Ossian Collection > Poems of Ossian, the son of Fingal

344 A DI^SERtATION CONCfeRN^INd
fon of Ere or Arcath, tradition is dark and contradiciory.
Seine trace up the family of Fergus to a fon of Fingal of
that name, who makes a confiiderable figure in Offian's
poems. The three elder fons of Fingal, Offian, Fillan,
and Ryno, dying without ilTue, the fucceffion, of courfe,
devolved upon Fergus, the fourth fon and his pofterity.
This Fergus, fay fome traditions, was the father of Con-
gal, whofe fon was Arcath, the father of Fergus, proper-
ly called the firft king of Scots, as is was in his time the
Ca'el, who poirefTed the wellern coaft of Scotland, began
to be diftinguiflied, by foreigners, by the name of Scots>
From thence forward, the Scots and Pids, as diftind na-
tions, became objefts of attention to the hiltorians of
other countries. The internal ftate of the two two Cale-
donian kingdoms has alv/ays continued, and ever mud
remain, in obfcurity and fable.
It is in this epoch we mod fix the beginning of the de-
cay of that fpecies of heroifm, which fublilled in the days
of Offian. There are three ftages in human fociety. The
firft is the refult of confanguinity, and the natural affec-
tion of the members of a family to one another. The
fecond begins when property is eftabiifhed, and men en-
ter into alfociations for mutual defence, againft the inva-
fions and injuftice of neighbours. Mankind fubmit, in the
third, to certain laws and fubordinations of government,
to which they trull the fafcty of their perfons and pro-
perty. As the firfh is formed on nature, fo, of courfe, it is
the molt diiinterefted and noble. Men, in the laft, have
leifure to cultivate the mind, and to rellore it, with re-
flexion, to a primaeval dignity of fcntiment. The mid-
dle ftate is the region of complete barbarifm and igno-
rance. About the beginning of the fifth century, the
Scots and Picls were advanced into the fecond itage, and,
confequently, into thofe circumfcribed fentiments, which
always diftinguiili barbarity. The events which foon af-
ter happened did not at all contribute to enlarge their
ideas, or mend tlieir national charadter.
About the year 426, the Romans, on account of do-
meftic commotions, entirely forlbok Britain, finding it
impoifible to defend fo diflant a frontier. The Pids and
Scots, feizing this favourable opportunity, made incurfions
into the deferted province. The Britons, enervated by
I the