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

LECTURE II. 6D
Tigris, and under the shadow of the mighty
Caucasus, sprung up those numerous branches
of the human race which, striking out, some of
them to the east and south, and some to the
west and north, have peopled the world ; ex-
tending themselves in defiance of every ob-
struction — making the snows and ice of the
north minister to their support — braving the
winds and waves of unknown seas ; and thus
fulfilling the destiny appointed to them by their
Creator — replenishing the earth. Two races
at an early period took possession of Europe —
the Celtic and the Teutonic — ^with their various
ramifications. It has been usual to speak of
these as waves ; and, in accordance with that
illustration, it has been generally believed and
said that the Celtic wave of population first
passed over the face of Europe, its mass gradu-
ally receding westward ; and, like the same
phenomenon in the natural ocean, making way
for the rise and progress of a second. In this
view of it the Celtic is the older wave, and the
Teutonic the second. This may be, and possi-
bly is, true with regard to certain sections of
Europe, — our own island for instance ; but there
Beems little ground for believing that it is true
with respect to Europe generally. There does
not seem to be the slightest evidence for the