The
Briton was by no means so luxurious as the Roman, but it is wrong to
call him a barbarian.
As priests generally (in such periods as those to which we allude,)
take good care of themselves, and as the Druids were the chiefs, let
us take a few cursory observations upon their manners and customs.
The Druids were _priests and magistrates_. They were divided into
three classes:[7] the bard proper, whose province was philosophy and
poetry; the Druid, or minister of religion; and the ovate, or mechanic
and artist. These classes were all obedient to one superior--the
Archdruid.
[7] Vide Introduction to Owen's Translations of the Elegies of
Llywarch Hen.
The etymology of the word _Druid_ has long been a subject of dispute,
many deriving it from the Greek word [Greek: drus], an oak, because it
has been affirmed that their mysteries were carried on in oak groves
and forests; but as the latter fact is doubtful, consequently the
etymology founded upon it is shaken. It has been already stated that
the Druids were magistrates and philosophers, and very few
etymologists will cavil with me if we fix it at once upon the Celtic
word _druidh_, signifying "_a wise man_."
The theological tenets of the Druids were of a most interesting
character--professing future punishments and immortality. Their heaven
partook of the nature of the Elysian Fields, while their hell[8] was
as horrible as the most violent fanatic could depict it.
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