Ossian Collection > Poems of Ossian > Volume 2

OM THE POEMS OF OSSIAN. 3^19
a£\Ions with freedom, boaft of their exploits, and
fing their own pralfe. In their battles, it is evi-
dent that drums, trumpets, or bagpipes, were
not known or ufed. They had no expedient
for giving the military alarms but ftriking a
fliield, or ralilng a loud cry : And hence the
loud and terrible voice of Fingal is often men-
tioned, as a neccflliry qualification of a great
general ; like the l3o'^v oiyccQog MtytXaog of Homer.
Of mHItary difcipline or fkill, they appear to-
have been entirely deftitute. Their armies feeni
not to have been numerous ; their battles- were
diforderly ; and terminated, for the moft part,
by a perfonal combat, or wreflllng of the two^
chiefs J after which, " the bard fung the fong
" of peace, and the battle ceafed along the
« field."
The manner of compofition bears all the
marks of the greateft antiquity. No artful tran-
fitions J nor full and extended connefllon of
parts ; fuch as we find among the poets of later
times, when order and regularity of compofitioa
were more ftudied and known ; but a ftyle al-
ways rapid and vehement ; in narration concife
even to abruptnefs, and leaving feveral circum-
ftances to be fupplied by the reader's imagina-
tion. The language has all that figurative caft,
^•hich, as I before Ihe wed, partly a glowing and
undifciplined