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capable　of　indefinite　multiplication；　has　always　of　course　been






abstractedly　true；　but；　like　many　other　principles　of　Political






Economy；　its　value　depends　on　the　circumstances　to　which　it　is






applied。　In　very　ancient　times　land　was　a　drug；　while　capital　was






extremely　perishable；　added　to　with　the　greatest　difficulty；　and






lodged　in　very　few　hands。　The　proportionate　importance　of　the　two






requisites　of　cultivation　changed　very　slowly；　and　it　is　only






quite　recently　that　in　some　countries　it　has　been　well…nigh






reversed。　The　ownership　of　the　instruments　of　tillage　other　than






the　land　itself　was　thus；　in　early　agricultural　communities；　a






power　of　the　first　order；　and；　as　it　may　be　believed　that　a　stock






of　the　primitive　capital　larger　than　usual　was　very　generally






obtained　by　plunder；　we　can　understand　that　these　stocks　were






mostly　in　the　hands　of　noble　classes　whose　occupation　was　war；






and　who　at　all　events　had　a　monopoly　of　the　profits　of　office。






The　advance　of　capital　at　usurious　interest；　and　the　helpless






degradation　of　the　borrowers；　were　the　natural　results　of　such






economical　conditions。　For　the　honour　of　the　obscure　and






forgotten　Brehon　writers　of　the　Cain…Saerrath　and　the






Cain…Aigillne；　let　it　not　be　forgotten　that　their　undertaking　was






essentially　the　same　as　that　which　went　far　to　immortalise　one






great　Athenian　legislator。　By　their　precise　and　detailed






statements　of　the　proportion　which　is　to　be　preserved　between　the






stock　which　the　Chief　supplies　and　the　returns　which　the　tenant






pays；　they　plainly　intend　to　introduce　certainty　and　equity　into






a　naturally　oppressive　system。　Solon；　dealing　with　a　state　of






society　in　which　coined　money　had　probably　not　long　taken　the






place　of　something　like　the　'seds'　of　the　Brehon　law；　had　no






expedient　open　to　him　but　the　debasement　of　the　currency　and　the






cancellation　of　debts；　but　he　was　attacking　the　same　evil　as　the






Brehon　lawyers；　and　equally　interfering　with　that　freedom　of






contract　which　wears　a　very　different　aspect　according　to　the






condition　of　the　society　in　which　it　prevails。






　　　　The　great　part　played　in　the　Brehon　law　by　Cattle　as　the






oldest　form　of　Capital　ought　further　to　leave　no　doubt　of　the






original　objects　of　the　system　of　'eric'…fines；　or　pecuniary






composition　for　violent　crime。　As　I　said　before；　no　Irish






institution　was　so　strongly　denounced　by　Englishmen　as　this；　or






with　so　great　a　show　of　righteous　indignation。　As　members　of　a






wealthy　community；　long　accustomed　to　a　strong　government；　they






were　revolted　partly　by　its　apparent　inadequacy　and　partly　the






unjust　impunity　which　it　seemed　to　give　to　the　rich　man　and　to






deny　to　the　poor。　Although　the　English　system　of　criminal






penalties　which　they　sought　to　substitute　for　the　Irish　system　of






compositions　would　nowadays　be　described　by　an　ordinary　writer　in






pretty　much　as　dark　colours　as　those　used　by　Spenser　and　Davis






for　the　Irish　institution；　it　is　very　possible　that　in　the






sixteenth　century　it　would　have　been　an　advantage　to　Ireland　to






have　the　English　procedure　and　the　English　punishments。　There　is






much　evidence　that　the　usefulness　of　'eric'…fines　had　died　out；






and　that　they　unjustly　profited　the　rich　and　powerful。　But　that






only　shows　that　the　confusions　of　Ireland　had　kept　alive　beyond






its　time　an　institution　which　in　the　beginning　had　been　a　great






step　forwards　from　barbarism。　If　the　modern　writers　who　have






spoken　harshly　of　these　pecuniary　compositions　had　come　upon　a






set　of　usages　belonging　to　a　society　in　which　tribe　was






perpetually　struggling　with　tribe；　and　in　which　life　was　held






extraordinarily　cheap；　and　had　found　that；　by　this　customary　law；






the　sept　or　family　to　which　the　perpetrator　of　a　crime　belonged






forfeited　a　considerable　portion　of　its　lauds；　I　am　not　sure　that






they　would　not　have　regarded　the　institution　as　showing　for　the






age　an　extremely　strict　police。　But　in　the　infancy　of　society　a






fine　on　the　cultivating　communities；　of　the　kind　afterwards






called　pecuniary；　was　a　much　severer　punishment　than　the






forfeiture　of　land。　They　had　plenty　of　land　within　their　domains；






but　very　slight　appliances　for　cultivating　it；　and　it　was　out　of






these　last　that　compositions　were　paid。　The　system　of　course　lost






its　meaning　as　the　communities　broke　up　and　as　property　became






unequally　divided。　In　its　day；　nevertheless；　it　had　been　a　great






achievement；　and　there　are　traces　of　it　everywhere；　even　in　Roman






law；　where；　however；　it　is　a　mere　survival。






　　　　Before　I　quit　the　subject　let　me　say　something　on　the






etymology　of　the　famous　word；　Feodum；　Feud；　or　Fief。　The






derivation　from　Emphyteusis　is　now　altogether　abandoned；　and






there　is　general；　though　not　quite　universal；　agreement　that






Feodum　is　descended　from　one　or　other　of　the　numerous　family　of






old　Teutonic　terms　which　have　their　present　representative　in　the






modern　German　Vieh；　'cattle。'　There　is　supposed　to　have　been　much






the　same　transmutation　of　meaning　which　occurred　with　the






analogous　Latin　word。　Pecunia；　allied　to　pecus；　signified　first






money；　and　then　property　generally；　the　Roman　lawyers；　in　fact；






tell　us　that　it　is　the　most　comprehensive　term　for　all　a　man's






property；'　and　in　the　same　way　'feodum'　is　supposed　to　have　come






to　mean　'property；'　from　having　originally　meant　'cattle。'　The






investigations　we　have　been　pursuing　may　perhaps；　however；






suggest　that　the　connection　of　'feodum'　with　cattle　is　closer　and






more　direct　than　this　theory　assumes。　Dr　Sullivan；　I　ought　to






add；　assigns　a　different　origin　to　'feodum'　from　any　hitherto　put






forward　（Introd。　p。　ccxxvi）。　He　claims　it　as　a　Celtic　word；　and






connects　it　with　fuidhir；　the　name　of　a　class　of　denizens　on






tribal　territory　whose　status　I　am　about　to　discuss。






　　　　The　territory　of　every　Irish　tribe　appears　to　have　had






settled　on　it；　besides　the　Saer　and　Daer　Ceiles；　certain　classes






of　persons　whose　condition　was　much　newer　to　slavery　than　that　of






the　free　tribesman　who；　by　accepting　stock　from　the　Chief；　had






sunk　lowest　from　his　original　position　in　the　tribal　society。






They　are　called　by　various　names；　Sencleithes；　Bothachs；　and






Fuidhirs；　and　the　two　last　classes　are　again　subdivided；　like　the






Ceiles；　into　Saer　and　Daer　Bothachs；　and　Saer　and　Daer　Fuidhirs。






There　is　evidence　in　the　tracts；　and　especially　in　the






unpublished　tract　called　the　'Corus　Fine；'　that　the　servile






dependants；　like　the　freemen　of　the　territory；　had　a　family　or






tribal　organisation；　and　indeed　all　fragments　of　a　society　like






that　of　ancient　Ireland　take　more　or　less　the　shape　of　the






prevailing　model。　The　position　of　the　classes；　obscurely






indicated　in　Domesday　and　other　ancient　English　records　as　Cotwii






and　Bordarii；　was　probably　very　similar　to　that　of　the






Sencleithes　and　Bothachs；　and　in　both　cases　it　has　been　suspected






that　these　servile　orders　had　an　origin　distinct　from　that　of　the






dominant　race；　and　belonged　to　the　older　or　aboriginal






inhabitants　of　the　country。　Families　or　sub…tribes　formed　out　of






them　were　probably　hewers　of　wood　and　drawers　of　water　to　the






ruling　tribe　or　its　subdivisions。　Others　were　certainly　in　a






condition　of　special　servitude　to　the　Chief　or　dependence　on　him；






and　these　last　were　either　engaged　in　cultivating　his　immediate






domain…land　and　herding　his　cattle；　or　were　planted　by　him　in






separate　settlements　on　the　waste　land　of　the　tribe。　The　rent　or






service　which　they　paid　to　him　for　the　use　of　this　land　was






apparently　determinable　solely　by　the　pleasure　of　the　Chief。






　　　　Much　the　most　important；　and　much　the　most　interesting　of






these　classes　from　the　historical　point　of　view；　was　that　just






described　as　settled　by　the　Chief　on　the　unappropriated　tribal






lands。　Indeed；　it　has　been　suggested　that　its　fortunes　are






identical　with　those　of　the　great　bulk　of　the　Ir