Ossian Collection > Essay on the authenticity of the poems of Ossian

Of OSStAN'S POEMS. CI
will probably be admitted, that, of the above
districts, the Highlands of Scotland have
enjoyed, in every period, an exemption from
foreign conquest and intermixture, and have
consequently retained the Celtic character
without deterioration. This is, indeed, ad-
mitted, by Mr Laing.* It must be acknow-
ledged to be a singular instance, in the his-
tory of Europe, that a people should remain,
during so many ages, unshaken and undis-
turbed by foreign invasion ; — and that they
should have preserved, to this day, the lan-
guage and manners of their forefathers, with
little variation, is a phenomenon, in the his-
tory of the human race, which promises to
afford an interesting subject of speculation to
philosophic minds.
That the Highlands of Scotland, however,
have remained, at all times, entirely exempt
from foreign invasion and intermixture, must
* Hist, of Scotland, vol. i. p. 45.