Volume 3 - Electric Scotland

262 DRUIDS.
the same tiling", as do the testimonies of Tacitus and
some others.
Borlase has no sufficient authority for saying that they
originated in Britain, and that Anglesea was their chief
seat. With respect to Scotland and Ireland, there is not
a shadow of historical evidence to prove that this was the
form of religion and government. I have shown that the
nature of these mistaken antiquities does not prove it.
When the Irish say that St. Patrick burned three hun-
dred books belonging to the Druids, and when Toland is
the authority for this, it is easy to know what to believe.
If they committed nothing to writing, there were no
books to burn. If St. Patrick burned them, it would be
proper to prove first that there was such a person as St.
Patrick, When the same antiquaries attribute their Norwegian
laws to the Druids, it is not difficult to know
what value we are to set on their opinions upon this
subject in general.
There are only two other arguments in favour of their
existence in Scotland and Ireland ; tradition and etymology.
The value of tradition must be less than common in this
case, since no traditions respecting them are preserved in
those countries where we know they abounded. Besides,
the imposition of names, in the caseof Fingal and Ossian,
has been formerly shown, in these very pages, to be so
modern, that no stress can be laid on such local terms.
The use of the word Druid, is as much a question of ety-
mology also, as it is of application in this case ; and if, as
is admitted, Druidh means a wise man or a magician,
simply, and Druidheachd magic, the use of this word
proves nothing. That it is a neutral word of this nature,
is plain, since it has been used in the Gaelic Bible for the
" wise men." Future Borlases and Tolands, arguing
on this word, will probably write a few more treatises
to prove that Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar, were