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

INTRODUCTION.
in which these Poems are represented
to have been transmitted to us — -And,
finally, The Manner in which they have
been collected, translated, and pub-
lished, by Mr Macpherson. In this
course of treating the subject, it is pro-
posed to advert to the argimients ad-
vanced by Mr Laing, as they occur.
It is necessary to say, that the lite-
rary merits of these poems constitute
no part of the argument, which it is
proposed to discuss. Mr Laing may
find in them " bombast, extravagant
" rants, and contemptible conceits.'^
An opportunity will occur of shewing,
that, if such instances of false taste are
to be found, they are to be imputed to
the translator, and not to the original.
But to vindicate the general merits of
this poetry is foreign from the purpose