Myths and Legends : Finn
the following is from Celtic Myth and Legend by Charles Squire [1905] -
At length, he wandered to the banks of the Boyne, where he found a soothsayer called Finn the Seer living beside a deep pool near Slane, named "Fec's Pool", in hope of catching one of the "salmons of knowledge", and, by eating it, obtaining universal wisdom.
He had been there seven years without result, though success had been prophesied to one named "Finn". When the wandering son of Cumhal appeared, Finn the Seer engaged him as his servant. Shortly afterwards, he caught the coveted fish, and handed it over to our Finn to cook, warning him to eat no portion of it.
"Have you eaten any of it?" he asked the boy, as he brought it up ready boiled.
"No indeed," replied Finn; "but, while I was cooking it, a blister rose upon the skin, and, laying my thumb down upon the blister, I scalded it, and so I put it into my mouth to ease the pain."
The man was perplexed. "You told me your name was Deimne," he said; "but have you any other name?"
"Yes, I am also called Finn."
"It is enough," replied his disappointed master." Eat the salmon yourself, for you must be the one of whom the prophecy told."
Finn ate the "salmon of knowledge", and thereafter he had only to put his thumb under his tooth, as he had done when he scalded it, to receive fore-knowledge and magic counsel.
The Wisdom - wisdom is obtained through hard work and endurance -
oh dear! Finn the Seer put in all the sustained effort of searching for the source of wisdom, but what happens when it is finally in his grasp... he gives it away... just one more little effort... if only he had cooked the salmon himself... How often this happens in our own lives... we set our goals and plans, work towards them then when they are virtually in our grasp, walk away... it is as if we run out of energy and suddenly turn away from what we have been striving towards, as if we didn't deserve the achievement and success for our efforts... we know how to give but we do not always know how to receive... we all seem to carry a self-destruct button...
But Cumhal doesn't gain the wisdom easily either... he is a good servant undertaking his duties... and he has to undergo the pain of the burn... but what a reward...
Modern athletes understand this story very well... intense training leads to "the wall" with muscle burn and pain. But stay with your intention, with endurance through that final last stage, and you will succeed. And then remember to enjoy the success.
"The Chase of the Enchanted Pigs of Angus of the Brugh"
One of the so-called "Ossianic ballads" is entitled "The Chase of the Enchanted Pigs of Angus of the Brugh". This Angus is, of course, the "Son of the Young", and the Brugh that famous sídh beside the Boyne out of which he cheated his father, the Dagda.
After the friendly manner of gods towards heroes, he invited Finn and picked a thousand of his followers to a banquet at the Brugh. They came to it in their finest clothes, "goblets went from hand to hand, and waiters were kept in motion". At last conversation fell upon the comparative merits of the pleasures of the table and of the chase, Angus stoutly contending that "the gods' life of perpetual feasting" was better than all the Fenian huntings, and Finn as stoutly denying it. Finn boasted of his hounds, and Angus said that the best of them could not kill one of his pigs. Finn angrily replied that his two hounds, Bran and Sgeolan, would kill any pig that trod on dry land. Angus answered that he could show Finn a pig that none of his hounds or huntsmen could catch or kill. Here were the makings of a pretty quarrel among such inflammable creatures as gods and heroes, but the steward of the feast interposed and sent everyone to bed.
The next morning, Finn left the Brugh, for he did not want to fight all Angus's fairies with his handful of a thousand men. A year passed before he heard more of it; then came a messenger from Angus, reminding Finn of his promise to pit his men and hounds against Angus's pigs. The Fenians seated themselves on the tops of the hills, each with his favourite hound in leash, and they had not been there long before there appeared on the eastern plain a hundred and one such pigs as no Fenian had ever seen before. Each was as tall as a deer, and blacker than a smith's coals, having hair like a thicket and bristles like ships' masts. Yet such was the prowess of the Fenians that they killed them all, though each of the pigs slew ten men and many hounds. Then Angus complained that the Fenians had murdered his son and many others of the Tuatha Dé Danann, who, indeed, were none other than the pigs whose forms they had taken. There were mighty recriminations on both sides, and, in the end, the enraged Fenians prepared to attack the Brugh on the Boyne. Then only did Angus begin to yield, and, by the advice of Ossian, Finn made peace with him and his fairy folk.
from: Celtic Myth and Legend by Charles Squire [1905]
The Wisdom - the greatest gift of all is peace -
It was a great gift of high value from the Gods. It was going to be the best feast ever, one shared between the Gods and the Heroes. And then the comparisons started. We all know how to criticise. I'm better than you. No you're not. Yes I am. Come on men, split up now. Off to bed with you. The steward has not understood the situation, has not acted with wisdom. There has been no reconciliation and the arguments fester and grudges build in their minds until a year later. Why did the greatest gift have to come to this? War. Because Gods and Heroes are stupid!
Finally a lone voice speaks up. Enough. End it. And peace is gained. This wise voice is the greatest gift of all. The voice of peace.
Page last updated: 25th Mar 2009
