[Gutenberg 48334] • Ireland under the Tudors, with a Succinct Account of the Earlier History. Vol. 2 (of 3)

Excerpt from Ireland Under the Tudors, Vol. 1 of 2: With a Succinct Account of the Earlier History

'Irish policy, ' said Mr. Disraeli in the House of Commons, 'is Irish history, and I have no faith in any statesman, who attempts to remedy the evils of Ireland, who is either ignorant of the past or who will not take lessons from it.' This is most true, and history, if It is to be of any use, should be written for instruction, and not merely for the confirmation of existing prejudices. This is especially so in the present case, for, as Sir George Stanley told Cecil in 1565, 'the practises of Ireland be great, and not understood to all men that seem to have knowledge thereof.' The writer who enters the arena as an advocate may produce an interesting party pamphlet, but he will hardly make the world either wiser or better. The historians true office is that of the judge, whose duty it is to marshal all the material facts with just so much of comment as may enable his hearers to give them their due weight. The reading public is the jury.

Starting with this conception of the task before me, I have not attempted to please any party or school. The history of Ireland is at the best a sad one; but its study, if it be really studied for the truth's sake, can hardly fail to make men more tolerant. In Ireland, as in other countries, a purely Celtic population was unable to resist the impact of the Teutonic race. First came the pagan Northmen, with power to ruin, but without power to reconstruct. Then followed the Anglo-Normans, seeking for lands and lordships, but seeking them under the patronage of the Catholic Church.

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