Ossian Collection > Small tribute to the memory of Ossian

Herodian, tells us that the Caledonians, in the time of
the Emperor Severus, were almost naked, having their
bodies stained with figures of different animals, armed
with swords depending from their naked bodies, and
that they had established among them a community of
wives, Mr Laing will permit me to ask him, what bet-
ter were the Britons in the time of Julius C^sar, and
long afterwards, yet even among these savages or bar-
barians, a Caractacus and a Boadicea were found,
whose magnanimity, fortitude, heroism, and every noble
sentiment, were matter of astonishment even to the civi-
lized Romans. He must know that they and the Greeks
Ciilled every other nation barbarians, many of whom were
greatly superior to themselves, particularly the Jews,
whose historian and lawgiver, Moses, wrote an account of
the creation of the world, at least a thousand years before
any historian appeared among the Greeks. Herodotus
the oldest of them, was not born till about 1087 years
after Moses. A conceited pedant is more intelligent in
his own opinion than every other man, a vanity with
which even whole nations have frequently been tinctured;
and therefore the words savages and barbarians are no
proof, in the mouths of some people, of the real character
of those concerning whom they speak. If a community
of wives was established among the Caledonians in the
time of Severus, on account of which they deserved the
name oi savages, it should be honestly confessed that there
were similar savages among the ancient philosophers : and
therefore such a practice was far from being peculiar to
the people whom Mr Laing seems anxious to depreciate.
But I am happy to find that he gives up this point as a
groundless calumny, for indeed every authentic circum-
stance with which we are acquainted, conspires to give
it the lie.
Tacitus has given us the speech of Galg \cus, the Cale-
donian General, which may bear a comparison with those
of Hannibal, or Scipio Africanusj and had there not beer