on its appearance in "The Contemporary Review." In this essay,
basically a literary protest, "Fiona Macleod" declared "herself" against
Separatist politics and affirmed "her" belief, as "she" had in "The
House of Usna," that the future greatness of Ireland was to come, not
through independence, but through the rebirth of her ancient
spirituality in other nations to whom she had given her children.

The Celtic element in our national life [wrote "Fiona Macleod"] has
a vital and great part to play. We have a most noble ideal if we
will but accept it. And that is, not to perpetuate feuds, not to
try to win back what is gone away upon the wind, not to repay
ignorance with scorn, or dullness with contempt, or past wrongs
with present hatred, but so to live, so to pray, so to hope, so to
work, so to achieve, that we, what is left of the Celtic races, of
the Celtic genius, may permeate the greater race of which we are a
vital part, so that, with this Celtic emotion, Celtic love of
beauty, and Celtic spirituality, a nation greater than any the
world has seen may issue, a nation refined and strengthened by the
wise relinquishings and steadfast ideals of Celt and Saxon, united
in a common fatherland, and in singleness of pride and faith.

There was, however, if less intimacy with the Irish writers in these
later years, no less admiration of their art, an admiration that led not
only to praise of them in critical articles, but to a greater praise of
imitation of their art. So possessed, indeed, was Sharp by the verse of
the younger Irish poets as he read them to write of them, that when he
turned to verse as "Fiona Macleod," he fell into their rhythms and
reproduced the colors of their styles. Writing in prose as a critic of
Mr. Yeats, Sharp came to write in verse as Mr. Yeats wrote, as in "The
Dirge of the Four Cities": writing of "A.E." in prose as critic, Sharp
came to write in verse as "A.E." wrote, as in "Flame on the Wind":
writing of "Moira O'Neill," in prose as critic, Sharp came to write in
verse as "Moira O'Neill" wrote, as in "I--Brasil": writing in prose as
critic, of "Ethna Carberry," Sharp came to write in verse as "Ethna
Carberry" wrote, as in "The Exile." So it was, also, that, coming to
write of Celtic literature after study of Renan and Arnold, Sharp
attained to something of their large utterance.

Sharp sees the Celtic Renaissance, however, alway