Page:The poem-book of the Gael - Hull.djvu/74

“Youth^[1] and joy, by us it has been heard,
health, playfulness, delight,
bordered^[2] lands, most perfect of form,
wondrous plants, harmonies.


“Noble satisfaction, singular wholesome peace,
a festival of holiness for souls,
. . . ^[3] many the habitations,
frequent intercourse with angels.

“Lasting life, continually at God's right hand,
for ever in the brughs of Paradise,
in which, under fair aspect,
God's creatures were doing us reverence.

“All the living things under heaven
which my faithful dear God created,
under (our) control over every high place,
we it was who used to order them.

“Fire would not burn us,
water would not drown us,
nor sharp edge . . .^[4]
nor (was there) pestilence nor consuming disease.

1. The word is óetiu, probably óitiu=“youth”; L. B. has ditte aille ocus slanti cen galar, “beautiful places and health without sickness.”
2. Balthai (?). There is a word baltadh, “a border” (O'R); L. B. has blathi, “blooming” or “prosperous.”
3. Aithbi derrit?
4. Fédim?