Ar in bith án astaither...

Ar in bith án astaither
A coraib bél bertaigter.

(for * the * world * splendid * is established /
from * contracts * of lips * that are proclaimed)

For the great world is secured
By contracts which are proclaimed.

These two lines of verse are from §36 of “Di Astud Chor”. The translation is by Neil McLeod. In traditional Irish law, contracts – formal agreements between individuals – were the bedrock on which an ordered society was established. The “social contract” that allowed men to live together without destructive conflict in early Ireland was literally a network of deliberate civil contracts that individuals entered into in public rituals.

Topics: Verse Maxims & Wise Counsel