On 'The Philosopher and the Druids-a Journey Among the Ancient Celts'

This compact book by Philip Freeman published in 2006 brings the reader a better idea of the range of the ancient Celtic peoples following what may have been a Diaspora of Indo-European language speaking people from the Ukraine perhaps 10,000 b.c. to their eventual historical destinations. Dr. Freeman informs us of etymological subtleties en passant in the Gaulish language of the meaning of several ancient words. Who would have thought that the Marne is a derivative name of an old Celtic demiurge?

We learn the extent of Celtic warrior ventures in Turkey, much of the culture of Gauls (Celts) in war and peace through the interesting point of view of the ethnic 2nd century Greek philosopher from Rhodes named Posidonius who made a journey to investigate and describe the vague in his time warrior race to the north and west.

Freeman has obviously gone over quite a lot of material to piece together what he can of the lost volumes of "The History" of Posidonius from mentions and fragments of other classic authors. About the only criticisms I would make for a second edition is his description of Socrates in rather glowing terms, and omission of Irish Celtic monks journeying to Iceland before the Vikings.

Socrates was actually executed for thrice inciting youth to rebellion against the democracy as he preferred rule by elites such as oligarchy or monarchy. Russell called Plato and his Republic 'fascist', and Russell is well qualified to make that opinion.

The Athenian democracy quite reasonably gave the sedulous philosopher the opportunity to leave Athens in peace, and he instead choose to remain and drink the cool-aid. Today, if one were to write repeatedly, publicly in advocation of overthrowing the U.S. Government, and if actual attempts were made repeatedly to overthrow the government, one might also meet agents of the state interested in making an arrest. One could consider being offered the option to leave the nation rather civilized I would think.

Freeman's account of the greatest early ocean explorer known to history-a Greek named Pytheus, is the best I have read. In the 4th century B.C. from a town near today's city of Marseilles he sailed to Britain and Iceland. Yet that is as far as Freeman ventures in describing ancient voyages north and west beyond the British Isles.

There have been a few books on Irish sea voyages during or before the middle ages north and west. One was 'How the Irish Saved Civilization'-a good history of Irish Celtic Christianity during the dark ages. Another is Farley Mowatt's interesting, set theoretical historical consideration of Alban/Irish explorations West to New Foundland before the Vikings titled 'The Farfarers'. Celtic Christians of Ireland were free and still Celts. Celtic culture does not end when it became Christian and civilized. It continued though elsewhere it was pervasively subjugated to Roman rule.

A bias against Christianity has affected scholarship not only in science writing (one must delete superficial history recapitulations and theological misunderstanding today along with gratuitous anti-God interpolations if one is to stay with just scientific content in writing biology, cosmology and history), but in some areas of historical research too. Freeman's book is generally without anti-Chritian bias.

Freeman writes descriptively of harsh Celtic practices of laws and custom, of head-hunting-controversial even in the second century b.c., of human sacrifice, of courage to the point of senselessness, perverse male homosexuality, a helmet with flapping feathers and military tactics of pagan crowds versus the classic military discipline of Roman legions led by Generals such as Marius and his nephew Julius Caesar.

Some points made in this book may be usefully compared to the way society is today-not the least of which is that Celtic kings might serve for just a year or two-or a little longer while in their prime to fight. With a new king tending to be a relative-not unlike contemporary U.S. politics where even President Obama is a vague cousin of former Vice President Dick Cheney, obviously G.W. Bush was the son of his father the former President G.H.W. Bush, Senators are commonly followed by sons or daughters and first ladies become Secretaries of State. The ruling class may develop from elites in the old world and the new.

The Druids are explained perhaps as well as one may do so. There are some even today that claim to have the genuinely orally communicated verse of the Druids I suppose. Of more interest is the mention of construction of earth-forts reinforced with wood that I think could easily be adapted to modern home construction style with some visqueen waterproofing layers and grass seed.