SOURCE: "James Macpherson's First Epic," in Studies in Scottish Literature, Vol. LX, No. 1, July, 1971, pp. 48-54.

In the following essay, Dunn argues that The Highlander, a long poem Macpherson published as a young man under his own name, demonstrates a commitment to Gaelic history and his Highland heritage that predates his "discovery" of Ossian.

In June of 1760, Macpherson's Fragments of Ancient Poetry was published anonymously with a short preface by Dr. Hugh Blair, who was then at work preparing his lectures on belles lettres. A warm commendation from the pastor of the High Church of St. Giles assured the volume attention at least in the North, for at that time "Blair was one of the most signally honored men in Edinburgh"; furthermore, the poems had already been circulated among the Edinburgh literati and had received praise from such distinguished figures as Hume, Robertson, Ferguson, and Home. In view...