NOTE.
In this volume the text of Ossian remains as it was left by Macpherson in his edition of 1773, and the poems are presented in the final order arranged by him. The four last translations only, "The Battle of Lora," "Temora," "Conlath and Cuthona," and "Berrathon," have, owing to the exigencies of space, been omitted. Some curtailment has been made of the translator's notes, many of which are polemical and some irrelevant. All, however, have been included which are necessary for the understanding of the text. Perhaps it should be stated here that each of the names used in the poems, like the nomenclature of the Highlands at the present day, has a particular meaning, and that the spelling of most of them was altered by the translator to suit English pronunciation. Thus Dar-thula is Dart-huile, "a woman with fine eyes;" while Lamh-dhearg, "Bloody Hand," has become Lamderg, etc.
