Page:The ancient Irish church.djvu/27

 in his father's house, and part in one of the monasteries of Gaul, where he would have enjoyed spiritual and educational advantages which could not be had in Britain, owing to the disturbed state of the country and the withdrawal of the Roman legions.

So far we have followed Patrick's own writings, using them the more freely because there is such good reason for believing that the documents are authentic. But when we take up any of the large number of 'Lives of St. Patrick' which have been written, we feel that we are breathing an entirely different atmosphere. In the one case the moderate and unsensational character of the narrative disposes us to accept it as a truthful story. In the other, the preponderance of the miraculous element and the high colouring which manifestly belongs to a later age cause us to pause, and throw a considerable shadow of doubt over the whole account.

The oldest of Patrick's biographies is generally believed to have been composed not much more than a century after his death. Of this Life a manuscript exists, written in the first years of the ninth century, and in it the scribe complains that the copy from which he was transcribing had in many cases become illegible by reason of its age. Documents which can boast such a respectable antiquity are not to be lightly cast aside; but nevertheless they must always be used with extreme caution.

These old writers never made any distinction between the biography and the panegyric. They would have considered themselves unfaithful to their duty if they doubted any story that seemed to them to be creditable to the subject of their work. Even if the story were palpably untrue, they would have no hesitation in admitting it if they imagined that