Galic Antiquities

Chap. IV. T H E D R U I D S. /J
The Galic word for lightning is Delaii, or Delanach; that is, Uterally,
" the flafli or flame of a God:" and the name for any lefTer
flalh, that is quick and fudden as Hghtning, is Druilan^ or Dnalanach^
which means, " the flafli or flame of the Druids." Thus,
for inft:ance, the quick flafli that bolts from red-hot iron, when
fl:ruck on the anvil juft: after coming out of the forge, is called
Drutlanach. And, in a well-known fragment of Oflian *, in which
he fpeaks of fome arms that were fabricated by Luno, the Scandinavian
Vulcan, tlie fword of Ofcar is diftinguiflied by this epithet,
and compared to the fiame of the Druids ; which fliews, that there
was fuch a phenomenon, and that it was abundantly terrible.
With the myft;ery thefe philofophers feem plainly to have been acquainted
;
but their intereft, and perhaps their mercy, led them to
keep the terrible art ftill a fecret.
Many other obfervations might be derived from the Galic language,
which might give us fome more hints of the
knowledge of
the Druids, if they had not already led us away fo far. In fliort,
every thing within the circle of Z)/-/// ""eachd^ or " magic," or, to
fpeak more properly,
philofophy, was the fliudy of the Druids ;
within the compafs of natural experimental
and the honour of every
wonder that lay within that verge was always allowed them.
Nothing
was fuppofed to be above their reach,
and more awful phenomena of nature.
except the few greater
Thefe only were afcribed
to the Supreme Being, and allowed to have been the immediate o-
peration of liis hand. This much is implied in the Celtic name for
miracle ;
which is m'lor-Bheil^ or meur-Bheil^ " the finger of Be'il f."
K 2
Thus
» Called an Cabhd\ or rhefmith. The
'S g"ni bi chofgarach hnn Chaoilte.
words are t ^^^ French merveille, and the Eng-
'3 gum bi -n Drui-hnad lann ofcair, .
liAi marvel, feem to be from the fame root.