1892-93.] THE PRESENT ASPECT OF THE OSSIAMC CONTROVERSY. 331 



refinement, and who had an enthusiastic affection for the poetry of the 

 Scottish Gael, terminates his elaborate Dissertation with the statement of 

 two important propositions which he established : 



1. " That the poems of Ossian are authentic ancient poetry. 



2. " That in a remote period of our history, the mountains of Scotland 

 produced a bard whose works must render his name immortal, and whose 

 genius has not been surpassed by the efforts of any modern or even 

 ancient competitor." There was published in 1817, another edition of the 

 Gaelic text of the poems of Ossian, under the editorship of the eminent 

 Gaelic scholar, Ewen MacLachlan, of Aberdeen. Another edition of the 

 poems of Ossian in the original Gaelic was published by the Rev. Dr. 

 Archibald Clerk in 1870. That edition contains a literal translation by 

 Dr. Clerk of the poems into English. It has likewise a lucid and 

 exhaustive Dissertation on the authenticity of the poems. The edition 

 is both able and instructive. It is a singular coincidence that the 

 Earl of Bute of that generation aided MacPherson very liberally, bearing 

 as he did a portion of the expense of publishing Fingal and other poems, 

 and the entire expense of publishing Temora and other poems ; while the 

 present Marquis of Hute is entitled to the credit of generously bearing 

 the expense that was incurred by the publication of Dr. Clerk's magnifi- 

 cent edition of the poems of Ossian. There are other important 

 collections of Ossianic poetry. No more honourable name tiian that of 

 Dr. John Smith is to be found among the Gaelic scholars of his own 

 generation, rich though it was in scholars of learning and critical acumen 

 and patriotic enthusiasm. It was in 1780 that he published his Gaelic 

 Antiquities, a Dissertation on the poems of Ossian and a cdlection of 

 ancient poetry translated from the Gaelic of UUin, Ossian, Orran, etc., 

 in other words, an English translation of Gaeh'c poems which were 

 published by him in 1787, under the designation of Sean Dana. The 

 Sean Dana contain the purest, and in many respects the oldest and 

 best Gaelic in the whole domain of Gaelic literatuie. Campbell insinu- 

 ates that the Sean DcUia were invented or fabricated b\' Dr. Smith 

 himself, and that it is vain to look for any traces of them beyond himself. 

 Had Campbell carefully read Dr. Smith's Dis.sertation, he would have 

 found, that the latter tells in the most ingenuous manner how he was 

 induced to prepare his Scan Dana and from whom he obtained his 

 material. In a foot-note. Dr. Smith gives the names of several persons 

 who aided him oy oral recitation, as well as the names of other persons 

 who acted the part of useful and faithful correspondents. " An original 

 collection of the poems of Ossian, Orran, Ullin and other bards who 

 flourished in the same age:" Such is the writing on the title-page of a 

 collection of Ossianic poems, which were collected and edited by 



