White — Latin Writinr/.'s of St. Patrick. 



229 



Patrick was then about twenty-two or twenty-three years old. He 

 could scarcely have been entrusted with the education, even in part, 

 of a child before he had been himself a year under instruction ; before, 

 say, he was twenty-four. Again, ex injmtia cannot be taken literally. 

 The boy can scarcely have come under Patrick's tuition before the age 

 of eight or nine ; and if he had been ordained presbyter at the earliest 

 possible age, we must conclude that Patrick was at least forty at the 

 time of his writing the Epistola. This is the very lowest computation. 

 He was, in all probability, considerably older. How much older we 

 cannot say. 



It remains to inquire, What light do these writings throw on the 

 (juestion of the first preaching of Christianity in Ireland, and on the 

 nature and extent of the work accomplished by Patrick ? 



If we accept his statements without any qualification, we must 

 suppose that Ireland was utterly heathen until his arrival as a 

 Christian preacher. Numquam notitiam Dei hahuerunt nissi idida et 

 inmunda usque nunc semper coluenmt (Conf. 41). Again, he represents 

 those who opposed his attempt as describing the Irish as liostes qui 

 Deum non nouerunt (Conf. 46). It may be noted that the expression 

 hostes would be appropriate if a previous attempt to evangelise 

 Ireland had been badly received by the natives. Moreover, Patrick 

 certainly speaks of the establishment of a Christian Church in Ireland 

 as a recent event, and implies that it was due to his efforts : e.g. 

 Iniqui dissipauenmt legem tuam, Bomine, quam in siipremis temporihus 

 Hilerione optime et henigne plantauerat (Ep. 5). \_Filii I)ei~\ quos 

 7iuper adquisiuit in ultimis terrae per exJiortationem paruitatis nostrae, 

 Ep. 9. Lupi rapaces deglutierunt gregem Domini qui utique Silerione 

 cum summa diligentia optime crescehat, Ep. 12. 



On the other hand, his language, when speaking of the range of his 

 labours, is consistent with the supposition that the statements quoted 

 refer only to the parts of Ireland evangelised by himself. For example, 

 in Conf. 51 : Pergebam . ... ad exteras partes uhi nemo ultra erat, et 

 ubi numquam aliquis peruenerat qui baptizaret, aut clericos ordinaret aut 

 populum consummaret. Cf. § 34. This language certainly permits 

 us to suppose that there may have been not only Christian congre- 

 gations, but an organised Christian Church, in those parts of Ireland 

 more accessible to Britain and the continent of Europe than was the 

 AYood of Fochlut, which is the only definite place mentioned by 

 Patrick as having been visited by him (Conf. 23). Indeed, the whole 

 tone of the Confessio implies that there were Christians in Ireland who 

 took the same view of Patrick as did the senior es of Britain or of 



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