402 AUTHENTICITY OF THE POEMS OF OSSIAN. 



betrayal of his dishonesty. Dr. Blair, -who knew MacPherson well, 

 tlius Sf)eaks of him : "Of all the men I ever knew, MacPherson 

 was the most unlikely and unfit to contrive and carry on such an 

 imposture as some people in England ascribed to him. He had none 

 of the versatility, the art and dissimulation, which such a character and 

 such an undertaking would have required." * One of MacPherson's 

 coadjutors in the arranging of Ossian's poems remarks : " He could 

 as well compose the prophecies of Isaiah, or create the Island of Skye? 

 as compose a poem like one of Ossian's." There is a well authenti- 

 cated story, which in itself goes far to show that MacPherson was 

 unable to compose the poems which he translated. Having landed 

 on one of the Hebrides, he submitted this very ambiguous question 

 to one who chanced to be a poet of no common excellence : " Am 

 bheil dad agad air an Fheinn ? " MacPherson intended to ask the 

 question as to whether his friend had any information respecting the 

 Pingalians. This inquiry, when strictly interpreted, means, whether 

 the Fingalian^ were in any way pecimiarily indebted to him of whom 

 the qtiestion was asked. It may be stated that no one possessing an 

 accurate knowledge of Gaelic would ever use so ambiguous art inter- 

 rogation. No further evidence is needed to show that MacPherson 

 did not and could not forge the poems which he translated. It canno* 

 be maintained that his rendering is always acciirate. He frequently 

 misunderstood the meaning of the original. Still, in spite of every 

 shortcoming, his translation is so elegant and attractive as to merit 

 the commendation of Dr. Blair : "I confess I cannot avoid consider- 

 ing the discovery of the works of Ossian as an important era in the 

 annals of taste and literature ; and the share which I have had in 

 contributing towards it, as a part of my life, by which I have deserved 

 well both of this age and posterity." 



* Report, Appendix, p. 60; and ihid, p. 17T. 



