Ossian Collection > Temora, an ancient epic poem, in eight books

An epic Poem.
poured from his thigh : his fliield lay broken near,
leaned againft a ftone ; why, Dermid, why (o fad ?
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His fpear
I HEAR the roar of battle. My people are alone. My fteps arc
flow on the heath ; and no fliicld is mine. — Shall he then prevail ?
— It is then after Dermid is low ! I will call thee forth, O Foldath,.
and meet thee yet in fight.
He took his fpear, with dreadful joy. The fon of Morni came.
— " Stay, fon of Duthno, ftay thy fpeed ; thy fteps are marked
with blood. No holly lliield is thine. Why fliouldft thou fall
unarmed ?" — King of Strumon, give thou thy fhield. It has often
rolled back the war. I fliall ftop the chief, in his courfe. — Son of
Morni, doft thou behold that flone ? It lifts its grey head thro*
grafs. There dwells a chief of the race of Dermid. — Place me
tliere in night *.
He
thee ; but thou bendeft not, forward, thy
tall form, from the fkirts of night."
As Clono prepared to depart, the huf-
band of Sulmin came up, with his nu-
merous attendants. Clono defended him-
felf, but, after a gallant refiftance, he was
overpowered and flain. He was buried in
the place where he was killed, and the val-
ley was called after his name. Dermid, in
his requeft to Gaul the fon of Morni,
which immediately follows this paragraph,
alludes to the tomb of Clono, and his own
connexion with that unfortunate chief.
* The brevity of the fpeech of Gaul,
and the laconic reply of Dermid, are ju-
dicious and well fuited to the hurry of the
occafion. The incidents which Offian
has chofen to diverfify his battles, are
intcrefting, and never fail to awaken our
attention. 1 know that want of particula-
rity in the wounds, and diverfity in the
fall of thofe that are flain, have been
among the objeflions, flarted, to the poe-
tical merit of Oflian's poems. The criti-
cifm, without partiality I may fay it, is
unjuft, for our poet has introduced as great
a variety of this foit, as he, with proprie-
ty, could within the compafs of fo ftiort
poems. It is confefled, that Homer has a
greater variety of deaths <han any other
N 2 poet