Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from Annual Burns Chronicle and Club Directory: Instituted 4th September, 1891
With respect to the Roman period itself, it is natural to expect that after three centuries of contact with the Romans the Celts should have been influenced in some form or other by the dominant race, but it appears to have been to a very limited extent indeed. The fact is, the Romans did not even succeed in Latinising the language of the Celts, and Roman institutions rapidly disappeared after the Roman arms were with drawn from Britain. Neither does it appear that subsequent conquerors were a great deal more successful in transforming the Celtic spirit. Viewed by the light of the past, the Celt is not destined to rule, and as a political factor is practically dead, yet the fire and spirit of his genius has found a perma nent refuge in much of the literature in South, as well as in North, Britain. To some extent the Celt is something of a paradox, and though he has not a keen eye for measurement, mathematical precision, or 'love of detail, and his natural inclination is to chafe against the despotism of facts, there is an element of persistency and durability in the fibre of his being which will preserve his soul, if not his body, fromextinction. It is significant that though the anglo-saxon occupied political supremacy in the south of Scotland as early as the sixth century, yet up to the fourteenth the language of the people continued to be Celtic, and they retained the individual characteristics which survived through the Roman occupation. One hears much nowadays about the literary and artistic temperament going hand-in - hand, and that literature and art are twin sisters; but is it a fact that such a relationship harmonises at all points of the historical compass? Indeed it is open to question. Take the Celtic genius as it is manifest to the student of history, with its vivid perception, its fervour, and its spiritual sensibility, and how do matters stand? The assumption is that for lack of a necessary balance and proportion the Celtic genius has never achieved great things in plastic art, and it has rather been the pre rogative of other communities, such as the Greeks, the Romans, and the Germans, to produce that species of genius that has accomplished so much in painting and sculpture. Within the sphere of poetry and romance, however, with which the litera ture of Scotland abounds, the Celtic genius furnishes a different testimony. As Matthew Arnold has well expressed it The Celt's quick feeling for what is noble and distinguished gave his poetry style; his indomitable personality gave it pride and passion; his sensibility and nervous exaltation gave it a better gift still - the gift of rendering with wonderful felicity the magical charm of nature. The forest solitude, the bubbling spring, the wild flowers are everywhere in romance. They have a mysterious life and grace there. They are Nature's own children, and utter her secret in a way which makes them something quite different from the wood, waters, and plants of Greek and Latin poetry. Now, of this delicate magic, Celtic romance is so prominent a mistress that it seems impossible to believe the power did not come into romance from the As it has been already indicated, the earliest form of literary expression in Scotland was throughithe medium of ballads, songs, and metrical romances. These were numerous long before it was customary to preserve them in writing, and it is not surprising to find that a nation so rich in song when in -a barbarous condition produced refined poetry when it became more polished, subsequently exercising a permanent influence. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
