The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1859-11-17
No. 672.

priests to read them for the instruction Of the
common people on festivals and sacred oc
casions.
80, too, among the Druds-of whom, per
haps, 1t is proper to premise few things. Tur
ner, In his History OF the Apglo-Saxons, writes
thus:
The Druidical order consisted of three sorts
OF men : Druids, Bards, and Ouates The Bards
were the poets and musicians, of whom some
were Satirists and some Encomiasts. The
Ouates sacrificed OWNED, and contemplated
the nature Of things. The Druids cultivated
physiology and moral philosophy; or, as Dodo
rus says, were their philosophers and histo
rians."
This complicated system, however, was not
the primitive Druidisn, but was introduced by
those priests of the order, who, by intercourse
with the Continent, acquired many of the re.
fined habits of thought and discrimination
consequent upon the rapid advance of Roman
CIVILIZATION. The primitive religion of the
britons was rude IN the extreme, yet, such as
1t was, 1t commanded the reverence of the peo-
pie, and exempted its ministers from MANY
burdens. Excited by such advantages, many
voluntarily submitted themselves to the Druidi
cal discipline, and others were sent bv thoir
friends and relatives. "They were said to
learn great number Of rerses there so thd
some remained t'centy years under the educo
ftoR.' These verses embraced the Fundamental
doctrines OF Druidism, and, indeed, the whole
religious belief of the Britons. They were
often recited to the people, who by hearing
them, were confirmed and strengthened in the
religion of their forefathers
The reader must acknowledge the resem
blance between these religious customs of en-
urely different nations to be very evident
Looking at the most antique monuments Of
Copuc, Gothic, and Celtic literature, we FIND
not only the same subject treated of, but also
the same use made of the subject. And this
not only proves our point--that poetry is Of an
hqulty above all prose - but makes clear
another and greater truth. For it is remarka
| BILE that the primeval records of nations his
tory are found in its religious compositions, anC
Its first intellectual effort is to comprehend tn,
| great truths of the universe. We see the hanC
of God in all things and in nothing is it mor
manifest than in the divine workings Of the hu
man soul, which, however rude and unlearned
still forms some idea of the attributes of Deity
and erects some altar, uniformed and uncoutI
though i: be, at which it can offer sacrifice anC
prayer. Whilst contemplating this proof of al
overruling and divine providence, one canno
but pity the folly and blindness of those in on
day, who, denying the existence Of a God anC
the immortality OF the soul, live in worse thar
Epicurean darkness-when even the Pagan
could say, Sant enm c terra homines non u
tncote ct habitores sed quasi spectatores supera
rum rernm atque ceiestium."
A further examination Of the Morse ltera
ture is not necessary, for what little has beer
lnstanced is sufficient to establish our point
But we cannot refrain here from calling at
tention to the similarity of the Eddaic to tn,
ancient Homeric or heroic verse, the oldes
national verse Of Greece. The learned anti
quarian. Finn Magnusen, first pointed out thi
resemblance, and although at first sight it ma
appear improbable, yet either the Greek o
Latin heameter, by decomposition, makes
perfect lcelandic narrative verse. Indeed
Rask, in his Anglo Saxon grammar, says tina
the hexameter seems to be merely some
what, though very little, restricted variety o
the freer, rougher, and probably elder, form ex
! hibited iii the narrative verse.