PREFACE 
formation with regard to Irish affairs to as great an 
extent as possible from writers who were neither 
Irish themselves nor of Irish descent. The impor- 
tant authorities as to the place of the Irish in the 
history of civilization are above all the German and 
French savants who have devoted themselves to the 
study of Celtic influences in the world. 
The book has one other possible merit that should 
perhaps commend it particularly to readers who are 
not of Irish descent or affiliation and which perhaps 
justifies its appearance. It is written after rather 
intensive study of other periods and other races be- 
sides the Irish, so that it represents the value of 
comparative researches in the history of civilization, 
on a background of broad familiarity with what is 
best in the history of humanity. 
I have to thank Mr. Vincent F. O'Reilly, the 
librarian of the American Irish Historical Society, 
for reading portions of the manuscript and for many 
valuable hints. 
11