THE SOURCE OF POETIC INSPIRATION

FOOTNOTES:

[37] Lit. "prosperously."

[38] Lit. "without attack."

[39] This seems to be a cheville; lit. "number of clear questions."

[40] Lit. "his consuming."

[41] Lit. "without grief" or "sorrow."

[42] Lit. "under attack."

[43] Lit. "without bloom"?

[44] Lit. "rise to."

[45] Or "steadily."

[46] Or perhaps "apart from" every other.

[47] Or "I beseech."

[48] Or "need."

[49] This is the L. B. reading; the text has fia. Is it fiadh, of which one meaning is "meat," or "food"?

[50] Or "it is thus according to rule," i.e. laid down for us.

[51] Donad seems to be used in the same way as didnad, "solace" or "consolation," v.n. of didonaim, "I console."

[52] i.e. outside in the fields among the animals.

[53] i.e. on the same level with the beasts.

[54] Or "full of grace."

[55] Cith means a "shower" (metaph. "of tears"); also "hardship."

V. THE PENANCE OF ADAM AND EVE. (xi.)

l. 1469

King who bestowed the pleasurable earth
upon Adam after the fall,
he had no (reason for) displeasure towards God,
save that he should perish after a time.[56]

Adam was a week yet
after his expulsion out of Paradise,
weary, without fire, without dwelling,
without drink or food or clothing.

Because they were impoverished
they went into the midst of the field,
great was the mutual reproach perpetually
between Eve and Adam.

"O Eve of the just fair form,
sorrowful are we through thy impenitence; (?)
through thy misdeeds, through thy transgression,
alas! we have been cast out of Paradise.

"Much did we relinquish of good
when we vexed our High Prince;
Paradise was ours under perfect command [57]
with every reverence.

"Youth [58] and joy, by us it has been heard,
health, playfulness, delight,
bordered [59] lands, most perfect of form,
wondrous plants, harmonies.

"Noble satisfaction, singular wholesome peace,
a festival of holiness for souls,
...[60] many the habitations,
frequent intercourse with angels.

"Lasting life, continually at God's right hand,
for ever in the brughs of Paradise,
in which, under fair aspect,
God's creatures were doing us reverence.

"All the living things under heaven
which my faithful dear God created,
under (our) control over every high place,
we it was who used to order them.

"Fire would not burn us,
water would not drown us,
nor sharp edge ...[61]
nor (was there) pestilence nor consuming disease.

"There was not among the elements of dear God,
one that would come, in heaven or earth,
against our will, to destroy us,
save only the wicked Lucifer.

"Even Lucifer
could not harm us,
while we were under law (in a) perfect course
according to mandate, according to command.

"Because we wronged dear God
who gave us everything,
on every height, all creatures together,
are (now) in opposition to us.

"It is not God who has been evil towards us,
O Eve, ruddy, gentle fair one;
it is we who have wronged the Prince,
though He provided us with lasting good."

Eve spake, for she was in distress,[62]
in sorrow, after the fall;
"O Adam, marvellous over every wild,
why do you not kill me for my sins?

"It is I who transgressed the law,
it is I who committed the transgression,
it would then be right that thou should'st slay me,
O my Lord, O Adam!

"Provided that I fall (just the measure)
for my sins, for my transgression,
clearly the greater mercy
will thy God shew towards thee."

"Greatly have we offended the King,"
said he, said Adam, without contempt,
"O Wife, I will not commit murder on thee,
though I be famished, though I be naked.

"I will not lift my hand
upon my own blood, my own flesh;
how great soever thy crime,
it is from my body thou art.

"It is not fitting for us in any way
to outrage Him again;
so that the true Prince, O wife,
may not cut us off and utterly destroy us.

"That we go not from Him a distant journey
with demons into the abyss of torment,
nor that God give us back
into the power of Lucifer."

"There is no good in our life,[63] O Adam,"
said she, said Eve;
"without clothing, without warm dwelling,
without food, we shall perish of hunger.

"We had food, we had garments,
as long as we were without sin;
since our fall and our going astray,
we have neither clothing nor good food.

"O Husband, make a circuit without fail
by a pleasant path on every hand,
to learn if thou canst get as a feast (?)
of food for us something that we would eat."

Adam went on a well-marked course
near by, and far away;
he did not find, after all,
any wholesome food but herbs of the ground.

Herbs of the soil, green their colour,
food of the senseless animals;
they are not tender for us as a meal,
after the pleasant food of Paradise.

(Adam speaks)

"O Eve, let us with sincerity
make lasting penance and repentance,
that we might cleanse away before the King of Justice
something of our sins, of our transgressions."

(Eve replies)

"Give me instruction about that,
O my Lord, O Adam,
because I know not before the great world [64]
how one should do penance.

"Instruct me clearly,
according to thy understanding, according to thy clear sense,
that I do not exceed,
neither that I fall short in any way."

(Adam speaks)

"Let us adore the Lord together
in silence, without intercourse;
thou into the strong river Tigris,
and I will go into the River Jordan.

"Thirty-three days
thou should'st be in the River Tigris,
myself in Jordan under correction
forty-seven clear days.

"Take with thee a firm flag of stone,
(place it) under thy sitting, under thy gentle feet,
and I shall take with me another stone
equal to it, resembling it exactly.

"Dispose the stone in the river,
bathe thyself on it;
thou wilt be chosen as thou hast strength to endure
until the water rises to thy throat.

"Thy locks spread luxuriantly on every hand,
upon the stream on every side;
be thou silent with grief and special sadness,
thy keen eyes towards the heavenly ones.

"Lift thy two hands every canonical hour [65]
towards the heavenly Lord of the nine grades;
pray ..., even at the beginning,
forgiveness for thy transgression.

"We are not pure to converse with God,
since (our) transgression, since (our) impurity,
for our false, polluted mouths
are not clean, stainless, bright.

"Let us beseech the whole of the creatures
formed by God through His pure mysteries,
that they implore with us to the King of Justice
that our transgression be forgiven.

"Perform in this manner thy good work,
and beseech the true Prince;
until He determine clearly
do not stir thyself, do not move."

Forty and seven days without woe
was Adam in the River Jordan;
thirty and three days was gentle Eve
in the stream of the River Tigris.

Angels of God each day from heaven
from God to succour Adam,
instructing him, as was permitted,
to the end of nineteen days.

Then Adam sought a mighty boon
upon the River Jordan;
that it would "fast" with him upon dear God,
with its multitude of creatures.

The stream stood still
in its course, in its onward motion;
the kingly stream paused from its flow
that He might give forgiveness to Adam.

Then the stream gathered together
every living creature that was in its womb,
until the whole number of the living creatures
were around Adam.

All of them prayed,
Adam, the stream, and the multitude of animals;
mournfully they poured forth their noble lamentation
to the perfect host of the nine holy grades.

That all the grades, openly,
might beseech their Lord on their behalf
that God should give full forgiveness,
and should not destroy Adam.[66]

The nine grades with their array
prayed to God who controls them
for forgiveness now for Adam
for his peril, for his sin.

God gave to His grades
full pardon for the sin of Adam,
and the habitation of the earth at all times
with heaven, holily noble, all-pure.

And He pardoned after that
their descendants and their peoples,
save him alone who acts unrighteously
and transgresses the will of God unlawfully.

When the black Devil heard
that forgiveness had been bestowed on Adam,
(he said) "I will go in a distinguished brilliant form
to Eve again.

"That I may bring her out of the stream through weakness,
that I may put her on a course of death;
so that I may drown (i.e. destroy) something of her work
and disturb her devotion."

Lucifer went with joyful speed,
the fierce, astute wolf,
like a swan, in the shape of a white angel,
to Eve in the River Tigris.

The angel who destroyed them spake with her,
in pity for her, as it seemed to her,
"O modest Eve of the bright form,
long hast thou tarried in the River Tigris.

"Ah Woman, though bright was thy beauty,
thou hast grown pale [67] in the rough stream;
without vigour ..., it is evident
thou hast slain thyself, thou hast destroyed thyself.

"O Woman, come out for the sake of thy God,
remain no longer in the cruel river;
thy valiant King sent me journeying,
from Him have I come to show pity to thee."

Then comes Eve out of the river,
and was on the shore, drying herself;
a cloud (i.e. a faintness) fell on her then,
so that she was almost dead without life.

Bright Eve did not recognise
Lucifer with his manifold snares;
the matchless woman was perplexed,[68]
her mind was in doubt.

(Lucifer speaks)

"O Eve, what has come to thee?
greatly art thou considering;
clearly I came to thee from heaven,
at the command of the steadfast God.

"Let us go hence to Adam.
O Woman! do not be wavering;
we have all prayed to dear God
to pardon you for your sins."

Then they went vigorously
as far as the River Jordan,
to Adam, chief of tribes;
noble Eve and Lucifer.

When Adam perceived from the river
Eve and Lucifer,
trembling took hold upon him, (though) he was courageous,
horror of the Devil's countenance filled him.

"My grief! O wandering Eve,
thy guide is betraying thee;
the man who comes journeying with thee here,
it is he who deceived thee in Paradise.

"Ah, sad Eve, without dear form,[69]
what brought thee from the River Tigris
without the warrant of the King of Justice,
without a pure accompanying angel?"

When Eve heard that,
the reproaches of Adam,
she fell to the ground,
she came near to speedy death.

(A long conversation follows between Adam and the Devil; Adam demands why the Devil pursues them with such perpetual hatred and, in reply, Lucifer recounts his fall from heaven, which he says was caused by his refusal to obey the command of God that he should worship Adam. This command he refused, because he, as the first-created, felt it unworthy of him to adore Adam, the youngest-born of created things. He details his present miseries, and his determination to take revenge on Adam and Eve. The poem or canto ends with the coming of Adam out of the river, and the history of their children, Seth, Cain, and Abel.)

FOOTNOTES:

[56] i.e. instead of passing in his body direct to heaven, without dying, his days henceforth were numbered.

[57] Lit. "summons."

[58] The word is óetiu, probably óitiu="youth"; L. B. has áitte aille ocus slanti cen galar, "beautiful places and health without sickness."

[59] Balthai (?). There is a word baltadh, "a border" (O'R); L. B. has blathi, "blooming" or "prosperous."

[60] Aithbi derrit?

[61] Fédim?

[62] Or possibly "famished."

[63] Lit. "gatherings" or "proceedings."

[64] Lit. "before every quarter" (i.e. of the world).

[65] Like the mention of "cross-vigil" later on, the mention of canonical hours is a quaint anachronism in the history of Adam and Eve.

[66] Or possibly "without stint to Adam"; but the reading above seems better to bear out the meaning.

[67] Lit. "thou hast changed thy complexion in the rough stream."

[68] Lit. "it was difficult to the matchless woman."

[69] i.e. "whose form has been changed by her sojourn in the river."

VI. THE DEATH OF ADAM. (xii.)

l. 2021

dam's lifetime was not short;
that ye may know, without risk (of error),
thirty years had he, it was exactly proven,
with nine hundred years.[70]

Then came a complete sickness to Adam,
such as comes to everyone,
his wife Eve with every goodness
was receiving his last bequests.

Adam knew his destiny,
he spake to splendid Eve:
"I have parted from thee and from thy children;
of this sickness I die."

"It is hard of God,"
said she, said Eve, to Adam,
"that thou art not sojourning here,(?)
that it is not I who go first.

"My grief! that thou should'st change,"
said she, said Eve to Adam;
"that I should be here sorrowful without strength,
that thou should'st go first."

"O Eve of the pure clear form,
understand clearly in thy mind;
thou wilt not be any length, it is clear,
here in pain after my departure.

"Short was the time, though it be without deception,
between thy creation and mine,
thou wilt not be in danger of attack,[71] bright is the outlook,
but nine months after me."

"Tell me without error, O Husband,
what I shall do with thy fair dear body?
since thou deemest thy death is certain,
O my Lord, O Adam!"

"Let not foot or hand touch me,
let not any interfere with me,
till one is sent from God from heaven
to arrange my fair dear body.

"Leave my body (fair the fashion),
in its bonds without disturbance;
I am certain that the noble Artificer who formed me
will provide for the needs of my body.

"Arise, O Eve, cheerfully,
and begin a 'cross-vigil';[72]
send thou from thee, O Wife, to God's right hand
my pure soul to holy heaven.

"The soul that God created in me,
it is He who recalled it in its uncleanliness;
let it go to him perfectly to His dwelling
with the accompanying of angel-hosts.

"O Wife, I am not bold, in truth,
concerning the actions of my good King;
the wrath that He showed (pure His sway),
was an act of affection and mercy."

(Eve kneels and prays to God. A heavenly messenger is sent to her, to tell her that the soul of Adam is parted from the body, and that it is safe in the charge of the hosts of the archangel Michael.)

l. 2105

Then Eve went
quickly towards Adam;
until she found Adam (great the love)—
no longer inhaling breath.

When she heard not
the voice of Adam speaking to her with fair beauty,
her senses out of measure overpowered her,
with long lamentations, with lasting sorrow.

(The heavenly messenger speaks)

"O Eve, lift up thine eyes,
and suffer us to instruct thee;
set thy keen pure glance
upwards clearly to the heavenly ones.

"O Woman, raise thy pure face,
to behold the soul of Adam,
as it is uplifted brightly
between hosts of archangels."

On that Eve turned
to behold the soul of Adam,
and she saw the beautiful peaceful soul
of Adam in the company of Michael.

While Eve was thus
recognising the soul of Adam,
she beheld coming towards it along the ways
hosts of angels chorus-singing.

Eve beheld a Seraph
moving nobly in front of the host
on three golden wings;
fair was the beloved thing [73] which he bore.

Then Eve beheld
three white shining birds
(which) across the sky from holy heaven
had arrived (?) in their lustre.

While she was watching the birds,
Eve herself without great trouble,
as with a flash of the full sun,
she became unable to look at them.

Up unto cloudy heaven was heard
the choir of the holy angels around Michael;
they spread their pleasant ranks then
circling about the altar of Adam.

The angels sustained a fitting harmony
round about the altar;
before all the host they burned a herb
which is called "ornamentum."

The strong smoke [74] spread
directly through the air;
the doors of the firmament opened
without any force (?)[75]

God came in holiness from heaven
to the service of Adam's soul;
the Soverain King over every sphere
sat down on His royal throne.

There went before the pure King
a noble angel of the angels;
he sounded melodiously a clear, shrill note,
its beautiful report was heard throughout the seven heavens.[76]

Towards the sound of the trumpet, purely splendid,
went the host of the nine holy grades;
truly strong were their clear numbers,
before the royal throne of the Creator!

(The hosts unite in praising the Lord for His mercy to Adam)

l. 2177

Then the King of Wisdom [77]
sent from Him quickly a Seraph
across the slopes of the great mass of the hosts
with wings of red gold.

Until they took the soul of Adam without pain,
so that it was bathed
in the unpassable (?) river of the ever-living host [78]
"indatinum ciriasu."

So that he brought with him Adam's pure, clear soul
thus out of the stream,
then he placed himself as at the first
before the presence of the Creator.

Then the King laid His hand,
without any consuming (?) upon the soul of Adam.
He commended it to Michael,
fair is the tale!

"Be thou not harsh, O Michael,
towards its great bliss,
place thou the soul of Adam here
in Paradise.

"Bear the bright pure soul
of splendid Adam with his accompanying bands,
place it ...
in the third kingly division of Paradise."

"'In the third heaven,' said God,
'which is called Ficconicia;
let it be there without sign of pain
till the time of the Resurrection.'"

All the grades in every sphere
both of angels and archangels,
sweet was their pure chorus
praising the Creator;

For the remission to the soul of Adam
from its sins, from its vices;
that it should be brought
again to Paradise.

Let the oil of mercy
and the herb "ornamentum" be bestowed
about the body of Adam
to cleanse it from its vileness.

Around the body of Adam
let three wholesome linen cloths, of special honour, be arranged;
and let it be buried exactly
at the side of Abel's sepulchre.

The body of our fore-father Adam,
according to writings of manifold genius,
from afar, under the heavy, sorrowful bonds of death,
was buried in Hebron.

It was there under a strong, firm tower [79]
till the coming of the wave-strength of the flood,
the body of Adam, with honours in its sepulchre,
under assemblies of the strong.

The flood of the deluge over every land,
many countries did it upturn,
it carried his head from Adam
and brought it to Jerusalem.

There the head remained
before Jerusalem;[80]
without grief the cross of Christ afterwards
was planted in the flesh [81] of Adam.

l. 2385

High King of the Sun, clearly hath it been heard,
He it was who created Paradise;
He who is better than all kings, royal His form,
there is no limit to His existence.

FOOTNOTES:

[70] i.e. 930 years; see Gen. v. 3.

[71] Fogrís means "under attack" or "under warmth," "ardour," "heat"; could it mean "under the warmth of the sun," i.e. "alive"?

[72] A cross-vigil was a prayer uttered with the arms extended in the form of a cross, or sometimes with the body flat on the ground in the same position; such prayers were common in the ancient Irish Church.

[73] "Pet," or "champion."

[74] Or "incense."

[75] Without guardians or keepers?

[76] See p. 18. God is frequently called the "King of the Seven Heavens," cf. p. 120.

[77] Or "King of Victories."

[78] In the Vision of Adamnan the river is of fire. In Dante's Purgatorio (Canto xxxi.) the soul is bathed in the river of Lethe.

[79] Tromthur, in l. 906 of the poem, seems to refer to waves.

[80] Lit. "before the gate of Jerusalem," but see Rev. Celt., vi. p. 104.

[81] i.e. in his skull; this is a curious tradition.