Irish Druids and Old Irish Religions

h'ish Gods. i^.-
drink than nectar or ambrosia, but which had a similar
power of raising the consumer in his own estimation.
Goibniu, the smith, was the brewer of this magical drink
for the gods. Ogme, founder of oghamic writing, was
called the sun-faced. He was the son of Elada, whose
name means poetic composition, or knowledge. His
brother Dian-cecht, the god of rapid power, was long the
Tuath god of medicine.
The deities, when they desired to make themselves
visible, appeared as birds. The Fomore gods were seen as
crows or ravens. As Chronos was King of the world at
the time of the Golden Age, so Bress, King of the Fomore
ruled awhile even over the Tuatha, who represent the Greek
golden race.
It is well to conclude with M. Jubainville, that "the gods
of the Gauls {or Irish), like those of the Romans, are, to
our eyes, a creation of the human mind." It may be also
added that usually the gods rise from low types to higher.
Still, Lubbock assures us that " religion, as understood by
the lower savage races, differs essentially from ours ;
nay,
it is not only different, but even opposite." Some may
be disposed to fancy the same of the more ignorant in
Christian
lands.
In connection with Irish idolatry, the question of sacrifices
to the o-ods needs some consideration.
We may assume that the lower animals may have been
so offered ; as, black sheep to Samhan on November I,
and firstlings to the god Crom. But whether the Irish
ever had human sacrifices has been much debated. Such
a practice we know existed in both civilized and uncivilized
countries. It prevailed with worshippers of Baal, with
American Indians, with Khonds, and other tribes of India.
&c. In Dcut. xii. 30, we read, "Their sons and their