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

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LECTURE I.
fell into the system they found around them.
Their dress, their language, their government,
became assimilated to those of the purely Celtic
clans ; and they held nothing whatever to indi-
cate that they derived their origin from a differ-
ent source, nor did they ever, that we are aware of,
make any pretensions to superiority, because of
their original connection with the Teutonic races.
With reference to the forms of thought pecu-
liar to the Celtic races, it may be observed, that
these embrace questions of national policy, and
that they are totally different from those that
characterize the Saxon, and may be said indeed
to have for centuries been carrying on a life-and-
death struggle with them. The Celts had ideas
of their own on the subject of the tenure of land,
— ideas which correspond more closely with
those that distingiiish eastern than western
nations. Wherever the Celt is, they exist.
They distinguish the Celt of France as much as
they do the Celt of Great Britain or Ireland.
They would appear to be bred in the very bone of
the people, and to be well nigh inextinguishable.
For centuries previous to 1792, did France un-
derlie the burden of the feudal system. It
would have been natural to suppose, that during
that period that system would have taken root
in the public mind so firmly as to be ineradi-