They were not allowed to commit anything to
writing respecting their mysteries, and no one was allowed to enter
their order till after a prolonged probation, terminating in swearing
most solemnly to keep their mysteries secret for ever; and by this means
they obtained great power and influence over all classes of the people."
Concerning the name Druid, the writer in the _Encyclopedia
Metropolitana_ says, "The name Druid is derived from _deru_, an oak."
The Druids were an order of priests; they were divided into three
classes, resembling the Persian magi. The first class were the Druids
proper; they were the highest nobility, to whom was entrusted all
religious rites and education. The second class were the bards; they
were principally employed in public instruction, which was given in
verse. The third class was called _Euvates_; whose office it was to
deliver the responses of the oracles, and to attend the people who
consulted them. The knowledge of astronomy and computation of time
possessed by the Druids was of a high order, and, no doubt, was the form
of worship imported from Chaldea.
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