Ossian Collection > Morison's edition of the Poems of Ossian, the son of Fingal

•THE JERA OF OSSIA^f. it
the moft baibarous nations, the very populace themfelves
had feme faint notion, at leall, of a divinity. It would be
doing injuftice to Offian, who, upon no occafion, (liews a
narrow mind, to think, that he had not opened his con-
ceptions to that primitive and greateft of all truths. But
let Offian's religion be what it will, it is certain he had no
knowledge of Chriftianity, as there is not the leaft allufioii
to it, or any of its rites, in his poems ; which abfolutely
fixes him to an aera prior to the introdudion of that reli-
gion. The perfecution begun by Dioclefian, in the year
303, is the moft probable time in which the firft dawning of
Chriftianity in the north of Britain can be fixed. The hu-
mane and mild charailer of Conftantius Chlorus, who com"
manded them in Britain, induced the perfecuted Chriftians
to take refuge under him. Some of them, through a zeal
to propagate their tenets, or throijc>,h fear, tv-ent beyond
the pale of the Roman empire, and fettled among the Ca-
ledonians ; who were. the more ready to hearken to their
dodrines, as the religion of the Druids had been exploded
fo long before.
Thefe miffionaries, either through choice, or to give
more weight to the dodrine they advanced, took pofTeffiori
of the cells and groves of the Druids ; and it was from this
retired life they had the name of Culdees *, which language
of the country (\gn\fied /eque/!ered per/ons. It was with one
of the Culdees that Ofiian, in his extreme old age, is faid to
have difputed concerning the Chriftian religion. This dii-
pute is ftill extant, and is couched in verfe, accordinp- to
the cuftom of the times. The extreme ignorance on the
part of OlTian, of the Chriftian tenets, fliews, that that re-
ligion had only been lately introduced, as it is not eafy to con=
ceive,' how one of the firft rank could be totally unacquaint-
ed with a religion that had been known for any time in the
country. The difpute bears the genuine marks of antiquity.
The obfolete phraies and exprelTions peculiar to the times,
prove it to be no forgery. If Offian then lived at the intro-
dui^ion of Chriftianity, as by all appearance he did, his e=
poch will be the latter end of the third, and beginning of
the fourth century. What puts this point beyond difpute»
is the allufion in his poems to the hiftorv of the times.
The exploits of Fingal agalnft Caracul f, the fon of the
King of the ll^'arld, are among the firft brave anions of his
youth. A complete poem, which relates to this fubjed:, is
printed in this colleftion.
Vol. I. b I^
* Culdich. f Cai;ac'huil, terrible eye. Carac'healla,
tea- rlbie look. Carac-challamh, a fort of upper gar mmt .