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Compare 1587 edition: 1 2 Here percaſe ſome ſnappiſh carper will take mée at rebounde, and ſnuffingly ſnibbe me, for debacing the Iriſh language. But truely whoſoeuer ſhall be founde ſo ouerthwarlly bent, he takes the matter far awrie. For as my ſkill is very ſimple there in, ſo I woulde be loath, to diſueyle my raſhneſſe, in giuing light verdict in any thing to me vnknowen: But onely my ſhort diſcourſe tendeth to this drift, that it is not expedient, that the Iriſhe tongue ſhoulde be ſo vniuerſally gagled in in the Engliſh pale, bycauſe that by proofe & experience we ſee, that the pale was in neuer more floriſhing eſtate, thẽ when it was whol|ly Engliſh, & neuer in woorſe plight, thẽ ſince it hath enfraunchyſed the Iriſhe.The ſu|perſtition of Game|ſters. But ſome will ſay, that I ſhewe my ſelfe herein as fri|uoulous, as ſome looſing gameſters ſéeme ſu|perſtitious, when they play themſelfes drye, they gogle wyth their eyes hither and thy|ther, and if they can pyre out any one, that gi|ueth, them the gaze, they ſtande lumping and lowring, fretting and fuming, for that they imagine, that all theyr euill lucke procéeded of hym. And yet if the ſtander by departe, the looſer may be founde as dryſhauen, as he was before. And euen ſo it fareth wyth you, bycauſe you ſée all things runne to ruine in the Engliſhe pale, by reaſon of great enor|mities in the countrey, eyther openly praui|ſed, or couertlye wyncked at, you glaunce your eye on that, which ſtandeth next you, & by beating Iacke for Iyll, you impute the fault to that, which perhappes woulde little further the wealepublicke, if it were exiled. Now truely you ſhoote very néere the mark. But it I may craue your patience, to tyme you ſée me ſhoote my bolt, I hope you will not deny, but that as néere the pricke as you are, & as very an hagler as I am, yet the ſcant|ling ſhall be myne. Firſt therefore take this wyth you, that a conqueſt draweth,A conqueſt implyeth 3. thinges. or at the leaſt wyſe ought to drawe to it, thrée things, to witte, law, apparayle, and languague. For where the countrey is ſubdued, there the in|habitants ought to be ruled by the ſame law that the cõquerour is gouerned, to weare the ſame faſhion of attyre, wherewith the vic|tour is veſted, & ſpeake the ſame language, that the vanquiſher parleth. And if anye of theſe thrée lacke, doubtleſſe the conqueſt liue|peth. Now whereas Irelande hath béene, by lawfull conqueſt, brought vnder the ſubiectiõ of Englande, not onelye in king Henry the ſecond his reigne, but alſo as well before, as after (as by the courſe of the Iriſh hyſtorye ſhal euidently be deciphered) & the conqueſt hath béene ſo abſolute and perfect, that all Leinſter, Méeth, Vlſter, the more parte of Connaght, and Mounſter, all the Ciuities & Burronghes in Irelande, haue béene wholly Engliſhed, and with Engliſhe conquerours inhabited, is it decent, thinke you, that theyr owne auncient natiue tongue ſhal be ſhrow|ded in obliuion, and ſuffer the enemies lan|guage, as it were a tettarre, or ringwoorme, EEBO page image 576 to herborow it ſelf within the iawes of Eng|liſhe conquerours? no truely. And nowe that I haue fallen vnawares into this diſcourſe, it will not be far amiſſe to ſtande ſomewhat roundly vpon this poynt. It is knowen, and by the hyſtorie, you maye in part perceyue, how brauely Vlſter Whillon flooriſhed. The Engliſhe families were there implanted, the Iriſh, eyther vtterly expelled, or wholly ſub|dued, the lawes duely executed, the reuenue great, and onely Engliſh ſpoken. But what brought it to this preſent ruine and decaye? I doubt not, but you geſſe, before I tell you. They were enuironned & cõpaſſed with euill neighbours. Neighbourhoode bredde acquain|tance, acquaintance wafted in ye Iriſh tõgue, the Iriſhe hooked with it attyre, attyre haled rudenes, rudeneſſe engendred ignorãce, igno|raunce brought contempt of lawes, the con|tempt of lawes bred rebelliõ, rebellion raked thereto warres, and ſo cõſequently the vtter decay and deſolatiõ of that worthy countrey.

Compare 1587 edition: 1 2 3 If theſe chinkes, when firſt they beganne to chappe, had béene diligently by the dwellers ſtopt, hir Maieſtie at this daye, to hir great charges, ſhoulde not haue béene occaſioned, to damme vp with many thouſand poundes, yea & with the woorthy carkaſſes of valiaunt ſouldiours, the gaps of that rebellious Nor|thren countrey. Now put the caſe that the I|riſhe tongue were as ſacred as the Hebrewe, as learned as the Gréeke, as fluent as the latin, as amarous as ye Italian, as courtious as the Hiſpaniſh, as courtelike as ye French, yet truely (I know not which way it falleth out) I ſée not, but it may be very well ſpared in the Engliſhe pale. And if reaſon will not leade you to thinke it, truely experience muſt force you to graunt it. In olde time when the Romaines were firſt acquaynted wyth the Gréeke tongue, as it is cõmonly the nature of mã to be delighted with newfangle wares, ſo he was accompted no gallant among the Romaines, that coulde not prattle & chatte Gréeke.Cic lib. 2. de orat. Marcus Cicero, father vnto Tully, being at that tyme ſtept in yeres, perceyuing hys countreymen to become changelings, in being bylwyſe and polmadde, & to ſuck with the Gréeke the conditions of the Grecians, as to be in wordes talkatiue, in behauiour light, in condicions quaint, in maners haute, in promiſes vnſtedfaſt, in othes raſh, in bar|gaines wauering (which were reckened for Gréekiſh properties in thoſe dayes) the olde gentleman not ſo much reſpecting the neate|neſſe of the language, as the naughty fruite it brought wyth it, ſayde, that his countrey|men, the Romaynes, reſembled the bonde ſlaues of Siria. For ye more parfit they were in the Gréeke, the woorſe they were in theyr maners and lyfe. If this gentleman had bene now liuing and had ſéene what alteratiõ hath happened in Irelãd, through the entrecourſe of languages, he woulde, I dare ſaye, breake patience, & woulde demaunde, why the Eng|liſhe pale is more giuen to learne the Iriſhe, then the Iriſhman is willing to learne Eng|liſhe? we muſt embrace their language, and they deteſt oures. One demaunded meryly,O Neale why he would n [...] lerne En+gliſhe. why O Neale, that laſt was, would not frame himſelfe to ſpeake Engliſh? what: quoth the other, in a rage, thinkeſt thou, that it ſtandeth with O Neale his honor, to wryeth his mouth in clattering Engliſhe? and yet forſooth we muſt gagge our iawes in gybbriſhing Iriſh. But I dwelt to long in ſo apparẽt a matter. As all the ciuities and townes in Irelande, wyth Fingall, the king his lande, Méeth the Coũtey of Kildare, Louth, Weiſford, ſpeake to this day Engliſhe (whereby the ſimplicitie of ſome is to be derided, that iudge the inha|bitantes of the Engliſhe pale, vpon their firſt repayre to England, to learne their Engliſh in thrée or foure dayes, as though they had bought at Cheſter a groates woorth of Eng|liſhe, and ſo packt vp the reaſt to be caryed after them to London) euen ſo in all other pla|ces their natiue language is Iriſhe.

Compare 1587 edition: 1 2 I finde it ſolemly aduouched, aſwel in ſome of the Iriſh pamphlets,Camb. lib. diſt. 3. rub. [...] as in Giraldus Cam|brienſe, that Gathelus or Gaidelus, and after him Simon Breck deuiſed the Iriſh language,The foun+der of the Iriſh lan|guage. out of all other tongues then extant in the worlde. And thereof, ſayeth Cambrienſe, it is called Gaydelach, partly of Gaidelus the firſt founder, partly for that it is cõpounded of all languages. But conſidering the courſe of en|terchaunging and blending of ſpeaches togy|ther, not by inuention of arte, but by vſe of talke, I am rather led to beléeue (ſéeing Ire|lande was inhabited within one yeare after the deuiſion of tongues) that Baſtolenus a braunche of Iaphet,Baſtolenus who firſt ſeized vppon Irelande, brought thither the ſame kinde of ſpeache, ſome of the 72. that to this familie befell at the deſolatiõ of Babell. Vnto whom ſuccéeded the Scitians, Grecians, Egiptiãs,Epiphan. cõt. har. lib. 1. tom. 1. Hiſpainyardes, Danes, of all which, the ton|gue muſt néedes haue borowed part, but eſpe|cially retayning the ſteps of Hiſpaniſh, then ſpoken in Granado, as from their mightieſt aunceſtours. Since then to Henry Fitz Em|preſſe the Conquerour, no ſuch inuaſion hap|pened them, as wherby they might be driuen to infect their natiue language, vntouched in maner for the ſpace of ſeauentéene hundred yeres after the arriuall of Iberius. It ſéemeth to borow of ye Hiſpaniſh the commõ phraſe, EEBO page image 4 Commeſtato, Cõmeſtato. that is, how doe you? or howe fareth it with you? It fetcheth ſundry words from the Latine, as Argette, of Argentum, money: ſallẽ, of Sal, ſalt: Cappoulle, of Ca|ballus, a plough horſe, or according to the olde Engliſh terme, a caballe, or caple: Birreate, of the olde motheaten Latine worde, Birre|rum; a bonnet. The tongue is ſharpe and ſen|tencious, offereth great occaſion to quicke a|pothegmes and proper alluſions. Wherefore their common ieſtours & rithmours, whome they terme,Bardes. Bardes, are ſayde to delight paſ|ſingly thoſe that conceyue the grace and pro|pertie of the tongue. But the true Iriſhe in déede differeth ſo much from that they com|monly ſpeake,The ob| [...]ritie of [...]e true Iriſh. that ſcarſe one in fiue hundred can eyther, reade, wryte, or vnderſtande it. Therfore it is preſerued amõg certaine their poetes and antiquaries.The diffi|cultie. And in very déede the lãguage caryeth ſuch difficultie with it, what for the eſtraungeneſſe of the phraſe, and the curious featneſſe of the pronounciation, that a very fewe of the countrey can attayne to the perfection thereof, and much leſſe a for|reinner or eſtraunger. A gentleman of mine acquaintance reported that he dyd ſée a wo|man in Rome, which was poſſeſt with a bab|bling ſpirite, that coulde haue chatted any language ſauing the Iriſhe, and that it was ſo difficult, as the very Deuyll was grauey|led therewith. A gentleman that ſtoode by, aunſwered, that he tooke the ſpeache to be ſo ſacred & holy, that no damned fenne had the power to ſpeake it, no more then they are a|ble to ſay, (as the reporte goeth) the verſe of ſ. Iohn the Euãgeliſt.Iohn. 1. [...]rſ. 14. Et verbũ caro factũ eſt. Nay by God his mercy, mã, quoth the other: I ſtande in doubt, I tell you, whether the A|poſtles in theyr copious marte of languages at Ieruſalem, coulde haue ſpoken Iriſhe, if they were oppoſed, wherat the company har|tily laughed.The want [...]f the I| [...]he. As fluent as the Iriſhe tonge is, yet it lacketh diuers words, & borroweth thẽ, verbatim of the Engliſh. As there is no vul|gare Iriſh word, (vnleſſe there beſome odde terme) ye lurcketh in any obſcure ſhrowds or other of their ſtorehouſe) for a Cote, a Gown a Dublet, an Hatte, a drinking Cup; but on|ly they vſe ye ſame words wt a little inflexion, they vſe alſo ye contracted engliſh phraſe, god morrow, yt is, God giue you a good morning.

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