“Primus ordo sanctissimus; secundus ordo sanctior; tertius sanctus. Primus sicut sol ardescit; secundus sicut luna; tertius sicut stellæ.”—See the ancient catalogue of the three classes of Irish saints, as published by Usher and Lanigan.
There lived to Erin’s hallowed borders,
In days of yore, three saintly Orders.
And first, the simply HOLY:—They
Shed like the stars a flickering ray.
The second—HOLIER—poured a light
Moon-like, subdued and calmly bright.
The third, or HOLIEST of all,
Shone like the sun—or like Saint Paul.
But, oh, the state of man’s unrest