“You recall to me some very pleasant feelings of my
boyhood, when you ask my opinion of Ossian.
His
| 54 | LIFE OF SIR WALTER SCOTT. |
| ASHESTIEL—1805. | 55 |
“In all the ballads I ever saw or could hear of,
Fin and Ossin are described as
natives of Ireland, although it is not unusual for the reciters sturdily to
maintain that this is a corruption of the text. In point of merit I do not
think these Gaelic poems much better than those of the Scandinavian Scalds;
they are very unequal, often very vigorous and pointed, often drivelling and
crawling in the very extremity of tenuity. The manners of the heroes are those
of Celtic savages; and I could point out twenty instances in which Macpherson has very cunningly adopted the
beginning, the names, and the leading incidents, &c. of an old tale, and
dressed it up with all those ornaments of sentiment and sentimental manners,
which first excite our surprise, and afterwards our doubt of its authenticity.
The Highlanders themselves, recognising the leading features of tales they had
heard in infancy, with here and there a tirade really taken from an old poem,
were readily seduced into becoming champions for the authenticity of the poems.
How many people, not particularly addicted to poetry, who may have heard Chevy- Chase in the nursery or at school, and never
since met with the ballad, might be imposed upon by a new Chevy-Chase, bearing no resemblance to the old one, save in here
and there a stanza
| 56 | LIFE OF SIR WALTER SCOTT. |
“The Highland Society have lately set about
investigating, or rather, I should say, collecting materials to defend, the
authenticity of Ossian. Those researches
have only proved that there were no real originals using that word as is
commonly understood to be found for them. The oldest tale they have found seems
to be that of Darthula; but it is perfectly
different, both in diction and story, from that of Macpherson. It is, however, a beautiful specimen of Celtic
poetry, and shows that it contains much which is worthy of preservation.
Indeed, how should it be otherwise, when we know that, till about fifty years
ago, the Highlands contained a race of hereditary poets? Is it possible to
think, that, among perhaps many hundreds, who for such a course of centuries
have founded their reputation and rank on practising the art of poetry in a
country where the scenery and manners gave such effect and interest and imagery
to their productions, there should not have been some who attained excellence?
In searching out those genuine records of the Celtic Muse, and preserving them
| ASHESTIEL—1805. | 57 |
“I am not to deny that Macpherson’s inferiority in other compositions is a
presumption that he did not actually compose these poems. But we are to
consider his advantage when on his own ground. Macpherson
was a Highlander, and had his imagination fired with the charms of Celtic
poetry from his very infancy. We know, from constant experience, that most
Highlanders, after they have become complete masters of English, continue to
think in their own language; and it is to me
demonstrable that Macpherson thought almost every word of Ossian in Gaelic, although he wrote it down
in English. The specimens of his early poetry which remain are also deeply
tinged with the peculiarities of the Celtic diction and character; so that, in
fact, he might be considered as a Highland poet, even if he had not left us
some Earse translations (or originals of Ossian) unquestionably written by himself. These circumstances
gave a great advantage to him in forming the style of
Ossian, which, though exalted and modified according
to Macpherson’s own ideas of modern taste, is in
great part cut upon the model of the tales of the Sennachies and Bards. In the
translation of Homer, he
not only lost these advantages, but the circumstances on which they were
founded were a great detriment to his undertaking; for although such a dress
was appropriate and becoming for Ossian, few people cared
to see their old Grecian friend disguised in a tartan plaid and philabeg. In a
word, the style which Macpherson had formed, however
admirable in a Highland tale, was not calculated for translating Homer; and it was a great
| 58 | LIFE OF SIR WALTER SCOTT. |
“Thus I have given you with the utmost sincerity my creed on the great national question of Ossian; it has been formed after much deliberation and enquiry. I have had for some time thoughts of writing a Highland poem, somewhat in the style of the Lay, giving as far as I can a real picture of what that enthusiastic race actually were before the destruction of their patriarchal government. It is true I have not quite the same facilities as in describing Border manners, where I am, as they say, more at home. But to balance my comparative deficiency in knowledge of Celtic manners, you are to consider that I have from my youth delighted in all the Highland traditions which I could pick from the old Jacobites who used to frequent my father’s house; and this will, I hope, make some amends for my having less immediate opportunities of research than in the Border tales.
“Agreeably to your advice, I have actually read over
Madoc a second time, and
I confess have seen much beauty which escaped me in the first perusal. Yet (which yet, by the way, is almost as vile a
monosyllable as but) I cannot feel quite the interest I
would wish to do. The difference of character which you notice, reminds me of
what by Ben Jonson and other old
commedians were called humours, which consisted rather
in the personification of some individual passion or propensity than of an
actual individual man. Also, I cannot
| ASHESTIEL—1805. | 59 |
“Believe me, I shall not be within many miles of Lichfield without paying my personal respects to you; and yet I should not do it in prudence, because I am afraid you have formed a higher opinion of me than I deserve; you would expect to see a person who had dedicated himself much to literary pursuits, and you would find me a rattle-sculled half-lawyer, half-sportsman, through whose head a regiment of horse has been exercising since he was five years old; half-educated, half-crazy, as his friends sometimes tell him; half every thing, but entirely Miss Seward’s much obliged, affectionate, and faithful servant,
