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 y^e Italian, as courtious as the Hiſpaniſh, as courtelike as y^e 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 y^e 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 y^e 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) y^e 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 y^e ſame words w^t a little inflexion, they vſe alſo y^e contracted engliſh phraſe, god morrow, y^t is, God giue you a good morning.

Compare 1587 edition: 1 I haue oppoſed ſundry times, the experteſt menne, that coulde be had in the country, and all they coulde neuer fynde out an equiualẽt Iriſh word for Knaue. [...] Iriſhe [...]rde for [...]e. Iob. i. de C [...]. [...]eptus. The Grecians accor|ding to Tully his iudgement, were in y^e ſame predicament, as touching the terme, Ineptus. His wordes are theſe. Ego mehercule ex om|nibus latinis verbis, huius verbi vim vel maxi|mam ſemper putaui: Quem enim nos ineptũ vocamus, is mihi videtur, ab hoc nomen habere ductum, quod non ſit aptus, idque in ſermonis noſtri conſuetudine perlate patet. Nam qui aut tempus, quo quid poſtulet, non videt, aut plu|ra loquitur, aut ſe oſtentat, aut eorum, quibuſ|cum eſt, vel dignitatis vel commodi rationem non habet, aut denique in aliquo genere aut inconcinnus aut multus eſt, is ineptus eſſe dici|tur. Hoc vitio cumulata eſt erudiſſima illa grae|corum natio: Itaque  vim huius mali Graeci non vident, ne nomen quidem ei vitio impo|ſuerunt. Vt enim quaeras omnia, quomodo Graeci. In eptum appellent, non reperies.