The Saltair Na Rann, or Psalter of the Verses
Attributed to Oengus the Culdee, ninth century; but the date is probably the close of the tenth century.
I. The Creation of the Universe
M
y own King, King of the pure heavens,
without pride, without contention,
who didst create the folded[11] world,
my King ever-living, ever victorious.
King above the elements, surpassing the sun,
King above the ocean depths,
King in the South and North, in the West and East,
with whom no contention can be made.
King of the Mysteries, who wast and art,
before the elements, before the ages,
King yet eternal, comely His aspect,
King without beginning, without end.
King who created lustrous heaven,
who is not arrogant, not overweening,
and the earth, with its multitudinous delights,
strong, powerful, stable.
King who didst make the noble brightness,
and the darkness, with its gloom;
the one, the perfect day,
the other, the very perfect night.
King who fashioned the vast deeps
out of the primary stuff of the elements,
who...
the wondrous formless mass.
King who formed out of it each element,
who confirmed them without restriction, a lovely mystery,
both tempestuous and serene,
both animate and inanimate.
King who hewed, gloriously, with energy,
out of the very shapely primal stuff,
the heavy, round earth,
with foundations,... length and breadth.[12]
King who shaped within no narrow limits
in the circle of the firmament
the globe, fashioned
like a goodly apple, truly round.
King who formed after that with fixity
the fresh masses about the earth;
the very smooth currents above the world
of the chill watery air.
King who didst sift the cold excellent water
on the earth-mass of the noble cliffs
into rills, with the reservoirs[13] of the streams,
according to their measures, with moderation.
Creation of the winds with their colours
King who ordained the eight winds
advancing without uncertainty, full of beauty,
the four prime winds He holds back,
the four fierce under-winds.
There are four other under-winds,
as learned authors say,
this should be the number, without any error,
of the winds, twelve winds.
King who fashioned the colours of the winds,
who fixed them in safe courses,
after their manner, in well-ordered disposition,
with the varieties of each manifold hue.
The white, the clear purple,
the blue, the very strong green,
the yellow, the red, sure the knowledge,
in their gentle meetings wrath did not seize them.
The black, the grey, the speckled,
the dark and the deep brown,
the dun, darksome hues,
they are not light, easily controlled.
King who ordained them over every void,
the eight wild under-winds;
who laid down without defect
the bounds of the four prime winds.
From the East, the smiling purple,
from the South, the pure white, wondrous,
from the North, the black blustering moaning wind,
from the West, the babbling dun breeze.
The red, and the yellow along with it,
both white and purple;
the green, the blue, it is brave,
both dun and the pure white.
The grey, the dark brown, hateful their harshness,
both dun and deep black;
the dark, the speckled easterly wind
both black and purple.
Rightly ordered their form,
their disposition was ordained;
with wise adjustments,[14] openly,
according to their position and their fixed places.
The twelve winds,
Easterly and Westerly, Northerly and Southerly,
the King who adjusted them, He holds them back,
He fettered them with seven curbs.
King who bestowed them according to their posts,
around the world with many adjustments,
each two winds of them about a separate curb,
and one curb for the whole of them.
King who arranged them in habitual harmony,
according to their ways, without over-passing their limits;
at one time, peaceful was the space,
at another time, tempestuous.
Measurements of the Universe
King who didst make clear the measure of the slope[15]
from the earth to the firmament,
estimating it, clear the amount,
along with the thickness of the earth-mass.
He set the course of the seven Stars[16]
from the firmament to the earth,
Saturn, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars,
Sol, Venus, the very great moon.
King who numbered, kingly the space,
from the earth to the moon;
twenty-six miles with a hundred miles,
they measure them in full amount.
This is that cold air
circulating in its aerial series(?)
which is called... with certainty
the pleasant, delightful heaven.
The distance from the moon to the sun
King who measured clearly, with absolute certainty,
two hundred miles, great the sway,
with twelve and forty miles.
This is that upper ethereal region,
without breeze, without greatly moving air,[17]
which is called, without incoherence,
the heaven of the wondrous ether.
Three times as much, the difference is not clear(?)
between the firmament and the sun,
He has given to calculators;[18]
my King star-mighty! most true is this!
This is the perfect Olympus,
motionless, immovable,
(according to the opinion of the ancient sages)
which is called the Third Holy Heaven.
Twelve miles, bright boundary,
with ten times five hundred miles,
splendid the star-run course, separately
from the firmament to the earth.
The measure of the space
from the earth to the firmament,
it is the measure of the difference
from the firmament to heaven.
Twenty-four miles
with thirty hundred miles
is the distance to heaven,
besides the firmament.
The measure of the whole space
from the earth to the Kingly abode,
is equal to that from the rigid earth
down to the depths of hell.
King of each Sovereign lord, vehement, ardent,
who of His own force set going the firmament
as it seemed secure to Him over every space,
He shaped them from the formless mass.
The poem goes on to speak of the division of the universe into five zones, a torrid, two temperate, and two frigid zones, and of the earth revolving in the centre of the universe, with the firmament about it, "like a shell encircling an egg." The passage of the sun through the constellations is then described, each of the twelve divisions through which it passes being provided with six windows, with close-fitting shutters, and strong coverings, which open to shed light by day. The constellations are then named, and the first section of the poem ends as follows:—
For each day five items of knowledge
are required of every intelligent person,
from every one, without appearance of censure,[19]
who is in ecclesiastical orders.
The day of the solar month, the age of the moon,
the sea-tide, without error,
the day of the week, the festivals of the perfect saints,
after just clearness, with their variations.
FOOTNOTES:
[11] Whitley Stokes gives "lawful."
[12] Comp. the parallel passage in Senchus mòr, Ancient Laws of Ireland, vol. i. intro. p. 26.
[13] This is Dr. Whitley Stokes' reading. Dr. R. Thurneysen reads "sextarii."
[14] It is not clear what the word glés, gléssib, which occurs frequently in the following passage, means. In mod. Irish, gléas, in one meaning, is a means or instrument for doing a thing. The verb gléasaim="to harness." It seems to have some such meaning here. The winds were apparently harnessed, curbed, or fettered two and two, the whole being held together in one fetter. In another sense gléas means "harmony."
[15] Or "track."
[16] i.e. the Planets.
[17] Or "impure air"?
[18] Cf. the parallel passage in the Senchus mòr astronomical tract, Anc. Laws of Ireland, vol. i., Introduction, p. 28.
[19] Perhaps "boasting."
II. The Heavenly Kingdom
l. 337
King who formed the pure Heaven,
with its boundaries, according to His pleasure,
a habitation choice, songful, safe,
for the wondrous host of Archangels.
Heaven with its multitude of hosts,
noble, durable, exceeding spacious,
a strong mighty city with a hundred graces,
a tenth of it the measure of the world.
Therein are three ramparts undecaying,
fixedly they surround heaven,
a rampart of emerald crystal,
a rampart of gold, a rampart of amethyst.[20]
A wall of emerald, without obscurity, outside,
a wall of gold next to the city,
between the two, with bright fair glory,
a mighty rampart of stainless purple.
There, with a strong-flowing sea (?)
is a spacious, perfect city,
in it, with the light of peace,[21]
is the eternal way of the four chief doors.
The measure of each door severally
of the four chief doorways,
(placed) side by side, by calculation,
is a mile across each single door.
In each doorway a cross of gold
before the eyes of the ever-shining host;
the King wrought them without effort,
they are massive, very lofty.
Overhead, on each cross, a bird of red gold,
full-voiced, not unsteady;
in every cross
a great gem of precious stone.
Every day an archangel
with his host from Heaven's king,
with harmony, with pure melody,
(gather) around each several cross.
Before each doorway is a lawn,
fair..., of sure estimation,
I liken each one of them in extent[22]
to the earth together with its seas.
The circuit of each single lawn
with its silvern soil,[23]
with its swards, covered with goodly blossom,
with its beauteous plants.
Vast though you may deem
the extent of the spacious lawns,
a rampart of silver, undecaying,
has been formed about each several lawn.
The portals of the walls without
around the fortress on every side,
with its dwellings soundly placed,
affording abodes (?) for many thousands.
Eight portals in a series
so that they come together around the city,
I have not, in the way of knowledge,[24]
a simile for the extent of each portico.
Each portal abounding in plants,
with their bronze foundations,
a rampart of fair clay has been established
strongly about each portal.
Twelve ramparts—perfect the boundary (?)
of the portals, of the lawns,
without counting the three ramparts that are outside
around the chief city.
There are forty gateways in the heavenly habitation
with its kingly thrones;
three to each tranquil lawn,
and three to each portal.
l. 409
Gratings (or doors) of silver, fair in aspect,
to each gateway of that lawn,
gracious bronze doors
to the gateways of the portals.
The corresponding walls from the fortress outwards
of all the portals
are comparable in height[25]
(to the distance) from the earth to the moon.
The ramparts of the lawns, as is meet,
wrought of white bronze,
their height—mighty in brilliance—
is as that from the earth to the pure sun.
The measure of comparison of the three ramparts
which surround the chief city,
their height shows (a distance equal
to that) from the earth to the firmament.
l. 465
The entrance bridges[26] of the perfect gates,
a fair way, shining with red gold,
they are irradiated—pure the gathering—
each step ascending above the other.
From step to step—brave the progress,
pleasant the ascent into the high city;
fair is that host, on the path of attainment (?)
many thousands, a hundred of hundreds.
In the circuit of the ramparts—great its strength (?)—
in the interior of the chief city,
bright glossy galleries,
firm red-gold bridges.
Therein are flowering lands
ever fresh in all seasons,
with the produce of each well-loved fruit
with their thousand fragrances.
l. 553
The nine grades of heaven,
around the King of all causation,
without loss of glory, with vigour of strength,
without pride, without envy.
In abundant profusion (?) under the lawful King
this their exact number,
seventy-two excellent hosts
in each grade of the grades.
The number of each host, unmeasured gladness,
there is none that could know it,
except the King should know it
who created them out of nothing.
A majestic King over them all,
King of flowery heaven,
a goodly, righteous, steadfast King,
King of royal generosity in His regal dwelling.
King very youthful, King aged long ago,[27]
King who fashioned the heavens about the pure sun,
King of all the gracious saints,
a King gentle, comely, shapely.
The King who created the pure heavenly house
for the angels without transgression,
land of holy ones, of the sons of life,[28]
a plain fair, long, spacious.
He arranged a noble, peaceful[29] abode,
stable, under the regal courses,
a comely, clear, perfect, bright circuit,
for the wondrous folk of penitence.
My King from the beginning over the host,
"sanctus Dominus Sabaoth,"
to whom is chanted upon the heights, with loving guidance, (?)
the melody of the four-and-twenty white-robed saints.
The King who ordained the perfect choir
of the four-and-twenty holy ones,
sweetly they chant the chant to the host
"sanctus Deus Sabaoth."
King steadfast, bountiful, goodly, noble,
abode of peace,... (?)
with whom is the flock of lambs
around the Pure Spotless Lamb.
Bright King, who appointed the Lamb
to move forward upon the Mount (of Sion)[30]
four thousand youths following Him,
(with) a hundred and forty (thousand) in a pure progress,
A perfect choir, with glories of form,
of the stainless virgins,
chants pure music along with them
following after the shining Lamb.
Equal in beauty, in swiftness, in brightness,
across the Mount surrounding the Lamb;
the name inscribed on their countenances, with grace,
is the name of the Father.
The King who ordained the voice
of the heavenly ones by inspiration,
full, strong-swelling,
as the mighty wave of many waters;
Or like the voice of sound-loving harps
they sing, without fault, full tenderly,
(like) multitudinous great floods over every land,
or like the mighty sound of thunder.[31]
King of the flowering tree of life,
a way for the ranks of the noble grades;
its top, its droppings, on every side,
have spread across the broad plain of heaven.
On which sits the splendid bird-flock
sustaining a perfect melody of pure grace,
without decay, with gracious increase
of fruit or of foliage.
Beauteous the bird-flock which sustains it, (i.e. the melody)
each choice bird with a hundred wings;
they chant without guile, in bright joyousness,
a hundred melodies for every wing.
King who created many splendid dwellings,[32]
many comely, just, perfect works,
through (the care of) my rich King,[33] over every sphere,
no lack is felt by any of the vast array.
His are the seven heavens, perfect in might,
without prohibition, without evil, whitely moving
around the earth, great the wonder (?)
with the names of each heaven.
Air, ether, over all
Olympus, the firmament,
heaven of water, heaven of the perfect angels,
the heaven where is the fair-splendid Lord.
l. 649
The amount of good which our dear God,
has for His saints in their holy dwelling,
according to the skill of the wise(?)
there is none who can relate a hundredth part of it.
The Lord, the head of each pure grade,
who gathered (?) the host to everlasting life,
may He save me after my going out of the body of battles,
the King who formed Heaven.
King who formed the pure Heaven.
FOOTNOTES:
[20] Lit. "green," "gold," and "purple," but they seem to imply special stones.
[21] Or peaceful light.
[22] This is the L. B. reading; the text gives "excellence" or "fertility," which does not make good sense.
[23] The L. B. reading is fond d'argut futhib, which seems to point to some such meaning as "base," "foundation."
[24] Reading uncertain.
[25] This is the L. B. reading; our text seems to mean "in renown."
[26] Or "thresholds."
[27] Perhaps Ancient of Days.
[28] Mac bethad may mean "a sinless man," as mac ódis, "son of death," means a sinful man.
[29] We take síd to be an adjective; it might also mean "a fairy mound," but this is hardly applicable here.
[30] Rev. xiv. i.
[31] "I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder; and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps" (Rev. xiv. 2).
[32] "In my Father's house are many mansions" (John xiv. 3).
[33] Rogmar (mod. Ir. roghmhar) means "bulky" or "fortunate" or "fat"; here it refers to God as possessor of all.
III. The Forbidden Fruit. (vii.)
P.
l. 1081
rince who gave a clear admonition to Eve and to Adam,
that they should eat of the produce of Paradise
according to God's command:
"Eat ye of them freely,
of the fruits of Paradise—sweet the fragrance—
many, all of them (a festival to be shared)[34]
are lawful for you save one tree.
"In order that you may know that you are under authority,
without sorrow, without strife,
without anxiety, without long labour,
without age, evil, or blemish;
"Without decay, without heavy sickness;
with everlasting life, in everlasting triumph
on your going to heaven (joyous the festival)
at the choice age of thirty years."
A thousand years
and six hours of the hours,
without guile, without danger, it has been heard,
Adam was in Paradise.[35]
O God our help, whom champions prove,
who fashioned all with perfect justice,
not bright the matter of our theme (?)[36]
the King who spake an admonition with them.
Prince who gave a clear admonition.
(The figures in brackets after the title of the chapters are the numbers of the poems or cantos in the text.)
FOOTNOTES:
[34] Lit. "share of a festival"; this is one of those chevilles which are frequent in this poem, often introduced without much sense to fill out a line, or to give a rhyming word. We have omitted a few of them in the translation.
[35] There seems to be some error here. According to Gen. v. 3, Adam lived altogether nine hundred and thirty years, as the poet states further on (p. 43).
[36] The meaning of this line is not clear. The above is conjectural.
IV. The Fall and Expulsion from Paradise. (viii.)
l. 1105
The Devil was jealous thereat
with Adam and his children,
their being here, without evil,
in their perfect bodies (on their passage) to heaven.
All the living creatures in the flesh
my Holy King has created them,
outside Paradise without strife
Adam it is who used to order them.
At the time when out of every quarter
the hosts of the seven heavens used to gather round my High King,
every fair corporeal creature
used to come together to Adam.
Each of them out of this place cheerfully,[37]
at his call to adore him;
to Adam, joyous the custom,
they used to come to delight him.
From heaven God ruled
all the living things
that they should come out of every district without fierceness[38]
till they arrived before (the gate of) Paradise.
Then they would return right-hand-wise
without seed of pride or any murmuring,
each of them to its very pure abode
after taking leave of Adam.
The very fierce, double-headed beast,
was subtle and watchful, with (his) twenty hosts,
how under heaven he shall find a way
to bring about the destruction of Adam.
Lucifer, many his clear questions,[39]
went amongst the animals,
amongst the herds outside Paradise
until he found the serpent.
"Is it not useless (i.e. unworthy of you) thy being outside?"
said the Devil to the serpent;
"with thy dexterous cunning,
with thy cleverness, with thy subtlety?
"Great was the danger and the wickedness
that Adam should have been ordained over thee;
the downfall[40] of him, the youngest of created things,
and his destruction, would be no crime to us.
"Since thou art more renowned in warfare,
first of the twain thou wast created,
thou art more cunning, more agreeable in every way (?)
do not submit to the younger!
"Take my advice without shrinking,[41]
let us make an alliance and friendship;
listen to my clear reasoning:
do not go forth to Adam.
"Give me a place in thy body,
with my own laws, with my own intellect,
so that we both may go from the plain
unexpectedly[42] to Eve.
"Let us together urge upon her
the fruit of the forbidden tree,
that she afterwards may clearly
press the food upon Adam.
"Provided that they go together
beyond the commandment of his Lord,
God will not love them here,
they will leave Paradise in evil plight."[43]
"What reward is there for me above every great one?"
said the serpent to the devil;
"on my welcoming thee into my fair body,
without evil, as my fellow-inhabitant?
"For guiding thee on that road
to destroy Eve and Adam,
for going with thee truly to the attack
whatever act thou mayest undertake?"[44]
(Lucifer replies)
"What greater reward shall I give to thee
according to the measure of our great crime
(than that) our union in our habits, in our wrath,
shall be for ever spoken of?"
When he found a place for the betrayal
in the likeness of the serpent's shape,
slowly he went tarrying[45]
directly to the gate of Paradise.
The serpent called outside,
"dost thou hear me, O wife of Adam?
come and converse with me, O Eve of the fair form,
beyond[46] every other."
"I have no time to talk with anyone,"
said Eve to the serpent;
"I am going out to feed
the senseless animals."
"If you are the Eve whose fame was heard
with honour in Paradise,
wife of Adam, beautiful, wide-minded,
in her I desire[47] my full satisfaction."[48]
(Eve speaks)
"Whenever Adam is not here,
I am guardian of Paradise,
without weariness, O smooth, pale creature,
I attend to the needs of the animals."
(The Serpent speaks)
"How long does Adam go from thee,
on which side does he make his fair circuit,
when at any time he is not here
feeding the herds in Paradise?"
"He leaves it to me, bright jewel;
I feed the animals,
while he goes with pure unmeasured renown
to adore the Lord."
"I desire to ask a thing of thee,"
said the slender, very affable serpent,
"because bright and dear is thy clear reasoning,
O Eve, O bride of Adam!"
"Whatever it be that you contemplate saying,
it will not vex me, O noble creature;
certainly there will be no obscurity here,
I will narrate it to thee truthfully."
"Tell me, O glorious Eve,
since it chances that we are discoursing together,
in your judgment, is the life in Paradise,
with your lordship here, pleasant?"
(Eve replies)
"Until we go faultless in our turn, (or "ranks")
in our bodies to heaven,
we do not ask here greater lordship
than what there is of good in Paradise.
"Every good thing,[49] as it was heard,
that God created in Paradise,
save one tree, all without reserve,
is thus under our control.[50]
"It is He, the dear God, who committed to us,
O pale, bashful creature,
Paradise as a solace[51] for His people (?)
except the fruit of the one tree.
"'Let alone the very pure tree,'
He cautioned myself and Adam,
'the fruit of the rough tree, if thou eatest of it
against my command, thou shalt die.'"
(The Serpent speaks)
"Though on the plain[52] you be equal,
yourself and Adam, O Eve,
you are not more intelligent, O gentle, pure one,
than any of the beasts.
"However great be the host under you outside
it is lamentable that you are without minds,
like to any of the ignorant animals;
thus you are under one law (with them).[53]
"Except as regards possessions only,
your lordship has not been complete;
since nothing of evil has been sent to you,
the worse is your understanding.
"Great is the lack of wisdom;
God is deceiving you:
because it is of the one tree of good and evil,
that you are not permitted to eat.
"For this purpose the brave tree was invented,
in order that it should not be allowed you;
that you should not have the intelligence
to distinguish between good and evil.
"Do not hesitate, go to the tree,
to test it as regards one apple;
the discernment between good and evil
will be as the High Prince instructed you."
(Eve speaks)
"How good soever thy intelligence,
however favourable[54] and gracious thy counsel,
to go to the tree I dare not,
lest we die.
"Go thou thyself to the tree, O serpent,
and bring from it one apple;
but if that apple come to me
I shall share it between myself and Adam.
"Before all the multitudes we shall be endowed with knowledge,
if we but eat the apple,
(this is) thy tale without mockery;
perchance what thou sayest is true."
(The Serpent speaks)
"O Eve, untrammelled light,
open before me the gate of Paradise;
provided I arrive without misfortune yonder
I will bring from the tree the apple."
(Eve speaks)
"Though I open before thee that thou mayest go yonder,
though from the tree you bring me an apple,
there will be no delay on thee here,
(by) thy lingering in Paradise?"
(Satan speaks)
"If I bring the apple to thee,
that thou mayest discern good and evil
without any fail I will go out,
unless bondage or fetters befall me."
Eve opened secretly
the door before the serpent,
without difficulty[55] it went (it was not obsequious),
on its course to the one tree.
Eve took the perfect apple
from the apple-tree (most woeful the tale),
Eve carried off the half, it was not well,
she left the other half for Adam.
King who drave from Thee the host of hell,
who hast made them fast in equal wretchedness under trembling service,
He (God) wounded in battle, though it was laborious,
the keen wolf who was jealous.
The Devil was jealous thereat.
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.)
A.
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.
ANCIENT PAGAN POEMS
"One day the young poet Nede fared forth till he stood on the margin of the sea, for the poets believed the brink of water to be the place of poetic revelation. He heard a sound in the wave, even a chant of wailing and sadness, and he marvelled thereat.
"So the youth cast a spell upon the wave, that it might reveal to him the cause of its moaning."—Book of Leinster, 186a.