152 



DRUIDS. 



Druid*, oak, thi< derivation of their name seems to be the most 

 natural nd well founded: though it might be a subject 

 of curious, as well as interesting and useful inquiry, 

 whether the Celtic term dry* was derived from the 

 Greek, or the Greek word Jj-Jt from the IVltic. There 

 is, however, another Celtic derivation of the word 

 Druid, which requires to be noticed. In the Gaelic 

 dialect of this language, drtiidh signifies wise men ; and 

 in the more ancient and pure dialect of the Welsh, 

 dry and dryelhe signify persons conversant in diabolical 

 arts, or magicians. The term, in this meaning, is also 

 found in the Irish dialect ; for in the translation of the 

 Scriptures into that language, these words occur in 

 Exod. vii. ver. 24: in 1 Samuel, chap, xxviii. ver. 9. 

 in Matth. chap. ii. ver. 1, 7, and in the Acts of the 

 Apostles, chap. viii. ver. !). They are, indeed, a little 

 different in their mode of spelling, but evidently the 

 same word. In Matth. chap. ii. ver. 1, the Irish word 

 is draoithe ; and the correspondent word in the Welsh 

 translation is doethian, which differs more from the usual 

 term than any other word applied to magicians in any 

 of the other dialects of the Celtic, or even in the Welsh 

 in other places The only question therefore is, whe- 

 ther the Druids were more likely to receive their name 

 from the Celtic word signifying an oak, or from that 

 which signifies wise men, or magicians ; and, upon the 

 whole, we are disposed to accede to the former opinion, 

 in the first place, because the term drys comes nearer 

 the word Druid ; and, in the second place, because the 

 appellation given to their priests was more likely to be 

 derived by the Celts, from what peculiarly distinguish- 

 ed their religion, than from what was common to it 

 with all other religions ; now, the superstitious worship 

 of the oak was undoubtedly one of the most marked 

 and decisive peculiarities of Druidism, and therefore it 

 is more probable that the name Druid was derived from 

 dryi, than from a word that signified wisdom, a quali- 

 fication which all nations, however barbarous, ascribed 

 to their priests. After all, however, as we before re- 

 marked, this is a question of comparatively little curio- 

 sity or importance, and we shall therefore dwell no 

 longer on it, but proceed to consider the origin f Druid- 

 ism. 



II. Diogenes Laertius, on the authority of Aristotle 

 and Sotron, ranks the Druids of the Celhe and GalaUe 

 with the Magi of the Persians, the Chaldeans of Baby- 

 lonia, and the Gymnosophists of India; and hence some 

 authors have inferred that Druidism took its origin 

 from one or other of these nations : but this author 

 merely means to give it as his opinion, that the Druids, 

 ami the priests and wise men of Persia, 'Baby Ionia, and 

 India, were similar in character and privileges, and 

 that the Druids among the Celts possessed the same 

 rank and office as the Magi in Persia, the Chaldeans in 

 Babylonia, and the Gymnosophists in India. From 

 this passage in Diogenes Laertius, therefore, nothing 

 can be inferred respecting the origin of Druidism. The 

 The Dmid next opinion which we shall notice and examine on this 

 tuppnwd to poin^ j s maintained by Baxter, Horsley, Macpherson, 

 from?huc- an< ^ P' n ^erton, and requires more particular investi- 

 i.i, !.u gation, both on account of the authority and support 



which the names of these authors may be supposed to 

 lend it, and because it is in itself not destitute of plau- 

 sibility. This opinion is stated by Mr Pinkcrton very 

 decidedly and emphatically: " Druidism was palpa- 

 bly Phoenician." This short and dogmatic sentence 

 occurs in the 1st volume of his Inquiry into the lln/on/ 

 of Scotland, p. 17. He adverts to it also in the (iSth 

 page of his Dissertation of the Got/tt, where he comic- 



Origin of 

 the Druids. 



scends to mention some circumstances, \\hich, in his Hniid* 

 opinion, illustrate and prove the truth of his hypotlic- * ~ , " 

 sis. " The god Baal, Bel, Bellemis, the transmigration 

 of souls, the cosmogony and theogony of the Druids, 

 are wholly i'hci-nieian ;" and in another place, s[>e:iking 

 of Caesar's opinion on this subject, he says, " there is rea- 

 son to conclude, that Druidism was originally taught by 

 the Phd'iiieians to the people of Cornwall, where they 

 traded for tin, as its deities and mythology are clearly 

 Phienician. The god Rellcnus or Baal, the mystic eg<r, 

 &c. are mere transcripts of l'h<rnician theology ; and it' 

 we had much light on the Druidic system, there is rooi.i 

 to inter that the resemblance would be complete." To 

 this opinion of the PhuMiiciim origin of Druidism, there 

 appears to us to be many formidable objections. 



In the first place, too much stress is laid by Mr Objection! 

 Pinkcrton, and the other supporters of this hypothc-i 

 on the similarity between some of the religious doc- 

 trines of the Phoenicians, and those of the Druids ; e\en 

 granting that the similarity was as particular and close, 

 and extended to as many points as they represent ; but 

 though it is probable that some of the Celtic nation -< 

 worshipped Baal, there is no sufficient evidence t< 

 prove that this deity was worshipped by the Druids, 

 or by those Celtic tribes who held the tenets of Druid- 

 ism ; and with respect to transmigration, we shall af- 

 terwards shew, that the peculiar notions held by the 

 Druids on this subject, differed very considerably from 

 those held by the Phoenicians, and other eastern na- 

 tions ; and that it has even been doubted on authority 

 deserving of considerable attention and weight, wh 

 the Druids believed in transmigration at all. In tin- 

 second place, there is no evidence that the Plurni 

 had any settlements on the main land of Britain. I le- 

 rodotus, Strabo, &c. only mention that they visited the 

 Ca-siterides, or Scilly islands ; but even allowing that 

 they had settlements in Cornwall, if they hail taught 

 the inhabitants of this part of England Druidism, is it 

 not much mre likely that it would have flourished 

 there at the time of the Roman conquests, than in the 

 remote comer of Anglesey, where alone the Roman* 

 found it. In the third place, the commercial character 

 of the Phoenicians, and the secresy and dispatch with 

 which they were anxious to prosecute their voyages to 

 England for tin, render it very unlikely that they would 

 feel much inclination, or have much time or opportu- 

 nity to initiate the natives in the mysteries of Druidism. 

 In the fourth place, the occasional intercourse of fo- 

 reign merchants could hardly have introduced its hu- 

 man sacrifices and gloomy rites. Fifthly, we know 

 that Druidism did not exist in those countries where 

 the Phoenicians permanently and firmly established 

 themselves. No traces of it are to be found in Spain, 

 where they built the city of Cadiz, and " where, of 

 course, it is much more probable that they would be 

 di-posed and able to introduce their ceremonies and 

 belief." Lastly, we know that the Greek and 1 Ionian 

 historians, particularly the latter, had their curiosity 

 much excited by this mode of worship, and that t'i 

 them it apjx-ared extremely singular, which it certainly 

 would not have done had it existed in Phivnieia. A< 

 every thing relative to this country \\as M> well known 

 to them, they co.ild not have failed to have traced 

 Dniidism to it, had there been any evidence of the 

 Plurnici.-ms having carried it into Britain, or even had 

 the similarity Ix-twecn Druidism and the religion of 

 I'hirnicia been very general and striking. As there- 

 Cure this opinion rets on no direct authority ; a- the si- 

 milarity between the religious tenets held by the Druids 



