...no question that lona deserves the eloquent compliment bestowed upon it hy Dr. Johnson, of being " once the luminary of the Caledonian regions, whence...benefits of knowledge, and the blessings of religion." But there is also truth in what another elegant writer, Doctor Macculloeh, says — that the descriptions...

...eloquent paslages which dwell on the memory, the reflection that introduces the account of Icolmkill, " once the luminary of the Caledonian regions, whence...benefits of knowledge, and the blessings of religion," is remarkable for its piety, pathos, and sublimity. " To abstract the mind from all local emotion would...

...Western Islands which Boswell at one point introduces into his own narrative, a meditation on lona, " 'whence savage clans and roving barbarians derived...benefits of knowledge, and the blessings of religion' ": " 'whatever withdraws us from the power of our senses, whatever makes the past, the distant, or...

...contemplated through the journey from the first sights of ruined cathedrals in St. Andrews and Aberbrothick: We were now treading that illustrious island, which was once the luminary of the Caledoman regions, whence savage clans and roving barbarians derived the benefits of knowledge and...

...time in an attitude of silent admiration. 34 The sublime passage which left Banks speechless was this: We were now treading that illustrious island, which...religion. To abstract the mind from all local emotion would be impossible if it were endeavoured, and would be foolish if it were possible. Whatever withdraws...

...superstition."5 The emotional climax of Johnson's journey comes in his visit to the moldering churches on lona, "that illustrious island, which was once the luminary...benefits of knowledge, and the blessings of religion" (148). (The monastery that St. Columba founded on lona in 563 provided the center from which missionaries...

...church profaned and hastening to the ground." At Icolmkill, Johnson rises magnificently to the occasion: "Once the luminary of the Caledonian regions, whence...benefits of knowledge, and the blessings of religion . . . That man is little to be envied, whose patriotism would not gain force upon the plain of Marathon,...

...Columba preached the gospel to the Scots. It was Johnson who found words appropriate to the place. We were now treading that illustrious island, which...benefits of knowledge and the blessings of religion . . . That man is little to be envied. . . . whose piety would not grow warmer among the ruins of lona.166...