l, whose principles and
fundamental institutions are in much closer harmony with our system of
autonomy. Mr. Goldwin Smith sees half the truth, that there is something
in the French nation which incapacitates it for liberty; but he does not
see that what they have always sought, and sometimes enjoyed, is not
freedom; that their liberty must diminish in proportion as their ideal
is attained; and that they are not yet familiar with the theory of
political rights. With this false notion of what constitutes liberty, it
is not surprising that he should repeatedly dwell on its connection
with Protestantism, and talk of "the political liberty which
Protestantism brought in its train" (p. 120). Such phrases may console a
Protestant reader of a book fatal to the Protestant ascendency in
Ireland; but as there are no arguments in support of them, and as they
are strangely contradicted by the facts in the context, Mr. Goldwin
Smith resorts to the ingenious artifice of calling to mind as many ugly
stories about Catholics as he can. The notion constantly recurs that,
though the Protestants were very wicked in Ireland, it was against their
principles and general practice, and is due to the Catholics, whose
system naturally led them to be tyrannical and cruel, and thus provoked
retaliation. Mr. Smith might have been reminded by Peter Plymley that
when Protestantism has had its own way it has uniformly been averse to
freedom: "What has Protestantism done for liberty in Denmark, in Sweden,
throughout the north of Germany, and in Prussia?"--not much less than
democracy has done in France. An admirer of the constitutions of 1791,
1814, or 1830 may be excused if he is not very severe on the absolutism
of Protestant countries.

Mr. Goldwin Smith mistakes the character of the invasion of Ireland
because he has not understood the relative position of the civilisation
of the two countries at the time when it occurred. That of the Celts was
in many respects more refined than that of the Normans. The Celts are
not among the progressive, initiative races, but among those which
supply the materials rather than the impulse of history, and are either
stationary or retrogressive. The Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, and
the Teutons are the only makers of history, the only authors of
advancement. Other races possessing a highly developed language, a
copious literature, a speculative religion, enjoying luxury and art,
attain to a certain pitch of culti