116 



they quote. They differ as far from Macpherson's high-sounding 

 bombast, as a naked savage from a powdered and perfumed courtier. 

 In fact, they are mere prose, except in the metrical disposition of the 

 words : 



Nisi quod pede cerlo 

 Differt sermoni, sermo merus. 



HoR. 



But as the learned editor of the " Reliques of Ancient Poetry " 

 has observed, " after letters began to prevail, and history assumed a 

 more stable form, by being committed to plain, simple prose, the 

 songs of the scalds or bards began to be more amusing than useful. 

 And in proportion as it became their business chiefly to entertain and 

 delight, they gave more and more into embellishment, and set off 

 their recitals with such marvellous fictions, as were calculated to cap- 

 tivate gross and ignorant minds." " This," says Walker, " was pre- 

 cisely the case in Ireland. Verse ceased to be used in our historical 

 Avritings, about the twelfth or thirteenth century, and consequently it 

 was no longer subservient to truth." 



The Fenian poems with which Macpherson was well acquainted, 

 were, as their name implies, confined to the exploits of Fionn and his 

 warriors : Oisin, Fergus, Dermod Dun, Caoilte, Goll Mac-Morne, 

 the bald and senseless Conan, the blue-eyed Roinea, generous Gavar, 

 mild CoUa of curled locks, and others whose names and characters 

 may be seen in )<tO) W fe- fettitct "De-dS, the poem of the Six- 

 teen Men. Fionn is, of course, the principal hero, but not always, 

 for Oillean sometimes appears to be a chief of even superior prowess. 

 An opinion has been entertained, that these poems have some resem- 

 blance to the rhapsodies of Homer, and that they might all be thrown 

 together, so as to form one great epic ; but this opinion does not 

 seem well founded, as each poem is generally complete in itself. 



