joyed long this extraordinary privilege among the Celtic nations who lay beyond the pale of the Roman empire. It was in the beginnings of the fecond century that their power among the Caledonians begun to decline. The traditions concerning Trathal and Cormac, ancefors to Fingal, are full of the particulars of the fall of the Druids: a fingular fate, it must be owned, of priests, who had once established their fuperftition !

THE Continual wars of the Caledonians against the Romans hindered the better fort from initiat→ ing themfelves, as the custom formerly was, into the order of the Druids. The precepts of their religion were confined to a few, and were not much attended to by a people inured to war. The Vergobretus, or chief magiftrate, was chofen without the concurrence of the hierarchy, or continued in his office against their will. Continual power ftrengthened his interest among the tribes, and enabled him to fend down, as hereditary to his pofterity, the office he had only received himself by election.

ON occafion of a new war against the King of the World, as tradition emphatically calls the Roman emperor, the Druids, to vindicate the honour of the order, began to refume their ancient privilege of chufing the Vergobretus. Garmal, the fon of Tarno, being deputed by

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them,

them, came to the grandfather of the celebrated Fingal, who was then Vergobretus, and commanded him, in the name of the whole order, to lay down his office. Upon his refusal, a civil war commenced, which foon ended in almoft the total extinction of the religious order of the Druids. A few that remained, retired to the dark receffes of their groves, and the caves they had formerly used for their meditations. It is then we find them in the circle of Stones, and unheeded by the world. A total difregard for the order, and utter abhorrence of the Druidical rites enfued. Under this cloud of public hate, all that had any knowlege of the religion of the Druids became extinct, and the nation fell into the laft degree of ignorance of their rites and ceremonies..

It is no matter of wonder then, that Fingal and his fon Offian difliked the Druids, who were the declared enemies to their fucceffion in the fupreme magiftracy. It is a fingular cafe, it muft be allowed, that there are no traces of religion in the poems afcribed to Offian; as the poetical compofitions of other nations are fo clofely connected with their mythology. But gods are not neceffary, when the poet has genius. It is hard to account for it to thofe who are not made acquainted with the manner of the old Scotith bards.

bards. That race of men carried their notions of martial honour to an extravagant pitch. Any aid given their heroes in battle, was thought to derogate from their fame; and the bards imme diately transferred the glory of the action to him 3 DILL SVCng 3803 who had given that aid.

HAD the poet brought down gods, as often as Homer hath done, to affift his heroes, his work had not confifted of eulogiums on men, but of hymns to fuperior beings. Those who write in the Galic language feldom mention religion in their profane poetry; and when they profeffedly write of religion, they never mix with their compofitions, the actions of their heroes. This custom alone, even though the religion of the Druids had not been previously extinguished, may, in fome measure, excufe the author's filence concerning the religion of ancient times.

To allege, that a nation is void of all religion, would betray ignorance of the hif tory of mankind. The traditions of their fathers, and their own obfervations on the works of nature, together with that fuperftition which is inherent in the human frame, have, in all ages, raised in the minds of men fome idea of a fuperior being. Hence it is, that in the darkest times, and amongst the most b amongst the most barbarous nations, the very populace themfelves had fome faint no

tion,

tion, at least, of a divinity. The Indians, who YAA worship no God, believe that he exifts. It would be doing injustice to the author of these poems, to edi bus

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think, that he had not opened his conceptions to that primitive and greatest of all truths. But let his religion be what it will, it is certain he has not alluded to Chriftianity, or any of its rites, in his poems; which ought to fix his opinions, at least, to an æra prior to that religion. Conjectures, on this fubject, must supply the place of proof. The perfecution begun by Dioclefian, in the w bas year 303, is the most probable time in which the firft dawning of Christianity in the north of Britain can be fixed. The humane and mild character of Conftantius Chlorus, who commanded then

in Britain induced the

perfecuted Chriftians to Some of them, through ts, or through fear,

take refuge under him. a zeal to propagate their tenets, or went beyond the pale of the Roman empire, and fettled among the Caledonians; who were ready to hearken to their doctrines, if the religion of the Druids was exploded long before.

THESE miffionaries, either through choice, or to give more weight to the doctrine they ad vanced, took poffeffion of the cells and groves of the Druids; and it was from this retired life they had the name of Culdees*, which in the lantest savol bed and glugog prevod

* Culdich.

guage

guage of the country fignified fequestered perfons. It was with one of the Culdees that Offian, in his extreme old age, is faid to have difputed concerning the Chriftian religion. This difpute, they fay, is extant, and is couched in verse, according to the cuftom of the times. The extreme ignorance on the part of Offian, of the Chriftian tenets, fhews, that that religion had only been lately introduced, as it is not easy to conceive, how one of the firft rank could be totally unacquainted with a religion that had been known for any time in the country. The dispute bears the genuine marks of antiquity. The obfolete phrafes and expreffions peculiar to the times, prove it to be no forgery. If Offian then lived at the introduction of Christianity, as by all ap pearance he did, his epoch will be the latter end of the third, and beginning of the fourth cen tury. Tradition here fteps in with a kind of proof.

THE exploits of Fingal againft Caracul*, the fon of the king of the world, are among the firft brave actions of his youth. A complete poem, which relates to this fubject, is printed in this

collection.·

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*Carac'huil, terrible eye. Carac-'healla, terrible look. Carac challamh, a fort of upper garment.

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