10/47 Review_, xix.628.Whether the man who wrote was Irish or British depends on the answer to the question set forth in the preceding note. Unfortunately, we do not know when the Ogam script came first into use. Professor Rhys tells me that the Silchester example may quite conceivably belong to the fifth century.] [Illustration: FIG.21.OGAM INSCRIPTION FROM SILCHESTER.] But a more powerful aid to the revival may be found in another fact--that is the destruction of the Romanized part of Britain by the invading Saxons. War, and especially defensive war against invaders, must always weaken the higher forms of any country's civilization. |