Ossian Collection > Poems of Ossian

Preface. 5
O'er the dark tumnlt of a stormy njjjlit.
And gladd'ning lieav'u irith their majestic light.
In nought is Odin to the maid unkind.
Her form scarce equals her exalted mind ;
Awe leads her sacred steps where'er they more,
And mankind worship where they dare not love.
But, mix'd with softness, was the' %-irgin's pride,
Her heart had feelings, ■which her eyes deujeJ :
Her bright tears started at another's woes.
While transient darkness on her soul arose.
The chase shelov'd ; when morn, with doubtful beam,
Came dimly wandering o'er the Bothnic stream,
On Sevo's sounding sides, she bent the bow,
And rous'd his forests to his head of snow.
Kor mov'd themaid ciloue; &c.
One of the chief improvements, in this edition,
is the care taken in arranging- the Poems in the order
of time ; so as to foraa a kind of regular history of
the age to which they relate. The writer has now
resigned them for ever to their fate. That they
have been well received by the public, appears from
an extensive sale ; that they shall continue to be
well received, he may venture to prophesy with-
out the gift of that inspiration to which poets lay
claim. Through the medium of version upon ver-
sion, they retain, in foreign languages, their native
character of simplicity and energy. Genuine poetry,
like gold, loses little, when properly transfused ; but
Avhen a composition cannot bear the test of a literal
version, it is a counterfeit which ought not to pass
cuiTent. The operation must, however, be per-
formed with skilful hands. A translator, who cannot
equal his original, is incapable of expressing its
beauties.
London, Aug. 15, 177 J,