Ossian Collection > Poems of Ossian > Volume 1

THE POEMS OF OSSIAN. 173
liner picture drawn of the ardour of two youth-
ful warriors than the following : " I saw Gaul
*' in his armour, and my soul was mixed with
" his : for the fire of the battle was in his eyes ;
" he looked to the foe with joy. We spoke the
" words of friendship in secret ; and the light-
" ning of our swords poured together. We
" drew them behind the wood, and tried the
" strength of our arms on the empty air."
Ossian is always concise in his descriptions,
which adds much to their beauty and force.
For it is a great mistake to imagine, that a
crowd of particulars, or a very full and ex-
tended style, is of advantage to description.
On the contrary, such a diffuse manner for the
most part weakens it. Any one redundant cir-
cumstance is a nuisance. It encumbers and
loads the fancy, and renders the main image
indistinct. " Obstat," as Quintilian says with
regard to style, " quicquid non adjuvat." To
be concise in description, is one thing ; and to
be general, is another. No description that
rests in generals can possibly be good ; it can
convey no lively idea; for it is of particulars
only that we have a distinct conception. But
at the same time, no strong imagination dwells
long upon any one particular ; or heaps together
•a mass of trivial ones. By the happy choice of
some one, or of a few that are the most strik-