485
AN ENQUIRY INTO THE RELIGION
OF THE FIRST INHABITANTS OF GREAT BRITAIN.
In the infancy of ftates,
as in the infancy of man, illustrious actions are always rare. It
is not till after the lapfe of ages that the arts and fciences
attain any degree of perfection. It is the fame with hiftorians,
they are only to be found in civilized nations; and if fome facts
have reached us which took place in the firft ages of the world,
they are generally exaggerated, or disfigured by uncertain traditions.
We have already obferved,
that every people affumed for their founder fome imaginary
god or hero. We have feen the Greeks endeavoring to throw
a veil over their origin, whilft even their fables (thofe
incoherent compounds of their me-mory and imagination) became evidences
in favour of truth. The name of a god, of a city, of a country, of
a mountain, of a cuftom which they were ignorant of before, and
which they were obliged to exprefs by fome foreign appellation,
are the veftiges which Truth leaves behind her,
486
and which all the efforts of vanity and felf
love can never totally efface.
In the general picture
which we have endea-voured to draw, for the purpofe of explaining
the origin of idolatry and mythology in general, it may be perceived that
the eaftern nations were the firft who peopled the earth.
The more atten-tively we examine hiftory, the more convinced we
become, that thefe rich and beautiful countries were the original
feats of our forefathers, and
the brilliant centre from whence the arts and
fciences
were diffufed over the reft of the globe. It would
be much more difficult, and perhaps even impossi-ble, to tell at what time
and in what manner the Britifh ifles were firft inhabited.
The ftudy of natural hiftory inclines us to believe, that
they conftituted formerly part of the continent of Europe, but neither
tradition nor any human record can give up the leaft information
concerning the period of this feparation. It is fufficient
to extend our remarks to thofe of which we have fome knowledge,
without ufelefsly and prefumptuoufly lofing
ourfelves in the epochs of imagination. In vain does human
vanity attempt to give greater antiquity to time, its longeft periods
will be no more than an imperceptible point in the midft of that
eternity which precedes and will follow them. Without pretending to fix
the exact time when England was firft peopled, we may with probability
487
fuppofe that the different countries
of the Gauls were inhabited before that period. It is natural to
imagine that men would not venture to crofs the fea, and
take up their refidence in iflands, till com-pelled by the
too great increafe of population. We know that the Celts were
mafters of Europe, from the mouth of the Oby in Ruffia, to
Cape Finifterre. The fame language fpoken
by nations
feparated from each other by immenfe tracts of
land is fufficient proof of this, but it throws no light upon the
beginning of their hiftory.
The moft famous of
all the Celtic nations were thofe who inhabited the countries of
Gaul, and it is to the hiftorians of the nations with whom they
were engaged in frequent wars, that they are in-debted for their celebrity.
Julius Cæsar and Tacitus fay, that Great-Britain was the firft
coun-try peopled by the Celtic Gauls. The fituation or the
refpective places renders this opinion probably, and the conformity
of language and cuftoms which exifted between the Britons
and the Gauls, leaves no doubt concerning this origin. It may be
fup-pofed,
that the Gaulifh colony firft fettled in that part
of the ifland which was oppofite to their own country, from
whence extending themfelves by degrees, they afterwards peopled
the whole ifland. Whatever be the origin of the inhabitants
of Great Britain, they were fufficiently numerous, and ef-pecially
fufficiently
courageous to refift the Ro-
488
mans, when mafters of the whole known world
befides. Their government was at that time a mixture of monarchy
and ariftocracy. The chiefs fuperintended the execution
of the laws, but the legiflative power was lodged in the hands of
the druids. Thefe priefts, fo celebrated for
their own divinations, and that of their wives, for their pre-tended intercourfe
with heaven, and for their man-ner of living, which was folitary
and auftere, were regarded by the people as the infallible organs
of the Divinity. It was by the command of thefe fovereign
pontiffs that the people united under one chief, whofe office, like
that of the Roman dictator, lafted no longer that was neceffary
to repel danger or terminate a war.
The druids preferved
this extenfive authority a long time among the Celts, particularly
in Great Britain, but after the fecond century their credit declined
faft. Wars became frequent, and the nobility carried away
by their impetuous courage, were no longer folicitous to enter in
this order. The number of priefts diminifhed, and precepts
of religion were quickly corrupted, or nearly forgot-ten in the tumults
of a camp. Victory, by favour-ing thofe chiefs, who were called
Vergobrets (a title equal to that of king) rendered them more independent
of the druids.
Tremnor, great grandfather
of the celebrated Fingal, having been elected vergobret by the vic-
489
torious tribes which he had led to battle, the
druids fent a deputation to him, defiring him to lay down
his authority. A refufal on the part of Tremnor brought on
a civil war, in which a great number of the druids perifhed.
Thofe who efcaped
the
flaughter, fled and con-cealed themfelves in the depth
of the forefts and in caverns, where they ufed to retire
to purfue their meditations, and the vergobrets, or kings, then
took the whole authority into their own hands. However, the kings
and heads of tribes to give ftability to their power, to fhow
their refpect for religion, and to have fome to celebrate
their ex-ploits, recalled the bards from their folitary retreat.
The office of the inferior clafs of druids was to fing the
praifes of gods and heroes. Conquerors, emulous of immortalizing
their names, fpared thefe difpenfers of glory,
invited them to their camp, and gratitude animating the poetry of the bards,
they defcribed their protectors as heroes poffeffed
of every virtue. Thefe difciples of the druids were
admitted to the
fcience and myfteries of their preceptors.
Their talents and knowledge gave them a fuperiority over the vulgar.
They em-ployed their poetical abilities in defcribing every virtue
and every heroic fentiment. Kings eagerly endeavoured to imitate
the heroes of their favourite poems; chieftains of tribes ftrove
to follow their example; and this noble emulation being commu-
490
nicated throughout the whole nation, formed that
general character of the inhabitants of Great Britain, who, to the noble
courage which dignifies a free nation, have ever united the moft
engaging virtues of civilized fociety.
The glory of a great
people roufes the genius of the man poffeffed by nature
of fenfibility and a lively imagination; he burns with a
defire of im-mortalizing his country. Common language ap-pears
unequal to the actions he means to celebrate; metre and harmony he knows
will more eafily imprefs his fubject upon the memory.
This un-doubtedly gave the rife to poetry in every nation; and this
art conftituted part of the religion of the druids. The cuftom,
common in every nation, of repeat-ing hiftorical poems on folemn
occafions, and of teaching them to their children, was fufficient
to preferve them for a long time without the affiftance
of writing. The Germans have tranfmitted thefe poetical
traditions for eight hundred years; it is not aftonifhing
then, that the inhabitants of Great Britain, ever fo much attached
to the memory of their anceftors, fhould have handed down
from generation to generation the poems of their bards. It was this
cuftom, preferved among the moft diftant inhabitants
of the mountains, which enabled Mr. Macpherfon to collect the poetry
of the celebrated Offian.
The bards, after having
long been the principal
491
inftructors and hiftorians of their
country, defcend-ed from thefe high functions to become the
flatterers of thofe who protected them, or the flanderers
of thofe whom they regarded as their enemies.
Little paffions
have always the pernicious pro-perty of mifleading and even extinguifhing
genius.
The bards, in forgetting
the noble infpirations of their predeceffors, retained no
other power than that of amufing or flattering the vain. They
foon
loft all their importance with the great, and the multitude alone
deigned to receive them favourably.
No longer poffeffed
of the talent which renders virtue engaging, they invented fables of enchanted
caftles, of dwarfs, &c. The fober truths of hiftory
gave place to the marvellous fictions of romance. The abufe
of this talent brought the bards into contempt; the people themfelves
grew weary of them and they difappeared. The warlike hero,
however, was not forgetful of his valour, he would not renounce the flattering
advantage of hearing the celebration of his exploits. Courage, and
the noble defire of fuccouring the oppreffed, and
redreffing their wrongs, produced that fpirit of chivalry
which gave birth to prodigies of hero-ifm. Illuftrious
actions awakened the genius of a clafs of men who came to replace
the bards, under the name of Troubadours. This appears to be the
period from which we muft date the com-
492
mencement of thofe books of chivalry fo
extraor-dinary and yet fo full of charms, that even now they excite
our admiration. In reading them it is neceffary to recollect,
that to pleafe they muft poffefs probability,
for it is only by imitating na-ture that art can pleafe. What
idea then ought we to entertain of thofe knights they were intended
to defcribe? In the romance of the round table, of St. Greal,
of Amadis, &C. reafon will ever teach us to refcind what
appears to be merely mar-vellous, but the noble and the brave will never
call in queftion the prodigies atchieved by valour. It is
remarkable that England is generally made the theatre of chivalry by the
Troubadours, and ancient writers of that defcription. We muft
likewife take notice that all hiftorians, after defcribing
the druids as priefts much fuperior to thofe of all
other nations,
agree in giving the druids of England a fuperiority
over all others. They extol thofe of the college of Chartres,
thofe of the foreft of Mar-feilles, thofe in
the environs of Thouloufe, but they all add, that when any in thefe
colleges were found to poffefs great talents, they were fent
to finifh their inftruction among the druids of Britain.
The refult of thefe obfervations is, that from the
moft diftant periods, the inhabitants of Great Bri-tain have ever
excited the admiration of furround-ing nations, by their wifdom,
learning and courage.
493
RELIGIOUS OPINIONS OF THE FIRST
INHABI-TANTS OF GREAT BRITAIN.
It appears certain that the
original Bri-tons erected no temple to the Divinity. Nay we find
in the poems of Offian, that fublime bard ex-preffing
his contempt for the temples and worfhip of Odin, god of the Scandinavians,
whom he calls Loda. Offian reprefents thefe
people as invoking their god round a ftatue, which he calls the
ftone
of power. He reprobates this worfhip, and con-fiders
it as impious. The druids, bards, and the people whom they inftructed,
regarded all nature as the temple of the divinity. That they had
notions of a Supreme Being cannot be doubted, fince they believed
in the immortality of the foul, and in the rewards and punifhments
of the future life. Their opinion was, that the clouds were the habitation
of fouls after their feparation from the body. The
brave and virtuous were received with joy into the aërial palaces
of their fathers, whilft the wicked, the cowardly and the cruel,
were excluded the abode of heroes, and con-demned to wander, the fport
of every wind. There were different manfions in the palaces
of the clouds; the principal of which were affigned to merit and
courage; and this idea was a great incitement to the emulation of their
warriors. The
494
foul always preferved the fame
paffions which it poffeffed during life; thefe
aërial palaces offered no other enjoyment than what they had preferred
when living. They fuppofed that winds and ftorms
were under the direction of departed fpirits, but their power never
extended over men. A hero could not be admitted into the palace of
his fathers, unlefs the bards had fung his funeral hymn.
This hymn appears to have been the only effential cere-mony of their
funerals. The body was extended on a bed of clay, at the bottom of
a grave fix or eight feet deep. At the head of a warrior they
placed his fword and twelve arrows; the corpfe was covered
with a fecond body of clay, and upon this they laid the horns of
a ftag, of fome other wild beaft. Sometimes
they killed his favourite dog, to lay on this fecond body of clay;
the whole was then covered with fine mould, and four ftones marked
the extend of the tomb.
None but a bard could open
the gates of the aërial palaces, which he did by chanting the funeral
hymn. Neglect of this ceremony left the foul in the exhalations
of the lake Lego, of from
other, and to thefe unhappy fouls
they attributed the diforders arifing from the vapour of
lakes or marfhes, which are fo frequent and fometimes
even mortal. We may fee with what care the druids encouraged
opinions which rendered their miniftry fo confoling
and
fo neceffary. Death was not fuppofed
to have
495
the power of diffolving the ties of blood.
The fhades of the dead took part in the happy or unfortunate events
of their friends. No nation had fo implicit a belief in apparitions.
The moun-taineers, in particular, feeming to take pleafure
in their gloomy ideas, frequently paffed whole nights upon a heath;
the whiftling of the wind, or the noife of torrents, made
them imagine they heard the voice of the dead, and if furprifed
by fleep in the midft of thefe reveries, they regarded
their dreams as certain prognoftics of futurity. Good and
bad fpirits did not appear in the fame manner, the good fhowed
themfelves to their friends during the day in retired pleafant
valleys, the bad were never feen but at night in the midft
of winds and tempefts. Neither did death deftroy the
charms of the fair. The fhades of thefe preferved
their original form and beauty. No terror accompanied them; when
they traverfed the air, all their motions were graceful, and the
gentle noife of their ap-proach had fomething in it pleafing
and encourag-ing. At the moment of executing any great enterprize,
the imagined that the
fouls of their fathers defcended from
the clouds to fortel their good and ill fuccefs: and when
they did not appear, gave them notice at leaft by
fome omen.
Every man thought he had his tutelar fhade, who always attended
him. When death approached, this guar-dian fpirit fhowed
itfelf to him in the pofition in which
496
he was to die, and fent forth plaintive
cries of forrow. On the death of a great perfonage,
they were perfuaded that the fouls o departed bards fung
round his phantom during three whole nights. It was a received opinion
among them, that the moment a warrior ceafed to exift, the
arms in his houfe were covered with blood; that his
fpectre
went to vifit the place of his birth, and that it ap-peared to his
dogs, which fet up difmal yells at the fight of it.
It was to thefe
fpirits
they attributed the major part of natural effects. If echo ftruck
the ear, it was the fpirit of the mountain they heard. The
hollow
found of the tempeft, was the roaring of the fpirit
of the hill. Did the harp of the bard re-ceive a vibration from the
wind, it was the
fhades, who by this gentle touch announced the
death of fome diftinguifhed character. No king
nor chief refigned his breath, but this prophetic
found was
rendered by the harps of the bards belonging to his family. We feel
how confoling it muft have appeared to people all nature
with the
fhades of their friends and anceftors, by whom they
fuppofed
themfelves conftantly
furrounded. Notwithftand-ing
all the melancholy which muft accompany
fuch an idea, we
are fenfible how interefting and pleafing it
muft have been.
It was fufficient
to engage and fill the imagina-tion; and it is undoubtedly to this caufe
we muft
497
attribute the fmall number of divinities
which were honoured among the ancient Britons; it appears even certain
that they only acquired a knowledge of Elus, Dis, Pluto, Samothes, Teutates
and other deities, by means of their intercourfe with foreign nations.
The Picts and Saxons introduced among them their Andate, goddefs
of victory. The Romans likewife made them acquainted with
fome
of their divinities.
We are affured
by Tacitus and Dion Caffius, that the Gauls firft brought
into England the horrid cuftom of facrificing human victims.
By ex-tending our refearches farther, we might difcover likewife
veftiges of the Phœnician worfhip; for every thing leads
us to conclude, that in the ear-lieft ages of the world, thefe
firft of navigators known brought their merchandize into Britain,
which they exchanged for tin. But we fhall enter no farther
into particulars concerning thofe reli-gious ceremonies which they
derived from foreign nations, fince every hiftory, tradition
and cuftom proves, in the moft convincing manner, that the
religion of the Druids alone was univerfally adopted.
We fhall now
lay before our readers the moft authentic information concerning
thefe celebrated men, which we can collect from hiftory or
tradition.
498
OF THE DRUIDS.
The accounts of Cæsar
and Tacitus con-tradict each other; the former faying, that the
religion of the Druids had its birth in England; and the latter, that the
Gauls when they peopled this ifland introduced it amongft
them. "To reconcile thefe two authors (fays the Abbé
Banier) we may fuppofe, that the Gauls when they came into
Britain brought with them their religion, but that the iflanders,
more ftudious and lefs engaged in foreign wars than the Gauls
were, preferved it in its greateft purity; this (he adds)
was the reafon of that profound refpect in which the Druids
of Gaul held thofe of Britain, whom they regarded as confiderably
their fuperiors in knowledge. The world (continued Mr. l'
Abbé Banier) originally formed but one family, and had only one
faith, but when they became difperfed they corrupted the
purity of their primitive reli-gion: fome directing their courfe
by land towards the north, under the names of Scythians, Celto-Scythians
and Celts, peopled thofe vaft countries which feparate
us from Afia; others more bold, braved all the dangers of the ocean.
"Hiftory proves
that the Phœnicians and Carth-ginians penetrated into the moft remote
parts of the weft; hence no doubt, that refemblance be-
499
tween the religions of nations divided by fo
many
feas and countries."
This account of Mr.
l'Abbé Banier clearly ex-plains the parallel which had been fo
often drawn between the Magi and the Druids; it proves that the Gauls derived
their religion from the Perfians, or at leaft from thofe
nations which approached their country towards the north. The Magi
and the Druids, both equally refpected in their diffe-rent countries,
were always confulted in matters of great importance. They
were their only religious minifters. The Magi rejected the
opinion which attributes to the gods a human origin; nor did they diftinguifh
them into gods and goddeffes; it was exactly the
fame with
the Druids. Both governed the ftate, and were confulted
even by forvereigns. Their white vests refembled each
other, and both were equally forbid the ufe of ornaments of gold.
The difpenfers and protectors of Juftice, they pro-nounced
fentence,
and carefully infpected the con-duct of thofe whom they appointed
to affift them in the difcharge of this important
function. The immortality of the foul was the principal point
of belief among both the Perfians and Gauls; nei-ther of them erected
either temples or ftatues. The Perfians worfhipped
fire; the Druids main-tained a perpetual fire in their forefts.
The Per-fians paid their adoration to water; the Gauls ren-dered
divine honours to the fame element. From
500
thefe refemblances we may reafonably
conclude, that the religion of the Magi and that of the Druids had both
the fame origin. The difference we find between them may have
arifen from the different caufes of war, diftance
and time. The religion of the Gauls appears to have always been more
pure than that of other nations; their ideas of the divinity were more
juft, and more rational than thofe of the Greeks and Romans.
Tacitus, Maximus of Tyre, and other hiftorians inform us, that the
Druids were perfuaded that the Supreme Being muft be adored
in
filence, and with veneration as well as with facrifices.
But this original fimplicity no longer exifted, even before
the Roman conqueft. The Druids forgetting their former wifdom,
addicted themfelves to divinations and magic, tolerating the horrid
practice of facrificing hu-man victims to Æfus and
Teutates. Tacitus, Lactantius, and Lucan atteft this barbarous
de-pravity.
The conqueft
of Julius Cæsar introduced new divinities among the Gauls, and they
then firft erected temples, whilft the Druids of Britain
continued the exercife of their ancient religion in the heart of
their forefts, whofe folemn fhades infpired
religious awe. So facred were woods among them, that it was
forbid to cut them down; they could not be approached but with veneration,
and for the purpofe of crowning
501
them with garlands and trophies. There were
certain trees which could not be applied to com-mon ufes, even though
they fell with age. This refpect arofe from the fublime
idea they enter-tained of the divinity; they were perfuaded, that
temples could not contain him, nor ftatues repre-fent him.
The Gauls likewife had the higheft ve-neration for lakes
and marfhes, becaufe they fup-pofed them the
favourite abode of the divinity. The moft celebrated of thefe
lakes was that of Thouloufe, into which they threw gold and filver
which had been taken from the enemy. They likewife worfhipped
rivers, rivulets, fountains, and fire. The Gauls had in the middle
of their forefts void fpaces, confecrated to religion
and religious ceremonies. It was here they buried the treafures
taken from the enemy, and here they facrificed their prifoners;
fometimes
they enclofed them in a coloffal ftatue of willow,
and furrounding them with combuftible matter, confumed
them with fire. Cæsar caufed thefe retreats to
be pillaged by his troops, from whence ill-informed hiftorians have
concluded that the ancient Gauls had temples. "The only temple of
thefe people (says Tacitus) if a foreft, where they
performed the duties of their religion." None can enter thefe
woods unlefs he wear a chain, the fymbol of his dependence
on the Almighty, and of the fupreme power which the divinity has
over him. Nothing is more celebrated
502
in the hiftory of the ancient Gauls than
the forefts of the country of Chartres. The forefts
of Thouloufe and Marfeilles were almoft equally famous.
In thefe folitary
retirements were held the fchools of the Gaulifh Druids.
Chartres was in fome manner the metropolis of the Gauls; but thefe
three colleges all agreed in acknow-ledging their inferiority to the Druids
of Britain in fcience and wifdom.
THE DIFFERENT CLASSES OF THE
DRUIDS, THEIR MANNERS OF LIVING, THEIR DRESS AND FUNCTIONS.
The word Druid is undoubtedly
derived from the Celtic word deru, which fignifies an oak.
The minifters
were divided into different claffes. The Druids compofed
the firft; they were the fupreme chiefs, and fo much
were thofe that followed them their inferiors, and fo great
the refpect which the latter paid them, that they were obliged to
depart when the Druids ap-peared, and till they had obtained permiffion
could not remain in their prefence. The inferior minifters
were the Bards, Sarronides, and Eubages, or Vates.
The Bards (whofe
name in the Celtic lan-guage fignifies a finger) celebrated the
actions of the heroes in verfes, which they fung and accompanied
503
upon the harp. In fuch high eftimation
were their verfes held, that they were fufficient to immorta-lize.
Thefe Bards, though inferior to the Druids in power, enjoyed fo
great a reputation, that if they prefented themfelves at
the moment two ar-mies were upon the point of engaging, or even if the
action was already begun, each party laid down their arms to liften
to their propofitions. They did not confine themfelves
to pronouncing the eulogium of heroes; they had likewife the right
to cenfuring the actions of individuals who fwerved from
their duty.
The Sarronides inftructed
the youth, and in-fpired them with virtuous fentiments.
The Eubages or Vates had the care of facrifices, and applied themfelves
to the contemplation of nature; but afterwards the Druids referved
to themfelves alone all religious functions, and the fubaltern
minifters had then no employ but what they practifed by permiffion
of the Druids. The origin of thefe pontiffs is loft
in the remote periods of antiquity.
By Ariftotle, Solon,
and many others before them, the Druids are defcribed as the wifeft
and moft enlightened of men in matters of religion. So great
was the idea entertained of their know-
ledge, that Cicero ftyles them the firft
inventors of Mythology. The Druids concealed in forefts, there
led the moft auftere lives. It was here na-
504
tions came to confult them; and Julius
Cæsar, who in general admired only the fplendid vir-tues,
could not refufe them the tribute of his efteem, fo
much was he aftonifhed at their man-ner of living and their
knowledge. There were feveral colleges of the Druids in the
different countries of the Gauls, and we have already faid, that
the moft celebrated of all was that in the country of Chartres.
The chief of this college was fovereign pontiff of all the Gauls.
It was in the forefts of this country that they performed the moft
folemn
facrifices,
and here affembled the grandees of the country, and the legiflative
bodies. Next to the college of Chartres, that of Marfeilles
was the moft confiderable. Nothing was more famous
than the foreft of that country, and Lucan infpires a fort
of religious terror when he defcribes the manner in which it was
cut down by order of Cæsar. The Druids, both young and old,
had the fame privileges, and obferved the fame rules.
Their drefs, however, varied in fome refpects, according
to their different pro-vinces and the rank they occupied.
The ceremony of being
admitted into this order confifted in receiving the embrace
of the old Druids. The candidate, after this, quitted the common
drefs to inveft himfelf with that of the Druids, which
was a coat reaching to the middle of the leg. This drefs was
the mark of prieft-
505
hood, to which women could never be admitted.
The authority of the Druids was fo extenfive, that no affair
of importance was undertaken without confulting them. They
prefided over the national councils, directed war or peace as they
pleafed, punifhed the guilty, and could even depofe
kings and magiftrates when they acted contrary to the laws of the
country. Their rank was fuperior to that of the nobles.
To their power every thing yielded. It was they who were entrufted
with the education of the moft illuftrious youth, fo
that fentiments of veneration for the Druids were in-ftilled
into them from their earlieft infancy. To thefe priefts
belonged the right of annually ap-pointing the magiftrates who were
to prefide over the cities; they could raife one of thefe
magif-trates to the dignity of vergobret, which was equal to that
of king. But this pretended king could do nothing without the confent
of the Druids; they alone could convoke the national council, fo
that the vergobrets were in reality only the principal fubjects
of the Druids. Supreme arbiters of all the differences, of all the
interefts of the people, juftice was only to be obtained
through their miniftry. They decided equally in public and
in private affairs. When in a face before them, they adjudged the
difputed property to him whom they deemed the lawful proprietor,
his advefary was obliged to fubmit, or he was
506
loaded with Anathemas, and from that time could
offer no facrifice; the whole nation regarded him as a monfter
of impiety, with whom it was forbid to hold any communication.
To the Druids was entrufted
whatever concerned religion, and this gave them an unlimited power.
Sacrifice, offerings, prayers publick and private, the fcience of
predicting futurity, the care of confulting the gods, of anfwering
in their name, of ftudying nature, the right of eftablifhing
new ceremonies and laws, and of enforcing the execution of thofe
already eftablifhed, or of re-forming them, fuch were
the functions, and fuch the unbounded authority which thefe
priefts en-joyed without controul. Their duty exempted them
from
ferving in war, or paying any publick impofts.
The number who afpired to this order was prodigious, and it was
open to all ranks and profeffions, but great difficulties attended
their admiffion from the length of the noviciate, and the indifpenfable
obligation they were under to learn and retain by memory, the amazing number
of verfes which contained their maxims of religion and political
Government. The Gaulifh women could formerly be admitted to
the rank of Druid-effes, and they then enjoyed all the prerogatives
of the order, but they exercifed their functions fe-parately
from the men. Their divinations ren-
507
dered them more famous even than the Druids themfelves.
When Hannibal paffed
through their country they ftill enjoyed the moft diftinguifhed
employ-ments, for it was ftipulated in a treaty which he made with
the Gauls, that, if a Carthaginian fhould in any refpect
injure a Gaul, the caufe fhould be tried and determined by
the Gaulifh women. They were afterwards deprived of this authority
by the Druids, but the period when they were firft al-lowed to practife
it is unknown.
DOCTRINE OF THE DRUIDS, THEIR
SUPERSTITION, CEREMONY OF THE MISLETOE OF THE OAK.
All the doctrine of the Druids
tended to render men wife, juft, valiant, and religious.
The fundamental points of this doctrine were reduced to three, adore the
gods, do injury to none, be brave. "The object of their fcience
(fays Pompo-nius Mela) was to attain a knowledge of the form and
majefty of the Divine Being, and the courfe and revolutions
of the ftars; they pretended to be ac-quainted with the conftruction
of the whole univerfe. and the retirement in which they lived certainly
left them at full liberty to purfue their enquiries. That
the Druid and Gauls confidered the foul as immortal admits
of no doubt, it was their per-fuafion of this dogma alone,
which made them
508
regard death as the certain means of arriving
at a more happy ftate. They made a great diftinction
between thofe who died peaceably furrounded by their friends
and relations, and thofe who nobly died in the fervice of
their country. The former were interred without ceremony, without
eulogium, without the fongs compofed in honour of the dead:
but warriors were believed to furvive them-felves; their
names were tranfmitted to future generations, and they were received
into the bofoms of the Divinity, there to tafte a never-ceafing
hap-pinefs: they alone were honoured with tombs and epitaphs; but
the dogma of the immortality of the foul was not on that account
lefs general; this opinion can never admit of a divifion,
and that the Druids profeffed it is evident; they only re-garded
as condemned to perpetual oblivion thofe whofe lives had
been rendered illuftrious by no brilliant or warlike action, nor
by any act of pub-lick utility. This cuftom was founded on
the martial genius of the Gauls, and other Celtic nations, who efteemed
nothing fo much as the pro-feffion of arms. The Druids
taught, that all things would one day be deftroyed by fire or water.
They believed in tranfmigration, which they could never have learned
from Pythagoras, as it confti-tuted part of their doctrine before
philofophy found its way into the Gauls. From time immemorial
they had adopted the cuftom of burying the dead,
509
or of preferving their afhes in
urns. They depofited in the tombs the arms of the dead, their
valuable furniture, and an account of the money which was due to them.
They even wrote letters to their friends after their deceafe; they
firmly believed that all letters thrown into the tombs of the dead would
arrive at their place of deftination.
The Druids communicated verbally
their fcience and doctrines to the candidates for that office, whofe
noviciate was extremely long. Thefe maxims and fciences
were never reduced to writing, they were delivered in verfe, and
it was neceffary to retain them by memory; thefe verfes
were fo numerous, that fif-teen and even twenty years were required
to learn and retain them. "This (fays Julius Cæsar)
rendered the doctrine of the Druids fo myfterious, that it
was im-poffible to attain a knowledge of it." The Druids likewife
cultivated the fcience of medicine, and the moft implicit
confidence was placed in their judgement, as the people were perfuaded
they knew the influence of the ftars, and could look forward into
futurity. Thefe fages, at firft fo re-puted,
and fo worthy of that refpect, concluded by giving into aftrology,
magic and divination, hoping by thefe means to encreafe their
credit and authority, as they had perceived that the people were more delighted
with the marvellous than with the truth. They had
fome knowledge
of botany, but they mixed fo many fuperfitious practices
with their manner of collecting plants, that it was eafy
510
to perceive they were acquainted with a very fmall
number of them.
Pliny relates their
method of collecting the plant called in Latin felago; it muft
be plucked up with-out the ufe of an inftrument, and with
the right hand covered with part of the robe; the plant was then to be
fhifted
rapidly into the left hand, as if it had been ftolen: the perfon
col-lecting it muft be cloathed in white, have the feet bare, and
have previoufly offered a facrifice of bread and wine.
Vervain was collected before the rifing of the fun, on the
firft of the dog days, after having offered to the earth an expiating
facrifice,
in which fruit and honey were employed. This plant, when gathered
in the manner mentioned, they pretended poffeffed every virtue,
and was a fovereign re-medy for all diforders. It was
only neceffary to rub themfelves with this to obtain whatever
they defired. It had the power of reconfiling thofe
who were at enmity. Whoever could but touch this plant, felt their
hears inftantly enlivened with peace and joy. We muft
likewife rank among their
fuperftitions a perfuafion
they entertained, that on the death of illuftrious perfons
their fouls raifed up ftorms and tempefts.
The rolling of thunder, all the extraordinary and violent move-ments of
nature, all meteors announced, according to them, the death of fome
diftinguifhed character. The Druids took pride in fuffering
the opinion to
511
prevail, that they could at pleafure change
their forms, or tranfport themfelves into the regions of
the air; but the moft cruel of all their fuperftitious
practices, was that of facrificing human victims. This barbarous
cuftom could only be abolifhed by the extirpation of druidism
itfelf. That it exifted, the numerous edicts of the
Roman emperors to prevent it clearly prove.
The moft folemn
of all their ceremonies was that of gathering the mifletoe of the
oak. This parafitical plant grows alfo upon other trees,
but the Druids thought that the Divinity had principal-ly confided
fo
precious a thing to the oak. They traverfed the forefts
with
the greateft care in fearch of it, and congratulated each
other when, after painful refearches, they had been able to difcover
a certain quantity of it. This plant could only be collected in the
month of December, and the fixth day of the moon. This month
and the num-ber fix were facred among the Druids. It
was always the fixth day of the moon that they per-formed their
principal acts of religion. On the day appointed for the ceremony
of gathering of the mifletoe, they affembled
themfelves in the moft folemn
manner, and went in proceffion towards the place where the plant
was to be found. Two divines walked in front, finging hymns
and fongs of praife. A herald carrying a caduceus followed
thefe; then came three Druids bearing the inftru-
512
ments neceffary for the facrifice,
and laftly, the proceffion was clofed by the high
priefts, clothed in white, followed by an immense concourfe
of people. When they arrived at the foot of the tree, it was afcended
by the chief of the Druids, who cropped the mifletoe with a fmall
golden fcythe, when it was received by the Druids with the moft
profound veneration in the fagum (a fort of white garment);
on receiving it they facri-ficed two white bulls, and this was followed
by a feaft, at the conclufion of which they offered up prayers
to the Divinity that he would be pleafed to attach to this plant
a good fortune which fhould diffufe itfelf through
all thofe to whom it fhould be diftributed.
It was the firft
day of the year that they bleffed the mifletoe, and diftributed
it to the people.
OF THE DRUIDESSES.
We have already faid,
that the whole morality of the Druids was reduced to three prin-cipal points.
Honour the gods, injure none, and be courageous. How can thefe
fublime
maxims be reconciled with the opinion entertained by many, that they had
the right of life and death over their wives, children and
flaves"
"Paternal and domeftic authority (fays Mr. l' Abbé
Banier) was formed up-on no pofitive law, but only upon refpect
and love."
513
Julius Cæsar and Tacitus
dwell much upon the refpect which the Gauls and Germans entertained
for their wives. Thofe of the Druids participated in the authority
of their hufbands. They were confulted in queftions
concerning politics or reli-gion. Even fince the conquefts
of the Romans, there were temples erected among the Gauls where women only
officiated, and which men were forbid to enter. The Celts and Gauls
(fays Mr. Mallet, in his excellent introduction to the hiftory
of Denmark) fhowed themfelves much fuperior to the
eaftern nations, who pafs from adoration to contempt, from
fentiments
of idolatrous love to that of inhuman jealoufy, or of an indifference
more infulting than jealoufy.
The Celts confidered
their wives as equals and companions, whofe efteem and tendernefs
could only be nobly acquired by attention, generous con-duct, and acts
of courage and virtue.
The poems of Offian
prove, that the inhabitants of Britain have ever carried that refpect
and atten-tion as far as any nation in the world. Conftant
to the firft object of their choice, they never addicted themfelves
to polygamy, and the tender partner of their love frequently followed them
in difguife to the war.
During the brilliant
ages of chivalry we con-ftantly meet the fame manners and
the fame refpect for the female fex; this was increafed
by grati-
514
tude; for as foon as a knight was wounded,
the ladies eagerly preffed forwards to lend him their affiftance,
and almoft all were acquainted with the art of healing. However,
their attentions were not confined to this alone; during the time of convalefcence,
the charms of their converfation ferved to moderate the impetuous
courage of the knights, and the better to remind them of their duty they
read to them poems and romances, in which whatever heroifm could
effect was reduced to action. We think then there is great reafon
to doubt the truth of that opinion which gives the druids the horrible
right of abufing their power, and of oppreffing or even facrificing
the innocent and defenflefs. Thefe pontiffs
were certainly jealous of their authority, but it was fo great,
and fo perfectly eftablifhed, that there was no occafion
to act with cruelty in their families to maintain it.
Their empire was abfolute
over the people; none were fuperior to them; why then wantonly fill
with terror the companions who alone could give charms to their folitude,
the infants who were to tranfmit their names to pofterity,
and the flaves whofe bufinefs it was to forefee
and pro-vide for their neceffities? This opinion, if
at all true, can only allude to thofe times when the Druids and
Gauls were in their moft degraded ftate.
There exifted
three
forts of female Druids. The firft lived in a
ftate
of celibacy; the
fecond, though
515
married, refided in the temples, where
they offi-ciated, and faw their hufbands only one day in
the year; the third and laft lived conftantly with their
hufbands, and fuperintended the concerns of their families.
Notwithftanding
thefe diftinctions, the Druideffes in reality formed
but two claffes.
The firft was
compofed of priefteffes, and the fecond of
women who were fubordinate to them, and executed their orders.
The general refidence of the Druideffes was in the iflands
which border the coast of England and Gaul. The Druids likewife
inhabited fome of thefe, but never fuch as were occupied
by the female Druids. It was in thefe ifles that they
exercifed themfelves moft in magical practice.
The opinion that they could raife ftorms and tem-pefts
at pleafure, was common to both Gauls and Britons.
The reftlefs
curiofity of man efteems the art of feeing into futurity,
fuperior
to every other. The Druids, after having perfuaded the people
that they were acquainted with the influence of the ftars, and had
the gift of prophecy, abandoned almoft entirely this part of their
miniftry to their wives. Having
feen the refpect,
bordering on idolatry, with which the Gauls and Germans treated the female
fex,
they perceived that the perfuafions and predictions of their
wives would obtain much
516
more credit and confidence than their own.
To them they referred all queftions concerning futurity, and their
anfwers were fo fatifactory, that their reputation
fpread
over the whole world; they were confulted by people from every nation,
and a more implicit faith was placed in their decifions than thofe
of the Grecian and Italian oracles. They were frequently confulted
by the emperors when mafters of the Gauls.
Hiftory had preferved
feveral
of their anfwers, but makes no particular mention of thofe
of the Druids.
We fhall conclude
this article by giving the moft certain information we can collect
of the pe-riod when the office of both Druid and Druidefs was entirely
abolifhed.
Suetonius, Aurelius Victor,
and Seneca, main-tain, that it was under the emperor Claudius; but as it
fubfifted
long after that period, it fhould feem that they only fpoke
of human facrifices, which were abfolutely interdicted by
that emperor.
Druids and Druideffes
were ftill found in the country of Chartres till the middle of the
fifth century, and it appears certain that this order was not entirely
extinct till the time when Christianity completely triumphed over the fuperftition
of the Gauls, which in fome provinces did not happen till very late.
FINIS.
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