Ossian Collection > Poems of Ossian

PREFACE.
With(»l;t iiicreasiug his genius, the author may
liiivw improved his language, in the elevpu yearn that
the following Poems have been in the hands of the
public. Errors in diction might have been com-
mitted at twenty-four, which the experience of ;i
riper age may remove; and some exubei'ances in
imagery may be restrained, with advantage, by a
degree of judgment acquired in the progress of time.
Impressed with this opinion, he ran over the whole
with attention and accuracy; and, he hopes, he has
brought the work to a state of correctness, which
will preclude all future improvements.
The eagerness with which these poems have been
received abroad, is a recompense for the coldness
with which a few have affected to treat them at home.
All the polite nations of Europe have transferred
them into their respective languages ; and they speak
of him who brought them to light, in terms that
might flatter the vanity of one fond of fame. In a
convenient indift'erence for a literary reputation, the
author hears praise without being elevated, and ribal-
dry without being depressed. He has frequently
seen the first bestowed too precipitately; and the
latter i? so faithless to its purpose, that it is often
the only index to merit in the present age. Though
the taste which defines genius by the points of the
compass, is a subject fit for mirth in itself, it is
often a serious matter in the sale of a work. When
rivers define the limits of abilities, as well as the
boundaries of coiintries, a writer may measure his
success, by the latitude under which he was bom.
It was to avoid a part of this inconvenience, tiiaT
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