Ossian Collection > Poems of Ossian, the son of Fingal

54
A CRITICAL DISSERTATION
he solaced himself wjth rehearsing all the exploits
his life. The poem is divided into twenty-nine stanzai^
of ten lines each ; and every stanza begins with thes.;
woids, Pugnavimus ensibus, *' We have fought witl
our swords." Olaus's vei-sion is in many places so ob
scure as to be hardly intelligible. I havt subjoined th;
whole below, exactly as he has published it ; and shal
translate as much as may give the Eng.lish reader ai
idea of the spirit and strain of this kind of poetry ^.
PugnnA
?1
ai quanrlo acquisivimus
ividiB ferae
Habere potuerunt turn corvi
Ante Indirorum insiilas
SufnciLiitcm i)i-aMl:i!:i cilaniandatn
•lUL-re meutioiisa
Alte tuliinus tui
OLip.ndo viginti a _
Et celphrevn l';;iden compa
Ail Ljiii-.a prostratonun dimicandum
Gl'iliii .secuit clypeorum •
Piclu lo in Galcavani con\'eiitu
CtivicLiiii mustum tx vulneribus
Dift'usuni per certbnmi svium.
9
Tenuimus cl^'peos in sanguine
Cum Iiastam unximus
Anf'' Boring Holmum
Tii.i'-.i'ii njoes ilisru.iipunt ClypcuA
Ad Aulain Odini
Naves direximus in Qslium Vistulae
Miicro potuit turn mordere
Omnis erat vuhviis unda
Terra ruijefacta Calido
Frendebat gUdius in loricas
Gladius fiadcbat Clypcos.
^Temina ncminem tunc fugisse
Vriusquam in uavibus
Heraudus in bello caderet
Non fiijdit navibus
Mare ad pnrl
Inn;
)iid If)n
t ilium
CJcpit caruleus ad incidendum
Sa!i5;oino iUitus in auream
Lorir::m in pugna
Durus armoruitl mucro oliin
Virgo deploravit )'.i,.tutinam lanlens
MuUa pr«da dubatur feris.
Cent'C!
Ubi k:
vidi jacere