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20G Gaelic Society of Inverness.
but ho is a "dux belli" or "militia" leader. Y"et the popular
imagination is distinctly in favour of the idea that these hei-oes
were also kings.
The further question as to the origin and meaning of these
mythic and heroic tales is. as can be seen, one of Aryan width :
the Celtic tales are explained when we explain those of the other
Indo-European nations. Until scientists agree as to the meaning
of these heroic myths, we may satisfy ourselves with adding our
stone to the cairn—adding, that is to say, Cuchulinn and Fionn to
the other national heroes of Aryan mythology. Yet this we may
say: Fionn son of Cumal (Camulus, the Celtic war-god 1) is
probably the incarnation of the chief deity of the Gaels—the
Jupiter spoken of by Ca?sar and the Dagda of Irish myth. His
qualities are king-like and majestic, not sun-like, as those of
Cuchulinn. He is surrounded by a band of heroes that make a .
terrestrial Olympus, composed of counterparts to the chief deities.
There is the fiery Oscar (ud-scar, utter-cutter ?) a sort of wai'-god ;
Ossian, the poet and warrior, corresponding to Hercules Ogmius
Diarmad, of the shining face, a reflection of the sun god ; Caelte,
the wind-swift runner ; and so on.
The next question is as to the transmission and formation of
these mythic tales. Oral tradition is evidently continuous, and is
tlius unlike literature and history. They are fixed with the times;
but popular tales and traditions are like a stream moving along,
and, if we fancy the banks are the centuries and years, with their
tale of facts and incidents, then naturally enough the stream will
carry with it remembrances of its previous, more especially of its
immediately previous, history. Hence it is that though these tales
are old as the source of time, yet they are new and fresh because
they get tinged with the life they have just come through. Hence
we may meet with the old heroes fighting against the Norsemen,
though the Norsemen appear late in the history of the people.
The Irish literature takes us back over a thousand years at
least, and it shows us very clearly how a heroic literature does
arise. The earliest Irish literatui'o is of this nature. Tlie
narrative is in prose, but the speeches and sayings of the
chief characters are put in verse. That is the general outline of
the literary method. Of course all the speeches are not in verse;
descriptive speeches are often not. Narrative, too, may appear in
verse, especially as a snmtnai-y of a foregoing ])rose recital. It is
a niistak(! to think that the oldest liteiaturo was in verse. Narra-
tive and veise always go togetiiei' in the oldest forms. P>iit
as time goes on and contact with dther literatures exists, the
;