J. F. Campbell Collection > Original collection of the poems of Ossian, Orrann, Ulin, and other bards, who flourished in the same age
(38)
Download files
Complete book:
Individual page:
Thumbnail gallery: Grid view | List view
PREFACli.
" It is said, that some men of integrity protesi?;
to have heard parts of it; but they heard them
when they were boys, and it was never said that
any of them could recite six lines. They remem-
ber names, and perhaps some proverbial senti-
ments, and having no distinct ideas, coin a resem-
blance without an original. The persuasion of
the Scots, however, is far from being universal;
and in a question so capable of proof, why should
doubt be suffered to continue. The editor has
been heard to say, that part of the poem has been
received by him in the Saxon character: he has
then found, by some peculiar fortune, an unwrit-
ten language, written in a character which the na-
tives probably never beheld."
The first part of this argument has been already
piroved false, by many credible witnesses of the
first respectability: as for Mr. M'Pherson to hold
f6]^th, that part of the poem has been received by
him in the Saxon character, it was no "peculiar,
fortune;" there area considerable numberof Gaelic.
Bibles, at this day, printed in the Saxon character,
throughout the Highlands. The Editors of these .
sheets have one of them ; these characters are still^^^
extantin writing, much more so at the period that j
Mr. M'Pherson compiled his edition of the poems.jj
of Ossian. ^^ ,.^ ^ ^^Os >fio-n:?.>L M
Sir James Ware (m tlie Antiquities of Ireland, ^^j^
c. iii.) informs us, that the §axons, having no al-
phabet of their own, Iborrowed the old British
" It is said, that some men of integrity protesi?;
to have heard parts of it; but they heard them
when they were boys, and it was never said that
any of them could recite six lines. They remem-
ber names, and perhaps some proverbial senti-
ments, and having no distinct ideas, coin a resem-
blance without an original. The persuasion of
the Scots, however, is far from being universal;
and in a question so capable of proof, why should
doubt be suffered to continue. The editor has
been heard to say, that part of the poem has been
received by him in the Saxon character: he has
then found, by some peculiar fortune, an unwrit-
ten language, written in a character which the na-
tives probably never beheld."
The first part of this argument has been already
piroved false, by many credible witnesses of the
first respectability: as for Mr. M'Pherson to hold
f6]^th, that part of the poem has been received by
him in the Saxon character, it was no "peculiar,
fortune;" there area considerable numberof Gaelic.
Bibles, at this day, printed in the Saxon character,
throughout the Highlands. The Editors of these .
sheets have one of them ; these characters are still^^^
extantin writing, much more so at the period that j
Mr. M'Pherson compiled his edition of the poems.jj
of Ossian. ^^ ,.^ ^ ^^Os >fio-n:?.>L M
Sir James Ware (m tlie Antiquities of Ireland, ^^j^
c. iii.) informs us, that the §axons, having no al-
phabet of their own, Iborrowed the old British
Set display mode to: Large image | Transcription
Images and transcriptions on this page, including medium image downloads, may be used under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence unless otherwise stated. 
| Early Gaelic Book Collections > J. F. Campbell Collection > Original collection of the poems of Ossian, Orrann, Ulin, and other bards, who flourished in the same age > (38) |
|---|
| Permanent URL | https://digital.nls.uk/81005936 |
|---|
| Description | Collected and edited by Hugh and John M'Callum. (Copy at Cam.1.d.29) |
|---|---|
| Shelfmark | Cam.1.d.29 |
| Additional NLS resources: | |
| Attribution and copyright: |
|
More information
|
|
| Description | Volumes from a collection of 610 books rich in Highland folklore, Ossianic literature and other Celtic subjects. Many of the books annotated by John Francis Campbell of Islay, who assembled the collection. |
|---|
| Description | Selected items from five 'Special and Named Printed Collections'. Includes books in Gaelic and other Celtic languages, works about the Gaels, their languages, literature, culture and history. |
|---|