THE POEMS OF OSSIAN. 395 



to compose * * histories concerning warriors and champions and 

 Finoral the son of Cumhall with his heroes." 



o 



Dunbar likewise makes reference to Fyn Makowll and Goro Mac- 

 Morn. 



The Dean of Lismore's Book contains a strong refutation of the 

 objections which have been raised against Ossian. The contents of 

 this book were published in 1861. The poems contained in it were 

 gathered by James MacGregor, Dean of Lismore, who died about 

 the year 1551. This book is, therefore, more than three hundred 

 years old ; and a great portion of it may be assigned to as early a 

 date as 1512. It contains twenty-eight Ossianic poems, extending to 

 two thousand five hundred lines. It is now in the Advocate's 

 Library, Edinburgh. It was deciphered by the Rev. Dr. Mac- 

 Lauchlin. In the interesting preface which he prepared, Mr. Skene 

 remarks : " The Dean's MS. has a double value, philological and 

 literary, and is calculated to throw light both on the language and 

 the literattire of the Highlands of Scotland. It has a philological 

 value, because its peculiar orthography presents the language at the 

 time in its aspect and character as a spoken language, and enables us 

 to ascertain whether many of the peculiarities which now distinguish 

 it were in existence three hundred years ago ; and it has a literary 

 value, because it contains poems attributed to Ossian, and to other 

 poets prior to the sixteenth century, which are not to be found 

 elsewhere ; and thus presents to us specimens of the traditional 

 poetry current in the Highlands prior to that period, which are above 

 suspicion, having been collected upwards of three hundred years ago, 

 and before any controversy on the subject had arisen,"* It thus 

 appears, that apart from the evidence furnished by MacPherson, 

 other writers place the existence of poems belonging to the age of 

 Ossian beyond a doubt. 



It is perhaps difl&cult now to form an estimate of the retentiveness 

 which, under particular cultivation, the memory is capable of acquir- 

 ing. Classical writers relate how, ia a manner which to us seems 

 almost iacredible, the memory has been known to possess an amazing 

 power. We learn from Csesar that the Druids of Britain obtaiaed 

 marvellous success in this respect. Owing to causes which to them- 

 selves were of great consequence, they preferred this very diligent 

 exercise of the memory. The language of Cassar not only iudicates 



* Dean of Lismore's book, p. 11. 



