Ossian Collection > Morison's edition of the Poems of Ossian, the son of Fingal

878 A CRITICAL DISSERTATION ON
firft ages of fociety. As the ideas of our youth are re*
membered with a peculiar pleafure on account of their
livelinefs and vivacity ; lb the moft ancient poems have of-
ten proved the greateft favourites of nations.
Poetry has been laid to be mm-e ancient than profc : and
however paradoxical luch an afiertion may feem, yet, in a
qualified fenfe it is true. Men certainly never converfed
ivith one another in regular numbers ; but even their ordi-
nasy language would, in ancient times, for the reafons be-
fore affigned, appi-oach to a poetical ftyle ; and the firft
cornpofitions tranf.nitted to pofterity, beyond doubt, were,
jn a literal fcnfe, poems ; that is, compofitions in which
imagination had the chief hand, formed into fome kind of
numbers, and pronounced with a mufical modulation or
tone. Mufic or fong has been found coasval with fociety
among the moft barbarous nations. The only fubjedts
which could prompt men, in their firft rude Rate, to utter
their thoughts in cornpofitions of any length, were fuch as
naturally affumed the tone of poetry ; praifes of their gods
or of their anceftors ; commemorations of their own war-
like exploits ; or lamentations over their misfortunes. And
before writing was invented, no other compofitions, except
fongs or poems, could take fuch hold of the imagination
and memory, as to be preferved by oral tradition, and
banded down from one race to another.
Hence we may exped to find poems among the antiqui-
ties of all nations. It is probable too, that an extenfive
fearch would difcover a certain degree of refemblance a-
mong all the moft ancient poetical productions, from what-
ever country they have proceeded. In a fimilar ftate of
manners, fimilar objeds and paflions operating upon the
imaginations of men, will ftamp their produdions with the
fame general charader. Some diverfity will, no doubt, be
gccafioncd