13.07.2015 Views

A new edition of Toland's History of the druids: - Free History Ebooks

A new edition of Toland's History of the druids: - Free History Ebooks

A new edition of Toland's History of the druids: - Free History Ebooks

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

;;:OF THE DRUIDS. 73orders or degrees, namely, to give an examplenow in <strong>the</strong> British dialect, as I shall give <strong>the</strong>irturns to all <strong>the</strong> Celtic colonies, Privarelh, Posvardk,and Aruyvardh: but, with regard to <strong>the</strong>subjects where<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>y treated, <strong>the</strong>y were callYlPrndudh, or Tevluur, or Clerur; which words,with <strong>the</strong> equivalent Irish names, shall be explainedin our history, where you'll find this division<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Bards well warranted. The first werechronologers, <strong>the</strong> second heralds, and <strong>the</strong> thirdcomic or satyrical poets among <strong>the</strong> vulgar: for <strong>the</strong>second sort did sing <strong>the</strong> praises <strong>of</strong> great men in<strong>the</strong> heroic strain, very <strong>of</strong>ten at <strong>the</strong> head <strong>of</strong> armies,like him in VirgilCretea musarum comitem, cui carmina semperEt citharae cordi, numerosque intendere nervisSemper equos, atq ; arma virum, pugnasq ; canebatAnd <strong>the</strong> first,ViRG. ^-^» Lib. 9,who likewise accompany'd <strong>the</strong>m inpeace, did historically register <strong>the</strong>ir genealogiesand atchievements. We have some pro<strong>of</strong>s thatexact writer will always have regardto <strong>the</strong> origin as well as to<strong>the</strong> analogy <strong>of</strong> any word : and so heMl write Druidhe^ (for example)and not Druighe, much less Draoi<strong>the</strong> broadly and aspi«lately ;nor will he use any o<strong>the</strong>r mispellings, tho' ever so com.mon in books. This is well observed by an old author, whowriting <strong>of</strong> Conia, a hea<strong>the</strong>n freethinking judge <strong>of</strong> Connacht, thuscharacterizes him ; Se do rinee an choinhhUocht ris na Druidstdhh: 'twas he that disputed against <strong>the</strong> Druids. These criti.cisms, some would say. are trifles : but Has nii^ae in seriaducnnttI

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!