Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 8.djvu/128

 IPSUS

9S

IRELAND

attention of the Archbishop Alexander de' Medici (afterwartls Lpo XI), who gave him the cliurch of Sta Lucia al Prato in which to carry on his work, lie diviilod his time between his trade of silk-weaving and the religious instruction of poor children and adults, and at sixteen felt impelled to found a society for this purpose. The opposition aroused by his solicitude for the poor he overcame by the exercise of wonderful patience, tienerous benefactors made it possible for him to erect an oratory, which Clement VIII dedicated in honour of St. Francis, in 1602, and in which the work begun at Sta Lucia was contin- ued. The foundation was called the Congregation of Christian Doctrine under the invocation of Sts. Francis and Lucy. It was divided into fifteen classes, according to the age and religious knowledge of the pupils, each class being governed by special rules and assisting in the instruction of the class below. The members of the first class were admitted to the congregation after a good confession.

Ippolito was indefatigable in his work, collecting alms from the wealthy Florentines,which he distributed among the poor, founding and reorganizing branches of his congregation, which spread to Volterra, Lucca, Pistoia, Modena, etc. He introduced the practice of nocturnal adoration to draw the people from the theatre and sinful amusements. In Florence, the members of his congregation, by reason of their modesty, were called Van Chetoni. Ippolito was the object of violent persecution, envy and malice ac- cusing him of sharing the errors of Luther, of intro- ducing new rules and reforms. One of his spiritual sons accused him before the pope and Grand Duke Cosimo of excessive severity, but the charge was not sustained, and Ippolito's congregation was declared to be for God's glory and the public good. Shortly before the holy man's death the grand duke founded a perpetual chaplaincy for the order. Ippolito made a pilgrimage to Loreto to place his foundation under the protection of the Blessed Virgin. The statutes of the congregation were approved by the Congrega- tion of Bishops and Regulars, and confirmed by Leo XII in a decree of 17 September, 1824. The founder was beatified by the same pontiff, 13 May, 1825. His ascetical works, written for the govern- ment and direction of his congregation, had been approved by Benedict XIV in 1747, and were pub- lished at Rome in 1831, together with a brief life of the saint by Canon Antonio Santelli.

BrischaR in Kircheniei., s. v. Doctrinaricr.

Blanche M. Kelly.

Ipsus, a titular see of Phrygia Salutaris, suffragan of Synnada. The locality was famous as the scene of the great battle fought in 301 B. c. between the succes- sors of Alexander, in which Antigonus was slain and his kingdom divided between his rivals. As Ipsos or Hypsos the city is mentioned by Hierocles and George of Cyprus and in most of the medieval " Notitiae epis- copatuum". Le Quien (Oriens Christianus, I, 840- 41), names four of its bishops; Lucian, at the Council of Chalcedon in 451; George, at the Seventh Council in 787; Photius and Thomas at the Councils of Con- stantinople in 868 and 878. The city was situated at the junction of two roads, one leading to Byzantium and the other towards Sardeis; the exact site has not been discovered. Modern geographers identify it with the ruins of Ipsili-Hi.ssar; others, like Ramsay ("Cities and Bishoprics of Phrygia", Oxford, 1897, 748), with those of Tchai, 82 miles from Apamea.

S. Vailhe.

Ireland. — GBOGnAPHY. — Ireland lies in the Atlan- tic Ocean, west of Great Britain, from which it is sep- arated in the north-east by the North Channel, in the east by the Irish Sea, and in the south-east by St. George's Channel. Situated between the fifty-first

and fifty-si.xth degrees of latitude, and between the fifth and eleventh parallels of longitude (Greenwich), its greatest length is 302 miles, itsgreatest breadth 174 miles, its area 32, .535 square miles. It is divided into four provinces, these being subdivided into thirty-two counties. In the centre the country is a level plain; towards the coast there are .several detached mountain chains. Its rivers and bays are mnnerous, also its bogs; its climate is mild, though imduly moist. In minerals it is not wealthy like Great Britain, but its soil is generally more fertile, and is specially suitable for agriculture and pasturage.

Early History. — In ancient times it was known by the various names of lerna, Juverna, Hibernia, Ogy- gia, and Inisfail or the Isle of Destiny. It was also called Banba and Erin, and lastly Scotia, or the coun- try of the Scots. From the eleventh century, how- ever, the name Scotia was exclusively applied to Caledonia, the latter country having been peopled in the sixth century by a Scottish colony from Ireland. Henceforth Ireland was often called Scotia Major and sometimes Ireland, until, after the eleventh century, the name Scotia was dropped and Ireland alone re- mained. Even yet it is sometimes called Erin — chiefly by orators and poets. Situated in the far west, out of the beaten paths of commercial activity, it was little known to the ancients. F'estus Avienus wrote that it was two days' sail from Britain. Pliny thought that it was part of Britain and not an island at all; Strabo that it was near Britain, and that its in- habitants were cannibals; and all that Ciesar knew was that it was west of Britain, and about half its size. Agricola beheld its coastline from the opposite shores of Caledonia, and had thought of acceptmg the invita- tion of an Irish chief to come and conquer it, believing he could do so with a single legion. But he left Ire- land unvisited and unconquered, and Tacitus could only record that in soil and climate it resembled Britain, and that its harbours were then well known to foreign merchants.

But if we have not any detailed description from his lively pen, the native chroniclers have furnished us with abimdant materials, and, if all they say be true, we can understand the remark of Camden that Ireland was rightly called Ogygia, or the Ancient Island, be- cause, in comparison, the antiquity of all other nations is in its infancy. Passing by the absurd story that it was peopled before the Deluge, we arc told that, begin- ning with the time of Abraham, several successive waves of colonization rolled westward to its shores. First came Parthalon with 1000 followers; after which came the Nemedians, the Firbolgs, and the Tuatha-de-Dananns, and lastly the Milesians or Scots. In addition, there were the Fomorians, a people of un- certain origin, whose chief occupation was piracy and war, and whose attacks on the various settlers were incessant. These and the Milesians excepted, the dif- ferent colonists came from tireece, antl all were of the same race. The Milesians came from Scythia; and from that country to Egypt, from Egypt to Spain, from Spain to Ireland their adventures are recorded in detail. The name Scot which they bore was derived from Scota, daughter of Pharaoh of Egypt, the wife of one of their chiefs; from their chief Miledh they got the name Milesians, and from another chief Goidel they were sometimes called Gadelians, or (iaels. The wars and battles of the.se colonists are largely fabulous, and the Partholaiiiiins, N'emetlians, and Fomorians belong rather to mythology than to history. So also do the Dananns, though sonu'times they are taken as a real people, of superior knowledge and skill, the buihlers of those prehistoric sepulchral mounds by the Boyne, at Dowth, Knowth, and Newgrange. The Firbolgs however most probably existed, and were kintlred perhaps to those warlike Belga- of Gaul whom Ca'sar encountered in battle. And the Milesians certainly belong to history, though the date of their arrival in