Ossian Collection > Gaelic concepts of life and death

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In Tiomna Ghoill— on his death, later on
the poem has it —
Mar dean soillse nam speur dhoibh innseadh,
Innsibh a reulta ruiteach
Do theach nan laoch mar thuit mi-fein.
" If the brightness of the skies do not
declare it. Let you ye ruddy stars tell in the
home of the heroes how I fell."
The Long Bow,
They could draw the long bow handsomely.
The Eagle of Gwern Abwy quoted by Renan
when asked how old it was gave answer.
" When I came to this place there was a rock
here so high that from the top of it I used
to peck at the stars every evening, but time
has worn it so that it is now only a few
inches high " — surely a tall rock and a very
old eagle. I came across another good
example in the description of a fight between
the hosts of the Feinne and their enemies —
" When the hosts met it was like the clash of
two days of Judgment." That is not a bad
effort. I think it is very good. Then of
Caoilte. the Mercury of the Gael, it was said
that when he ran, his speed was such that
the onlookers saw three of him. And the dog
Luath was so swift that he left the hurri-
cane far behind. As he ran behind the moun-
tains a dog was to be seen at each pass at
the same time.
I will not weary you with more of these.
You may take them like the three proverbs I
gave as going all the way, and that a long
way indeed, into the life of our people and
into a life of supremest interest and value to
us who inherit the tradition. We have been
robbed of this very fine concept of life by an
alien teaching, for which we have no use.
I do not like our modern concept of death at