. The Scottish nation; or, The surnames, families, literature, honours, and biographical history of the people of Scotland. which they were esteemedto be when they first appeared, and that their po-pularity has long been on the wane. That Macpherson, with the poetical fragmentswhich he translated, took the liberty of adding to,transposing, or completing where he deemed itnecessary, there can be no reason to doubt. Onthis point the Committee of the Highland Societyreported that they were inclined to believe that he was in use to supply chasms, and to give con-nexion, by inserting passages which
. The Scottish nation; or, The surnames, families, literature, honours, and biographical history of the people of Scotland. which they were esteemedto be when they first appeared, and that their po-pularity has long been on the wane. That Macpherson, with the poetical fragmentswhich he translated, took the liberty of adding to,transposing, or completing where he deemed itnecessary, there can be no reason to doubt. Onthis point the Committee of the Highland Societyreported that they were inclined to believe that he was in use to supply chasms, and to give con-nexion, by inserting passages which he did not ill. find, and to add what he conceived to be dignitvand delicacy to the original composition, by strik-ing out passages, by softening incidents, by refin-ing the language, in short, by changing what heconsidered as too simple or too rude for a modemear, and elevating what in his opinion was belowthe standard of good poetry. To what degree,however, he exercised these liberties it is impos-sible for the committee to determine. And thisis all that can now be said on the subject. Thefollowing is his In 1764 Macpnerson obtained the situation ofprivate secretary to Captain Johnstone, on theappointment of the latter as governor of Pensacola, in which capacity he went out to America,but a difference arising between him and the gov-ernor, he relinquished his post, and after visitingthe West India islands he returned to England in1766, with a pension of £200 a-year for up his residence in London, he resumed hialiterary labours, and in 1771 published a disqui-sition on the antiquities of the Scottish Gael orCeltic race, in one volume 4to, under the title ofAn Introduction to the History of Great Britainand Ireland, which was very bitterly attacked onits appearance, and brought neither profit norreputation to the author. MACPHERSON 60 MACPHTE In 1773, he issued a prose translation in twovolumes, of the Iliad of Homer, which was re-ceived with ridicule a
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