Part 19 (1/2)

Another good man that Finn had was Geena, the son of Luga; his mother was the warrior-daughter of Finn, and his father was a near kinsman of hers.

He was nurtured by a woman that bore the name of Fair Mane, who had brought up many of the Fianna to manhood. When his time to take arms was come he stood before Finn and made his covenant of fealty, and Finn gave him the captaincy of a band. But mac Luga proved slothful and selfish, for ever vaunting himself and his weapon-skill, and never training his men to the chase of deer or boar, and he used to beat his hounds and his serving-men. At last the Fians under him came with their whole company to Finn at Loch Lena, in Killarney, and there they laid their complaint against mac Luga, and said: Choose now, O Finn, whether you will have us or the son of Luga by himself.

Then Finn sent to mac Luga and questioned him, but mac Luga could say nothing to the point as to why the Fianna would none of him. Then Finn taught him the things befitting a youth of n.o.ble birth and a captain of men, and they were these:

*Maxims of the Fianna*

Son of Luga, if armed service be thy design, in a great mans household be quiet, be surly in the narrow pa.s.s.

Without a fault of his beat not thy hound; until thou ascertain her guilt, bring not a charge against thy wife.

In battle meddle not with a buffoon, for, O mac Luga, he is but a fool.

Censure not any if he be of grave repute; stand not up to take part in a brawl; have naught to do with a madman or a wicked one.

Two-thirds of thy gentleness be shown to women and to those that creep on the floor (little children) and to poets, and be not violent to the common people.

Utter not swaggering speech, nor say thou wilt not yield what is right; it is a shameful thing to speak too stiffly unless that it be feasible to carry out thy words.

So long as thou shalt live, thy lord forsake not; neither for gold nor for other reward in the world abandon one whom thou art pledged to protect.

To a chief do not abuse his people, for that is no work for a man of gentle blood.

Be no tale-bearer, nor utterer of falsehoods; be not talkative nor rashly censorious. Stir not up strife against thee, however good a man thou be.

Be no frequenter of the drinking-house, nor given to carping at the old; meddle not with a man of mean estate.

Dispense thy meat freely; have no n.i.g.g.ard for thy familiar.

Force not thyself upon a chief, nor give him cause to speak ill of thee.

Stick to thy gear; hold fast to thy arms till the stern fight with its weapon-glitter be ended.

Be more apt to give than to deny, and follow after gentleness, O son of Luga.

And the son of Luga, it is written, heeded these counsels, and gave up his bad ways, and he became one of the best of Finns men.

*Character of Finn*

Suchlike things also Finn taught to all his followers, and the best of them became like himself in valour and gentleness and generosity. Each of them loved the repute of his comrades more than his own, and each would say that for all n.o.ble qualities there was no man in the breadth of the world worthy to be thought of beside Finn.

It was said of him that he gave away gold as if it were the leaves of the woodland, and silver as if it were the foam of the sea; and that whatever he had bestowed upon any man, if he fell out with him afterwards, he was never known to bring it against him.

The poet Oisin once sang of him to St. Patrick:

These are the things that were dear to Finn The din of battle, the banquets glee, The bay of his hounds through the rough glen ringing, And the blackbird singing in Letter Lee,

The s.h.i.+ngle grinding along the sh.o.r.e When they dragged his war-boats down to sea, The dawn wind whistling his spears among, And the magic song of his minstrels three.

*Tests of the Fianna*

In the time of Finn no one was ever permitted to be one of the Fianna of Erin unless he could pa.s.s through many severe tests of his worthiness. He must be versed in the Twelve Books of Poetry, and must himself be skilled to make verse in the rime and metre of the masters of Gaelic poesy. Then he was buried to his middle in the earth, and must, with a s.h.i.+eld and a hazel stick, there defend himself against nine warriors casting spears at him, and if he were wounded he was not accepted. Then his hair was woven into braids, and he was chased through the forest by the Fians. If he were overtaken, or if a braid of his hair were disturbed, or if a dry stick cracked under his foot, he was not accepted. He must be able to leap over a lath level with his brow, and to run at full speed under one level with his knee, and he must be able while running to draw out a thorn from his foot and never slacken speed. He must take no dowry with a wife.