In Erin of the saints before his mighty hand
The monsters left the lakes, the serpents fled the land.
I never could declare, though mine were endless days,
I ne’er could tell one-third of his good deeds and praise.
It is rather curious to find the stereotyped “Erin of the Saints,” in a composition [of the fifteenth] century. While suggesting the ecclesiastical character of the author, it does not prove that he was a very zealous “saint” himself; for we find that he quietly ascribes to Finn exploits which the Irish ecclesiastical world has all along attributed to St. Patrick. “He cleared the lakes of monsters and the land of serpents.” As usual, Ossian himself is described as an deigh na Féinne:—
But sad am I, and Finn of the brave Fianna dead;
With him, the princely chief, my pride and joy have fled.
Well may my tears outpour, for no delight survives
The princes and the chiefs and all their royal wives.
I lean on death’s cold arm—I’m like the shaking reed;