Author: James Godkin

Publisher:

Published: 2015-07-07

Total Pages: 326

ISBN-13: 9781330892442

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Excerpt from The Religious History of Ireland: Primitive, Papal and Protestant Including the Evangelical Missions, Catholic Agitations, and Church Progress of the Last Half-Century When the history of a vanquished nation, which has resisted for centuries, is written by the conquerors, it is not likely to be very impartial. It is still less to be relied on if the writers be ignorant of the language of the people, whom they hate or despise. For those who wish to judge fairly in such a case, it is desirable to hear the accredited organs of the subject race, that they may know what they have to say for themselves. One story is good till the other is told. This maxim should be remembered even where the temptations to misrepresentation are not so very great. If we believe the bundle of affidavits which one party to a suit, some claimant to an estate, lays on the table of the Court, he is the most injured of men. If we believe the bundle, sworn to by equally credible witnesses on the other side, he is the principal agent in a wicked conspiracy, aiming at robbery and sustained by perjury. It is only by comparing the evidence on both sides, and carefully sifting it, that we can hope to arrive at the truth. A difficult task at all times, even to minds the most judicial; but never more difficult than in a case where two such nations as England and Ireland are at issue about the facts of history in the troubled and distant past, touching interests on one side far dearer than those of property. It is amazing with what facility men of superior, and even critical, minds receive worthless testimony when it falls in with their wishes or their prejudices. Not less wonderful is the tenacity with which national animosities grow and flourish from generation to generation, despite the efforts of good men to extirpate them, despite the silent influence of education in changing the nature of the soil in which they are rooted. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Download or read book The Religious History of Ireland written by James Godkin and published by . This book was released on 2015-07-07 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from The Religious History of Ireland: Primitive, Papal and Protestant Including the Evangelical Missions, Catholic Agitations, and Church Progress of the Last Half-Century When the history of a vanquished nation, which has resisted for centuries, is written by the conquerors, it is not likely to be very impartial. It is still less to be relied on if the writers be ignorant of the language of the people, whom they hate or despise. For those who wish to judge fairly in such a case, it is desirable to hear the accredited organs of the subject race, that they may know what they have to say for themselves. One story is good till the other is told. This maxim should be remembered even where the temptations to misrepresentation are not so very great. If we believe the bundle of affidavits which one party to a suit, some claimant to an estate, lays on the table of the Court, he is the most injured of men. If we believe the bundle, sworn to by equally credible witnesses on the other side, he is the principal agent in a wicked conspiracy, aiming at robbery and sustained by perjury. It is only by comparing the evidence on both sides, and carefully sifting it, that we can hope to arrive at the truth. A difficult task at all times, even to minds the most judicial; but never more difficult than in a case where two such nations as England and Ireland are at issue about the facts of history in the troubled and distant past, touching interests on one side far dearer than those of property. It is amazing with what facility men of superior, and even critical, minds receive worthless testimony when it falls in with their wishes or their prejudices. Not less wonderful is the tenacity with which national animosities grow and flourish from generation to generation, despite the efforts of good men to extirpate them, despite the silent influence of education in changing the nature of the soil in which they are rooted. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.