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legal　doctrine　of　the　Book　of　Aicill；　which　in　one　of　its　most






surprising　passages　lays　down　formally　the　procedure　by　which　the






natural　father　could　bring　into　his　family　a　son　born　under　the






alleged　circumstances　of　Matthew　O'Neill；　on　paying　compensation






to　the　putative　parent。　Unless　Shane　O'Neill's　apparent　ignorance






of　this　method　of　legitimation　was　merely　affected　for　the






purpose　of　blinding　the　English　Government；　it　would　seem　to






follow　that　the　Book　of　Aicill；　though　its　authorship　was






attributed　to　King　Cormac；　had　not　an　universally　recognised






authority。






　　　　I　do　not　know　that　the　omission　of　the　English；　when　they　had






once　thoroughly　conquered　the　country；　to　enforce　the　Brehon　law






through　the　Courts　which　they　established；　has　ever　been　reckoned






among　the　wrongs　of　Ireland。　But　if　they　had　done　this。　they






would　have　effected　the　very　change　which　at　a　much　later　period






they　brought　about　in　India；　ignorantly；　but　with　the　very　best






intentions。　They　would　have　given　immensely　greater　force　and　a






much　larger　sphere　to　a　system　of　rules　loosely　and　occasionally






administered　before　they　armed　them　with　a　new　authority。　Even　as






it　was；　I　cannot　doubt　that　the　English　did　much　to　perpetuate






the　Brehon　law　in　the　shape　in　which　we　find　it。　The　Anglo…Norman






settlement　on　the　east　coast　of　Ireland　acted　like　a　running






sore；　constantly　Stating　the　Celtic　regions　beyond　the　Pale；　and






deepening　the　confusion　which　prevailed　there。　If　the　country　had






been　left　to　itself；　one　of　the　great　Irish　tribes　would　almost






certainly　have　conquered　the　rest。　All　the　legal　ideas　which；






little　conscious　as　we　are　of　their　source；　come　to　us　from　the






existence　of　a　strong　central　government　lending　its　vigour　to






the　arm　of　justice　would　have　made　their　way　into　the　Brehon　law；






and　the　gap　between　the　alleged　civilisation　of　England　and　the






alleged　barbarism　of　Ireland　during　much　of　their　history；　which






was　in　reality　narrower　than　is　commonly　supposed；　would　have






almost　wholly　disappeared。






　　　　Before　I　close　this　chapter　it　is　necessary　to　state　that　the






Brehon　law　has　not　been　unaffected　by　the　two　main　influences






which　have　made　the　modern　law　of　Western　Europe　different　from






the　ancient；　Christian　morality　and　Roman　jurisprudence。　It　has






been　modified　by　Roman　juridical　ideas　in　some　degree；　though　it






would　be　hazardous　to　lay　down　with　any　attempt　at　precision　in






what　degree。　I　have　trustworthy　information　that；　in　the　tracts






translated　but　not　yet　published；　a　certain　number　of　Roman　legal






maxims　are　cited；　and　one　Rowan　jurisconsult　is　mentioned　by






name。　So　far　as　the　published　tracts　afford　materials　for　an






opinion；　I　am　inclined　to　think　that　the　influence　of　the　Roman






law　has　been　very　slight；　and　to　attribute　it　not　to　study　of　the






writings　of　the　Roman　lawyers；　but　to　contact　with　Churchmen






imbued　more　Or　less　with　Roman　legal　notions。　We　may　be　quite






sure　that　the　Brehons　were　indebted　to　them　for　one　conception






which　is　present　in　the　tracts　　the　conception　of　a　Will；　and






we　may　probably　credit　the　Church　with　the　comparatively　advanced






development　of　another　conception　which　we　find　here　　the






conception　of　a　Contract。　The　origin　of　the　rules　concerning






testamentary　bequest　which　are　sometimes　found　in　Western　bodies






of　law　otherwise　archaic　has　been　much　considered　of　late　years；






and　the　weight　of　learned　opinion　inclines　strongly　to　the　view






that　these　rules　had　universally　their　source　in　Roman　law；　but






were　diffused　by　the　influence　of　the　Christian　clergy。　This






assertion　cannot　be　quite　so　confidently　made　of　Contracts；　but






the　sacredness　of　bequests　and　the　sacredness　of　promises　were　of






about　equal　importance　to　the　Church；　as　the　donee　of　pious






gifts；　and；　as　regards　the　Brehon　law；　it　is　plain　upon　the　face






of　the　published　sub…tract　which　is　chiefly　concerned　with






Contract；　the　Corus　Bescna；　that　the　material　interests　of　the






Church　furnished　one　principal　motive　for　its　compilation。　The






Corus　Bescna；　in　which；　I　may　observe；　a　certain　confusion　（not






uncommon　in　ancient　law）　may　be　remarked　between　contracts　and






grants；　between　the　promise　to　give　and　the　act　or　operation　of






giving；　contains　some　very　remarkable　propositions　on　the　subject






of　contract。　Here；　and　in　other　parts　of　the　Senchus　Mor；　the






mischiefs　of　breach　of　contract　are　set　forth　in　the　strongest






language。　'The　world　would　be　in　a　state　of　confusion　if　verbal






contracts　were　not　binding。'　'There　are　three　periods　at　which






the　world　dies：　the　period　of　a　plague；　of　a　general　war；　of　the






dissolution　of　verbal　contracts。'　'The　world　is　worthless　at　the






time　of　the　dissolution　of　contracts。'　At　first　sight　this　looks






a　good　deal　liker　the　doctrine　of　the　eighteenth　century　than　of






any　century　between　the　sixth　and　the　sixteenth。　Let　us　see；






however；　what　follows　when　the　position　thus　broadly　stated　has






to　be　worked　out。　We　come；　in　the　Corus　Bescna；　upon　the






following　attempt　at　classification；　which　I　fear　would　have






deeply　shocked　Jeremy　Bentham　and　John　Austin：　'How　many　kinds　of






contracts　are　there？'　asks　the　Brehon　textwriter。　'Two；'　is　the






answer。　'A　valid　contract；　and　an　invalid　contract。'　This；　no






doubt；　is　absurd；　but　the　explanation　appears　to　be　as　follows。






The　principle　of　the　absolute　sacredness　of　contracts　was






probably　of　foreign　origin；　and　was　insisted　upon　for　a






particular　purpose。　It　was　therefore　laid　down　too　broadly　for






the　actual　state　of　the　law　and　the　actual　condition　of　Irish






Celtic　society。　Under　such　circumstances　a　treatise　on　Contract






takes　necessarily　the　form　in　great　measure　of　a　treatise　on　the






grounds　of　invalidity　in　contracts；　on　the　manifold　exceptions　to






an　over…broad　general　rule。　Anciently；　the　power　of　contracting






is　limited　on　all　sides。　It　is　limited　by　the　rights　of　your。






family；　by　the　rights　of　your　distant　kinsmen；　by　the　rights　of






your　co…villagers；　by　the　rights　of　your　tribe；　by　the　rights　of






your　Chief；　and；　if　you　contract　adversely　to　the　Church；　by　the






rights　of　the　Church。　The　Corus　Bescna　is　in　great　part　a






treatise　on　these　archaic　limitations。　At　the　same　time　some　of






the　modern　grounds　of　invalidity　are　very　well　set　forth；　and　the






merit　may　possibly　be　due　to　the　penetration　of　Roman　doctrine






into　the　Brehon　law…schools。






　　　　Something　must　be　said　on　the　extent　to　which　Christian






opinion　has　leavened　these　Brehon　writings。　Christianity　has






certainly　had　considerable　negative　influence　over　them。　It






became　no　longer　possible　for　the　Brehon　to　assert　that　the






transgressor　of　his　rules　would　incur　a　supernatural　penalty；　and






the　consequences　of　this　were　no　doubt　important。　But　still；　as






you　have　seen；　in　the　case　of　'fasting　on　a　man；'　or　'sitting






dharna；'　the　heathen　rule　remained　in　the　system；　though　its






significance　was　lost。　Again；　one　positive　result　of　the






reception　by　the　Brehons　of　the　so…called　'law　of　the　letter'






appears　to　have　been　the　development　of　a　great　mass　of　rules






relating　to　the　territorial　rights　of　the　Church；　and　these






constitute　a　very　interesting　department　of　the　Brehon　law。　But






there　has　certainty　been　nothing　like　an　intimate






interpenetration　of　ancient　Irish　law　by　Christian　principle。　If






this　kind　of　influence　is　to　be　looked　for　anywhere；　it　must　be






in　the　law　of　Marriage；　and　the　cognate　branches　of　Divorce；






Legitimacy；　and　Inheritance。　These；　however；　are　the　very






portions　of　the　Brehon　law　which　have　been　dwelt　upon　by　writers






convinced　that；　as　regards　the　relations　of　the　sexes；　the






primitive　Irish　were　near　akin　to　those　Celts　of　Britain　of　whose






practices　Caesar　had　heard。　（B。　G。；　v。　14。）　The　'Book　of　Aicill'






provides　for　the　legitimation　not　only　of　the　bastard；　but　of　the






adulterine　bastard；　and　measures　the　compensation　to　be　paid　to






the　putative　father。　The　tract　on　'Social　Connections　'　appears






to　assume　that　the　temporary　cohabitation　of　the　sexes　is　part　of






the　accustomed　order　of　society；　and　on　this　assumption　it






minutely　regulates　the　mutual　rights　of　the　parties；　showing　an






especial　care　for　the　interests　of　the　woman；　even　to　the　extent






of　reserving　to　her　the　value　of　her　domestic　services　during　her






residence　in　the　common　dwelling。　One　remark　ought；　however；　to






be　made　on　these　provisions　of　the　Brehon　law。　It　is　not






inconceivable　that；　surprising　as　they　are；　they　may　be　the　index






to　a　social　advance。　Caesar　plainly　found　the　Celts　of　the






Continent　polygamous；　living　in　families　held　together　by






stringent　Paternal　Power。　He；　a　Roman；　familiar　with　a　Patria






Potestas　as　yet　undecayed；　thinks　it　wor