394 THE AUTHENTICITY OF 



manuscript from a very early age. He was successful in collecting 

 m.any poems which, were perpetuated by oral tradition. He came in 

 contact with many who, though unable to read, could. recite with ease 

 poems of great length. He published from time to time translations 

 of those poems which he was successful in procuring. The admiring 

 attention of very many readers was drawn to the beauties contained 

 in his translations. Blair warmly espoused MacPherson's cause. In 

 his well known Dissertation on the Poems of Ossian, Blair pointed 

 out the peculiar beauties of these writings, drew a very favourable 

 comparison between Homer and Ossian, and sought to prove by 

 internal evidence that the Bard of Selma lived in the early part of 

 the third century. Every unprejudiced reader of the evidence which 

 has come down to us miist concede that MacPherson did injury to his 

 own cause by his unguarded language and the stubborn opposition 

 which he manifested. In writing to Blair, Hume remarks, with 

 reference to MacPherson : " But you must not mind so strange and 

 heteroclite a mortal, than whom I have scarce ever known a man 

 more perverse and unamiable." All who are disposed to think 

 kindly and favourably of MacPherson must regret that he did not 

 choose to show more deference to the inquiries of those who wished 

 to obtain stronger confirmation of the genuineness of the poems of 

 Ossian. 



There are many witnesses who attest, that the names of Fingal 

 and his heroes were known beyond the Highlands of Scotland long 

 before MacPherson published his Translation of Ossian. 



Barbour in his Bruce thus clearly refers to Pingal : (1489) 



" He said, methink Marthoky's son, 

 Eight as Gol MakMorn was -won, 

 To haiff fra Fingal his menyie, 

 Rycht swa all hys fra us has he." 



In Kirk's Edition of the Psalms of David, published in 1684, this 

 very distinct allusion is made to Pingal in the author's address to his 



book : 



" Hail the generous land of Fingal' s heroes, 

 The Highland tracts and isles of Hebrides." 



In a book published by Bishop Carswell of Argyle, in 1567, he thus 

 speaks in his preface : " Though we have some accounts of the Gaeil 

 of Scotland and Ireland contained in manuscripts, and in the gene- 

 alogies of bards and historiographers, * * they are more desirous 



