314 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



exactly like the Unkulunkulu, the " old old one " of the Zulus. 1 Sen-gann is, in 

 short, the last god and the first man of the cosmogonic epic ; and it is thus 

 quite natural that he should have become identified with the founder of their 

 human monarchy of Temair, while retaining sufficient divinity to make it 

 possible for him to be a storm-god. 



But another objection may now be raised. We have already suggested 

 the equation of Eochu 011-athair with Eochu Oll-1'laith, who holds a different 

 place in the I'lidian dynasty. To Eochu 011-ilaith is ascribed the institu- 

 tion of the/ets of Temair, and therefore the personage so called, who stands 

 first (not fourth) in the I'lidian list, must be regarded as the head of the 

 established monarchy. How can this be reconciled with the ascription of the 

 same function to Geide, the fourth in the same list ' Only on the hypothesis 

 that (li'-ide and Eocho were originally one, and originally held the fourth 

 place in the list. Some uncomprehending historian, who could not understand 

 the/oriesanti Agamemiiona, has transferred toOUom Podia, the divine source of 

 all knowledge and « isdom, the head of the god-kings, the actions which really 

 belong to G or whatever name we call the fourth personage, the connect- 

 g link between gods ami men. the head of the man-kings. This is the more 

 easy to understand when we see reason afforded us bj the Tuatha list to 



believe that both these pel were railed Eochu. The Tuatha list 



therefore oomes Dearest to the original form. The I'lidian list, which has 

 divorced the foundation of Temair from the fourth king, represents a 

 corruption; and the Fir Bolg list, which has displaced the divine Eochu in 

 favour of the rivi Slainge, under the influence oi a different story, shows 



a further contamination. 



This theory, of a popular tale based upon an ancient epic, derives support 

 from an ex i t parallel which I am able to 'plot.-. In the Hebrew Scriptures 

 there is to be found a Bublime philosophical poem, based upon a slight thread 

 of incident; 1 refer to the Book of Job. Whether the author of this poem 

 invented the story, or whether he adapted a folk-tale previously existing, 

 cannot be determined with certainty; the latter is the more probable. But I 

 was able to recover from an illiterate Arab of Southern Palestine a folk-tale, 

 certainly based upon the poem. All the philosophy was, oi course, excised, and 

 the tale was told a* a child might tell it — with the importation of extraneous 

 element-, derived from the common -tock of folk-belief. The relation 

 between the poem and my folk-tale is identical with the relation which I 



i >r iik.' A. in i, son of Bith, " Ancient. -in..--,' who, aoootding to b tradition 



preserved by Keating, wan the lirst visitor to Ireland after the deluge (Heating's History, 

 I T 8. ed., i. p. 



