"As blackbirds are to swans, as ounces to hundredweights,
As shapes of peasant-women are to noble queens....
As drones are to great music, as rushlights are to candles,
So is any sword to my own sword."
___ Saying of Cokman mac Leinin (trans CM)
Most accounts of the early Celts note that boastfulness was virtually an art form among them, often leading to factionalism and argumentative competitiveness. Theses factors were instrumental time after time in the downfall of sovereign Celtic nations, an inability to combine forces proving disastrous when organized foreign armies came against them.
When boasting is lighthearted and tongue-in-cheek, when everyone else is in on the joke, it can be a pleasant after-supper pastime. Such boasting was often the custom during and after feasts: heroes would boast their deeds and possessions in a way that now reminds us of the bluster of world-class wrestlers. But when boasting becomes seriously competitive, there can be problems.
If we boast in the spirit of competition - whether we stretch the truth broadly or just embellish it - sooner or later we will be asked to run the race. One thoughtless boast can outrun our ability to perform it very easily; a lifetime habit of boasting can swathe the boaster in a garment of illusion that will eventually be seen through.
"Check up on your own boast factor and ensure that it will not disturb the peace. Remember times when boasting caused you trouble."
[From: "The Celtic Spirit" by Caitlin Matthews]
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