ON THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE POEMS OF OSSIAN; IN WHICH THE OBJECTIONS OF MALCOLM LAING, Esq. ARE PARTICULARLY CONSIDERED AND REFUTED. BY PATRICK GRAHAM, D.D. MINISTER OF ABERFOYLE. TO WHICH IS ADDED AN ESSAY ON THE MYTHOLOGY OF OSSIAN'S POEMS, BY PROFESSOR RICHARDSON OF GLASGOW COLLEGE. EDINBURGH: Printed by James Ballantyne & Co. FOR PETER HILL, ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE AND CO. AND WILLIAM HUNTER, EDINBURGH; BRASH AND REID, GLASGOW ; LONDON. 1807. TO HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF ATHOLL, PRESIDENT, AND THE OTHER NOBLEMEN AND GENTLEMEN OF THE HIGHLAND SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND, THE PROPER PATRONS OF CELTIC LITERATURE, THIS ESSAY ON THE POEMS OF OSSIAN IS MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR. REGIA INTRODUCTION. IT T may appear to many, that the endurance of the public has been long ago exhausted, by the disquisitions which have been offered concerning the æra of the poems ascribed to Ossian. To many persons, it has appeared to be a matter of little consequence whether these poems are to be considered as ancient or modern; whether they are to be regarded as the production of |