lect05-第3部分

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in　their　complete　form；　whether　the　ruler　acknowledged　a　superior






above　him　or　whether　he　at　most　admitted　one　in　the　Pope；　or　the






Emperor；　or　God　himself。　In　every　County；　or　Dukedom；　or　Kingdom






there　were　great　tenants　holding　directly　of　its　head　and　on　some






sort　of　parity　with　him；　and　there　was　a　Domain　under　his　more






immediate　government　and　at　his　immediate　disposal。　There　is　no






obscurer　and　more　difficult　subject　than　the　origin　of　the　class






whose　power　was　the　keystone　of　all　these　political　and






proprietary　constructions；　and　none　on　which　the　scantiest






contributions　to　our　knowledge　are　more　welcome。






　　　　There　is　one　view　of　the　original　condition　of　privileged






classes　which；　though　held　by　learned　men；　has　been　a　good　deal






weakened　of　late　by　German　research；　and　seems　to　me　still






farther　shaken　by　portions　of　the　Brehon　law。　This　is　the






impression　that　they　always　constituted；　as　they　practically　do






now；　a　distinct　class　or　section　of　the　community；　each　member　of






the　class　standing　in　a　closer　relation　to　the　other　members　than






to　the　rest　of　the　national　or　tribal　society　to　which　all






belong。　It　cannot　be　doubted　that　the　earliest　modern






aristocracies　have　as　a　fact；　when　they　are　first　discerned；　this






particular　aspect。　Mr　Freeman　（'Norman　Conquest；'　i。　88）　says






that　the　'difference　between　eorl　and　ceorl　is　a　primary　fact






from　which　we　start。'　Tacitus　plainly　distinguished　the　noble






from　the　non…noble　freeman　in　the　Germanic　societies　which　he






observed；　and　Caesar；　as　I　stated　in　another　Lecture；　divides　all






the　Continental　Celtic　tribes　into　the　Equites　and　the　Plebs。　We






can　understand　that　a　spectator　looking　at　a　set　of　tribal






communities　from　the　outside　would　naturally　class　together　all






men　visibly　exalted　above　the　rest；　but　nevertheless　this　is　not






quite　the　appearance　which　early　Germanic　society　wears　in　the






eyes　of　enquirers　who　follow　the　method　of　Von　Maurer　and　Landau。






Each　Chief　or　Lord　appears　to　them　to　have　been　noble　less　with






reference　to　other　noblemen　than　with　reference　to　the　other　free






tribesmen　comprised　in　the　same　group　with　himself。　Nobility　has






many　diverse　origins；　but　its　chief　source　seems　to　have　been　the






respect　of　co…villagers　or　assemblages　of　kinsmen　for　the　line　of






descent　in　which　the　purest　blood　of　each　little　society　was






believed　to　be　preserved。　Similarly；　the　Brehon　law　suggests　that






the　Irish　Chiefs　were　not　the　class　by　themselves　which　the






corresponding　order　among　the　Continental　Celts　appeared　to






Caesar　to　be；　but　were　necessarily　the　heads　of　separate　groups






composed　of　their　kindred　or　of　their　vassals。　'Every　chief；'






says　the　text　which　I　quoted　before；　'rules　over　his　land；






whether　it　be　great　or　whether　it　be　small。'　And　while　the　Irish






law　describes　the　way　（as　I　shall　point　out）　in　which　a　common






freeman　can　become　a　chief；　it　also　shows　that　the　position　to






which　he　attains　is　the　presidency　of　a　group　of　dependants。






Nevertheless　the　persons　thus　elevated　undoubtedly　tend　to






become；　from　various　causes；　a　class　by　themselves　and　a　special






section　of　the　general　community；　and　it　is　very　probable　that






the　tendency　was　at　work　from　the　earliest　times。　It　is　farther






to　be　remarked　that　some　aristocracies　were　really　a　section　of






the　community　from　the　very　first。　This　structure　of　society　is






produced　where　one　entire　tribal　group　conquers　or　imposes　its






supremacy　upon　other　tribal　groups　also　remaining　entire；　or






where　an　original　body　of　tribesmen；　villagers；　or　citizens；






gradually　gathers　round　itself　a　miscellaneous　assemblage　of






protected　dependants。　There　are　many　known　instances　of　both






processes；　and　the　particular　relation　of　tribal　groups　which　the






former　implies　was　certainly　not　unknown　to　the　Celtic　societies。






Among　the　Scottish　Highlanders　some　entire　septs　or　clans　are






stated　to　have　been　enslaved　to　others；　and　on　the　very　threshold






of　Irish　history　we　meet　with　a　distinction　between　free　and






rent…paying　tribes　which　may　possibly　imply　the　same　kind　of






superiority　and　subordination。






　　　　The　circumstance　of　greatest　novelty　in　the　position　of　the






Chief　which　the　Brehon　law　appears　to　me　to　bring　out　is　this：






Whatever　else　a　Chief　is；　he　is　before　all　things　a　rich　man；






not；　however；　rich；　as　popular　assoCiations　would　lead　us　to






anticipate；　in　land；　but　in　live　stock　　in　flocks　and　herds；　in






sheep；　and　before　all　things　in　oxen。　Here　let　me　interpose　the






remark；　that　the　opposition　commonly　set　up　between　birth　and






wealth；　and　particularly　wealth　other　than　landed　property；　is






entirely　modern。　In　French　literature；　so　far　as　my　knowledge






extends；　it　first　appears　when　the　riches　of　the　financial






officers　of　the　French　monarchy　　the　Superintendents　and






Farmers　General　　begin　to　attract　attention。　With　us　it　seems






to　be　exclusively　the　result　of　the　great　extension　and






productiveness　of　industrial　undertakings　on　the　largest　scale。






But　the　heroes　of　the　Homeric　poems　are　not　only　valiant　but






wealthy　（Odyss。　xiv。　96…106）；　the　warriors　of　the　Nibelungen…Lied






are　not　only　noble　but　rich。　In　the　later　Greek　literature　we






find　pride　of　birth　identified　with　pride　in　seven　wealthy






ancestors　in　succession；　epta　pappoi　plonsioi；　and　you　are　well






aware　how　rapidly　and　completely　the　aristocracy　of　wealth






assimilated　itself　in　the　Roman　State　to　the　aristocracy　of






blood。　Passing　to　the　Irish　Chief；　we　find　the　tract　called　the






'Cain…Aigillne'　laying　down　（p。　279）　that　'the　head　of　every






tribe　should　be　the　man　of　the　tribe　who　is　the　most　experienced；






the　most　noble；　the　most　wealthy；　the　most　learned；　the　most






truly　popular；　the　most　powerful　to　oppose；　the　most　steadfast　to






sue　for　profits　and　to　be　sued　for　losses。'　There　are　many　other






passages　to　the　same　effect；　and　on　closely　examining　the　system






（as　I　propose　to　do　presently）　we　can　perceive　that　personal






wealth　was　the　principal　condition　of　the　Chief's　maintaining　his






position　and　authority。






　　　　But　while　the　Brehon　laws　suggest　that　the　possession　of






personal　wealth　is　a　condition　of　the　maintenance　of






chieftainship；　they　show　with　much　distinctness　that　through　the






acquisition　of　such　wealth　the　road　was　always　open　to






chieftainship。　We　are　not　altogether　without　knowledge　that　in






some　European　societies　the　humble　freeman　might　be　raised　by






wealth　to　the　position　which　afterwards　became　modern　nobility。






One　fact；　among　the　very　few　which　are　tolerably　well　ascertained






respecting　the　specific　origin　of　particular　modern　aristocracies






is；　that　a　portion　of　the　Danish　nobility　were　originally






peasants；　and　there　are　in　the　early　English　laws　some　traces　of






a　process　by　which　a　Ceorl　might　become　a　Thane。　These　might　be






facts　standing　by　themselves；　and　undoubtedly　there　is　strong






reason　to　suspect　that　the　commencements　of　aristocracy　were






multifold：　but　the　Brehon　tracts　point　out　in　several　places；






with　legal　minuteness；　the　mode　in　which　a　peasant　freeman　in






ancient　Ireland　could　become　a　chief。　There　are　few　personages　of






greater　interest　spoken　of　in　these　laws　than　the　Bo…Aire；






literally　the　'cow…nobleman。'　He　is；　to　begin　with；　simply　a






peasant　who　has　grown　rich　in　cattle；　probably　through　obtaining






the　use　of　large　portions　of　tribe…land。　The　true　nobles；　or






Aires　　a　word　striking　from　its　consonance　with　words　of






similar　meaning　in　the　Teutonic　languages　　are　divided；　though






we　can　scarcely　believe　the　classification　to　correspond　with　an






universal　fact；　into　seven　grades。　Each　grade　is　distinguished






from　the　others　by　the　amount　of　wealth　possessed　by　the　Chief






belonging　to　it；　by　the　weight　attached　to　his　evidence；　by　his






power　of　binding　his　tribe　by　contracts　（literally　of






'knotting'）；　by　the　dues　which　he　receives　in　kind　from　his






vassals　according　to　a　system　to　be　presently　described；　and　by






his　Honor…Price；　or　special　damages　incurred　by　injuring　him。　At






the　bottom　of　the　scale　is　the　chief　or　noble　called　the






Aire…desa；　and　the　Brehon　law　provides　that　when　the　Bo…Aire　has






acquired　twice　the　wealth　of　an　Aire…desa；　and　has　held　it　for　a






certain　number　of　generations；　he　becomes　an　Aire…desa　himself。






The　advantage　secured　to　wealth　does　not；　you　see；　exclude






respect　for　birth；　but　works　into　it。　'He　is　an　inferior　chief；'






says　the　'Senchus　Mor；'　'whose　father　was　not　a　chief；'　and　there






are　many　other　strong　assertions　of　the　reverence　due　to






inherited　rank。　The　primary　view　of　chieftainship　is　evidently






that　it　springs　from　purity　or　dignity　of　blood；　but　noble　birth






is　regarded　as　naturally　associated　with　wealth；　and　he　who