Ossian Collection > Critical dissertation on the poems of Ossian, the son of Fingal

to A CRITICAL DISSERTATION
age, and to give us a jufl: and natural pifture of a ftate of fociety
ancientcr by a thoufand years ; one who could fupport this counter-
feited antiquity through fuch a large colledtion of poems, without
the leafl; inconfiftency ; and who pofleiTcd of all this genius and art,
had at the fame time the felf-denial of concealing himfelf, and of
afcribing his own works to an antiquated bard, without the impof-
ture being detedled ; is a fuppofition that tranfcends all bounds of
credibility.
There are, befides, two other circumftances to be attended to,
flill of greater weight, if poflible, againfl: this hypothecs. One is,
the total abfence of religious ideas from this work j for which the
tranflator has, in his preface, given a very probable account, on the
footing of its being the work of Offian. The Druidical fuperfti-
tion was, in the days of Oflian, on the point of its final extinction ;
and for particular feafons, odious to the family of Fingal; whilll
the Chriflian faith was not yet eflabliflied. But had it been the
work of one, to whom the ideas of chriflianity were familiar from
his infancy ; and who had fuperadded to them alfo the bigotted fu-
perftition of a dark age and country ; it is impoffible but in fome paf-
fage or other, the traces of them would have appeared. The other
circumftancc is, the entire filence which reigns with refpefttoall the
great clans or families, which are now eflabliihed in the Highlands.
The origin of thefe feveral clans is known to be very ancient: And
it is as well knov.'n, that there is no paflion by which a native High-
lander is more diftinguiflied, than by attachment to his clan, andjea-
loufy for its honour. That a Highland bard, in forging a work re-
lating to the antiquities of his country, (hould have inferted no cir-
cumflance which pointed out the rife of his own clan, which afcer-
tained its antiquity,, or increafed its glory, is of all fuppofitions that
can be formed, the moft improbable ; and the filence on this head,
amounts to a demonfiration that the author lived before any of the
prefcnt great clans were formed or known.
Afluming it then, as we well may, for certain, that the poems
now under confideration, are genuine venerable monuments of very
remote antiquity ; I proceed to make fome remarks upon their ge-
neral fpirit and flrain. The two great charadleriftics of Offian's
poetry are, tendernefs and fublimity. It breathes nothing of the