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254 NOTES.fabulous accounts of the Hamadryades^ to be of the most remoteantiquity.These nymphs were said to be born, and to die withtheir favourite oaks.But from this we can only with certaintyinfer, that certain individuals were, at a very early period, somuch addicted to particular trees^ or rather groves, that whenthese were cut down they disappeared. Drys in the Greek doesnot radically signify an Oak, but a Tree. The Saxon Dry, pronouncedDree, is the modern English Tree. By far the mostprobable etymon of the word Draoi, pronounced Drui, is fromDair, an oak, and Aoi, a stranger or guest.Hence we have thecompound word Dairaoi, and by abbreviation Draoi, signifyingan inhabitant of the oak; a term exactly corresponding with thenotion entertained of the Hamndryades by the ancient Greeks.To those better acquainted with the Greek than the Celtic it wasvery natural to derive Druid from the Greek Drys; but the factis, that the Greek Drys is the Celtic Draoi^ Graecally terminated.Note III.—Page 57.Of these degrees, the Arch^Druid excepted, there'' s little to befound in the classic authors that treat of the Druids ; tho^ veryonuck and very particularly in the Celtic writing sand monuments,•—No man had better access to know, or was better qualified tojudge of the Celtic writings than Mr. Toland. As I will haveoccasion, in a future note, to enlargeon this head, I shall onlyat present endeavour to impress on the reader's mind, that theIrish manuscripts are of great antiquity, and contain many importantparticulars respecting the Druids.Note IV.—Page 59.While they had the address to get themselves exempted fromhearing arms, Sfc.—This exemption is mentioned by Ccrsar, lib.4. cap. 14. Druides a hello ahcsse consueverunt, neque t/ihu/auna cum reliquis pendunt ; militice vacationem, omnium que rerumhahent immunitatem: i. e. "The Druids are accustomed to beabsent from war^ nor do they pay tribute along with the rest;