Ossian Collection > Poems of Ossian

THE POEMS OF OSSIAN- 65
ginning of the fourth century, we find the
Scots in the noith. Porphirius makes the
first mention of them about that time. As
the Scots were not heard of before that period,
most writers sup])osed them to have been a
colony, newly come to Britain, and that the
Picts were the only genuine descendants of
the ancient Caledonians. This mistake is
easily removed. The Caledoiunns in process
of time, became naturally divided into two dis-
tinct nations, as possessing parts of tlie coun-
try entirely different in their nature and soil.
The western coast of Scotland is hilly and bar-
ren ; towards the east, the country is plain,
and fit for tillage. The inhabitants of the
mountains, a roving and uncontrolled race of
men, lived by feeding of cattle, and what they
killed in hunting. Their employment did not
fix them to one place. They removed from
one heath to another, as suited best with their
convenience or inclination. They were not,
therefore, improperly called, by their neigh-
bours, Scuite, or ' the wandering nation ;'
which is evidently the origin of the Roman
name of Scoti.
On the other hand, the Caledonians, who
possessed the east coast of Scotlaiwl, as this
division of the country was plain and fertile,
applied themselves to agriculture, and raising
of corn. It was from this that the Galic
name of the Picts proceeded ; for they are
called in that language, Cruithnich, i. e. ' the
wheat or corn eaters.' As the Picts lived in
a country so different in its nature from that
jjossessed by the Scots, so their national cha-
racter suffered a material change. Unobstruct-
ed by mountains or lakes, their communication
with one another w as free and frequent. So-
ciety, therefore, became sooner established