J. F. Campbell Collection > Temora, an ancient epic poem, in eight books

4 T E M O R A:
of a ftream is there; on its banks Aood Cairbar* of Atha.
His fpear fupports the king : the red eyes of his fear are fad.
Connac rifcs in his foul, with all his ghaftly wounds. The grey
form of the youth appears in darknefs ; blood pours from his airy-
fides. — Cairbar thrice threw his fpear on earth ; and thrice he ftroked
of my notes, on the former colleiSlion of
OITian's poems. It was far from my in-
tention to raife my author into a competi-
tion with the celebrated names of antiqui-
ty. The extenfive field of renown affords
ample room to all the poetical merit which
has yet appeared in the world, without
overturning the charafler of one poet, to
raife that of another on its ruins. Had
Offian even fuperior merit to Homer and
Virgil, a certain partiality, arifing from
the fame defervedly beftowed upon them by
the fandtion of fo many ages, would make
us overlook it, and give them the prefe-
rence. Tho' tiieir high merit does not
(land in need of adventitious aid, yet it
muft be acknowledged, that it is an ad-
vantage to their fame, that the pofterity of
the Greeks and Romans, either do not at
all exift, or are not now objeds of contempt
or envy to the prefent age.
Tho' this poem of Oilian has not per-
haps all the mhnitiie, which Ariftotle, from
Homer, lays down as neceflary to the con-
du£l of an epic poem, yet, it is prefumed,
it has all the grand effcntials of the epo-
pcea. Unity of time, place, and ailion is
prefcrved throughout. The poem opens in
the midft of things ; what is neceflaiy of
preceding tranfadlions to be known, is in-
troduced by epifodes afterwards ; not for-
mally brought in, but feemingly rifing im-
mediately from thefituation of affairs. The
circumftances are grand, and the diilioii
animated ; neither dcfcending into a cold
meannefs, nor fwelling into ridiculous bom-
baft.
The reader will find fome alterations in
the ftyle of this book. Thefe are drawn
from more correiSl copies of the original
which came to my hands, fince the former
publication. As the moft part of the poem
is delivered down by tradition, the ftyle is
fometimes various and interpolated. After
comparing the different readings, I always
made choice of that which agreed beft with
the fpirit of the context.
* Cairbar, the fon of Borbar-duthul,
was defceadcd lineally from Larthon the
chief of the Firbolg, the firft colony who
fettled in the fouth of Ireland. The Gael
were in poffeffion of the northern coafl of
that kingdom, and the firft monarchs of
Ireland were of their race. Hence arofe
thofe differences between the two nations,
which terminated, at laft, in the murder of
Cormac, and the ufurpation of Cairbar,
lord of Atha, who is mentioned in this
place.
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