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

oi} iMiK POEMS OF O S S I A N. ar
gay and chearful kind; an air of folemnity and fericufntfs is diffu'ed
.over the whole. Offian is perhaps the only poet who never re-
laxes, or lets himfelf down into the light and amufin^j ftrain; which
I readily admit to be no fmall difadvantage to him, vvith the bulk of
readers. He moves perpetually in the high region of the grand and
the pathetick. One key note is ftruck at the beginning, and fup-
ported to the end ; nor is any ornament introduced, but what is per-
fedtly concordant with the general tone or melody. The events re-
corded, are all ferious and grave ; the fcenery throughout, wild and
romantic. The extended heath by the fea fliore ; the mountain
fhaded with mift ; the torrent rufliing through a folitary valley ; the
fcattered oaks, and the tombs of warriors overgrown with mofs ; all
produce a folemn attention in the mind, and prepare it for great
and extraordinary events. We fmd not in Ofllan, an imagination
that fports itfelf, and dreflcs out gay trifles to pleafe the fancy.
His poetry, more perhaps than that of any other writer, deferves to
be ftiled, The Poetry of the Heart. It is a heart penetrated with
noble fentiments, and with fublime and tender paffions; a heart that
glows, and kindles the fancy ; a heart that is full, and pours itfelf
forth. Offian did not write, like modern poets, to pleafe readers
and critics. He fung from the love of poetry and fong. His de-
light was to think of the heroes among wliom he had flourirtied ;
to recall the afFccSting incidents of his life ; to dwell upon his paffc
wars and loves and friendfhips ; till, as he exprefies it himfelf, " the
" light of his foul arofe ; the days of other years roie before him;"
and under this true poetic infpiration, giving vent to his genius, no
wonder we fhould fo often hear, and acknowledge in his ftrains, the
powerful and ever-pleafing voice of nature.
Arte, natura potentior omni. —
ElT: Deus in nobis, agitante calefcimus illo.
It is neceflliry here toobferve, that the beauties of Ofnan's writings
cannot be felt by thofe who have given them only a fingle or a
hafty perufal. His manner is fo different from that of the poets,
to whom we are mod: accuftomed ; his ftyle is fo concife, and fo
much crowded with imagery ; the mind is kept at fuch a ftretch in
accompanying the author ; that an ordinary reader is at firft apt to
be dazzled and fatigued, rather than pleafed. His poems require to
be taken up at intervals, and to be frequently reviewed ; and then it
is