Druidic Religion

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FMP is in the writings of the classical historians. Much of what they observed sheds light on Druidism in general, though they are usually outside witnesses.

Diodorus: [The Druids are] philosophers and theologians... skilled in the divine nature.
Lucan [addressing the Druids]: To you alone is given knowledge of the Gods and heavenly powers--either this, or you only have not this knowledge.
Ammianus: [Druids investigate] problems of things secret and sublime.
Cicero [speaking about Diviciacus]: [he] claimed to have that knowledge of nature that the Greeks call “physiologia” [natural science].
Julius Caesar: [they have] much knowledge of the stars and their motion, of the size of the world and of the earth, of natural philosophy [physics].
Hippolytus: They can foretell certain events by the Pythagorean reckoning and calculations.
Diogenes Laertius [attributes to Druids]: ...riddles and dark sayings; teachings that the gods must be worshipped, and no evil done, and manly behavior maintained.
Strabo notes not only their practical knowledge of natural phenomenon, but also their pursuit of “moral philosophy”. (Piggot 113)

From this brief list, there are clear implications. Druids had a secure grasp of astronomy and mathematics, sufficient to impress the Classical writers who would presumably have had similar skills. Linked to this practical knowledge is a concern for philosophical issues, particularly ethics and metaphysics, and possibly ontology as well. Obviously the Druids were the educated caste of Celtic culture. So impressed were the Classical writers by this that Clement of Alexandria claims that “Gauls and other barbarians” were the originators of Pythagorean and other Greek thought (Piggot 117). Diogenes Laertius places the Druids on a list of four groups of wise men, including the Brahmin of India and the Magi of Persia, whose skill in learning is of the highest quality. Since the Druids also held c...