Ossian Collection > Poems of Ossian

ON THE POEMS OF OSSIAN. 113
contrasted with the mild and wise Hidalla, another
leader of the same army, on whose humanity and gen-
tleness he looks with great contempt. He jirofessedly
delights in strife and hlood. He insults over the fallen.
He is imperious in his cotmsels, and factious when they
are not followed. He is unrelenting in all his schemes
of revenge, even to the length of denying the funeral
song to the dead; which, from the injury thereby done
to their ghosts, was in those days considered as the
greatest baibarity. Fierce to the last, he comforts him-
self in his dying moments with thinking that his ghost
shall often leave its blast to rejoice over the graves of
those he had slain. Yet Ossian, ever prone to the pa-
thetic, has contrived to throw into his account of the
death, even of this man, some tender circumstances,
by the moving description of his daughter Dardulena,
the last of his race.
The character of Foldath tends much to exalt that
of Cathmor, the chief commander, which is distin-
guished by the most humane virtues. He abhors all
fraud and crueltj-, is famous for his hospitality to stran-
gers ; open to every generous sentiment, and to every
soft and compassionate feeling. He is so amiable as
to divide the reader's attachment between him and the
hero of the poem ; though our author has artfully ma-
naged it so as to make Cathmor himself indirectly ac-
knowledge Fingal's superiority, and to appear some-
what apprehensive of the event, after the death of
Fillan, which he Icnew would call forth Fingal in all
his might. It is very remarkable, that although Ossian
has introduced into his Poems three complete heroes,
Cuthullin, Cathmor, and Fingal, he has, however,
sensibly distinguished each of their characters : Cu-
thuUin is particularly honourable; Cathmor particu-
larly amiable ; Fingal wise and great, retaining an
ascendant peculiar to himself in whatever light he is
viewed.
But the favourite figure in Temora, and the one most
highly finished, is Fillan. His character is of that
sort for which Ossian shews a particuh-.r fondness; an
eager, fervent, young warrior, fired with all the im-
patient enthusiasm for militarj- glory, peculiar to that