Brendan's Fabulous Voyage: A Lecture delivered on January 19, 1893, before the Scottish Society of Literature and ArtBute, John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, Marquess of
Religion
Brendan's Fabulous Voyage: A Lecture delivered on January 19, 1893, before the Scottish Society of Literature and Art
Bute, John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, Marquess of
Brendan, Saint, the Voyager, approximately 483-577
Well, I am now going to deal with the 'silly, lying, or apocryphal
ravings.' The romance relates that on one occasion when Brendan was in a
place called the Thicket, there came to him a man called Barint O'Neil,
of the race of King Neil of IX. Hostages. This man told him that his
disciple Marnock had left him, and founded an hermitage of his own in an
island called Delight some, whither he himself afterwards went to visit
him. While he was there, they were one day together upon the shore,
where there was a small boat, and then, to translate the precise words,
'he said unto me, "Father, go up into the ship, and let us sail westward
unto the island which is called the Land of Promise of the Saints, which
God will give unto them that come after us in the latter time." We went
up into the ship therefore, and clouds covered us all round about us, so
that hardly could we see the stern or the prow of the ship. After the
space, as it were, of one hour, a great light shone round about us, and
there appeared a land wide and grassy, and very fruitful. And when the
ship was come to land, we went out, and began to go about, and to walk
through that land for fifteen days, and we could not find the end
thereof. We saw there no plant without a flower, and no tree without
fruit, and all the stones thereof are precious stones. And upon the
fifteenth day we found a river running from the west eastward. And when
we considered all these things, we doubted what we should do. We were
fain to pass over the river, but we waited for counsel from God. While
we discussed thus between us, of a sudden there appeared before us a man
in great brightness, who called us by our names and saluted us, saying,
"It is well done, good brethren, for the Lord hath revealed unto you
that land which He will give unto his Saints. For it is an half of the
island up to this river; but unto you it is not given to pass over. Go
back therefore whence ye are come." When he said thus, we asked him
whence he was, and by what name he was called. And he said unto me, "Why
dost thou ask me whence I am? and by what name I am called? Why dost
thou not rather ask as to this island? For even as thou seest it now, so
doth it remain since the beginning of the world. Hast thou any need of
meat or drink? Hast thou been overcome of sleep, or hath night covered
thee? Know therefore of a surety: there is always day here without
blindness or shadow of darkness. For our Lord Jesus Christ is the light
thereof, and if men had not done against the commandment of God, they
would have remained in the loveliness of this land." When we heard it,
we were turned to weeping, and when we were rested, we straightway took
our journey, and the man aforesaid came with us even to the shore where
our ship was. But when we got us up into the ship, the man was taken
away from our eyes, and we came into the darkness aforesaid, and until
the Isle of Delight some.' Barint goes on to relate his conversation
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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