Essay on the Authenticity of the Poems of Ossian

0b W ^^^ÌÌ' 6ÌA<:/.-|s ESSAY THE AUTHENTICITY THE POEMS OF OSSIAN. (IntetetJ in Stationer© il^alf* : ESSAY /à':^à THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE POEMS OF OSSIAN IN WHICH THE OBJECTIONS OF MALCOLM LAING, Eso. ARE PARTICULARLY CONSIDERED AND REFUTED. BV PATRICK GRAHAM, D.D. MINISTER OF ABERFOYLE. TO WHICH IS ADDED AN ESSAY ON THE MYTHOLOGY OF OSSIAN'S POEMS, BY PROFESSOR RICHARDSON OF GLASGOW COLLEGE. EDINBURGH Frintcd hy James Ballantyne 4' Co, FOR PETER HILL, ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE AND CO. AND WILLIAM HUNTER, EDINBURGH ; BRASH AND REID, GLASGOW ; JOHN MURRAY, AND LONGMAN, HURST, REES, AND ORME, LONDON. 1807. 30 .:W^^ TO HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF ATHOLL, PRESIDENT, AND THE OTHER NOBLEMEN AND GENTLEMEN OF THE HIGHLAND SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND, THE PROPER PATRONS OF CELTIC LITERATURE, THIS ESSAY ON THE POEMS OF OSSIAN IS MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR. INTRODUCTION. It may appear to many, that the en- durance of the public has been long ago exhausted, by the disquisitions which have been offered concerning the aera of the poems ascribed to Ossian. To many persons, it has appeared to be a matter of little consequence whether these poems are to be considered as ancient or modern; whether they are to be regarded as the production of INTRODUCTION. the Son of Fingal, or of a learned Scot of the eighteenth century. Were this merely a question in which national vanity was concerned, it is admitted that it is a matter of little importance, whether this celebrated poetry is to be attributed to one of our countrymen, who lived in the third, or in the eighteenth, century. It is con- ceived, however, that the question in- volves much more important consider- ations : it is presumed, that the general history of literature, and even that of the human mind itself, are deeply interested in its investigation. If, on the one hand, it be found, that the poems ascribed to Ossian were composed fifteen hundred years ago, in a language and dialect which are still understood and spoken in the High- INTRODUCTION. lands of Scotland, a very singular view, surely, presents itself, of the condition in which society must have existed in a country and period which have been usually accounted barbarous ; and, from this view, an enquiring mind will be naturally led to carry its researches farther into the history and manners of the early inhabitants of Caledonia. If, on the other hand, it be ascer- tained, that these poems were composed by a contemporary, imbued, as Mr Macpherson certainly was, in a very respectable measure, with the literature of Greece and Rome, as well as of modern times, we are presented ^vith a phenomenon still more inexplica- ble. That such a person should have produced a body of poetry, which has been justly considered as posses- Tiii INTRODUCTION. sing SO high a merit as " to have given " a new tone to poetry throughout all " Europe;"* but, at the same time, de- void of all modern allusion, and form- ed neither in its imagery or expression on the model of those ancient authors, who have communicated their peculiar colouring, so generally, to all modern compositions ; appears to be a circum- stance still more strange, than the sup- position of the high antiquity which has been ascribed to it. In this point of view, then, it should seem, that the question of the antiquity and authenticity of these poems, must always be considered as interesting, not only to literature, but even to the philosophy of the human mind. * Edinburgh Review, No. XII. Art. 7. INTRODUCTION. ix At a very early period in this controversy, Dr Johnson, a man whose name must ever be held in veneration by the friends of literature and virtue, but who appears to have been very un- qualified, on account of his prejudices, and his too slight investigation of this subject, to form a just estimate of its merits, decisively pronounced these poems to be a modern imposture. The sum of Dr Johnson's argument, on this occasion, however, is of too small amount to require any particular no- tice. It may, indeed, be more properly considered in the light of personality towards James Macpherson, and towards Scotland, than in that of legiti- mate reasoning. Of late, however, a more formidable opponent of the antiquity of these X INTRODUCTIoy. poems has appeared. Malcolm Laing, Esq. Advocate, and now Member of Parliament for the county of Orkney, has, m a Dissertation annexed to the second volume of his History of Scot- land, endeavoured, by a formal and very elaborate series of arguments, to prove that this poetry is modern, and that it is the production of Mr James Mac- pherson. The arguments of Mr Laing appear to have made a very consider- able impression upon the public mind; and many persons, probably, as well as himself, have considered some of them as 'unanswerable. Some years ago, the Highland So- ciety of Scotland, with that liberality of research which has always interested it in every thing that concerns the ho- nour and advantage of North Britain, INTRODUCTION. appointed a Committee of its nmiiber " to enquire into the Nature and Au- " thenticity of the Poems of Ossian.*' The Report of the Committee has appeared, drawn up by the elegant pen of Henry Mackenzie, Esq. its chair- man. In this very interesting work, many important circumstances, rela- ting to Celtic literature in general, and to the Poems of Ossian in particular, are brought forward, and placed in a luminous point of view. This is, indeed, what might have been expected from the learned and accomplished Au- thor, assisted by able Celtic scholars and antiquarians, and favoured with an extensive correspondence, carried on by himself, and his associates of the Committee, throughout the Highlands. The Committee, however, properly INTRODUCTION. regarding its own dignity, as the repre- sentative of the most illustrious public association of men that now exists in Britain, or perhaps in Europe, has chosen, on this occasion, to maintain a becoming reserve. Anxious only to col- lect facts, it has been little solicitous to otfer opinions, or to enter into con- troversial discussion. The important facts, which it has collected, are laid before the public, and to these it is left to make their proper impression. The Committee having thus decli- ned to enter into the argument, it may be deemed presumptuous in an indivi- dual, favoured with far scantier means of information, to attempt to revive the controversy, or to pursue it to a greater length than has been already done. But it may be permitted to remark. INTRODUCTION. xiii that though the Committee of the High- land Society of Scotland has, very properly, considered it as beneath its dignity to stoop to the refutation of the arguments of Mr Laing, it may not be improper for one, who has little to lose, and who may have the good fortune to gain some advantage in the discussion, to enter the lists even with this power- ful antagonist. It is proper, at the same time, to observe, that the object of the Com- mittee has, unquestionably, been, in a very great measure, accomplished, by the vast body of valuable observations and facts which it has collected, and by the ample field which it has thus opened up for the speculations of those, who may be disposed to enter into the controversy. Of these import- xhr INTRODUCTION. ant observations and facts, together with the conckisions which may be drawn from them, the Author of these pages will take the liberty, from tmie to time, to avail himself. Without pretending to follow the formal and minute divisions of Mr Laing's Dissertation, it is proposed to consider, in the order in which they occur, those topics that may appear to relate more essentially to the antiquity and authenticity of this poetry ; and, in this view, it would seem, that the suject will be exhausted, by taking into our account tlie following parti- culars; viz. The Period in which these Poems are said to have been composed—The State of Society and Man- ners, in the age in which Ossian is sup- posed to have flourished—The Mode INTRODUCTION. in which these Poems are represented to have been transmitted to us—-And, finally, The Manner in which they have been collected, translated, and pub- lished, by Mr Macpherson. In this course of treating the subject, it is proposed to advert to the argimients ad- vanced by Mr Laing, as they occur. It is necessary to say, that the lite- rary merits of these poems constitute no part of the argument, which it is proposed to discuss. Mr Laing may find in them " bombast, extravagant " rants, and contemptible conceits.'^ An opportunity will occur of shewing, that, if such instances of false taste are to be found, they are to be imputed to the translator, and not to the original. But to vindicate the general merits of this poetry is foreign from the purpose INTRODUCTION. of this Essay. It may suffice to say, that it has been long admired, both at home and abroad, by persons whose taste and Uterature will not suffer by a comparison with those of any man whatsoever. But, laying aside the consideration of the merits of these poems, if they are indeed as ancient as they are represented to be, they furnish, as Mr Hume has remarked, " one of the great- " est curiosities, in all respects, that " ever was discovered in the common- " wealth of letters/' * They evidently afford a fair promise of throwing much light on the early history and manners of an interesting people ; and the few * See Mr Hume's Letter on this subject to Dr Blair; Report of the Committee, p.

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