. bera nomen uiri, & brig nomen mulieris. Asbert Patraic, tech olse h-i n-gebthar ria proind in nimmun-sa ni bia terca m-bid and. Ocus tech nua, umorra, h-i n-gebthar prius, biaid torruma Patraic co noemaib erenn and imme. Amail po foillsized sin do Cholman ela, & aliis cum eo, & amail po foillsiged do Choemgein cum suis, in tan tanic as ind eclais dia domnaiz is in prainntech, ad imnum hunc contauit. Patricius cum multis Patribus apparauit ei ter cantauit. Et tunc quidam stultus dixit. Cur canimus hanc imnum sic. 1 dixit Coemgein, ni maith sin olse quia apparuit enim nobis Patricius cum suis discipulis quandiu cuntabamus imnum.

When Sechnall had finished reciting the hymn, there came then a man and a woman having food with them for Patrick, viz. cheese and butter. Bera was the name of the man, and Brigh the name of the woman. Then Patrick said, "The house," said he, "in which this Hymn is sung before dinner, there shall be no scarcity of food in it." And the new house in which it is sung before occupation the watching of Patrick and of the saints of Ireland shall be there about it; as the same was revealed to Colman Ela, and to others with him; and as it was revealed to Coemhghin [Kevin] and his monks, when he came out of the church on Sunday into the refectory, and sang this hymn. And Patrick, with many fathers, appeared to him, and he sang it three times. And then a certain foolish one said, "Why do we sing this hymn thus ?" And Coembghin said, "That is not good," said he, "for Patrick with his disciples were visible to us, so long as we were singing this Hymn."

ribus generis sui præcellit, Britonum vel Scotorum." -Colgan. p. 166. That is to say, the superlative degree is used instead of the positive, maximus for magnus. Or else he is said to be marimus, relatively to others of his race, i. e. greatest of the Britons or Scots. See the Gloss on this passage of the Hymn, which is evidently taken from this explanation.

A man and a woman.-See the Trip. Life, Part iii. c. 94

a The new house.-i. e. the house built since Pa. trick's time, the house of the present day, shall have the protection of Patrick and of his companions, the saints of Ireland, according to the revelations made to St. Colman Ela and to St. Kevin. The following is the story alluded to as told in the Life of St. Colman Ela (Colgun. ubi supr., p. 210)—“ Beatus senex Colmanus cantabat cum suis fratribus Hymnum Sancti Patricii Archiepiscopi Hiberniæ, et beatus Patricius ante tempus S. Colmani multis annis migravit ad Christum. Venitque S. Patricius de cælo, et stetit in medio fratrum cantantium suum hymnum. . Et videns S. Colmanus solus sanctum

Patricium, jussit ter cantari hymnum. Admirantes fratres, unus, senior ex illis, dixit ad S. Colmanum, Adsunt nobis alia spiritualia cantica, cur igitur moremur in uno tota die? S. Colmanus ait illi, Vere bone senior; beatissimus noster Patricius stabat in medio nostri benedicens nos, usque dum audivit verbum increpationis tuæ; sed tunc illico evanuit ex oculis meis,- -et ideo jussi ter Hymnum cantari. Hoc audiens ille senior displicuit sibi et pœnitentiam aegit."

b Sang this Hymn.—The following is the account given in the Life of St. Kevin (c. 23) of the circumstance here alluded to :-" Quadam nocte S. Coemgenus cum suis monachis hymnum S. Patricii cantabant; repente autem B. Coemgenus admiratus tacuit, et suos tribus vicibus Hymnum cantare jussit. Hymno tertia vice deposito, benedixit eis S. Patricius. Quibus interrogantibus cur jussit hymnum cantari ter, ipse vero tacens, exposuit eis, dicens. S. Patronus noster Patricius, cujus hymnum cantastis, stabat in pavimento, suffultus baculo; et benedixit nobis a carmine cessantibus."Colgan. ubi supra.

O so siacht in t-immun do gabail, asbert Sechnall, alog dam-sa or se. Rotbia ol Patraic, .1. allin lá fil in anno, a chuber de animabus peccatorum do dul dochumm nime ar in n-immon do denam. Ni geb-sa sin op Sechnall, or is bec liumm, & is maith in molad. Rotfia, ol Patraic, allin ló fil for cassal do cochaill, allín peccċach do dul dochum nime, ar in n-imon Ni geb, or Sechnall, ar cia h-iresach na bera lais in coibes sin documm nime, cen co mola fessin (no fer) amail tussa etir. Rotfia, ol Patraic, morfessiur caċa dardain, & . x. da fir caca satharn dochumm nime do pecctachaib erenn. Isbec, or Sechnall. Rotfia, ol Patraic, cac oen gebus fo lige & fo ergi do dul do chumm nime. Ni geb-ra sin or Sechnall, ar is mor in t-immun, & ní cach conicfa a mebrugud. Arath uile, ol Patraic, ar na tri caibtelu dedinachu de. Deo gratias, op Sechnall.

Do rairngert in t-aingel do Patraic for sin cruaich, in detna .i. nem don ti jebas fo lige fo ergi na tri caipitelu dedincha de, ut est

Imun do reza h-itbiu,

bid luisech diten do dach.

Ord abgitrech fil fair, more ebreorum

The casula. This seems partly taken from the third Life, c. 88 (Colgan, p. 28), where the story is thus told:-"Nam postquam hunc hymnum fecit Sechnall Patricio dixit, Quid mihi dabis pro mercede hujus hymni? Dixit ei Patricius, Dabitur tibi ut secundum numerum fimbriarum casulæ tuæ omnes tecum ad cœlum portes. Dixit Sechnall, Malus clericus est qui istum numerum secum non portet; egometipse hunc numerum mecum portare possum. Dixitque Patricius, Quicunque hunc hymnum cantaverit in die mortis suæ, inferuum non possidebit. Et hoc Sechnallo placuit." See also Tripart., Part.

When the recitation of the Hymn was concluded, Sechnall said, "I must have the reward for it," said he. "Thou shalt have it," said Patrick, "the number of days that are in a year, the same number of souls of sinners shall go to heaven, for the making of this Hymn." "I will not accept that," said Sechnall, "for I think that too little, and the praise is good." "Thou shalt have then," said Patrick, "the number of the hairs that are on the casular of thy cowl, the same number of sinners to go to heaven, for the Hymn." "I will not accept it," said Sechnall, "for who is the believer who would not take that number to heaven, although he were not praised by myself, nor by any one, as thou art." "Thou shalt have," said Patrick, "seven every Thursday, and twelve every Saturday, to go to heaven, of the sinners of Erinn." "It is too little," said Sechnall. "Thou shalt have," said Patrick, "every one to go to heaven who sings it lying down and rising up." "I will not accept that," said Sechnall, "for the Hymn is long, and it is not every one that can commit it to memory." "Its whole grace then," said Patrick, "shall be upon the last three stanzas of it." "Deo gratias," said Sechnall.

The Angel promised the same thing to Patrick upon the Cruachd, viz. heaven to every one who shall sing the last three stanzas of it at lying down, and at rising up, as is [said by the poet].

A Hymne, which, if sung when alive,
Will be a protecting Lorica unto all.

It is in alphabetical order, more Hebræorum', sed

iii. c. 91, where it is probable that Colgan has abridged this account of Sechnall's intercession with S. Patrick.

d The Cruach.-i. e. upon the celebrated mountain called Cruach, or Croagh-Patrick. See the third Life, c. 85 and 88, and Probus, lib. ii. c. 32.

A Hymn. These lines occur in St. Fiech's Hymn, which Colgan has published as the first Life of St. Patrick.-Trias Thaum., p. 3, stanza 26.

1 More Hebræorum.-Alluding to the Alphabetical Psalms of the Hebrew Bible.