Message #142055

[Majir]

writers, have given of Druidism? There is prima facie a wide difference between the two systems. Cæsar speaks of a plurality of gods, of an archdruid, who had superior authority over the others, and also of the immolation of human sacrifices; whereas the unity of the Godhead is the very soul and centre of Bardism, which also strongly insists upon the co-equality of its orders, and seems to discountenance altogether the notion of the sacrifice of living beings, in the strict acceptation of the term, whether they were men or beasts. This circumstance, therefore, is fatal to the hypothesis which would regard classical Druidism as the groundwork on which the fabric of Bardism has been raised. Still, if the latter is, as it professes to be, the genuine remains of the primitive worship and philosophy of Britain, there must be a possibility of harmonizing the two systems--they must in principle be identical. To this subject we will now address ourselves.


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Footnotes
xiii:1 The other adjudicators were the Rev. T. James, Netherlong, Huddersfield, and the Rev. Silvan Evans, Llangian, Pwllheli.

xv:1 The adjudication was originally written in Welsh, in which language it was also read at the meeting.

xvi:1 The other was the Rev. Edward Evan, of Aberdare.

xix:1 see Vol. ii.

xxii:1 The Mythology and Rites of the British Druids, p. 34.

xxiii:1 Dr. O. Pughe's Dict., sub voce mymryn.



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