The Mystery
I am the wind which breathes upon the sea,
I am the wave of the ocean,
I am the murmur of the billows,
I am the ox of the seven combats,
I am the vulture upon the rocks,
I am the beam of the sun,
I am the fairest of plants,
I am the wild boar in valour,
I am a salmon in the water,
I am a lake in the plain,
I am a word of science,
I am the point of the lance of battle,
I am the God who created in the head the fire.
Who is it who throws light into the meeting on the mountain?
Who announces the ages of the moon?
Who teaches the place where couches the sun?
(If not I)
This poem is ascribed to Amergin, a Milesian prince or druid who settled in Ireland hundreds of years before Christ and is from the Leabhar Gabhala, or Book of Invasions.
“The three short pieces of verse ascribed to Amergin are certainly very ancient and very strange. But as the whole story of the Milesian Invasion is wrapped in mystery and is quite possibly a rationalized account of early Irish mythology no faith can be placed in the alleged date or genuineness of Amergin’s verses. They are of interest, because as Irish tradition has them as being the first verses made in Ireland, so it may very well be they actually do present the oldest surviving lines of any vernacular tongue in Europe except Greece.” by Douglas Hyde, The Story of Early Gaelic Literature © by owner. provided at no charge for educational purposes
Here are links related to this post
“The Story of Early Gaelic Literature” where you can read it for free.
https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Story_of_Early_Gaelic_Literature/xYMrAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover
Milesian (Invasion)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milesians_(Irish)
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