Blair Collection > Celtic gleanings, or, Notices of the history and literature of the Scottish Gael

LECTURE I. 29
was well nigh unlimited, but it was strictly
paternal. That the patriarchal was the earliest
form of government known among mankind is
very manifest ; nay more, that it had a certain
measure of Divine countenance given to it not
given to any other. It was undoubtedly the
kind of government existing among the Jews
down to the time of Saul ; being, in fact, the
practical form taken by the Theocracy — parents
governing under the supremacy of the Divine
Being. Tbis system of patriarchal government
was universal among the Celtic races. It was
the system among the Scottish Highlanders.
The chief was the head of the family, while
each individual of the clan was a member.
The latter was thus related to the chief, not
merely as a subject of his government, but as
a member of his house ; and it thus happened
that the poorest old man and woman of the clan
carried about with them the grateful and soul-
elevating consciousness that the blood of great
chiefs flowed in their veins. It may be that
some of the soldier-like qualities of the High-
lander, and his general politeness and address,
are the result of such impressions as these. It
does help to make a man a gentleman to have
him think that he should be so.
The patriarchal system of government exist-