Lucan's picture of druidism. at which they were imported, the less likely were they to have been polluted by polytheism, or any of those horrid and obscene corruptions, which idolatry afterwards introduced into them. It is observable, that the druidism of the ancient Irish has utterly escaped the traduction, obloquy, and virulence of the Greeks and Romans: because neither of those nations ever attempted the conquest of that island, and consequently had not experienced the powerful influence, which their order, rank, and doctrines produced upon their countrymen in maintaining their liberties against all invaders. The fairest account of druidism from a Roman pen is given by the poet Lucan*, in his Pharsalia. He was peculiarly fitted to handle such a subject, from having written a poem (not now extant) upon the descent of Orpheus into hell; a subject immediately leading to the origin of the oldest mystic rites known amongst *Et vos barbaricos ritus moremque sinistrum Non tacitas Erebi' sedes ditisque profundi Pallida regna petunt: regit idem spiritus artus Luc. 1. i. Thers. any of the religionists of the pagan world, whether distinguished by the appellation of Cabyric or Mithratic, Eleusynean, or Cumaan, and which originally were substantially druidical. In the spirit of his day (he wrote under Claudius and Nero) he terms their rites generally barbarous and sinister; admits the druids to be adverse to war; to have the exclusive knowledge (or error, as he must presume) of the high mysteries of the gods and the stars of heaven; they lived in awful groves; and held man's soul should neither visit silent Erebus nor Pluto's hall; that it should live in another world to eternity; that death is but the midway between life and immortality; that these northern people, happy in their error, had no fear of death, the greatest terror to other mortals; that they braved danger with dauntless minds; and were lavish of life, in the hope of resurrection. Lucan was a Spaniard, and meant all the British islands by the populi quos despicit arctos. Yet it is observable, that his general opprobrious epithets, barbaricos ritus moremque sinistrum, are supported by no specific proof; but on the contrary, the detail contains a body of philosophy and divinity soaring beyond the powers of their proudest men of science. It is a reasonable presumption, that if Lucan, (he was not only an orator and philosopher, but a poet,) could consistently with truth have fixed the druids, whom it was the fashion of his day to decry, hate, and persecute, with any the enormities laid to their charge by other writers more ignorant of their tenets, he would not have refrained from introducing them into his poem. of Paganism of the ancient Irish. The last observation upon the Cumaan Sybill, which throws any light upon the ancient history of Ireland is, that she lived in Asia about 600 years after the flood. This precisely answers the time, at which the Partholian race, according to the Irish chroniclers, ceased. They landed upon the island 300 years after the flood, and became extinguished after having possessed it for 300 years more. It then remained uninhabited for 50 years. Then the Clana Neimbedt, or the Nemedian race, landed on their coasts; who, after having governed the island 217 years, were succeeded by the Firbolgs; they reigned 36 years, and were subdued by the Tuatha de Danans, who had reigned 197, when the Milesian expedition landed in Ireland 1080 years after Noah's flood*. Well, then, may the purity of the doctrines and customs, specifically attributed to the druids by Lucan, be reconciled with the time and place, at which the Erythrean Sibyll existed, and from which certain colonists emigrated into Ireland. Some objections to this hypothesis are removed by Dr. Warner's assertion †, that the patri, archal way of worship, according to the old historians of ireland, lasted no longer there, than to the 100th year after the arrival of the Spanish colony, when, in conformity with the customs of other nations, idolatry was introduced. In these days of heathenism, they worshipped Belus, Bel, or Baal, as we have observed, as god of the sun or fire, and some gods of particular mountains and rivers. But no traces of the fabulous deities of Greece or Rome are discoverable throughout the ancient history of Ireland, a circumstance of itself strong evidence of its superior antiquity. of Other proofs of quity. It would be endless to enter into the nature proofs arising out of the frequent and recent disco- Irish anu veries, which for any other purpose, than that of establishing the early and oriental origin of the Irish nation, would be unimportant. The learned and instructive Vallancey says, that the brazen swords, which are found in Ireland, and those found at Cannæ, some of which are in the British Museum, and supposed to be Carthagenian, are of the same form, and the substance of both is a composition exactly similar. The various implements or utensils of familiar life and religious service, and the ornaments of dress and attire male and female in the precious metals, answer in the most minute particulars both as to description, name, and use, with those which evidently were in remote antiquity; and some, even to this day, are in use with the Persian and other oriental nations. Many are the relicts or monuments at this hour existing, which prove the ancient knowledge of the Irish in astronomy and astrology: but, says General Vallancey †, if a fragment were not to be found, the living language of the day, a language more than 3000 ** *Boxhorne, a curious investigator of antiquity, who wrote in the beginning of the 17th century, says, Persa autem sunt Scythe. + Col. de Reb. Hyb. vol. vi. p. 312. From amidst a most learned and interesting dissertation demonstrating the knowledge of the years old, is sufficient to prove, that they are Aire coti (noble shepherds), or Indo Scythæ of Dionysius who, under the name of Phoeni or Phonice, came to the western islands, the Cuthi of the learned Bryant. To the more curious investigators of this scientific proof of the antiquity of the Irish nation, we earnestly refer to the instructive part of the Collectanea, and Chaldean astronomy amongst the ancient Irish, General Vallancey informs us (p. 314.), that " he had not been landed a week in Ireland from Gibraltar, where he had studied the Hebrew and Chaldaic under Jews of various countries and denominations, when he heard a peasant girl say to a boor standing by her, feach maddin nagh! (behold the morning star!) pointing to the planet Venus, the maddina nag of the Chaldeans. That on a starry night, as he was travelling, a peasant pointed to and explained the constellation Orion, calling it Comai (the armed king), clearly the Cimah of Job, which the learned Costard asserts to be the constellation Orion. And the reader, says he, may learn from this circumstance, with what eagerness he was impelled to study the Irish language." I cannot here forbear contrasting the sentiments of Dr.Campbell concerning the learned Vallancey, with the illiberal and coarse treatment, which that respectable character has met with from Dr. Ledwich. One could almost imagine, that this reverend antiquarian suspected that the general occasionally prayed to St. Patrick. "Sur. of the So. of Ireland, 66. "Several instances of this I have been favoured with by Major Vallancey, a gentleman whose acquaintance alone is worth a journey to Ireland. And you will not be displeased, when I tell you, that he is our countryman, was bred at Eaton, and is now engineer-general of Ireland. At an age, when words and other materials of knowledge are generally collected, he betook himself to the study of the Irish language with a diligence so successful, that he soon outstripped his teachers. To him we are indebted for the best grammar of this language." |