THE WORLD'S DEBT TO THE IRISH
ment of the Irish after the introduction of Christian-
ity and for the awakening of the enthusiasm in them
which made them missionaries of the spirit and the
mind for the rest of the world. These were St.
Patrick and St. Bridget and I think that we shall
see in the course of this volume that they eminently
deserve all that has been said in praise of them by
the Irish ever since. St. Patrick literally made of
Ireland ‘‘the island of saints and of scholars” and
above all gave that impetus to education which
meant so much in enabling the Irish people to be
the saviors of civilization when the invasion of
the barbarians threatened seriously to put an end
to it.
St. Bridget was a pioneer in education for women.
Of course it seems utterly incredible that in the fifth
century after Christ there should have been a very
definite organization of higher education for women,
but no one can doubt the facts with regard to it
who studies the ancient records of the Irish people
as they have been recovered, not so much in Ireland
itself, where unfortunately invasion after invasion
of barbarians from the north and then the conquest
by the unsympathetic English destroyed most of
their historical documents and monuments, but in
the libraries of many countries over on the European
continent and in the traditions of many places where
the Irish were the apostles of Christianity and cul-
ture to the European peoples.
It is not surprising to learn that St. Bridget was
a founder in feminine education when the status of
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