356 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



Classical and gentile antiquity abounds with evidences of some kind 

 of rotation forming part of the ceremonial of religious worship. Thus, 

 Lucretius (Be Her. Nat. v. 1197) shows us the worshipper making his 

 gyration before the pillar-stone : — 



" Call it not Piety that oft you're found 

 Veiled, at the standing-stone, to make your round." 

 [Nee pietas ulla est velatum ssepe videri 

 Yertier ad lapidem.] 



And when it became customary to pay divine honours to the Caesars, 

 this was part of the ritual, the discredit of introducing which is ascribed 

 to Vitellius — 



" A man," says Suetonius, " wondrously accomplished in the adulatory arts, 

 who was the first to adore Caius Caesar as a God ; when, on his.'retum from Syria, 

 he durst not approach him otherwise than with veiled head, turning round, and 

 then prostrating himself." 



[Miri in adulando ingenii primus Caium Csesareni adorari ut deum instituit, 

 cum, reversus ex Syria, non aliter adire ausus esset quam capite velato, eircumver- 

 tensque se, deinde procumbens." Vitell. c. 2.] 



In the Eastern practice, so introduced, the earth was touched with 

 the forehead. This appears to have been the form of adoration offered 

 to the Irish idol Crom, and may explain the nature of the prostrations 

 from which the scene of this worship had its name, 3£oy- Slecht = Campus 

 prostrationis. One of the more obscure of our old Irish texts is that 

 part of the Bintisenchus in the Book of Lecan which describes the fanatic 

 zeal of King Tigernmas and his subjects in casting themselves down 

 before this idol, till they ruptured their nails, and fractured their knees 

 and noses. We may now understand that they did not thus fling them- 

 selves to the ground till after they had become dizzied by a dervish- 

 like rotatory preparation. 



Since O'Connor declared his inability to render the older portion of 

 the Irish text, a great advance has been made in our means of getting 

 at meanings hidden under corrupted transcripts ; and in the hope that 

 something more may be extracted from the poem which baffled 

 O'Connor, I have ventured to transcribe it, and place my copy, such 

 as it is, before the eyes of Celtic scholars. The portion left un- 

 attempted by O'Connor begins at " Sunda" : — 



Mag slecht canas ro hainnim^^. nin. And robai ri idal erind .1. in crom 

 cruach agus da idal dec do clochaib ime agus eisium do or agus ise bead de each 

 do each lucht rogob erind co toracht padraic. Is do daidbras cet gene cacha sotha 

 agusprimgene cacha cloiwdi is chuco rosiacht tigernmas mac ollaich ri ~Exind diasamna 

 co firu agus comna Urind imalle dia adrad coroslechtadar uile fiadu corof semadar 

 tul an edan agus maeth asron agus f aircleada anglun agus corra a nuilleand cone- 

 bladar teora ceathroiwe f er nerend on a slechtaib sin m«g slecht. 



Sunda nobid idal 

 ard coniniadnch. diarbo com aiwm in 

 crow cruach tuc do each thuaith beitA cawsitA. 

 Truaid in ruin do adraidis gseidil guir. uad 

 rochuiwdcidie cancbain andail andil domman&air. 



