on appearances so obvious and natural, that they must necessarily occur to all observers, who have had an opportunity of beholding them and it may be remarked, that Ossian had, at least, as many opportunities of seeing a rock beat by the waves of the sea as Virgil. After all, the only common traits, in the two similes, are the "foam" and the "roaring of the waves."

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SECTION VII.

Alleged Imitations of sacred Scripture considered.Rhyme occurring in Ossian.-Proof of the Use of Rhyme, in Wales, before the Twelfth Century, from Giraldus Cambrensis.—Conclusion of Remarks on Mr Laing's Criticism.

MR LAING, in proof of Mr Macpherson's being the author of these poems, has adduced a long list of supposed imitations of the style and imagery of sacred Scripture. And here, indeed, it must be acknowledged, that we find certain coincidences much more strongly marked than those which we have been lately considering. But is not this just what might have been expected,—that Ossian, living in an early period, and in a simple state of society, should abound in

that boldness of imagery, which particularly characterizes the earlier writers of every country? Dr Blair, who, it will probably be allowed, notwithstanding the sneer of Mr Laing,* was as well entitled to lay down canons of criticism as any man, since the days of Quintilian, has observed, "that Ori"ental poetry might be termed, with the "same propriety, Occidental, as it is charac"teristic rather of an age, than of a country, "and, in some measure, belongs to all na❝tions, in a rude and early state." Hence, accordingly, it is, that, in figurativeness of expression, and abruptness of transition, the style of Ossian bears a greater affinity to that of Moses, and Solomon, and Homer, than to that of Virgil or Ovid.

It is on this principle, without having recourse to imitation, that we may easily account for the slight resemblance that is to

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be found in the Queen of Sheba's address to

Solomon, and Ossian's " Happy are thy "people, O Fingal; thou art the first in "their danger; the wisest in the days of "their peace." The parallelisms, between some passages in the Song of Solomon and those cited from Ossian, are also striking, and one of them is pointed out by Mr Macpherson himself;-a certain indication of the light in which he considered them. But, if we examine these parallelisms attentively, we shall find, that they all consist of images borrowed from common and obvious objects; as, "the roe and the hart;" "the passing off "of the storm, or of the winter, or of rain." Will any person say, that, because Solomon has employed these images, they could not occur to the poet of another country, not dissimilar to Palestine in its scenery, and in its natural productions? Must Ossian be charged with plagiarism, when he says, "I "will bring thee to my father's house;" be

cause Solomon had said, "I will bring thee "to my mother's house?" Because the King of Israel, in describing female beauty, selects those traits which, in every age, and in every country, have been deemed the constituents of beauty, must Ossian, if he pretends to speak of female loveliness, be of a different taste from Solomon, and Homer, and Anacreon, and make beauty consist in something else than what was ever accounted beautiful before?

In the description of Cuchullin's car, Mr Laing recognizes Solomon's chariot, and Ovid's chariot of the sun. That the Caledonians, of that period, had their cars, we know from the testimony of Greek and Roman history. But, I fancy, it will be a difficult matter to identify Solomon's "bottom "of gold, his covering of purple, and paving " of love," with Ossian's "seat of bone, and "the bottom the footstool of heroes;" or that of Ovid's " golden pole, his chryso